Good method for breaking on bar box

Bazooka Tooth

Bazooka Tooth

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play 95% of the time on bar boxes as the local hall only has one 9 footer and is being used by Chad Vilmont all day long lol....anyways, I am looking for an effective way to break (8 ball in particular) while playing on a bar box.


any time I try breaking from the cushions...ect I break off the table...perhaps I need to lower my break speed quite a bit for the smaller table?
 
One of the biggest problems with bar boxes is often you are going to have a cue ball that is not the same size or weight as the object balls. If you break too hard it will fly all over the place. If you break from the rails you are going to have to hit easier. Try using the second ball break from the rails and keep control of the cue ball. The cue ball should be winding up in the center of the table. If you want to use a harder break, try shooting from the center-line of the table with a little top english.
 
I usually start just off-center (1 ball or so) and keep moving toward the side rail til the break starts working. Depending on the table, I might end up breaking from anywhere. Bar tables are so variable, you have to adapt.

-s
 
Virtually all hard break shots are jump shots because it's nearly impossible to break with cue perfectly level; the tip strikes CB at a downward angle. The CB is driven into the table bed and it jumps towards the rack. The cue ball is in the air when it hits the rack, causing it to hit the object ball above its equator and rebound upwards

Throttle back until the CB is on the table when it hits. You'll know when the CB stops flying up and off the table.

English and cuts designed to get crazy action that breaks out the 8 result in miscues and hops off the table more often than not. Shoot along the CB's vertical center line, with 1/4 tip of follow, aiming for the center of the head ball. The follow will counteract the CB's rebound, leaving it near the center of the table.

Break from a side rail if you wish, but a head-on collision will transfer the most energy to the rack and give you the widest spread.
 
There was this little video of Mike Sigel linked here somewhere a few months back, a bit on him and breaking. The thing he said with the side-rail break is, break at about 3/4 your power that you would break from more in the middle of the table; aim for the second ball on the side you're breaking (not the head ball); and put some bottom english on the cue ball. This will help bring the cue ball straight over, back to the rail you're breaking from, as opposed to shooting it into the corner pocket.

I usually break about 1/4 distance from the rail (between the first/second diamonds from the side, in my case, the right side), but sometimes I'll try this break out too. The trick is consciously not hitting the cue as hard as I usually do.
 
Thank you all for the help, I dont know who to leave good rep...I suppose everyone lol since you all helped :)
 
I think the best break is from the center of the table right on the head string, thne work it out a bit one ball left or right of center and hit them flush as possible, then work on bringing the speed up.
 
With a red dot or circle cue ball you should be okay with bottom inside english and the 2nd ball break. If the cue ball is a heavy one, use inside english but hit center ball or above and take some speed off to avoid getting the cue ball in the air. I like the head ball break on a big table but make more balls and get the 8 more often with a 2nd ball break on the small table.
 
Everyone left out the third ball back on a break. If the eightball counts as a win on the break, the third ball back works quite well. It surprisingly spreads the balls out too.

I'll have to go with steev on this one though in that every table has its sweet spot to break from. Many tables leave tell tales signs of cloth wear from where others found beforehand where the sweet spot lies. Some tables its the headon break that works best, others its the second ball back. The third ball back is rarely used because knowone really knows about it. If you watch someone breaking with success on a certain table it doesnt hurt to try the same thing.
 
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Isn't breaking by hitting a ball other than in the first/second rows illegal, generally?
 
ScottW said:
Isn't breaking by hitting a ball other than in the first/second rows illegal, generally?
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Short answer.... no

Long answer as posted on another thread today NO.

4.5 LEGAL BREAK SHOT
(Defined) To execute a legal break, the breaker (with the cue ball behind the head string) must either (1) pocket a ball, or (2) drive at least four numbered balls to the rail. When the breaker fails to make a legal break, it is a foul, and the incoming player has the option of (1) accepting the table in position and shooting, or (2) having the balls re-racked and having the option of shooting the opening break or allowing the offending player to re-break.
 
2nd Ball Break

I'm another advocate of the 2nd Ball Break. I place the cb as close to the side rail as I can while maintaining a comfortable bridge. I use draw on the cb and hit as much of the 2nd ball as I can. I usually take my position on one side of the table while my opponent racks up, then, when he's finished, move to the other side because they, consciously or unconsciously, will tilt the rack away from you. Recently, at a bar that has an 8-ball on the break pool where you throw fifty cents into the kitty whenever you win the flip, I didn't kick in the fifty cents and made the 8 on the break. Next game, I again decided not to kick in the fifty cents, and again I made the 8 on the break. The guys had a good time razzin' me over that.
 
supergreenman said:
Short answer.... no
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Good to know. Just seemed like someone had told me in the past it was verboten, but I didn't know 100% one way or the other.

What ruleset is that from?
 
ScottW said:
Good to know. Just seemed like someone had told me in the past it was verboten, but I didn't know 100% one way or the other.

What ruleset is that from?
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Joe Tucker suggests the third ball back in his book for making the eight more often. IMO by the averages it does.
 
ScottW said:
Good to know. Just seemed like someone had told me in the past it was verboten, but I didn't know 100% one way or the other.

What ruleset is that from?
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Old BCA rules said one could hit only the head ball or second row. The rules quoted today are from the WPBA.
 
ScottW said:
Good to know. Just seemed like someone had told me in the past it was verboten, but I didn't know 100% one way or the other.

What ruleset is that from?
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Scott - You might be thinking of the rules for nineball, or whomever told you was mixing their game rules.

KLOPEK
 
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second ball break

I'm big on the second ball break, have been for years, the key to the second ball break is not queball speed. Speed will bounce the ball off the table 90% of the time. The key to the second ball break is follow-through. Try this a few times, place your cb about 1in off the rail right on the head string, take a nice easy stroke but follow through by bringing the tip of your stick at least to the center of the table. be sure to hit center ball no draw or follow. The cb should hit the rack deflect to the side rail and come back into the rack a second time. It is this second hit that spreads the balls and moves the 8 ball out of the rack.
 
Depending on the type of table i am playing on for 8ball, I generally break from the box and just use a med break, and hit the head ball solid, and the CB generally comes back to the kitchen.

I'll also do a cut break in 8ball too. Which works alot like a second ball break because the CB hits the rail and comes back into the rack.

when doing a second ball break i break from the right side, and use low right so the CB comes off the rail and back into the kitchen.

If the table isnt breaking good, I generally just hit the head ball, and use 1/4 tip of high english on the break and use a full power break. This tends to squat whitey and spread the balls out on a slow table. It can also work on any other table but sometimes its tougher to control whitey or it gets kicked in.
 
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