Help with the break?

[pacman]

Hey guys.
So on the break when i line up on my warmup strokes i aim to hit perfectly square.
Every time i break i hit just a fudge to the right causing less than perfect cue ball control.
So my question to you is do i,
1) compensate by aiming a little left of center on the 1
2) compensate by aiming at a different spot on the CB or;
3) completely reworking my break stroke and hope i just find it.

thanks so much

 

[The Renfro]

Watch the burn marks you are making on the table when you break... Odds are your cue is not going straight thru so option 1) adjust your stance 2) play to your natural stroke...

The marks on the cloth when I break have always tailed to the left... Means I am putting left on the cueball breaking at high speed even when I don't want it...

I break from the left almost always for this reason... 100s of hours just on the break and I decided to go with what was there and not try to fight what was natural for me.....

If your marks tail left break from the left.. If you tail right break from the right and continue to aim full ball... I'd say if you miss to the right you are likely tailing right..... Of course that's an assumption without seeing your break motion....

Put it on video and post in the ask the instructor subforum... There will be lots of folks chime in to help.....

 

[naji]

Hey guys.
So on the break when i line up on my warmup strokes i aim to hit perfectly square.
Every time i break i hit just a fudge to the right causing less than perfect cue ball control.
So my question to you is do i,
1) compensate by aiming a little left of center on the 1
2) compensate by aiming at a different spot on the CB or;
3) completely reworking my break stroke and hope i just find it.

thanks so much

The break shot is as hard as very thin cut, yet not many people realize it. So you need to aim at a very tiny point (as small as sharp pencil point) not just in a general straight in area, it is better to find that point before going down, go down looking at it. Once down very fast warm ups looking and trying to find that pin point, once found, pull very slowly and follow through until cue stick reaches middle of table, with loose grip at butt. As far which point to aim at the 100% straight, a little left a little right, i think the best would be is to look at the balls and see which side of rack balls are tight, you might find 2, or 3rd loose, so you have to adjust your aim to make sure you are hitting the most balls that are touching each other in the rack, if you have perfect rack which is seldom i would shoot 100% straight with 1/8th" tip above center and CB about 1/2 a diamond left or right of spot, (watch chalk mark on CB, if you find it higher, then lower tip, until you are able to stop the cue at about middle of table. I find out breaking with CB at spot keeps few ob near rail, even though this is the max power, but not favored.

If rack is loose i would use draw shot it seem to work better..


Now knowing the exact aim, and good with center CB hit, experiment with LH or RH english, you barley have to put any since you are hitting CB with speed, again slight top too.


i would use glove on butt hand to protect you in case you slam you hand at the rail outch!!! also make sure no one in front of the CB and CUE in case it fly from your hand??

 

[DrClean]

i would use glove on butt hand to protect you in case you slam you hand at the rail outch!!!

I actually burn my thumb on my bridge-hand(on the cue joint), if i dont loosen up on my bridge towards the end of my follow through, when breaking from the rail

 

[Icon of Sin]

If you are hitting consistently hitting the the right of the head ball, use a little right hand english and aim for the same spot. The squirt should help put you in line.

 

[zpele]

In general if your stroke is going to the right or left when you are trying to hit center ball there is a flaw in your stroke. That flaw may not be visible unless you are stroking very hard but it still exists.

Address what the issue with your form is and your break will fall in line.

 

[taemin952]

My break technique.

I've been known to have one of the hardest hitting/fastest breaks around here according to others. (not tooting my own horn :wink Tight enough bridge to ensure no matter how hard you throw your cue into the rack, there's very, very minimal tip movement after you've aimed for a dead full center hit on the one ball. (assuming 9 ball)

Slowly pull your arm back with elbow elevating in-sync with it (as if you're ready to bowl a ball), then step forward while throwing the cue toward the rack. The tip of your cue should end up touching the table, demonstrating your full follow through. The entire motion if you have natural rhythm and a good stroke makes you look like you just snapped your wrist and launched your own body into it like a rubberband. You also naturally have a foot hop with this method.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Hey guys.
So on the break when i line up on my warmup strokes i aim to hit perfectly square.
Every time i break i hit just a fudge to the right causing less than perfect cue ball control.
So my question to you is do i,
1) compensate by aiming a little left of center on the 1
2) compensate by aiming at a different spot on the CB or;
3) completely reworking my break stroke and hope i just find it.

thanks so much

First, until you get things going (and this should be done almost daily), take some speed off. This is like pitching and you don't want to uncork your 98mph heater without taking a few warm-up tosses. From there, try to change as little as possible. I would advise tightening your bridge hand and keeping everything else the same. If that doesn't work, get a video camera and record what you're doing. If you don't see anything, post it here.

 

[CreeDo]

I noticed the same thing on mine. I figured out that when I swing soft, I stroke pretty straight,
but when I swing hard, I tend to hook the cue in towards my body.
There are a lot of funky mechanics that happen during a break that don't happen during a regular shot,
like the tendency to steer the tip upward or hook inward.

One thing that helped me with the steering, is from Joe Tucker's 2nd Racking Secrets video.

I curl my grip hand inward, just a little. I don't grip any firmer, I just get my palm a little more
underneath it. I believe this tucks the cue a hair closer to the body and compensates for the steering.
It's also suggested as a method to get more power.

It never quite feels natural even though the cue ball goes more where I want to aim.
I dunno if I can train myself to live with that feeling. But it does help. Try it out.
The whole video is great actually if you need break help. It's really breaking secrets with useful rack info.

