No Power on the break

9 ball

9 ball

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I went to my local pool hall this afternoon and played some racks of 8, 9, 10 ball and straight pool and my positional and potting play has really been helped but what I noticed was that everytime I broke the balls my break was very weak.

It was more like a snooker break rather than a pool break, the balls weren't spreading, I was leaving clusters it was a nightmare.

my stance is very low towards the cueball and I keep my feet and body locked in position and they do not move because the second I start to throw my body at the break I lose the cueball.

What is wrong with me and why can I not generate power on the break, it is the only part of my game I am struggling with.

Please help.
 
Any of a number of things could be causing the clustering

9 ball:

The very first thing you should do, is make *absolutely sure* you have a tight rack. This can't be stressed enough. Look over the rack after you've removed the racking triangle, and focus specifically on where each ball "meets" or touches the others. If you see any space anywhere, don't blow it off with a casual "oh, that's such a small gap, that won't hurt anything." It will. That little gap will cause loss of "transfer energy" between those two or three balls, and you'll end up with a cluster in that spot. Old wooden racks (like you'll find at well-patronized pool halls) are often to blame for this, because they have dings, splintering, or irregularities on the inside surface, preventing that spot from pushing that particular ball tightly into the rack.

Second, you might want to look at a few instructionals on how to break. Here's one, from a well-known poster on YouTube that specializes in pool videos, "forcefollow".

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AvwKI_UukTo

The only caveat with forcefollow is that he tends to be "dry," as if he's reading from a written script with no vocal/intonational emotion. (In other words, he sounds "recited.") But the information he puts out is often quite good.

"ExpertVillage" also puts out some "How to break" videos on YouTube:

9-ball:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=y7PIMsYP7AA

8-ball:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8s353u03bCQ

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean

9 ball said:
I went to my local pool hall this afternoon and played some racks of 8, 9, 10 ball and straight pool and my positional and potting play has really been helped but what I noticed was that everytime I broke the balls my break was very weak.

It was more like a snooker break rather than a pool break, the balls weren't spreading, I was leaving clusters it was a nightmare.

my stance is very low towards the cueball and I keep my feet and body locked in position and they do not move because the second I start to throw my body at the break I lose the cueball.

What is wrong with me and why can I not generate power on the break, it is the only part of my game I am struggling with.

Please help.
Click to expand...
 
There were 2 very good threads on break technique just this week. Search for the threads on SVB and Archer.
 
The best

advice I have seen on breaking was an article in Billiard's Digest on
Bustemante's break. He tells all the finer points about breaking good.
 
If your concern is generating power without using too much of your body, the best advice I could offer is practice breaking the rack with a wrist snap.

On a normal stroke, your wrist and hand tend to be in line with your forearm while coming back and following through. To snap your wrist on a break shot is to bend (not turn) your wrist towards your pinky on the backstroke a little bit, then abruptly put your wrist straight with your forearm on your follow-through before contact. This motion generates a bit more power than a regular stroke, and with a little practice, it's easily controllable compared to going right into a body movement-oriented break.
 
Try pulling back til the ferrule reaches your fingers as shown in the pic below, then bend your knees and fire away! ;)
 

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funny thing... that I get a little more oomph into the shot if I set the cue ball a little closer to the foot of the table... maybe around 1st diamond.
 
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