I love using my break cue and it has really helped my game but sometimes I can't seem to get a good split on the rack and its even harder to pot balls off the break and thats when I am using as much force as is humanly possible for me, is there anybody out there who can help me solve this problem btw the racks we use are pretty awful and don't freeze the balls so might this be a contributing factor to my break problems?.
Break Problems
- Thread starter the scorpion
- Start date
the scorpion said:
well i always advise practice........but since it seems people need as detailed an explanation as possible here goes.
make sure the rack is frozen of course.
don't put "as much force as humanly possible" because odds are, you can't control the cue ball at that speed. try using 60-70 percent of the "humanly force"
make sure you hit the one ball square. a tip below center usually does the trick, but you'll have to experiment as some people tend to come upwards or downwards during the break........but usually a tip below center will stop the cue ball or back it up a few inches.
if you need somewhere to aim, blackjack advocates finding the point where the 1 ball actually touches the cloth, its a small point but makes a good target. he has more detailed lessons on breaking.
if you're still not making any balls after doing this, change the position on the table you are breaking from.
after doing all this there is no reason that you won't be making balls.
thanks
VAP
the scorpion said:
Scorpion,
Never sacrifice accuracy for power. If you are using as much force as himanly possible, then maybe that is too much force. If the balls separate from the pack at lightning speed - they have a tendency to jar in the pockets, and sometimes you will even have an object ball interfere with the position of the cue ball. At the following links I have outlined a few methods to use, and a few methods to stay away from. When a player is having a problem such as tis with the break, I always try to slow their movement down to slow-motion. From there we can identify flaws in their mechanics, and build up the break shot from there. Also, if the rack is not "tight", strange things will happen. Also, get with Charlie Bond (CeeBee) he just came out with a new book on the break shot. Best of luck, and I hope this helps.
Breaking To Win
Mastering The Break
the scorpion said:
Blackjack is right on.. do NOT sacrifice accuracy for speed. Thanks Blackjack for mentioning my work.
A good structurally racked set of balls is necessary for practice. If the rack doesn't work well, buy you one & take it with you to play or practice. In my book, "The GREAT Break Shot", Joe Tucker discusses poor racks & how to use these SPACES for your benefit.
The power in the break shot is NOT the speed of hit. When you have made a ball on the break & parked the Cue Ball in the center of the table, you have the optimum position for shooting at any ball. If you can see the object ball you need to hit, you can choose to make it or play safe. You get to choose what your options are, for controlling the game. This is where the power is. When your opponent tires from shooting out of hooks, you may become the winner, if you can take advantage of your opponents struggle.
One other thing, a tip below center ball will become draw. That hit will bring the cue ball back to the end rail. Center ball or just a smidgin' above center ball will cause the cue ball to stay center table.
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ceebee said:
i'm not questioning you at all, you know more about the break than i do.
i aim about a tip below center to stop the cue, it does draw back a few inches, sometimes a foot or so.
would this mean that during my break stroke i am raising my cue up?
thanks
VAP
All great advice.
I often break from the side, hitting the 2nd ball in the rack.
With this break I regularly pot the 8 on the break. People see this and want to learn how to do it.
That said, I guess it's not as easy as I make it look.
If you try and smash it, everyone south of the table needs to seek shelter. If you hit it less than perfect, you're going to scratch.
When I break like this, I bear down on that 2nd ball just like I was shooting the 8 itself.
Get into your stroke and aim like you mean business. Hit the ball a quarter of a tip low center with REASONABLE force. With practice, you'll be able to tailor the speed and other variable to suit your style, but what ever you do, be consistent.
Dave
I often break from the side, hitting the 2nd ball in the rack.
With this break I regularly pot the 8 on the break. People see this and want to learn how to do it.
That said, I guess it's not as easy as I make it look.
If you try and smash it, everyone south of the table needs to seek shelter. If you hit it less than perfect, you're going to scratch.
When I break like this, I bear down on that 2nd ball just like I was shooting the 8 itself.
Get into your stroke and aim like you mean business. Hit the ball a quarter of a tip low center with REASONABLE force. With practice, you'll be able to tailor the speed and other variable to suit your style, but what ever you do, be consistent.
Dave
i have eased way off on the power of my break and it has helped tremendously. I read charleys book and also alot of blackjacks articles and they are dead on. I used to try and kill the ball, now i stay down in my stance, in fact my break shot looks just like all my other shots, i dont raise up into a higher stance (as i have seen some people suggest), i stay down and probably the only difference is i have a much longer follow thru with the cue.
I usually break between the center and the side rail......hit the 1 head on but a smidgen to the right of the ball, which usually pots the wing ball on that side in the corner and alot of times the 1 will come off the side and go in the upper corner where im breaking from.
When i get what i think is a loose rack i will come in and break more from the center like its suggested in charleys book.
I usually make a ball or two, get a great spread rack and end up with the cue mid-table.
I usually break between the center and the side rail......hit the 1 head on but a smidgen to the right of the ball, which usually pots the wing ball on that side in the corner and alot of times the 1 will come off the side and go in the upper corner where im breaking from.
When i get what i think is a loose rack i will come in and break more from the center like its suggested in charleys book.
I usually make a ball or two, get a great spread rack and end up with the cue mid-table.
BrianK74 said:
Good description of muscular fluidity.
In the golf swing, some teachers suggest the pupil consider the actual striking of the ball to be an INCIDENT (something that just happens). Since power cannot be built to peak at a precise point, with a fluid swing & a good follow through, power is easily developed & harnessed through out the swing.
The same scenario is true in the break stroke, you cannot build speed immediately, but with a medium length bridge you can develop plenty of stroke speed to break well & maintain accuracy. Watch the players that seem to hit the rack with some power, yet they are doing so with little effort.
Good Luck
Now I wish you guys could disect my break like this...but just about all of this goes out the window with my stroke. I shoot almost side armed, like Keith McCready, and it is hard for me to get punch on the ball like most people. I been told I do break hard for a guy my size, but it is difficult none the less from down here in the chair with not as much of a range of motion. I have worked hard on it, and the Gilbert I have is helping alot. Much more control than I had with the sledgehammer. But still, wish I had that full swing type of power with lots of follow through.
Shorty
Shorty
Shorty said:
Hi Shorty, maybe you could work on a break shot stroke with more bridge length, which gives you more stroke length, which gives you more time to build speed.
However, the side arm stroke is a tricky one, especially with a long bridge.
The problem is this; the stroking hand moves on a radial arc, at the elbow, toward the body. This causes the tip of the cue to do the opposite. This kind of stroking movement creates problems in keeping the center line of the cue on the shot line.
Maybe you could adopt a shoulder pivot of rotation, for your break shot, in lieu of an elbow pivot. The extra length creates a shallower chord & a longer swing arm for more speed. (a chord is a straight line segment joining two points on a circle). The shallower chord decreases that wave of the cue's center line.
Maybe this will help, maybe it won't. Good Luck to you, in your quest to play better Pocket Billiards.