Consistant Ball on the Break

IamCalvin06

IamCalvin06

Yang "The Son of Pool"
Silver Member
I had the opportunity today to practice my break for about 5hrs. I was breaking 9ball (even tho i should be breaking 10ball since its the new game) and i was consistently making a ball... THE CUE BALL :eek:

I was trying to break the wing ball and EVERYTIME i made the wing ball the CB would jump into the side pocket like it was a jump shot in basketball.

I adjusted b/c i thought i might be coming across the 1ball too much hence the side pocket scratch. So i hit a little fuller. Then im scratching in the corner opposite where im breaking. :confused:

The funny thing about this whole ordeal is im breaking HARD the CB is popping up in the air but its headed towards one of these two pockets. If i were drawing the ball or even keeping the CB relatively close to the felt then i can see the reasons for scratching but this???

Any suggestions would be helpful. i want to pop it straight up and have it land straight down or if it bounces back to stun foward and stop. I have had success with niether.

Looking for help.!!!!!! :o
 
IamCalvin06 said:
I had the opportunity today to practice my break for about 5hrs. I was breaking 9ball (even tho i should be breaking 10ball since its the new game) and i was consistently making a ball... THE CUE BALL :eek:

I was trying to break the wing ball and EVERYTIME i made the wing ball the CB would jump into the side pocket like it was a jump shot in basketball.

I adjusted b/c i thought i might be coming across the 1ball too much hence the side pocket scratch. So i hit a little fuller. Then im scratching in the corner opposite where im breaking. :confused:

The funny thing about this whole ordeal is im breaking HARD the CB is popping up in the air but its headed towards one of these two pockets. If i were drawing the ball or even keeping the CB relatively close to the felt then i can see the reasons for scratching but this???

Any suggestions would be helpful. i want to pop it straight up and have it land straight down or if it bounces back to stun foward and stop. I have had success with niether.

Looking for help.!!!!!! :o
Click to expand...

Follow through more on your break. This provides greater accuracy and less hopping. This should help you a lot.
 
Start breaking super soft. Like slower than stop shot speed. Soft but concentrating on hitting the right spot and controlling whitey. Then s l o w l y add power with each successive break, while maintaining control of the cue ball. Keep it in the center of the table. If you don't, re-rack and break the same speed again. Make sure that-- other than speed--you approach the shot the same as you would if you were breaking hard.

I have a big problem with scratching on the break too, and this is what I do. It's hard practice because it doesn't feel very rewarding (you don't make many balls breaking soft). But it helps me concentrate on the problem of control, rather on the problem of having a big break. But you can make your breaks bigger as you gain control.
 
I had trouble scratching in the side pocket when I broke. So I changed to a Lightning Bolt Break Cue. It weighs 12 oz's. I now break hitting the cue ball dead center and am sure to follow through. That is the main part of my break is the follow through. I hit the one ball solid and I usually make a ball and up to 4 ball's on every break without scratching. The only time I scratch is when I don't follow through or I'm off center with the cue or the one ball. With that particular stick I only hit using a little more then half power stroke. And I get the cue moving from a dead stop to as fast as I can when it strikes the cue ball. As long as I follow this I am successful with my 9 ball break. Now this doesn't matter if I'm shooting on a 9 foot or a 7 foot table. If you are using a heavier stick I would try the same thing but with less power then you are using and see how it works for you.
 
You're just not accurate enough yet for that much speed. Slow it down until you can park the cue ball, then boost the speed a little.

By the way, making the cue ball pop up is bad. Try to hit more level.

pj
chgo
 
What kind of tip do you use? I think it's better to use a tip with better grip, so you can control the CB.
 
WesleyW said:
What kind of tip do you use? I think it's better to use a tip with better grip, so you can control the CB.
Click to expand...
Plastic tips (the kind used on most break cues these days) can hold chalk if they're textured somehow (a Tip Pik works) and then they don't miscue unless your hit is too far offcenter, in which case your break stroke needs work.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Plastic tips (the kind used on most break cues these days) can hold chalk if they're textured somehow (a Tip Pik works) and then they don't miscue unless your hit is too far offcenter, in which case your break stroke needs work.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

The question was refer to TS. But I hate regular plastic (phenolic) tips. It's hard to control the CB with these kind of tips.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
You're just not accurate enough yet for that much speed. Slow it down until you can park the cue ball, then boost the speed a little.

By the way, making the cue ball pop up is bad. Try to hit more level.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Ditto. Well stated Patrick.

Just think about it. How can you expect accuracy from your cue ball if you have it bouncing all over the place when you break:confused:

I usually break from the side. I aim the one ball into the first diamond on the head rail. (One diamond over from where you would be shooting a spot shot). This usually parks the cue ball dead center table. There are times and tables when the side break doesn't work. So, try different areas and pick different targets for future use. But, work on one area at a time till you learn it.

Pick a spot to shoot at so you gain consistency in your approach. Also, I have found that when you break, you are pushing the cue ball towards the direction that you are aiming. Although slight, it still pushes the cue ball off your original aiming point. So I compensate for this.

Slow it down. Take it a little bit at a time.
 
WesleyW said:
The question was refer to TS. But I hate regular plastic (phenolic) tips. It's hard to control the CB with these kind of tips.
Click to expand...
What's "TS"?

I don't think phenolic (plastic) tips are uncontrollable if you chalk them. If you can't control the break with a well chalked plastic tip, then you're probably not controlling it as well as you should with another kind of tip either. My suggestion would be to address the stroke problem directly.

However, plastic tips can be annoying, so I understand if it's a personal preference thing.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
What's "TS"?

