Help! What am I doing wrong?

Mike in MN

Mike in MN

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'll keep this short and sweet. Lately, I have been popping the cue ball off the table on the break shot rather consistently and I am really getting frustrated with it. I would say that 3 out of 5 times I break, I am sending the cue ball for a ride. I never used to do this, and although I'm not sure if they are related or not, it has only happened recently after I started using my Predator BK2.

I've tried hitting centerball, high english, low english, and it seems like no matter where I hit the cue ball, I still manage to send it flying off the table.

I've tried hitting from both side rails, the back rail, and everywhere in between, much to no avail. The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
 
9BallMarksman said:
I'll keep this short and sweet. Lately, I have been popping the cue ball off the table on the break shot rather consistently and I am really getting frustrated with it. I would say that 3 out of 5 times I break, I am sending the cue ball for a ride. I never used to do this, and although I'm not sure if they are related or not, it has only happened recently after I started using my Predator BK2.

I've tried hitting centerball, high english, low english, and it seems like no matter where I hit the cue ball, I still manage to send it flying off the table.

I've tried hitting from both side rails, the back rail, and everywhere in between, much to no avail. The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
Click to expand...

Is this on your home table? It may be a bad spot that needs replacing. Either that of you are going airborne on your break shot. Try stroking a little easier (take off about 10-15%) using center ball only. I suspect when you take a little off your break, it will actually work better for you.
 
I think it's got more to do with the angle the cuestick approachs the cueball than anything. It's been my experience that the closer to level with the playing surface I can deliver the stick to the ball, the better off I am with the power break. Any time the stick impacts the cueball at anything higher than level, the cueball WILL leave the table no matter how hard or soft you strike it.

Try freezing a ball on a rail, place a dime underneath the ball on the opposite side of the rail as close to center of the ball as you can without touching the bottom of the ball(the dime is towards the center of the table). It doesn't matter what angle you strike the ball, it will skip over the dime every time without ever touching it.
 
If the problem started after you started using the BK2, then it's likely the BK2. The stick may work well for some folks but may not work for you.

I struggled with a break cue I've owned for years, jumping the CB off the table often. I thought I had a breaking disability. A cue-maker I know asked me to try his latest break cue. I told him I was probably not the best guy to be judging such a cue. He insisted. Backing down, I was stunned by the outcome of each break. I got excellent results with several balls getting to the opposite end of the table and no jumped CB.

All this time I was blaming my stroke mechanics for my poor breaks when all along all I needed was a break cue suited to my style. This may solve your situation. Good luck and let us know how this gets resolved.
 
Whoops,forgot to add:
I think it's got more to do with the angle the cuestick approachs the cueball than anything.
Click to expand...

Right...

If you know how to jump a ball,the concept is the same,although the angle is different.If you are coming in over center and the impact happens with the ass end of the cue elevated you are shooting a very long,very fast and barely elevated jump shot.

The cue bounces into the one and bounces right off the table.Get the back hand down and focus on center ball or a half tip under ime.

Take a look at a table thats well played,but hasn't refurbished in a while,the evidence can be seen at both the foot string ,just before the rack dot and in between.The lines you will see are from balls bouncing and landing...often from left,right and center.
 
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9BallMarksman said:
The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
Click to expand...

In addition to trying other cues, the above quote may indicate a problem with your break shot stroke and/or cuetip placement.

Try placing the cueball on the head spot with no other balls on the table. Put a piece of chalk directly on the center diamond of the foot rail. Using a hard stroke, try to drive the cueball into the rail right at the chalk and see what kind of path the cueball takes as it comes off the first rail.

If it is wildly changing direction and not coming right back towards you, you need to break more slowly and focus on hitting the center of the cueball more. If you notice that it is always going to the right off the first rail, its probably also deflecting to the left on your breakshot, causing the cueball to head left after contact with the head ball.

Hope this helps.
 
9BallMarksman said:
I'll keep this short and sweet. Lately, I have been popping the cue ball off the table on the break shot rather consistently and I am really getting frustrated with it. I would say that 3 out of 5 times I break, I am sending the cue ball for a ride. I never used to do this, and although I'm not sure if they are related or not, it has only happened recently after I started using my Predator BK2.

I've tried hitting centerball, high english, low english, and it seems like no matter where I hit the cue ball, I still manage to send it flying off the table.

I've tried hitting from both side rails, the back rail, and everywhere in between, much to no avail. The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
Click to expand...


First of all, never sacrifice accuracy for power. Second of all, if the cue ball is flying off the table then you are not hitting the one ball square.

Those 2 problems are related to each other.

Try breaking with half of the power you normally do. Make it a controlled, fluid movement, not a jerking blast. When you can control the cue ball at half speed raise it to 3/4 speed and repeat the process. If you are like 99.9% of the players I have worked with, you will not need to utilize 100% of the power that you are capable of. You will find that you get the best results when you use between 50-80% of your power.

Also refer to the following links to excerpts from my book Lessons In 9 Ball

Breaking To Win

Mastering The Break

Those book excerpts are free, use them to your advantage.
 
