breaking strategies?

S

Stroking

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do you break differently based on your opponent's skill? I'm debating on a softer break when I know I'm playing someone that can run out if I don't pocket a ball on a break. I've been breaking harder lately with a wider spread but often not pocketing a ball and losing when my opponent runs out or down to a ball thanks to my break.

Thanks in advance
 
What game are you playing?

If eight ball.........I use the second ball break no matter who I am playing. I have a good percentage of making a ball but it usually leaves more clusters of balls. I feel like I can out move most of my opponents when the balls are ugly.
 
Skill? No!

Ability? Yes!

The difference I know some players who can run out that a softly broken rack just drives them nuts and they just lose something. Others who can also run out pick off the ducks, and then skillfully duck, leaving me with a mess.

So it depends on who they are in their heads, and not whether they can run out or not.
 
Breaking and giving up the first shot is usually a recipe for disaster against a knowledgable player. If they know what they're doing, they'll be playing safe and leaving you in a bad position everytime. And they probably have a better chance of finishing a tough rack than you would.

Instead of turning your games into a messy battle of wits, I think the best thing to do would be to practice your break and find the right speed and position to break from that gives you the best chance to make a ball. More power is not always better when it comes to the break.
 
gregcantrall said:
What game are you playing?

If eight ball.........I use the second ball break no matter who I am playing. I have a good percentage of making a ball but it usually leaves more clusters of balls. I feel like I can out move most of my opponents when the balls are ugly.
Click to expand...

What he said.
 
Depending what is working best I have two separate breaks that I like to use. The first is putting the cue ball on the side rail just off the second diamond and aiming directly at the head ball hitting about 60% speed and looking to make the head ball in the side. I prefer that break. When that break is really not working I go to my power break. One ball width from the center line and one diamond from the head rail. Hitting the head ball straight on and hitting just about full speed. Hoping to make a ball somewhere. 4-railer is fairly common ball to make. Trying to squat the cueball in the middle.

The first break leaves everything a little closer and I find it has a higher ball on break percentage for me. I don't really think about the person I am playing too much. When I break I am trying to runout. I make a ball much more often than not so I go for it.
 
I can imagine the occasion to soft break in 8 Ball, but this is in league play where the match is points based. Essentially here's the scenario: Last match of a round and your team needs a couple of points (1 point per ball, 10 for winning the game) to win the round, and your player is breaking against one of their strong players. The strategic play is to make it a multi-inning game by soft breaking and making a 10-0 run out by your opponent very difficult. You player only needs to pick up 1 or 2 points during the game to win the round for the team and is more likely to get them this way.
 
Soft break

Stroking said:
Do you break differently based on your opponent's skill? I'm debating on a softer break when I know I'm playing someone that can run out if I don't pocket a ball on a break. I've been breaking harder lately with a wider spread but often not pocketing a ball and losing when my opponent runs out or down to a ball thanks to my break.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Thirty years ago, I played on powerhouse teams. Whenever it came down to a crucial game, we almost always employed the soft (but legal) break. It didn't guarantee a win, but it reduced dramatically the chance that our opponent would run out, and even if they played a strong safety, we figured we still had the advantage because our strategic moving was so strong.

This despite the fact that we were all run-out players. Our success testified to the logic of this strategy.

One of those teammates played the "safe" break every time, and went undefeated to win a state singles title.

By the way, we were playing under VNEA rules.
 
Even if it's the final of some important match, I can't imagine breaking safe in 8 ball.
Some rulesets flat out don't allow it, I think the APA explicitly bans it.

But anyway -
If your break sucks, you don't just accept it and say
"oh well I have a bad break, so I will work around it".
You work on your break and fix the problem!

You just need to pocket a ball.
Try the 2nd row break, I mean give it a serious try for a while. It really works.
It's not just a trick shot for trying to make the 8 ball on the break.