I don't think phenolic (plastic) tips are uncontrollable if you chalk them. If you can't control the break with a well chalked plastic tip, then you're probably not controlling it as well as you should with another kind of tip either. My suggestion would be to address the stroke problem directly.

However, plastic tips can be annoying, so I understand if it's a personal preference thing.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

A friend of mine use english on almost every shot. He plays really good, can run out few racks. Even he can't use english with those kind of tip. So, I've change it with a better tip. I've tried different kind of tips, phenolic, white diamond, normal leather tip, tiger hard. Still prefer the WD, haven't seen any tip better.
 
IamCalvin06 said:
I had the opportunity today to practice my break for about 5hrs. I was breaking 9ball (even tho i should be breaking 10ball since its the new game) and i was consistently making a ball... THE CUE BALL :eek:

I was trying to break the wing ball and EVERYTIME i made the wing ball the CB would jump into the side pocket like it was a jump shot in basketball.

I adjusted b/c i thought i might be coming across the 1ball too much hence the side pocket scratch. So i hit a little fuller. Then im scratching in the corner opposite where im breaking. :confused:

The funny thing about this whole ordeal is im breaking HARD the CB is popping up in the air but its headed towards one of these two pockets. If i were drawing the ball or even keeping the CB relatively close to the felt then i can see the reasons for scratching but this???

Any suggestions would be helpful. i want to pop it straight up and have it land straight down or if it bounces back to stun foward and stop. I have had success with niether.

Looking for help.!!!!!! :o
Click to expand...
The best advice i can give you is to buy the racking DVD's fro Joe Tucker. It is well worth the money and will give you all the help you could ever need.
http://www.joetucker.net/start.html
 
Focus. Burn a hole in the one ball with your laser eyes and be sure that your are ready to break before you lunge. I start with a controlled break after looking at the tilt of the rack and to see if the head ball is frozen. If balls aren't falling then I start trying to break the 1 ball.

Eric.
 
WesleyW said:
A friend of mine use english on almost every shot. He plays really good, can run out few racks. Even he can't use english with those kind of tip. So, I've change it with a better tip. I've tried different kind of tips, phenolic, white diamond, normal leather tip, tiger hard. Still prefer the WD, haven't seen any tip better.
Click to expand...
You can use quite a bit of english with plastic tips - I've run a few racks (not in a row) using my Stinger break cue. More to the point, how much english do you need on the break? If you miscue with a plastic tip on the break, your stroke's a little wild.

pj
chgo
 
Use a little below center hit when you break (about 6 o'clock english) and keep your eyes on the cue ball when you contact it...unlike a normal shot where you should look at the object ball before you pull the trigger. Hope this helps.

Southpaw
 
Thanks for all the advice EVERYONE!!! i just got home from practicing the BREAK AGAIN!!! 4hrs today.

I made some progress today on my own but i will keep all the tips that were provided in mind next session.

What do you guys think of breaking with a lighter cue??
 
lessons learned

IamCalvin06 said:
I had the opportunity today to practice my break for about 5hrs. I was breaking 9ball (even tho i should be breaking 10ball since its the new game) and i was consistently making a ball... THE CUE BALL :eek:

I was trying to break the wing ball and EVERYTIME i made the wing ball the CB would jump into the side pocket like it was a jump shot in basketball.

I adjusted b/c i thought i might be coming across the 1ball too much hence the side pocket scratch. So i hit a little fuller. Then im scratching in the corner opposite where im breaking. :confused:

The funny thing about this whole ordeal is im breaking HARD the CB is popping up in the air but its headed towards one of these two pockets. If i were drawing the ball or even keeping the CB relatively close to the felt then i can see the reasons for scratching but this???

Any suggestions would be helpful. i want to pop it straight up and have it land straight down or if it bounces back to stun foward and stop. I have had success with niether.

Looking for help.!!!!!! :o
Click to expand...

I am not very advanced, but I can share some experiences & hard learned lessons.

Phenolic- It seemed impossible to chalk until (1) I applied some really high grit sandpaper to the tip (2) I apply the chalk with a dabbing/painting motion like a woman applying lipstick & inspect the tip to be sure I have not missed any spots

Water Buffalo tip- I have a cheap Canadian Dufferin which I was keeping in the hope that it would appreciate. Rather than let it lay around, I had a water buffalo tip installed & its performance appears to be equal with less rigorous chalking. I'm torn between them.

English- I stopped scratching & got good CB placement when I began hitting at about 5 o'clock. Just to give you a context, I usually break from the left rail & I am right handed. I'm able to apply this English even with the phenolic. I do need to experiment & move my break around the table more.

Power- I increased the length of my bridge & back stroke, do practice strokes on the CB & then shift focus to OB & follow through like a reverse punch in karate minus the stop of course. When I feel my chi energy flow toward the OB, the results are always good. The proprioceptive feedback of my chi energy is similar to the experience of breaking a board(s). In both cases, speed is power, so relaxation is the key. Release the tension & urge to kill the rack.

Even at my low level of development, I have eliminated miscues, minimized scratchs, increasing conistency of CB placement, & often sink the wing balls or head ball as predicted by the textbook.

Caution : If anyone on this forum contradicts anything I have said, take their recommendation, because they are all more advanced.
 
Try this,it works well for me. Place the cue-ball on the side cushion far enough out that you can hit the center of the cue-ball. Line the shot up to contact the one square. Look at the cueball last and try to get the feelong of "Pushing" the cue ball into the one. I try to get the feeling that I try to keep the CB on my tip during the break. "Push your cue straight down the line and try to make the tip hit the 1-ball. You don't have to hit them at warp speed and the CB will stick right in the middle of the table. I have very good success with this and seldom lose the CB.
 
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