Getting maximum break speed versus great ball layout.

justnum

justnum

Billiards Improvement Research Projects Associate
Silver Member
When you think a break shot do you think maximum power or top speed?

The break can depend on the equipment more than speed. Template racking makes consistently pocketing break balls possible.

However which person's technique has the maximum spin transfer?

I am thinking if this can be a viral video for people.

Instead of maxing out on a video game, they record a maximum speed on their break cue app...

Also breaking speed is a statistic that should be explored more.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
What’s the difference?

What does that have to do with breaking?

pj <- already sorry I asked
chgo
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I don't know yet.

I am working on it.

From what I can tell most pros like to go for a sweet spot to ensure pocketing on the break.

However players like De Luna put way more emphasis into how their body moves during the break.
 
All will soon be known...justnum is working on it.
Screenshot_20210322-114716.jpg
 
justnum said:
I don't know yet.

I am working on it.

From what I can tell most pros like to go for a sweet spot to ensure pocketing on the break.

However players like De Luna put way more emphasis into how their body moves during the break.
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The "sweet spot" is what allows you to park the cue ball center table, either side of that and you risk scratching in the side. As far as players and body movement I think they do whatever they need to do to get the most speed out of probably around 80% effort to keep the cue ball controllable on the break. If a player has good quick flex muscles less body movement is required and vice versa.
 
justnum said:
When you think a break shot do you think maximum power or top speed?

The break can depend on the equipment more than speed. Template racking makes consistently pocketing break balls possible.

However which person's technique has the maximum spin transfer?

I am thinking if this can be a viral video for people.

Instead of maxing out on a video game, they record a maximum speed on their break cue app...

Also breaking speed is a statistic that should be explored more.
Click to expand...
Its actually pretty simple. You start with the best hit on the front ball. That gives you the maximum transfer of power. Then added speed till you reach a point of diminishing returns. In other words you can no longer control the cueball hit on the front ball. This may be not very hard for many players but they are better off with a weaker break then jumping the table or having the cueball flying around and not really breaking very hard anyway.

Once you have this then you have to analyze how effective the break is. Some tables you have to adjust your break speed or where you break from. Back to what I originaly said, you dont want to break any harder then you can control the cueball every time. And I mean every time. You cant be jumping the table or scratching every three breaks giving up ball in hand. That alone can beat you even if you did everything else perfectly. Watch some youtube videos. You will be surprised how some of the top players break. Buddy Hall for example. Even when he was at the top of his game he didn't break as hard as many lesser players.
 
justnum said:
When you think a break shot do you think maximum power or top speed?
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The break is all about controlling where the CB hits the rack, it is not about huge amounts of power (until you get into the top 100 players of a country).

justnum said:
However which person's technique has the maximum spin transfer?
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As long as you hit the exact point on the rack you can apply whatever spin you desire.

But if you can't hit the exact point in the rack, it does not mater how much power or how much spin you apply.
 
middleofnowhere said:
Its actually pretty simple. You start with the best hit on the front ball. That gives you the maximum transfer of power. Then added speed till you reach a point of diminishing returns. In other words you can no longer control the cueball hit on the front ball. This may be not very hard for many players but they are better off with a weaker break then jumping the table or having the cueball flying around and not really breaking very hard anyway.

Once you have this then you have to analyze how effective the break is. Some tables you have to adjust your break speed or where you break from. Back to what I originaly said, you dont want to break any harder then you can control the cueball every time. And I mean every time. You cant be jumping the table or scratching every three breaks giving up ball in hand. That alone can beat you even if you did everything else perfectly. Watch some youtube videos. You will be surprised how some of the top players break. Buddy Hall for example. Even when he was at the top of his game he didn't break as hard as many lesser players.
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This about sums it up. Figure out where you're hitting the head ball (full, cut-break, etc) and then start hitting it harder and harder while controlling the CB, once you can't control the CB then you know you've capped out on control vs power. Now, you need to determine how the table is playing so you can figure out if you need to hit them at 50%, 75%, or 100% power.

The break shot is no different then any other shot. Focus on the contact point, focus on fundamentals, and then learn the table... 👍
 
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