Break Question

K

kollegedave

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think my break is holding me back a bit in 9-ball. I think that if I could get a decent break than I could really start putting some racks together.

I am trying to develop some pre-break procedure/set-up. I am finding out the the proximity of my front leg to the skirt of the gold crown makes a difference in the results I get breaking the balls. Does anyone have advice on some ideal distance from the table or set up routine that works well for them?

My primary problem is controlling the cue ball, not making a ball.

kollegedave
 
I videotaped myself breaking and learned that I was hitting the head ball in a different spot each time. I also videotaped some friends and learned that they were doing the same thing!

So I was accurate with my shots at slow speed, but not with a high speed break. No telling where the cue ball would hit...

I started practicing "accuracy" with my breaks by removing all the balls from the table and breaking the cue ball into the far center diamond. I try to hit the far center diamond and get the cue ball to come straight back. (Accurate aim and hitting cue ball dead center.) Also to make as many rails as possible. (Speed.) I practice this for a few minutes everyday.

I have found that a good follow through ending with my shaft pointing at the far center diamond helps with my aiming.

This has really helped me to be more accurate when breaking. I also practice breaking when playing by breaking from dead center and trying to get the cue ball to come straight back. I'm getting better, but still need more work.
 
I have posted something on this topic previously, but I can't find the thread.

Try breaking at 50% speed. It should be relatively easy to control the cue ball. If you can't, break softer. Keep this up until you can control the cue ball most of the time after the break. The goal is to have the cue ball come back a little towards the center of the table, and not hit one of the side rails. It the cue ball comes back like this but then gets kicked by another object ball, you should consider that a good break (you can't do anything about a kick).

Once you are able to do this consistently, slowly (and I mean slowly) increase the amount of power you are using. If you get to a point where you find yourself losing the cue ball again, bring the power back down.

Eventually you will be back to your normal power, or maybe a little more or less, depending on how hard you are hitting them now.

Keep in mind that you do not have to hit the break at 100% power. It is better to hit it at 80% power and hit it solid. You will not only find the rack splitting open better, but your cue ball control will be easier and more consistent.

One other point: This is not a one-day drill. You should not expect to have your breaking power back up to where you were after just one practice session. It may take a few days (or more). Give it a try and be patient with it.

Good Luck

Andy Segal
 
Thanks for the good advice fellas, anyone else?

Incidently, Andy, because of the frequency with which the cue ball will get kicked if it strikes the rack properly I have been trying to develop a break where I get a little (not a big) "hop" in the cue ball. It seems to me, that when one can consistently achieve this, then the cue ball is significantly less likely to be kicked. It seems like even a small amount of air time for the cue ball allows the object balls to spread around, making it less likely that the cue ball will be kicked.

Do you agree with that premise?

kollegedave



Andy Segal said:
I have posted something on this topic previously, but I can't find the thread.

Try breaking at 50% speed. It should be relatively easy to control the cue ball. If you can't, break softer. Keep this up until you can control the cue ball most of the time after the break. The goal is to have the cue ball come back a little towards the center of the table, and not hit one of the side rails. It the cue ball comes back like this but then gets kicked by another object ball, you should consider that a good break (you can't do anything about a kick).

Once you are able to do this consistently, slowly (and I mean slowly) increase the amount of power you are using. If you get to a point where you find yourself losing the cue ball again, bring the power back down.

Eventually you will be back to your normal power, or maybe a little more or less, depending on how hard you are hitting them now.

Keep in mind that you do not have to hit the break at 100% power. It is better to hit it at 80% power and hit it solid. You will not only find the rack splitting open better, but your cue ball control will be easier and more consistent.

One other point: This is not a one-day drill. You should not expect to have your breaking power back up to where you were after just one practice session. It may take a few days (or more). Give it a try and be patient with it.

Good Luck

Andy Segal
Click to expand...
 
Sorry, but I disagree with your 'hop' theory.

If your cue ball is jumping in the air after you break, the only way this will prevent it from being kicked by an object ball is to have it jump at least 2 1/4 inches off the table. If it is jumping that high, two things are wrong here:

1: By the cue ball jumping in the air, you are hitting the 1 ball not full, but at an angle. This is the same as hitting the 1 ball at an angle either too much to the left or right. In your example, it is too much above. Hitting the cue ball not full in the face will not transfer as much power into the rack, giving you a weaker break. If your 'hop' is just slightly off the table, then an object ball will still hit the cue ball and this hopping effect will accomplish nothing.

