Does anyone else have this break aiming issue?

[CreeDo]

I've had this forever, and I've just adapted to it.
Basically when I break from the rail in 9b (on the left side)
the cue ball always goes a touch to the right of where I'm aiming.

I never figured out if it's my stroke or my eyes/head position.
I've tried messing with both and can't figure it out.
Doesn't happen on the other side.

I aim to hit the 1 a hair to the left of dead square.
If I succeed the 1 often goes in the side.

But usually I end up hitting to the right a bit,
and 'accidentally on purpose' hit the one square.
The wing ball often goes in that case.

Occasionally it's so bad I'll even back cut the 1 and send the cue ball
almost to the opposite side.

I've drawn below what I mean. Red is intended line, black is often
my actual line. The break is pretty successful anyway but it's always bugged me
that I apparently can't break straight even though I shoot straight. ish.

 

[ideologist]

Do you lay your bridge hand on the rail or the table bed?

Breaking off the rail requires quite a bit of aiming adjustment since you're not really level.

 

[armoworrior]

to me I looks like you might be giving it a little left english on the ball. that might cause it to hit where the black line is try a little right to even it out. personally I try to aim for the second row far left ball. but that's just what I like to do and I also shoot a bit further back from the head string and more towards the bumper.

 

[Neil]

Watch the cb immediately after the hit. Does it have spin on it, or no spin? Odds are you are hitting the cb a hair to the left and squirting the cb to the right a little.

 

[TheOneGnat]

Watch the cb immediately after the hit. Does it have spin on it, or no spin? Odds are you are hitting the cb a hair to the left and squirting the cb to the right a little.

Nail on the head in my case. If I am not focused on hitting center ball 100% on this break, i will come through it just a little to the left. If I am using my playing cue it is not usually a problem, but my break cue is a different story.

 

[Andrew Manning]

Watch the cb immediately after the hit. Does it have spin on it, or no spin? Odds are you are hitting the cb a hair to the left and squirting the cb to the right a little.

This was gonna be my guess too. My break cue has a ton of squirt when I hit at break speed. I notice when I miss the contact point on the 1 ball, the CB is usually spinning in the opposite direction.

-Andrew

 

[Bambu]

I have similar problems at times, I know it can be frustrating. Three things I sometimes try to adjust. First is, cut back on power and concentrate on a straight stroke. Second, look at the cue ball instead of the head ball. Sometimes that works. But if I need to correct myself in a hurry, and don't want to sacrifice power, I just try to hit the head ball fatter or thinner. I accept the flaw, and try to adapt my stroke to the shot line.

 

[cardit]

I've been using CJ's TOI on the break. It might work for you, too.

cardit
Mike

 

[nahog99]

What I've been doing lately on my break that seems to help is cut WAY down on my practice strokes. I'm not sure about you but I used to always back stroke really far and go up to the cue ball and repeat a bunch of times without ever pausing at the cue ball. This hurt my accuracy. Now I am treating my break like a tight shot that I need to hit perfectly. I only do a few practice strokes then pause for a good second at the cue ball at my intended aiming point. Then I slow back stroke, pause again for a split second then lean forward a bit when I smash the break. I've been parking the cue ball much more often and getting a better spread as a result of the more full hit. No matter how you do it remember that an accurate hit on the head ball imparts a greater % of the energy into the rack and has the added benefit of not having the cue ball to flying around the table. Therefore taking a little bit off your break to improve accuracy can actually give you a HARDER break and let you control the rock better.

 

[Petros Andrikop]

If you wish to keep the english you use on the CB adjust your aim further more to the left. If not, you may try using low-right english, it could possibly take you to hit the 1 ball fuller, depending on your stroke.
Quite important too is trying having an identical follow through each time, and as I mentioned in another similar thread is to watch out for the "moment of release": release the cue (follow through) just before the tip is approaching the CB, not before. If it is released one or two inches before that usually you won't hit the CB where you want to, in this case you may be applying more english than you wish to. In other cases the CB is "lost" when this happens, bounching back at first and then starts rolling forward instead of staying at the middle of the table.
Perhaps lowering your stance a bit (if it's quite high) and practice the shot at lower speed first could help you progress.
Good luck!
Petros

 

[woody_968]

Your perception of center ball could be slightly off as well. Like Neal said, first thing to look for is a spinning cue ball.

Sounds like you are actually hitting the left side of the cue ball. Try aiming the LEFT side of the shaft at what you see as center ball and hit a few. Try this and let us know if it helps.

Woody

 

[CreeDo]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try the shaft aim trick. I knew someone with an off-center perception of "center ball".
Joe Tucker's stroke trainer helped to reveal it and sort it out. I think maybe that was an eye position thing.

I wish I could say about spinning cue ball.. I don't notice any clockwise spin but the ball is drawing so it's harder to spot,
and it's not a measles ball, plus I would think impact with the rack might kill the spin if it's just a slight amount.
I'll try to watch for it.

I do break from the rail so my best guess is, there's something about rail breaking that
makes me incorrectly see the center of the ball, or else my slightly angled break stroke steers a bit vs. my normal stroke.

 

[real bartram]

I've had this forever, and I've just adapted to it.
Basically when I break from the rail in 9b (on the left side)
the cue ball always goes a touch to the right of where I'm aiming.