 

[SloMoHolic]

Hey guys.
So on the break when i line up on my warmup strokes i aim to hit perfectly square.
Every time i break i hit just a fudge to the right causing less than perfect cue ball control.
So my question to you is do i,
1) compensate by aiming a little left of center on the 1
2) compensate by aiming at a different spot on the CB or;
3) completely reworking my break stroke and hope i just find it.

thanks so much

We need to find out what's really happening with the CB. Do you notice some residual sidespin on the CB after the break? It will probably be left spin...

If you are lining up to the rack correctly, with center CB, but hitting the right side of the head ball, then my guess is that you're accidentally hitting a little left on the CB when you deliver the break stroke. This causes the CB to squirt to the right (and a typical break shot won't have an opportunity to swerve).

For a short-term fix, you have several options, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Option A:
Lining up with a little bit of right on the CB should help you hit closer to center (assuming you don't change anything else). This will help, but you may continue to have problems with consistency. Slight differences in the stroke flaw will cause the CB to hit left or right of the head ball.

Option B:
Alternatively, you can line up for center CB, but aim a little left of the head ball. In this case, you are just accepting the stroke flaw that introduces the off-center CB hit, and compensating for it with the aim adjustment.

Ultimately, the best solution is to fix the stroke. Neither of the temporary fixes will lead to the consistency you want to have. Use your smartphone or video camera to film a few breaks at a time. Set it up so it's behind the rack, facing you. Pay close attention to the path of your grip hand. Many of us tend to swing it towards or away from our body as the tip approaches the cue ball. See if you can identify this, then practice in slow motion, gradually increasing speed while staying in line. Then take a few more videos and repeat the process.

Good luck, and let us know how you are doing!

-Blake

 

[CreeDo]

Just a theory but since it's a common problem, I wonder if sometimes the other balls make it tough to spot the true center of the 1, or even cause an optical illusion that makes you favor the side with the visible balls, or the opposite side, or whatever.

I've heard a few tricks that seem to address where people aim without looking at mechanics, such as aiming for the crack between the balls behind the head ball, or a spot on the back rail, or even the game ball (which shouldn't work if you break from the side).

I'm wondering if, for a lot of people, it's an eyeball/mental thing and not an arm thing.

 

[Woofresh]

I've been known to have one of the hardest hitting/fastest breaks around here according to others. (not tooting my own horn :wink Tight enough bridge to ensure no matter how hard you throw your cue into the rack, there's very, very minimal tip movement after you've aimed for a dead full center hit on the one ball. (assuming 9 ball)

Slowly pull your arm back with elbow elevating in-sync with it (as if you're ready to bowl a ball), then step forward while throwing the cue toward the rack. The tip of your cue should end up touching the table, demonstrating your full follow through. The entire motion if you have natural rhythm and a good stroke makes you look like you just snapped your wrist and launched your own body into it like a rubberband. You also naturally have a foot hop with this method.

+1

Read this carefully

 

[zpele]

Just a theory but since it's a common problem, I wonder if sometimes the other balls make it tough to spot the true center of the 1, or even cause an optical illusion that makes you favor the side with the visible balls, or the opposite side, or whatever.

I've heard a few tricks that seem to address where people aim without looking at mechanics, such as aiming for the crack between the balls behind the head ball, or a spot on the back rail, or even the game ball (which shouldn't work if you break from the side).

I'm wondering if, for a lot of people, it's an eyeball/mental thing and not an arm thing.

I don't know if this is part of the issue but I truly believe it all comes back to form and mechanics.

The harder you hit the cueball the more imperfections in a stroke are highlighted. Hence one of the reasons so many people have trouble with hard stroke shots.

Next time you have a chance to break chalk your cue up reallllllll good and break on a cueball with a spot (measles, red dot, etc.). After the break see where the chalk mark is. If its not in the center of the mark you were aiming at there's your answer.

 

[SloMoHolic]

Just a theory but since it's a common problem, I wonder if sometimes the other balls make it tough to spot the true center of the 1, or even cause an optical illusion that makes you favor the side with the visible balls, or the opposite side, or whatever.

I've heard a few tricks that seem to address where people aim without looking at mechanics, such as aiming for the crack between the balls behind the head ball, or a spot on the back rail, or even the game ball (which shouldn't work if you break from the side).

I'm wondering if, for a lot of people, it's an eyeball/mental thing and not an arm thing.

Good points. I almost always pick a point on the foot rail, although I move my eyes back to the head ball before shooting.

Another related possibility is the dominant eye issue. It might be worth a phone call to Gene Albrecht to see if he can help with this. I've seen a lot of improvement in my break after talking to Gene several times.

Either way, a consistent pattern of residual spin (i.e. always left) on the CB would indicate a tendency to hit off-center. That's probably one of the easier things to observe (vs using a video camera, etc).

Of course, it is possible that there is more than one culprit. I know I had (and still have) several.

 

[genomachino]

Give me a call and I'll help you fix this problem......

It's actually pretty simple.

From the preshot to the shooting position we can get out of the perfect position for our body real easy.

Then when we stroke the break it's real easy to pull the eyes out of position so we no longer can see the shot by the end of the stroke.

Give me a call sometime and I will show you how to fix this problem.

About 95% of all players are doing the same thing and have trouble hitting the break solidly and squarely.

This is one of the most important parts of the game.

What I will show you is almost like "BREAKING IN A BOX' In fact I might put a little clip here on the internet for everyone to see. No guarantees though. I don't know how long it will be before i can get the right setup.

I have players hitting the break solid and with more power in about 10 minutes.

We all have the right tools. We just have to learn to use them. Technique is huge.

This is why those little Chinese women can hit the break so hard. The balls fly around like rockets. You can do it also!

Be by a table. 715-563-8712

It's real simple to fix. It will be allot easier to fix it while your at the table and can try some of the things I point out.

Look forward to your call. gene