how do you break for 9-ball

[americanfighter]

Hey guys I played 9-ball last night and was thinking about the break shot in 9-ball. the break in 9 is imperative I see allot of players break at an angle hitting it as hard as they can. However when I do that I often find myself in a bad position for the one ball.

So last night i tried a new way of breaking that worked well. I started to break head-on draw. That way after the break i can draw the cue ball into the middle of the table and have a shot on the one.

Is this a good strategy and if not how do you break?

 

[Icon of Sin]

I always break with low. I prefer the side rails but I cant always get the wings to snap from there so I move around depending on what is working best for that table.

 

[West Point 1987]

Try this...at 18:38 mark...soft break, with draw. Makes the wing ball and pulls both the one ball and CB back together for a shot in the side. The trick is to have a PERFECT rack and get the speed of the break right.

Other than that, crushing the side break with a touch of draw, ensuring to hit the head ball absolutely flush as the CB sees it is the most consistent break. CB jumps back about two feet, then squats just to the side of the center of the table. The only problem is that about half the time you'll make the one ball in the side and may not see the next ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5eUqtHj94I

 

[ironman]

Hey guys I played 9-ball last night and was thinking about the break shot in 9-ball. the break in 9 is imperative I see allot of players break at an angle hitting it as hard as they can. However when I do that I often find myself in a bad position for the one ball.

So last night i tried a new way of breaking that worked well. I started to break head-on draw. That way after the break i can draw the cue ball into the middle of the table and have a shot on the one.

Is this a good strategy and if not how do you break?

Ask 1000 and you will get 1000 answers and as many willing to pay good money for the best answers.

After 42 years I say hit the cue dead center to the center of the one and pray for the best. But of course if yu are on the Mosconi Cup teaam, this will never work.

 

[Shooter08]

I am right handed and break from the right side rail and aim one tip below center and shoot through the 1 ball at the 1st diamond left of the corner right pocket. I believe this is how SVB recommends breaking, works for me, cue ball normally ends up right around the spot.

 

[staypuff578]

On a barbox I break about four balls out from the right rail on the second diamond. Hit the one ball right in the face with a bit of draw at medium speed. On a good rack the wing ball flies in, get a decent spread, and 80% of the time have a clean shot on the one ball.

On a 9 footer well..... my breaks are terrible lol

 

[CreeDo]

Don't do it!

Watch Joe Tucker's Racking Secrets video (which is really a 'breaking secrets' video).
It shows in great detail is why it's generally better to break from the side in 9-ball.

The balls at the far left and right side of the rack drop very often if you break from the side.
Breaking near the center screws this up (they hit too high, above the pocket).
The only way they drop from there is if there are some small gaps in the rack.

Here's how strong breaking from the side is:

- It's been banned in almost every major professional 9-ball tournament for over a decade.
Pros must keep the cue ball at least 1 diamond away from either side rail.
Think about that. It's gotta be pretty strong, if they felt the need to ban it!

- In a recent major 9b event, the mosconi cup, they basically forced players to
break hard, from very near the center. The break and runout rate dropped from 20%
(typical runout rate among pros in a major event) to about 5%.
There were other factors but it was clear breaking near the center caused lots of dry breaks.

So please, keep trying to break from the side. It's flat-out better in 9 ball.

To control the cue ball, there's an important detail that a lot of people overlook.
Most players just figure "I just need to put the cue ball somewhere near the side rail".
But actually you must very precise or you'll run into problems like you described.

The big issue when breaking from the side rail is, the rail is higher than the cue ball.
So to hit center or below, your stick must angle downward a little. It's even worse
if you use a normal closed bridge rather than letting the cue slide along the rail.

This causes a big loss of control and often they end up hitting high on the cue ball.
Then it dives forward and ends up stuck on the back rail,
while the 1 ball banks up to the top of the table... so you end up with no shot.