At first it feels kind of uncontrolled. And you can't hit very hard or the CB jumps off the table.
But it makes a ball very reliably. One of the corner balls flies right in all the time.
Something usually banks near your side pocket too.

I aim to hit as close to the head ball as I can without glancing off it (which would scratch).
At first I tried drawing out to center with low or low left but the cue ball really got kicked around
and I seems to get trapped or scratch a low. Now I use low inside, let the cue ball
come close to the corner and then spin out 2 rails back towards the rack.
 
For a safety break I employ a side break. I aim for a half ball hit on the head ball to the outside of the rack. Hit it with lagging speed and you will drive 4 balls to a rail. Experiment with English if you want a specific location of the cue-ball.
 
CreeDo said:
Even if it's the final of some important match, I can't imagine breaking safe in 8 ball.
Some rulesets flat out don't allow it, I think the APA explicitly bans it.

But anyway -
If your break sucks, you don't just accept it and say
"oh well I have a bad break, so I will work around it".
You work on your break and fix the problem!

You just need to pocket a ball.
Try the 2nd row break, I mean give it a serious try for a while. It really works.
It's not just a trick shot for trying to make the 8 ball on the break.

At first it feels kind of uncontrolled. And you can't hit very hard or the CB jumps off the table.
But it makes a ball very reliably. One of the corner balls flies right in all the time.
Something usually banks near your side pocket too.

I aim to hit as close to the head ball as I can without glancing off it (which would scratch).
At first I tried drawing out to center with low or low left but the cue ball really got kicked around
and I seems to get trapped or scratch a low. Now I use low inside, let the cue ball
come close to the corner and then spin out 2 rails back towards the rack.
Click to expand...

with your break (low inside) do the balls tend to pile up on the right half of the table, assuming you are breaking on the right half? this is the problem I have sometimes when breaking with the low left.
 
I think the key to the second ball break is accuracy. If you can catch that second ball square, you get a good spread and have an excellent chance of pocketing a ball. I really focus on lining up the spot on the second ball I want to hit and then take a nice controlled stroke, no lunging or jumping around. I probably hit it 15 to 17 mph . I hit a top low with a loose pendulum stroke with the cue top ending on the felt. This trends to pull the cb to the side real and then out towards the center of the table. I have found this approach far more successful at pocketing a ball and getting a decent spread, especially on bar boxes with dirty and uneven sized balls. You have the added benefit of occasionally snapping the 8.

If I could break with a 24 mph plus break speed, under complete control and squat the cb, I'd probably prefer that. I can't and find my head ball break leaves my opponent with a nice opportunity for a run out as often as not. If I'm playing on a nice table with balls that are in good condition, I may opt for the head ball break.
 
nobcitypool said:
I think the key to the second ball break is accuracy. If you can catch that second ball square, you get a good spread and have an excellent chance of pocketing a ball. I really focus on lining up the spot on the second ball I want to hit and then take a nice controlled stroke, no lunging or jumping around. I probably hit it 15 to 17 mph . I hit a top low with a loose pendulum stroke with the cue top ending on the felt. This trends to pull the cb to the side real and then out towards the center of the table. I have found this approach far more successful at pocketing a ball and getting a decent spread, especially on bar boxes with dirty and uneven sized balls. You have the added benefit of occasionally snapping the 8.

If I could break with a 24 mph plus break speed, under complete control and squat the cb, I'd probably prefer that. I can't and find my head ball break leaves my opponent with a nice opportunity for a run out as often as not. If I'm playing on a nice table with balls that are in good condition, I may opt for the head ball break.
Click to expand...