9BallMarksman said:
I've tried hitting centerball, high english, low english, and it seems like no matter where I hit the cue ball, I still manage to send it flying off the table.

I've tried hitting from both side rails, the back rail, and everywhere in between, much to no avail. The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
Click to expand...


Do you finish your break shots on a downstroke? In other words, after your break, is your cue tip touching the table bending like you see on tv sometimes? Or does it follow through up into the air and off the table? If your ending in a downstroke, then it may be that your ball is getting airborn when you hit it. Even if you cant see it leave the table it may actually be off the table, kinda like a stop shot. If this is the case, then its not a problem if your hitting the object ball squarely. But if your off, it can cause the ball to fly off the headball and off the table.

Now why it goes to the left everytime, I suspect that it is your stroke and the fact that your right handed (or left handed). This can give your ball sidespin.

This is just my threories on whats going on though. I could be wrong though. But this seems the most reasonable. To break it down though, its in the stroke.

Vic
 
9BallMarksman said:
I'll keep this short and sweet. Lately, I have been popping the cue ball off the table on the break shot rather consistently and I am really getting frustrated with it. I would say that 3 out of 5 times I break, I am sending the cue ball for a ride. I never used to do this, and although I'm not sure if they are related or not, it has only happened recently after I started using my Predator BK2.

I've tried hitting centerball, high english, low english, and it seems like no matter where I hit the cue ball, I still manage to send it flying off the table.

I've tried hitting from both side rails, the back rail, and everywhere in between, much to no avail. The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
Click to expand...

I feel your pain

As a youngster, I would sometimes launch the CB into low earth orbit.

As others have pointed out, you are comming down on the CB.

Not to state the obvious, but you need to train yourself how to
break with your new cue.
David<Blackjack> made a good point that bears repeating, because
it seems to be so universely overlooked.

Control, control, control. Keep in mind, a break can't get any better
than:
Making a ball - opening up the table - having a makeable shot on
the first ball<as the 1 in nineball>

If you can do that, driving more balls around, faster and farther,
doesn't improve anything.

Now, what you can do.

Change your emphasis from power, to smooth.
I am a great believer in the value of progressive drills.
Practice breaking easy - again, as Blackjack said, you want to hit the
head ball square in the nose. You might even need to move the CB
up closer to the rack at first.

When you get good breaks, increase the power in small increments,
till you can pound 'em like you did before.

Patience helps. If you can make a spot shot, you can develop
a power break.

Dale
 
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9BallMarksman said:
I'll keep this short and sweet. Lately, I have been popping the cue ball off the table on the break shot rather consistently and I am really getting frustrated with it. I would say that 3 out of 5 times I break, I am sending the cue ball for a ride. I never used to do this, and although I'm not sure if they are related or not, it has only happened recently after I started using my Predator BK2.

I've tried hitting centerball, high english, low english, and it seems like no matter where I hit the cue ball, I still manage to send it flying off the table.

I've tried hitting from both side rails, the back rail, and everywhere in between, much to no avail. The funny thing is, no matter which side of the table I break from, the cue ball always hits the rack and goes off the table to the left. I find that odd.

If anyone can give me some pointers or tips to alleviate this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am going insane here!
Click to expand...
If the CB is consistently going left no matter what your break position is, you must be hitting the OB on the left, which means you're definitely not hitting it squarely. It's normal for the CB to bounce a little on the way to the rack during the break - that's why you see paths from popular break positions to the head ball (those little marks are actually burn marks from friction between the CB and cloth). If you don't hit the head ball solid, and the CB is in the air (between bounces), it has no where to go but up. If it's a square hit, the CB will go straight up, then down on to the bed of the table. If it's not a square hit, off the table the CB goes. The first solution is obviously to hit the head ball squarely, the second is to either move the CB closer or farther to the head ball so the CB is no longer between bounces when it contacts the head ball.

As others have said, slow it down, then work your way up to learn to hit the head ball solidly. There isn't really anything you can do about the CB bouncing since your cue is always going to be elevated slightly, but you can minimize the bouncing by slowing the break down or changing the break position, and keeping the cue as level as possible.

You may also want to check to see if your CB is spinning excessively on breaks where the CB doesn't fly off the table - if you think you're lining up correctly, but you're contacting the CB off the vertical axis, you may be squirting the CB off to the left, which would explain the tendency to miss to the left of the head ball. If that's the case, change your aim point, or work on consistently hitting center ball.

-djb
 
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I want to thank everyone for their fantastic advice. I am definitely going to get back to the basics on this one. I feel so lost about it because as I said before, this has only started recently. I'm gonna get back to the drawing board and I'll let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again!
 
My ball always seemed to head to the left too, so now I cue with right english and the problem is solved.
 
you can slide the ball into the cloth on the break but it slows down the motion a little. (its kinda like a drag shot, striking the cueball low) You must be bouncing the cueball so your stance is jacked up. :cool:
 
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