Is there any harm in breaking with your playing cue?

I sometimes break with my playing cue in 9 ball by the way, mainly because I don't have to break that hard.
 
Changing cues for the break shot throws off momentum, not to mention touch and feel

I was just going thru some old video today and found one of my wife playing Willie Mosconi at a pool room grand opening and he played 9ball for 4 hours breaking with his playing cue.........which I think is a Balabushka?

When I first started playing in the early 90's guys were just starting to carry break cues. Most people grabbed one off the wall and let-er-ip....

I inherited an old Palmer sneaky I am breaking with now.....almost as good as my old Meucci sneaky!


hehe....


G.

I started using a "break cue" because it was a trend, and looking back it was probably a mistake. Changing cues for the break shot throws off momentum, not to mention touch and feel for the first shot of the game.

It does depend on the cue ball though, with a heavier "bar ball" it may be wise to use a different cue. I would just advise using the same weight as your playing cue so it doesn't throw your senses off too much between shots.
 
I started using a "break cue" because it was a trend, and looking back it was probably a mistake. Changing cues for the break shot throws off momentum, not to mention touch and feel for the first shot of the game.

It does depend on the cue ball though, with a heavier "bar ball" it may be wise to use a different cue. I would just advise using the same weight as your playing cue so it doesn't throw your senses off too much between shots.

Well since you like to make comparisons to golf In golf the weight and swing constantly change you make adjustments thru practice muscle memory and feel a well timed and precise break comes from the same practice dedication
And no question shafts make a difference
1
 
Been breaking with my playing cue for 20 years

I don't smash the breaks when playing 8 or 9 ball and have never had a problem. My first few years I had production cues and only ever lost 1 tip. In the past 18 or so years, owning only a handful of customs, I have always broken with my playing cue of the day, never had a problem, still have dead straight shafts, and original tips.

Like I said I don't kill the ball, and I don't play as often as some of you on here. My collection is modest but decent quality. My 20ish year old cases also look almost new. I have found if you don't beat up your equipment and maintain it, quality equipment should last a long time.

Do I think there is any harm... I don't think you can hurt a quality cue by breaking with it.
 
why do it if you don't have to?

Well since you like to make comparisons to golf In golf the weight and swing constantly change you make adjustments thru practice muscle memory and feel a well timed and precise break comes from the same practice dedication
And no question shafts make a difference
1

Yes, I agree, but why do it if you don't have to, your playing cue will break fine, if it's a good cue? Doesn't Shane use his playing cue?

We used to say "if my cue isn't good enough to break with, it's not good enough to bet my money with". Of course that was back when gambling was popular, it may be different now. "Be at choice" is the moral of the story.
 
I don't smash the breaks when playing 8 or 9 ball and have never had a problem. My first few years I had production cues and only ever lost 1 tip. In the past 18 or so years, owning only a handful of customs, I have always broken with my playing cue of the day, never had a problem, still have dead straight shafts, and original tips.

Like I said I don't kill the ball, and I don't play as often as some of you on here. My collection is modest but decent quality. My 20ish year old cases also look almost new. I have found if you don't beat up your equipment and maintain it, quality equipment should last a long time.

Do I think there is any harm... I don't think you can hurt a quality cue by breaking with it.

JRosen,
I'm curious, do you know what speed you break? I'm not having any mushrooming issues breaking with my player, but my average break is only about 17 mph. Time will tell, but I don't think my Z2 will suffer any adverse reactions given my rather anemic break. Others who are able to crush the rack may be a different story.
 
I have a shaft that I've worn down to under a 11.5 mm that I could continue to break (and play) with for years without damage. The only way anyone can really damage a good shaft breaking is with an unorthodox follow through. Shane breaks with his playing cue, and hits them fairly hard ;)

Shane is not man though. Shane is more beast.

I think bending the shaft into the table probably is one of the more ridiculous things I see, and the pool gods agree. You see. The pool gods take the karma from ruining good cloth, and add extra force to the joint from bending the shaft for no reason, right at the connection point. I'm sure physics and geometry play a good deal in too. lol
 
And also, I break with my playing cue. Even though I have a break stick. Just seems more comfortable striking whitey at full stroke with the stick I use the most.

I'm sure one day I'll have Dan make me a breaker to match my player he made. Only thing different is I'd like a G10. Damn good tip.
 
Danny

Medina played and broke with his cue most if not all of his career. What I found surprising, especially if you have watched em play. The cue held up all those years. I always wondered who ended up owning that stick.


I didn't know Danny personally, but I was at the Sands the year Danny's ( main ) player got ripped off, I think that was in 99.
 
Most players avoid this, even if they don't have a breaker they grab a pool hall cue to break with. Is it really bad to break with your playing cue? What's the worst that could happen? Aren't shafts designed to withstand powerful strokes? I mean it's common to use a power stroke on some positional shots during a match... I am talking about games where a harder break is required, such as 8 ball and 10 ball.

Edit:
Another reason I am asking is explained in this thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=4055570&posted=1#post4055570
Also a lot of the time I don't carry my break cue around.

Danny Medina, fast and loose, and faster and looser in his prime broke/played with same cue. What's most amazing is the cue held up. What's bad, for YOU as his opponent when gambling he shot so straight and fast, he was able to get in at least four or five more games in per hour. He didn't have or Need transition time, and loss of feel going back and forth with different cues, it worked for him and many others and made sense, you had to ''swing it'' back then when the cloth was thick and SLOW.
 
Break

Most players avoid this, even if they don't have a breaker they grab a pool hall cue to break with. Is it really bad to break with your playing cue? What's the worst that could happen? Aren't shafts designed to withstand powerful strokes? I mean it's common to use a power stroke on some positional shots during a match... I am talking about games where a harder break is required, such as 8 ball and 10 ball.

Edit:
Another reason I am asking is explained in this thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=4055570&posted=1#post4055570
Also a lot of the time I don't carry my break cue around.

Depends, I would never use any kind of laminated shaft to break with.......................

I know several players that break a 8 ball rack with a soft break, me being one of them.
I use kamui soft or super soft tip.
If you cannot break and pocket a ball then why break.................................................
Everyone has they're own technic ...................................... and you seemed to have assumed that everyone should break hard on a 8 ball rack.
 
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