first, I was told by a very good player that loves the 8 ball game that the speed for the 2nd ball break is 14 mph.....secondly, I am able to break the head ball at 21-23 mph and squat the rock in the middle of the table but if I do not make a ball on the break, then I am in trouble from my opponent running out. so I need to go back to the 2nd ball break I guess using the other English......heretofore, using the 14 mph and low left, while always making a ball on the break, many times the balls clustered on the lower right half of the table making it most difficult to run out. thanks for the insight.:thumbup:
 
oldplayer said:
first, I was told by a very good player that loves the 8 ball game that the speed for the 2nd ball break is 14 mph.....secondly, I am able to break the head ball at 21-23 mph and squat the rock in the middle of the table but if I do not make a ball on the break, then I am in trouble from my opponent running out. so I need to go back to the 2nd ball break I guess using the other English......heretofore, using the 14 mph and low left, while always making a ball on the break, many times the balls clustered on the lower right half of the table making it most difficult to run out. thanks for the insight.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

At least if you get that cluster, making it difficult for you to run out, it would be difficult for your opponent to run out. I don't try any side english on the CB, you have to worry about deflection then. I think it is more important to hit that second ball precisely and consistently. That's hard enough to do without putting English on the CB. I haven't found that to be necessary myself but to each their own. When hit correctly, I haven't found the clustering to be a typical problem. But it all can vary depending on the table, how clean the balls are, how consistent the size of the balls are and also, the rack your competitor gives you.
 
oldplayer said:
with your break (low inside) do the balls tend to pile up on the right half of the table, assuming you are breaking on the right half? this is the problem I have sometimes when breaking with the low left.
Click to expand...

This happens to me with some frequency too. Oddly, my intuition says if anything the balls should end up on the opposite side but they don't; they tend to come back over to the side I broke from.
 
safe but legal

CreeDo said:
Even if it's the final of some important match, I can't imagine breaking safe in 8 ball.
Some rulesets flat out don't allow it, I think the APA explicitly bans it.

But anyway -
If your break sucks, you don't just accept it and say
"oh well I have a bad break, so I will work around it".
You work on your break and fix the problem!

You just need to pocket a ball.
Try the 2nd row break, I mean give it a serious try for a while. It really works.
It's not just a trick shot for trying to make the 8 ball on the break.

At first it feels kind of uncontrolled. And you can't hit very hard or the CB jumps off the table.
But it makes a ball very reliably. One of the corner balls flies right in all the time.
Something usually banks near your side pocket too.

I aim to hit as close to the head ball as I can without glancing off it (which would scratch).
At first I tried drawing out to center with low or low left but the cue ball really got kicked around
and I seems to get trapped or scratch a low. Now I use low inside, let the cue ball
come close to the corner and then spin out 2 rails back towards the rack.
Click to expand...

You may not have noticed that I said, "safe (but legal)".

A medium soft break often makes a ball, but does not generally leave an easy run. The idea is to improve your odds of getting to the table again after you strike the break.

You may not be able to imagine it, but as I stated, teams I played on had great success with this tactic...at all levels of amateur competition. Over many decades of competition in leagues and tournaments...
 
oldplayer said:
with your break (low inside) do the balls tend to pile up on the right half of the table, assuming you are breaking on the right half? this is the problem I have sometimes when breaking with the low left.
Click to expand...

Happens all the time. So I guess it's both a good way to make a ball, and a good way
to safe break if you don't. Though it's not 100%, sometimes they spread great.
 
Not always safe

CreeDo said:
Happens all the time. So I guess it's both a good way to make a ball, and a good way
to safe break if you don't. Though it's not 100%, sometimes they spread great.
Click to expand...

You might be pleased to know that I sometimes abandoned the "safe break" in crucial situations policy.

In a team event in '86 (if memory serves), our match against a powerful Minnesota team came down to the final game. I was shooting anchor against Greg Fix, who was a level or two above me.

Ordinarily, I would have played the soft break, but I knew he was also a better defensive player than I, so at the last moment I reconsidered and told my teammates that I was going for the break and run.

And I broke and ran for the win. My teammates probably didn't debate my choice, as that was my eighth consecutive table run that day!
 
Billiards is a game of strategy; and to become a pro in this sport, you have to be able to deliver precise hits. However, if you don't have the right equipment for it, then your game would most likely suffer as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top