I never figured out if it's my stroke or my eyes/head position.
I've tried messing with both and can't figure it out.
Doesn't happen on the other side.

I aim to hit the 1 a hair to the left of dead square.
If I succeed the 1 often goes in the side.

But usually I end up hitting to the right a bit,
and 'accidentally on purpose' hit the one square.
The wing ball often goes in that case.

Occasionally it's so bad I'll even back cut the 1 and send the cue ball
almost to the opposite side.

I've drawn below what I mean. Red is intended line, black is often
my actual line. The break is pretty successful anyway but it's always bugged me
that I apparently can't break straight even though I shoot straight. ish.

Try to look at the cue ball last when you break

 

[The Renfro]

At break speed the cueball is for the most part off the table's surface...

That means you get zero swerve for off center hits... It's all about the deflection....

I would look at 2 things...

1st I'd look to see if you are hitting a wee bit left of center by accident...

2nd I would look to see if maybe I was a little crooked coming into the ball... If you are hitting dead center but coming inside out or outside in the force vector could carry the cueball barely offline which is enough to cause a small miss hit breaking the balls.... It is only a 1000th of a second at contact so the friction/grab off the tip usually won't carry the ball with it along the cueing path much at all but at high speed with an airborne cueball it seems to have an effect....

Chris

 

[jhanso18]

I actually think practice and slow down your swing will show dramatic improvement.

 

[BasementDweller]

How about knowing your cue's pivot point? I have never really bothered with that myself but I've always thought it would be helpful. From what I understand if you bridge from this pivot point, you should be able to cancel out the effects of the unwanted squirt, or at least to a certain degree.

I think I'm going to play around with this a bit. At the very least I'm going to review where my pivot point is in relation to where I normally bridge on my break. Maybe just getting a bit closer to the sweet spot might help get rid of this unintended squirt issue on the break. I know I've done exactly what the OP is talking about.

 

[Neil]

How about knowing your cue's pivot point? I have never really bothered with that myself but I've always thought it would be helpful. From what I understand if you bridge from this pivot point, you should be able to cancel out the effects of the unwanted squirt, or at least to a certain degree.

I think I'm going to play around with this a bit. At the very least I'm going to review where my pivot point is in relation to where I normally bridge on my break. Maybe just getting a bit closer to the sweet spot might help get rid of this unintended squirt issue on the break. I know I've done exactly what the OP is talking about.

Read Renfro post #14. Your cues pivot point won't matter on the break because you don't really get much if any swerve.

 

[Neil]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try the shaft aim trick. I knew someone with an off-center perception of "center ball".
Joe Tucker's stroke trainer helped to reveal it and sort it out. I think maybe that was an eye position thing.

I wish I could say about spinning cue ball.. I don't notice any clockwise spin but the ball is drawing so it's harder to spot,
and it's not a measles ball, plus I would think impact with the rack might kill the spin if it's just a slight amount.
I'll try to watch for it.

I do break from the rail so my best guess is, there's something about rail breaking that
makes me incorrectly see the center of the ball, or else my slightly angled break stroke steers a bit vs. my normal stroke.

If you are practicing, and your cb has a spot on it, set up the spot for dead center on the line to the rack. Then chalk real good and break and see where you actually hit the cb by looking at the chalk mark on it. And, like Chris said, look at the cb last when breaking.

 

[renard]

I've had this forever, and I've just adapted to it.
Basically when I break from the rail in 9b (on the left side)
the cue ball always goes a touch to the right of where I'm aiming.

I never figured out if it's my stroke or my eyes/head position.
I've tried messing with both and can't figure it out.
Doesn't happen on the other side.

I aim to hit the 1 a hair to the left of dead square.
If I succeed the 1 often goes in the side.

But usually I end up hitting to the right a bit,
and 'accidentally on purpose' hit the one square.
The wing ball often goes in that case.

Occasionally it's so bad I'll even back cut the 1 and send the cue ball
almost to the opposite side.

I've drawn below what I mean. Red is intended line, black is often
my actual line. The break is pretty successful anyway but it's always bugged me
that I apparently can't break straight even though I shoot straight. ish.

Creed try this fix from the late Hal Mix. Do everything you normally do but then stop and look at the position of your feet. Look closely at your rear foot. Now turn your rear foot to point at the rack. Hit your break shot like you normally do and record the results...

 

[BasementDweller]

Read Renfro post #14. Your cues pivot point won't matter on the break because you don't really get much if any swerve.

I believe my post is all the more valid when you don't have to worry about swerve. Like you said, on the break all you are concerned with is squirt. That being the case, your pivot point could possibly come into play.

Let's say you are breaking and you are aiming for a full hit on the one ball. Let's also assume you are bridging exactly at your cue's pivot point. Lastly, let's assume due to the nature of the break shot, you aren't concerned with cue ball swerve. Now say that you miss hit the cue ball just slightly. You now effectively have a different shot line, that being a slightly off center hit on the one ball. However, due to bridging at the pivot point, this new shot line is offset by the cue ball squirt and you still get a full hit on the one ball.

This is my understanding of a cue's pivot point. What am I missing?