If you're like me and have trouble hitting center ball on the break- try this:

Fuji-whopper

Fuji-whopper

Fargo: 457...play some?
Silver Member
Practicing with Thorsten lately and remembering how certain people break made me realize what I was doing wrong on the break..........my bridge hand was moving. It may seem simple and it may not be what is wrong with your break but once I focused on keeping my bridge hand still my break improved 20%. His bridge hand doesn't move and the only error he seems to make is elevation-wise on the cue ball, it reminds me of Dickie Renk (The Bomber) with his huge hand that didn't move while breaking.

Usually I hit left or right maybe half of the time when trying to break hard, not much maybe a tip left or right but enough to take quite a bit of energy and accuracy off of the ball. Plus even if I got lucky enough to squat the ball if something kicked it into the rail there was so much spin on it that it would take off like a top around the table.

This may or may not help you, but I hope it helps at least one other person.


Disclaimer: I am not to be held liable for any damage done by flying cueballs or if I screw up your game in any way, shape or form. Thank you.
 
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I've never heard this bit of advice, but I'll definitely watch my bridge hand the next time I'm playing. My break is by far the weakest part of my game.
 
Fart Sniffer

Fart sniffer said:
Practicing with Thorsten lately and remembering how certain people break made me realize what I was doing wrong on the break..........my bridge hand was moving. It may seem simple and it may not be what is wrong with your break but once I focused on keeping my bridge hand still my break improved 20%. His bridge hand doesn't move and the only error he seems to make is elevation-wise on the cue ball, it reminds me of Dickie Renk (The Bomber) with his huge hand that didn't move while breaking.

Usually I hit left or right maybe half of the time when trying to break hard, not much maybe a tip left or right but enough to take quite a bit of energy and accuracy off of the ball. Plus even if I got lucky enough to squat the ball if something kicked it into the rail there was so much spin on it that it would take off like a top around the table.

This may or may not help you, but I hope it helps at least one other person.


Disclaimer: I am not to be held liable for any damage done by flying cueballs or if I screw up your game in any way, shape or form. Thank you.
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Fart sniffer, as we are related, tell "Toastie hello from Papa" in Phoenix. He is the best 14.1 player in the world by 13,000 miles; see him at the US Open. Petard
 
Will do, actually I will be at the Open with him this year so I hope to meet you next month. He was so happy about the comment Incardona and Diliberto made about his straight pool game, he is deserving of it and is very proud of what they said.

Will be having lunch and practicing with him today so I will tell him you said hello for sure.
 
Fart sniffer said:
Practicing with Thorsten lately and remembering how certain people break made me realize what I was doing wrong on the break..........my bridge hand was moving. It may seem simple and it may not be what is wrong with your break but once I focused on keeping my bridge hand still my break improved 20%. His bridge hand doesn't move and the only error he seems to make is elevation-wise on the cue ball, it reminds me of Dickie Renk (The Bomber) with his huge hand that didn't move while breaking.

Usually I hit left or right maybe half of the time when trying to break hard, not much maybe a tip left or right but enough to take quite a bit of energy and accuracy off of the ball. Plus even if I got lucky enough to squat the ball if something kicked it into the rail there was so much spin on it that it would take off like a top around the table.

This may or may not help you, but I hope it helps at least one other person.


Disclaimer: I am not to be held liable for any damage done by flying cueballs or if I screw up your game in any way, shape or form. Thank you.
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that's good advice. i've found keeping my eye on the cueball allows me to hit where i want to with more power. are you using a closed bridge or a V? just curious.
 
Center Ball on Break

Line up you side break for 9 Ball so its straight in on the one to kill the cue ball in the middle of the table. NOW forget the cue ball is there and push your tip to the center of the one ball. This keeps you on the line of aim and on center of the cue ball.

You made need to lower your point on the cue ball but you also will then lower your aim on the one ball. Still push you tip a little lower on the one ball. You keep the same lines whether on center line or a little low of center line.

I also agree that a firm bridge is an absolute must.
 
eezbank said:
that's good advice. i've found keeping my eye on the cueball allows me to hit where i want to with more power. are you using a closed bridge or a V? just curious.
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Closed bridge and usually my eyes are focused on the cue ball last, but with the mental focus on keeping the bridge steady my eyes are now on the one-ball. The effects were immediate and I hope they last, it's less to think about and it's easier for me to control elevation than mis-hitting left or right on the cueball.
 
cookie man said:
90/90 and pivot to center of CB and you hit it dead on.
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Huh? Your post makes very little sense to me can you explain it a little further please? 90 what to 90 what and what thoughts on the bridge do you have? I understand that pivoting will help you contact the head ball full but I was trying to improve on hitting the cueball more squarely.
 
Manh: It's from a saying I saw while I was in the hospital, when I went back to give gifts/cards to the ICU nurses I took a picture of it then wrote it down. Those lines spoke deeply to me and all that I study about being, I find them very profound.

Focus: Tonight I realized that missed something very important when building this thread......the intent. We are practicing 10-ball and breaking from the box so your bridge is almost definitely on the table where it might move the most which is why stability is super important. Thorsten is leaving for Manila Thursday and I am trying to get ready for the Open in about 3 weeks, of course my break needs a complete overhaul while his needs no tuning whatsoever.