You need to level the cue as much as possible while still breaking from the side.
What you want to do is break off the rail (don't tuck your thumb under the cue, let it slide
on the rail itself) and then move the cue ball a few inches away from the side rail. Take some warmup
swings and don't "point" the cue high or low. Just let it point wherever it naturally wants to point.
If it's pointing at center or higher, move the cue ball a few inches further away from the rail.

The further from the rail you move it, the more your stick will naturally point
closer to the bottom of the ball. You want to position the cue ball so that the tip
naturally points to about one tip below the center of the ball. Don't steer or 'aim' the tip there.
Just move the cue ball sideways a little bit until the stick is already pointing there.

Now when you let 'er rip, the cue ball will stop or draw backwards to the head of the table.
That's where the 1 ball almost always goes too, so you're much more likely to end up
with a good shot on the 1.

 

[scottycoyote]

i move my break around depending on whats working for me and what my situation is in the match. i usually start on the right side of the table near the 2nd diamond, ill move to the left side and eventually break from the middle if nothing else is working well. I have one break i use which is just me breaking as hard as i can with full follow thru and the stick ends up pointed completely straight out at full arms length (kind of like archer does). I only do the full powered break from center table.

If im down and desperate, ill blast the rack and hope. If im scratching on the breaks or not making anything and my opponent is running out, ill dial it back and try to not scratch and leave as many balls on the table. If im on top of my game ill try to make a ball and leave the cb center table for a runout.

 

[stljohnny]

If you hit a break shot with "low" anything - you're drawing all the way back to the corner pocket - every time.

To get that pop'n'stop you have to hit a half-tip to a full tip above center... the impact of the rack kicks the CB back towards you, which reverses the follow-english, causing it to squat. (think about the "high karate" shot off the rail).

For me, when I break from the side rail, I aim at the line connecting the far wing ball and the 4th row ball behind it. (see attachment) It gives me the most center hit on the head ball and since I'm aiming at a distinct/contrasting point, I don't have to worry about a point on the 1 ball which can easily be off a bit here or there.

If the side rail isn't working, then I'll move to towards center (in the box) and aim directly through the 1-ball and the 4th row ball opposite the side I'm breaking from. Through their centers, like this (see attachment)

 

[cleary]

Whatever it takes for you to make the wing ball and control the cueball. Tables are different, but people break from the rail because on most tables that's the easiest way to play the wing ball and 1 ball in the side.

Breaking from the center is fine, but a perfect cueball but no balls on the break means you lost that game.

 

[hang-the-9]

Where and how to break depends on the rack. If it's a solid rack, say done with a Magic Rack or something, a corner break at medium speed will almost certainly send the corner ball to a pocket. If you play it more from the center, the 1 ball can go in the side pockets. A cut break where you hit the side more and draw to the side rail works when you have to break from the "box". Then if there are gaps in the rack, you can adjust cueball placement and speed to allow for that.

The easiest break is probably with the Magic Rack. I find that a medium hit with draw gets me great results from the rail break. The corner ball goes in, the 1 heads down table and so does the cueball. And because you are not hitting it hard, you don't have issues with cueball control.

 

[TATE]

Hey guys I played 9-ball last night and was thinking about the break shot in 9-ball. the break in 9 is imperative I see allot of players break at an angle hitting it as hard as they can. However when I do that I often find myself in a bad position for the one ball.

So last night i tried a new way of breaking that worked well. I started to break head-on draw. That way after the break i can draw the cue ball into the middle of the table and have a shot on the one.

Is this a good strategy and if not how do you break?

My favorite break is;

- make sure the rack is frozen, especially the front 3 balls

- Break from the right side just offset slightly right of center on the one ball using about a half tip below center. Results I want are shown below. the one ball banks short of the side toward the corner, cue ball banks to position for the one ball shot.

There are variations if this doesn't work - mostly having to do with pocketing a ball on the break. If the corner ball doesn't go, then I try to make the one into the side next option (hit straight into the one with a half tip draw)..