2: You will never be able to hit the 1 ball exactly square every time. If you are jumping the cue ball, and you hit the 1 ball off center, it will fly off the table. You will find that the percentage of the time the cue ball goes off the table is much greater than the percentage of the time the cue ball gets kicked into a bad position.

Please note that if you break from the side rail, you are naturally hitting down on the cue ball and this will cause the cue ball to jump slightly in the air. This cannot be avoided if you break this way (most players do). This is okay. I am just advising that you don't try to increase the elevation to get the cue ball to jump higher.

Good Luck

Andy Segal
 
Wow, Andy Segal hit the nail on the head in this thread.

Andy tells you to focus on hitting the one square more than on power, and he's absolutely right. The maximum speed at which you can hit the one exactly square with a high level of consistency should be your break speed.

However, I'd just like to add that one reason many aren't able to break consistently at higher speeds is that they "jump up on the shot". Most people only think about jumping up on regular shots, but remember, it's just as lethal if you jump up on your break. Over the years, I've seen a lot of top-level players who don't consistently stay down on their shot when they break. Of course, there is no shot on which it is so tough to stay down than the nineball break.

If you hope to hit the one square consistently with a lot of pace, stay down thorugh the shot, and maybe you have a chance.
 
Here are the things that I keep in mind while breaking:

- If I stand too far back, it's hard to stroke level. I try to maintain an average stance, maybe a little back but not too much. I don't want my tip diving on the break stroke.

- The slower and longer the last stroke, the smoother the transition, and the more control and speed I have.

- I like a level final stroke. This is hard to do shooting off the side rail, but trying to keep it as level as possible means more cue ball control and a flatter path to the one ball. Even if the stroke is not level, I like to feel like it is.

- I try to hit the cueball dead center square into the one. I imagine the cueball rebounding off the one straight back in my face. A hair left or right and you will see it. The idea is to kill the cueball with the impact, like a very hard stop shot.

Chris
 
Yes Andy did nail it and I agree completely. People want to break harder when it should be softer as Andy said. Rarely I go over 80 to maybe 85 percent, I'm interested in accuracy not power. Not only that by breaking slower you learn your body limits, speed is developed over time. A miss hit ball at near 100 percent is likely worst than a 60 percent with a dead square hit.

I'm glad my opponents do that though, picking the c/b out of a pocket then running out is one of my favorites. So go right ahead if inclined. LOL

Rod
 
Cue Ball "hop" is nothing more than a vertical carom of the Cue Ball off the Lead Ball. The Cue ball is on a downward arc (ever so slight), so the carom sends the Cue Ball into the table surface causing the rebound. The opposite situation, where the Cue Ball is rebounding off the table & is on an upward arc, can cause the Cue Ball to launch itself.

Modifying your speed, and shooting as level as possible, will help the Cue Ball's attack on the Lead Ball.

Accuracy is the goal on the Break Shot. Enough Speed to make a ball and scatter the other balls is all that's needed.
 
Yes, Andy made also another valuable point: getting a better break is definitely not a one day procedure. You just have to adjust your break every time you go to the table and break some racks. If you had good and solid hits with 75% speed at the previous session, that doesn't mean you can start your next session with 75% break speed. Start with 50% speed and gradually increase if you see good hits. Also, try always to look closely if you hit the headball full. I know players who claim they are practising their breaks and when they make a bad break, they didn't pay attention if they cut the head ball on the right or left side... that's not practising, that's guessing.

When I enter a tournament and start breaking the balls, I always take some speed off my break to get my break going and building the confidence. If I feel confident after a few breaks, I gradually build up speed to my regular break speed but I never shoot the rack harder than I feel confident. I think it's much better to have a medium speed break with no balls down instead of having a 100mph break with the cueball down/on the floor. Your opponent doesn't necessarily have an open table after your break, but it's always "open" if he has a ball-in-hand.

Also, I think the cueball is more likely to be kicked away from prime position by another ball if you break too hard. If you use softer break, you'll find the cueball staying in the center of the table much more often.

...my $0.02 about breaking...
 
Watch Johnny Archer break. Argueably, the best break in the world. He changes his cue-ball starting location, and speed, to suit the table. Change is good.
 
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