Do you have to hit the apex ball on One Pocket breaks?

Nope:
2.2 The opening break begins with ball in hand behind the head string. On the break, the cue ball may contact either a cushion or any ball in the rack first, but in either case, after contacting at least one ball, an object ball must be pocketed, or the cue ball or at least one object ball must contact a rail, otherwise it is a one foul penalty. As long as a legal stroke is employed from behind the head string on the break, the incoming player must play the balls where they lie – there are no re-racks for a pocket scratch or failure to contact a cushion or pocket a ball on the break

(http://www.onepocket.org/one_pocket_pool_rules.htm)
 
well if you ask in a sense of rules?.....no

it is more or less a result of what works most consistently, but I am not totally convinced it is always the best.

case in point.....you guys know when you just miss the top ball and the cb ends up buried behind the balls at the opponents pocket. Only bad part is it is easy to scratch....but I do that on the "normal" break also! :)

G.
 
4.0x3.48 said:
Do you have to hit the apex, or head ball in the rack when breaking for One Pocket?
Click to expand...

No, you don't "have" to hit the head ball. But, for a great majority of tables, in order not to scratch off that second ball, you'll want to "clip" the head ball and then carom into the second ball to get the proper break. Remember that a good One Pocket break results in:

  1. you knocking balls towards your chosen pocket
  2. without any balls from the opposite corner "leaking out" towards your opponent's pocket
  3. and the cue ball coming off the short rail (the foot rail), resting up against the long rail approximately by where the foot string meets the long rail. (You want your opponent "tree-topped" over that rail -- having to shoot the cue ball off the cushion.)
Another break option, although far less used, is what's called the "Gypsy Break." This is where you nominate your pocket (you point toward your pocket so that your opponent can see which pocket is "yours"), then you kick into the long rail on the opposite side of the table of your pocket, having the cue ball rebound off the rail and into the side of the pack, hopefully knocking balls towards your pocket and leaving your opponent pinned to that side of the pack. Obviously, the caveat with the Gypsy Break is that you need to make sure you pin the cue ball to the side of the pack, WITHOUT balls "leaking out" towards your opponent's pocket. It's easier said, than done -- it requires practice, and knowledge of the particular table you're playing on.

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean
 
I seem to get the best results when I aim to just clip the head ball going into the second ball. But sometimes I miss the head ball completly. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing any rules. Thanks again everyone.
 
The only rule is that a ball must reach the rail after contact. It can be the cue ball or an object ball. There are many different breaks you can use, although the two most common are detailed by Sean earlier in this thread. Play around with it and see what you like. Most employ the "traditional" break, but others can be effective.

I've seen players use a straight pool safety break before, as well as hitting the stack hard on a multitude of occasions (although unless you're Corey Deuel, this one doesn't usually turn out well).
 
A simple way to put it is that the break shot at one pocket is not a special shot -- the requirements for the shot and penalties for fouls are identical to all other shots except that you have ball in hand behind the line.
 
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