High level play and break practice.

hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Once we get to a certain point, say A level and up, with an open table it's pretty much a given that there will be an out (9-10-8 ball). So the ability to string racks comes down to the break. How much break practice do people do compared to normal play? Do pros spend an hour on breaking only, do A players, do Bs? Should the break be more in the front for training? I hardly see anyone at all practice the break, yet it seems such a huge advantage if you get it right. Heck, look at the WPC win Alex P. had, it was due to his soft break getting the 1 in the side all the time and getting the shot to pick through the rest of the rack. Without that there is no way he comes back from how far behind down he was.

How do you chart progress with the break? It can't be just if you make a ball and get a shot. Are there progressive drills for the break?
 
hang-the-9 said:
Once we get to a certain point, say A level and up, with an open table it's pretty much a given that there will be an out (9-10-8 ball). So the ability to string racks comes down to the break. How much break practice do people do compared to normal play? Do pros spend an hour on breaking only, do A players, do Bs? Should the break be more in the front for training? I hardly see anyone at all practice the break, yet it seems such a huge advantage if you get it right. Heck, look at the WPC win Alex P. had, it was due to his soft break getting the 1 in the side all the time and getting the shot to pick through the rest of the rack. Without that there is no way he comes back from how far behind down he was.

How do you chart progress with the break? It can't be just if you make a ball and get a shot. Are there progressive drills for the break?
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The break is probably the most underpracticed facet of the game. I don't think I've ever seen anyone spend more than 10 minutes practicing it. The most I've ever spent was probably 15 minutes.

I think the only thing you can do is continuously rack the balls and attempt to get a full ball contact and leave the cue ball in the centre of the table every time.

P.S. I have one of the worst breaks in Canada.
 
Cameron Smith said:
The break is probably the most underpracticed facet of the game. I don't think I've ever seen anyone spend more than 10 minutes practicing it. The most I've ever spent was probably 15 minutes.
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I think Earl once said on an Accu-Stats tape that he spent over two hours a day just practicing his break. This was back when he would regularly put together 4, 5, or 6 packs on his opponents in races to 11 at tournaments like the the Sands Regency.
 
PoolBum said:
I think Earl once said on an Accu-Stats tape that he spent over two hours a day just practicing his break. This was back when he would regularly put together 4, 5, or 6 packs on his opponents in races to 11 at tournaments like the the Sands Regency.
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I heard Earl say that also and back then his break was awesome. He used that black Cuetec break cue and he crushed the balls.

James
 
"Racking Secrets"

Joe Tucker has done a lot of research on the subject and has published a book called "Racking Secrets". It is a great book that will teach you many valuable insites about breaking, and about legally making your opponents runouts harder (ball sequence in a tight rack). The book is out of print now but its text was included in another book called "The Great Break Shot" that may still be available. I have it for sale if you cannot find a copy.

I would start there, then work something out with another player in your pool room. He racks 10 then you rack ten. Each time, the breaker plays the ghost...he either breaks and runs out or misses and starts over.
 
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