Can Someone Explain This To Me?

[9 ball]

I was at my pool hall the other day taking advantage of the fact that they have some world cup inspired deals on which meant 2 hours free table time, anyway to the point I have a somewhat strange breaking technique in the sense that I don't waggle the cue I just keep it still for 3-4 seconds, pause & then hammer the cueball needless to say the results this yeilds are terrible.

So I just started to mess around with different things such as breaking from the rail, breaking from the centre with a closed bridge and finally breaking from the centre with an open bridge but this time I started to waggle the cue, pause & then make my break, the results shocked me when I hit the cb because it hit the 1 full in the face, went about 4-6 feet in the air, parked in the centre of the table with a look at the 1, 2 balls on the break & an open run out.

What I was wondering was how can such a small thing (for me at least) like simply waggling the cue before contact have such differing results compared to my normal style of break?.

I understand to most of you pool nuts this must sound like the dumbest question in the world but I am still fairly new to the game & this has had me scratching my head.

9 ball

 

[336Robin]

reply to 9 ball

9-ball,
Most likely the ball jumped up in the air because the butt of your cue was elevated and you hit down on the ball therefore when the cue ball hit the rack it hit the ball a tad above center and then with nowhere else to go it went up and parked in the middle of the table.

The waggle thing well--Im not sure what exactly youre doing right there but if that means moving the cue back and forth at all then you are getting your stroke in a groove. A grooved stroke is a straight stroke which is more likely to hit where you are aiming which is a good thing and it sounds as if when you do that you hit the rack square and the ball stops dead which it should and from the first paragraph hits the head ball a little high due to the downward stroke which makes the ball jump.

If you can remember what youre doing and repeat it you may have found a break that is working for you. However you are playing with fire if you cant control it. If you bring your elevation down and do everything else the same you may be onto something good. My opinion.

336robin:thumbup:

 

[9 ball]

Cheers guys always great to get feedback.

 

[KSwiss10]

For me the warm up strokes help to loosen the muscle's up a little bit and make sure my stroke is right in line. When I see the aim is right and my stroke is straight I make a little pause on the last back swing and then "let'm have it."

I have seen people break the way you first described and they were not very successful either. I would just find what works for you and stick with it.

 

[trustyrusty]

waggle loosens up muscles (at least in golf), and nothing kills speed like tension!!!! I can swing a club MUCH faster with a long, loose swing than I can gripping it hard and TRYING to rip the ball - swing speed monitors don't lie (increased swing speed, better contact ((smash factor)), and increased ball speed of course). I'm sure that is exactly what you're experiencing with your different trials in breaking techniques.

 

[KRJ]

Hmmmm

[QUOTE=9 ball; So I just started to mess around with different things such as breaking from the rail, breaking from the centre with a closed bridge and finally breaking from the centre with an open bridge but this time I started to waggle the cue, pause & then make my break, the results shocked me when I hit the cb because it hit the 1 full in the face, went about 4-6 feet in the air, parked in the centre of the table with a look at the 1, 2 balls on the break & an open run out.

What I was wondering was how can such a small thing (for me at least) like simply waggling the cue before contact have such differing results compared to my normal style of break?.

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Because you are hitting the cue ball with follow instead of actually hitting center or below. When you hit follow with a lot of force, you are actually driving the cue ball into the table, and thus the cue ball is bouncing down the table (you can't see it with the naked eye) but its bouncing. And if the cue ball makes contact with the rack while it is in the air due to the bouncing, the cue ball will shoot straight up in the air. This is a rookie mistake and you mentioned that you are a rookie. Anytime you go in a pool hall and the cue ball is flying off the table, it is usually a "banger" not knowing how to strike the cue ball correctly. And when breaking, most folks mechanics are not so diserable, and thus why your not hitting in the spot that you think you are hitting!!