How are balls racked and how are players breaking?

[hobokenapa]

Sorry if this is on another thread but I could not find it.

How are the balls racked? Is there a 15-ball "Sardo" ? Does the ref rack the balls, and if so do they just use a regular triangle?

How are pros breaking, and where are they breaking from? Deuel seems to have a whole bunch of Break and Runs, does he have a "soft" 8-ball break where he can make a ball every time?

 

[poolboy17]

Balls were racked using the new Sardo M-5000 rack. Players had the option of racking for themselves, opponent racking or ref racking. I'd say the vast majority of them racked for themselves.

From what I saw, no one was soft breaking. You couldn't really because you had to break from the break box...hit the head ball first and drive at least 5 object balls to the rail.

With the pockets seeming so small and the cloth so heavy, I was suprised at how well players were making balls.

 

[8-ball bernie]

the balls were breaking fantastic! the reasons? brand new brunswick centenial balls, that were ultra clean. sprayed/cleaned/misted~~ brand new Mali cloth that played great. a sardo M-5000 rack, that froze EVERY ball. and lively cushions from artemis that bounced like crazy, so all in all almost every rack, you were making at least one ball, and left with zero tyed up balls. now with that said, the beauty of this ipt is that players took their time deciding which group to pursue. larry shwartz broke in one particular rack and took 5 mins. before shooting his first ball in, he proceeded to play spot on great, almost beating allison fisher. so it's not a "run-out" game by any means, but it's nice to know that the tables/balls/cloth and rack are breaking great! this comes down to smart pattern play, which nick van den berg and marlon manalo have in spades!!!!! all players took their time on each and every shot, the result for the most part was great pool!

 

[jjinfla]

Bernie, I think Mika and Earl would disagree on how well the balls were breaking. Earl couldn't make a ball on the break to save his life when he played Gerda. And Mika would run out when he did make a ball but came up dry a couple times when he really needed it.

But you are right, in general the balls were breaking well. Nobody complained about using the Sardo and it did a good job. And like you say the tables and cloth were cleaned after every match by the refs. They sprayed the cloth and wiped it down.

Are you working out and practicing? Will you be in the top 100 at the end of 2006? I now believe that endurance is just as important as skill. The top players need both. Nick Van Den Berg ran out of endurance. And he looked like he was in excellent shape.

Jake

 

[poolboy17]

Bernie, I think Mika and Earl would disagree on how well the balls were breaking. Earl couldn't make a ball on the break to save his life when he played Gerda. And Mika would run out when he did make a ball but came up dry a couple times when he really needed it.

Jake

Yes, it seemed some players had problems breaking. However, I'd also say that for the most part...balls were being made most of the time. Certain players were able to pocket a ball in the left side pocket quite often. The ball would leave the rack and head straight for the side. Amazing control!