Before I used to think about my bicep contracting and focusing on that but would hit left or right on the cueball, mostly to the left and I thought it was a swing flaw. But now that I am focused on the bridge I realize it wasn't a swing flaw it was my body moving my arm which caused my hand to pull left just before contact. Not only does the adjustment cause me to hit closer to center on the cueball and therefore the head ball, it also gives me more confidence knowing it wasn't a crooked swing that caused the inaccuracy in the 1st place.

Again, I hope my ramblings help just one person at some point in time and doesn't somehow hurt someone's break. My break is something that people have told me is a great asset to my game but I felt was out of control and now I feel that I have a better understanding of what's going on.
 
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Fart sniffer said:
Manh: It's from a saying I saw while I was in the hospital, when I went back to give gifts/cards to the ICU nurses I took a picture of it then wrote it down. Those lines spoke deeply to me and all that I study about being, I find them very profound.

Focus: Tonight I realized that missed something very important when building this thread......the intent. We are practicing 10-ball and breaking from the box so your bridge is almost definitely on the table where it might move the most which is why stability is super important. Thorsten is leaving for Manila Thursday and I am trying to get ready for the Open in about 3 weeks, of course my break needs a complete overhaul while his needs no tuning whatsoever.

Before I used to think about my bicep contracting and focusing on that but would hit left or right on the cueball, mostly to the left and I thought it was a swing flaw. But now that I am focused on the bridge I realize it wasn't a swing flaw it was my body moving my arm which caused my hand to pull left just before contact. Not only does the adjustment cause me to hit closer to center on the cueball and therefore the head ball, it also gives me more confidence knowing it wasn't a crooked swing that caused the inaccuracy in the 1st place.

Again, I hope my ramblings help just one person at some point in time and doesn't somehow hurt someone's break. My break is something that people have told me is a great asset to my game but I felt was out of control and now I feel that I have a better understanding of what's going on.
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Great post Neil,

I was doing somewhat the same thing and hitting left of where I was trying to hit. I am going to go and play tomorrow and pay attention to what you have said here.

Thanks,

Dwight
 
BigDogatLarge said:
Great post Neil,

I was doing somewhat the same thing and hitting left of where I was trying to hit. I am going to go and play tomorrow and pay attention to what you have said here.

Thanks,

Dwight
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great post Neil. Now your awesome break is even awesomer. ;)

Fred <~~~ wishes he could have Neil's suck ass break
 
Honestly, I think a lot of problems with the break can be solved if you make a full effort to only move your stroking arm at first, trying to get full power out of that. Once you've got the motion for that, try putting more power into it bit by bit. Gotta warm it up.
 
Cornerman said:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great post Neil. Now your awesome break is even awesomer. ;)

Fred <~~~ wishes he could have Neil's suck ass break
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Well, Yeah... as if... lol

Dwight
 
Fart sniffer said:
Practicing with Thorsten lately and remembering how certain people break made me realize what I was doing wrong on the break..........my bridge hand was moving. It may seem simple and it may not be what is wrong with your break but once I focused on keeping my bridge hand still my break improved 20%. His bridge hand doesn't move and the only error he seems to make is elevation-wise on the cue ball, it reminds me of Dickie Renk (The Bomber) with his huge hand that didn't move while breaking.

Usually I hit left or right maybe half of the time when trying to break hard, not much maybe a tip left or right but enough to take quite a bit of energy and accuracy off of the ball. Plus even if I got lucky enough to squat the ball if something kicked it into the rail there was so much spin on it that it would take off like a top around the table.

This may or may not help you, but I hope it helps at least one other person.


Disclaimer: I am not to be held liable for any damage done by flying cueballs or if I screw up your game in any way, shape or form. Thank you.
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I have the same problem as you did so I'll try focusing on cementing my bridge to the table. I like that idea.

Earl Strickland is BIG on BRIDGES according to the traveling classes he and Johnny Archer do.

Thanks,
JoeyA
 
Gandhi

Michael-Hoang said:
Neil,

Where did you get that signature lines from?

They are great, man.
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When I first saw his signature, it reminded me of this quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi:

"Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny."

I heard Arun Gandhi speaking on NPR one day, and IIRC he told a story where his Grandfather had said these words directly to him. So far I've been unable to find anywhere where he wrote or spoke them publicly.

I don't have anything to contribute regarding breaking... my break sucks. :)
 
Wow, I didn't realize that the saying had deep roots like that!! It's amazing what kind of information you can find on the internet, something that was said so many years ago that brings people from around the country closer together and it's being shared on a Billiard forum.
 
Fart sniffer said:
Usually I hit left or right maybe half of the time when trying to break hard, not much maybe a tip left or right but enough to take quite a bit of energy and accuracy off of the ball.
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If you use a break cue with a "natural pivot length" well matched to your break bridge length, squirt will cancel stroking errors and keep your aim true. For more info, see my November '07 article. For additional info and advice, see:


Regards,
Dave
 
dr_dave said:
If you use a break cue with a "natural pivot length" well matched to your break bridge length, squirt will cancel stroking errors and keep your aim true. For more info, see my November '07 article. For additional info and advice, see:


Regards,
Dave
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Thank you for the info and link Dr. Dave, I was trying to hit the center of the cue ball more often though which is the point of the thread. Usually the cueball contacts a rail (or pocket depending on your luck) at some point and so any spin will cause the cueball to rocket around the table to an unknown destination.

I learned about pivot points from Steve Titus a few years ago and agree with what they found out, but the idea for keeping your bridge hand steady is to contact the cueball closer to center so you don't lose speed from hitting unintentional English.
 
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