This is probably all that had to be said.
Cue ball flies of the break
- Thread starter michaelsu123
- Start date
I would definitely try this first. Sounds like you are putting enough down force on the CB to move into jump shot territory.
If you aren't already doing so, put your bridge hand on the cloth near the head spot, not the head rail, which allows you to get closer to level. I go as far as to use the 'stilt' bridge, where my hand is hiked up on the fingers, sort of like shooting over a ball.
That allows hitting the CB a little above center and smacking it as hard as you want without it skipping much on the way to the rack.
But you want to first ask your self what you are trying to accomplish by hitting them harder. If it is just to make a ball it sounds like you are relying on collisions to do that, which is not optimal because it can result in crappy position and clusters. If you watch SVB breaking he adjusts the power based on the size of the table and how it is breaking.
The ideal for an easy runout is to leave the CB in the middle, make at least one ball and have the balls spread with no clusters. This can be done with more of a medium speed break, even on a 9 footer. A lot of pros are using a version of the 10 ball break for 8 ball where the head ball is hit as solid as possible at an angle slightly to the left or right of the table center line. Adjust speed until one of the two balls in the second row go into a side pocket. If they come up short, increase power and vice versa.
The caveat is that using such a break is risky against a strong player that is going to run out on you when you break dry, so pick your poison.
Edit: for 9 ball, my ideal break is making the wing ball, but never the 1, which rolls to the head end corner toward the side opposite from where I broke, CB near the center, for an easy run out. Again, speed and accuracy trumps excessive force.
For more on SVB's break, scroll down to the post by Mosconiac from the link below which includes links to YT videos of SVB in action.
How does Shane get the white in the air everytime??
i can't seem to get how he does it so consistently...and on top of that w/ such good control. anyone got a clue??
forums.azbilliards.com
Last edited:
The break is way more about where you make impact with the head-ball and less about speed.
If you are not making contact with the head-ball at the exact point you want, then you will not be gaining anything by adding power.
If you are not making contact with the head-ball at the exact point you want, then you will not be gaining anything by adding power.