Break speed.

A

Ak Guy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My crusher break speed averages about 15 mph. Quit laughing, try as I might, that is as good as I can do. A few years ago it was around 17 mph. I wish I could average 20 mph. Maybe my 66 years is slowing me down.

This is being measured by an app on the I Phone. I have no way of knowing if it is accurate. I use a good wooden rack and a Magic Rack when I break and almost always get a better break with the Magic Rack.

I now a good solid hit is important in rotation and 8 Ball games.

Maybe a lighter break cue would work better? My current Diveney break cue is around 19 ounces. I have watched videos of Shane and his breaking technique, I'm not him!
 
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Ak Guy said:
My crusher break speed averages about 15 mph. Quit laughing, try as I might, that is as good as I can do. A few years ago it was around 17 mph. I wish I could average 20 mph. Maybe my 66 years is slowing me down.

This is being measured by an app on the I Phone. I have no way of knowing if it is accurate. I use a good wooden rack and a Magic Rack when I break and almost always get a better break with the Magic Rack.

I now a good solid hit is important in rotation and 8 Ball games.

Maybe a lighter break cue would work better? My current Diveney break cue is around 19 ounces. I have watched videos of Shane and his breaking technique, I'm not him!
Click to expand...

I would try out one of ceebees BreakRak they will allow you to practice your break over and over without having to rack the balls in between. You can also for an additional fee order an actual radar unit to determine your actual speed. I own one personally and like it a lot.

There are videos on youtube you can see it in action.
 
Good rule of thumb is to go .5 to 1 ounce lighter than your player. Also likely the lack of speed is due to the body being in the way at some point during the stroke. Standing more 'side on' might yield best results.

I'd recommend watching Joe Tuckers break secrets. He breaks it down quite well there.

Oh and loose grip is a must for that extra snap. Choke up a bit forward on the wrap to bring the shoulder into play. One could easily find 2mph there at least.

happy breaking!

Sent from mobile Android via Tapatalk
 
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51Breakshot said:
Good rule of thumb is to go .5 to 1 ounce lighter than your player. Also likely the lack of speed is due to the body being in the way at some point during the stroke. Standing more 'side on' might yield best results.

I'd recommend watching Joe Tuckers break secrets. He breaks it down quite well there.

Oh and loose grip is a must for that extra snap. Choke up a bit forward on the wrap to bring the shoulder into play. One could easily find 2mph there at least.

happy breaking!

Sent from mobile Android via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I also choke up on my break cue, my break stance is also diffrent from my normal shooting stance, I have more space in between my hip and back swing with a loose grip.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 
Ak Guy said:
My crusher break speed averages about 15 mph. Quit laughing, try as I might, that is as good as I can do. A few years ago it was around 17 mph. I wish I could average 20 mph. Maybe my 66 years is slowing me down.

This is being measured by an app on the I Phone. I have no way of knowing if it is accurate. I use a good wooden rack and a Magic Rack when I break and almost always get a better break with the Magic Rack.

I now a good solid hit is important in rotation and 8 Ball games.

Maybe a lighter break cue would work better? My current Diveney break cue is around 19 ounces. I have watched videos of Shane and his breaking technique, I'm not him!
Click to expand...
My break cue is 18 ounces, i hear that break app can vary from room to room due to size and echo.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 
Measuring your break speed is kind of like measuring your pecker. It might boost or deflate your ego. However it is not critical to fun or function. A 14 mph break hit perfectly will get the job done just fine.
In this age of worsted cloth and magic racks, accuracy is king. I remember a time when the pros were throwing their whole body into the break. You don't see that much anymore. Now accuracy is the norm. Watching the best breakers you will see a controlled shot with the cue ball rebounding the same every time.:cool:
 
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JoseV said:
My break cue is 18 ounces, i hear that break app can vary from room to room due to size and echo.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

18oz is what works for me as well. :thumbup: Any heavier and I noticed a gradual loss of speed. Tested this with using a heavier shaft on same break cue (Mezz Kai)

I think the biggest thing OP fails to mention is what game is he breaking at? Is he hitting them from the rail or bed?

If we are assuming 10 ball (given the SVB reference :wink:) then breaking from the bed of the table, 15mph certainly isn't enough to play the corner balls 4 rails back, especially in 'worn in' conditions. I noticed this starts to happen consistently past 18mph mark.

Personally, I try to hit them about 80% effort which always ends up exactly 20mph on average, for my swing. But I've noticed some great breaks at ~18.5mph with a really good, level hit (which I could swear felt like 25mph). Alternatively I've also hit some bad ones clocking 22mph ++ Which leads me to believe that the 'quality' of the hit is underrated. Its not just the speed that matters!
 
gregcantrall said:
Measuring your break speed is kind of like measuring your pecker. It might boost or deflate your ego. However it is not critical to fun or function. A 14 mph break hit perfectly will get the job done just fine.
In this age of worsted cloth and magic racks, accuracy is king. I remember a time when the pros were throwing their whole body into the break. You don't see that much anymore. Now accuracy is the norm. Watching the best breakers you will see a controlled shot with the cue ball rebounding the same every time.:cool:
Click to expand...

I have a BreakRak and the radar gun to with it, I can tell you that the Predator Break Speed app is real close or even spot on from what my radar shows. The BreakRak helped my breaks tremendously. The break practice will get you hitting the rack nice and square and it will also help you control the QB. With a way to measure your speed you can experiment with equipment and technique. My max break speed is only 22-23 MPH consistently. I actually break slower than this, probably 18-19 MPH on my 9' table for 8 ball and less for 9 ball. On 7' tables I am breaking about 16-17 MPH for 8 ball, this gets me better results than trying to hit the rack harder. On small tables you just dont need that much speed for a great break. A square hit on the head ball with good QB control will be much more effective than hitting faster with less aim and QB control. One guy on my team this year insists on breaking as hard as he possibly can, I would guess that on about 75% of his breaks he scratches or gets the QB buried on one of the short rails. His current technique he just discovered is to draw the QB back to the head rail cause if he hits the rack hard enough there should be balls up there to hit. :confused::confused::confused::confused::thumbup2::thumbup2:
 
I also have the Predator phone app. I find almost no difference between cues. Less than 10% for sure. It's all technique. I think some cues hit more accurately than others when we slam the balls on the break, so you hit dead center on the head ball.
I found 5%-10% difference between cues, but 30% improvement with better technique.
My best break speed came from a Chuck Starkey house cue conversion, no ferrule on it.
 
Get a faster cue. One that is more streamlined. Polish and grease it up and use breaking gloves. :rotflmao:

Speed is not as important and CB control. I seen Earl really crack into a rack and come up dry. Others doing the same and the CB would fly off the table or end up in a pocket.
 
I'm right handed but play lefty (Ala Mike Sigel) and can achieve 21mph. At that speed I'm blowing past the side pockets and the one ball often travel too far and into clusters.

Best results are around 18.3 using a magic rack and about 19 with conventional racking.

Square hit and squat. 15 can work but you probably need to move to the extreme edge of the break box.

I suspect if you can't achieve 17 you have a stance issue or you are trying to do it "all arm" without the hip/shoulder turn required to achieve power.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ok then.

Thanks for all the good advice guys. I will try out some of these suggestions and look into the other break tools.

My Dymonwood break shaft was sent out for a taper slimming/lightening job and I have a Diviney Lake Salvage shaft I can also use for breaking.

Maybe I will talk to Pat about ways to lighten the butt of the break cue he made me.
 
Have you forgotten that that doesn't matter? The CB is gone immediately after contact with the cuestick. Excessive followthrough doesn't do anything to improve the outcome. The cue weighs 3x the weight of the CB, on average...which is plenty to create a bunch of kinetic energy. Accuracy with control is the key to a good break...not how much you followthrough, or how much body movement you put into it.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

michael4 said:
follow through with your cue, and with your whole body, put your legs and hips into it.
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
Have you forgotten that that doesn't matter? The CB is gone immediately after contact with the cuestick. Excessive followthrough doesn't do anything to improve the outcome. The cue weighs 3x the weight of the CB, on average...which is plenty to create a bunch of kinetic energy. Accuracy with control is the key to a good break...not how much you followthrough, or how much body movement you put into it.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Which foot should I kick up in the air after I break? Left, right, or both?
 
Scott Lee said:
Have you forgotten that that doesn't matter? The CB is gone immediately after contact with the cuestick. Excessive followthrough doesn't do anything to improve the outcome. The cue weighs 3x the weight of the CB, on average...which is plenty to create a bunch of kinetic energy. Accuracy with control is the key to a good break...not how much you followthrough, or how much body movement you put into it.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

On the other hand, what happens after contact is not unrelated to what happens before contact. The motions that you make to achieve a "big follow through" begin before contact. So in reality, it would be extremely difficult to have a big follow through without it affecting the hit on the cueball, because you can't have a big follow through without some actions creating that situation prior to contact.

Personally, I find that by specifically putting the image of placing my tip about 12 inches in front of the cueball on my stroke, my power is enhanced noticeably, becasue it alters what is happening before, and most importantly *at* contact. Interestingly this technique gives me better cue ball control as well, presumably because it makes me stroke very straight through the ball.

All that said, this is only when I'm trying to hit the rack *hard*. That can be useful in 8 ball. In 9 ball, I tend to just swing my arm like a regular stroke, and my accuracy is definitely better overall. My arm-only break is maybe 18-21mph. My "hit it hard" technique gets me up to 24-26mph. It really is hard to believe though, how much of a difference those few mph make in the sound and spread of the rack!

Anyway, just my $0.02

KMRUNOUT
 
A couple of years ago, I brought my radar gun to the pool hall.
It's pretty accurate and I used it when my son played HS & college baseball.

The day we did the testing, there was 10 of us that participated and the best
break speed attained by any of us was 24 mph and that one break sounded
like someone set off an ash can like back in the day celebrating.the 4th of July.

I didn't even try since it was in-between my many rotator cuff surgeries and
the thought of even attempting it made me wince. The average speed was
just below 21 mph with one guy hitting 24..6 mph. which was the best we did.
 
51Breakshot said:
18oz is what works for me as well. :thumbup: Any heavier and I noticed a gradual loss of speed. Tested this with using a heavier shaft on same break cue (Mezz Kai)
Click to expand...


21 oz break cue for me.
Love the heavy break cues (and play cues too actually).
I have the same break cue in 18 and 21 and consistently break much better with the 21.
 
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