One Pocket break

[bud green]

It's been my experience that to make a ball on the break, you have to intentionally try to hit the first and second ball simultaneously with lots of inside english. This will of course vary with playing conditions. This break is more susceptible to selling out and scratching- it takes an almost perfect hit that is hard to consistently reproduce and players often miss the first ball completely and lose the advantage the break gives. If the rack is tight and the corner ball is not coming out, break from close to the side rail if you have an accurate stroke and try to put the rack between the cue ball and any balls near your hole. This is the break I've seen 99% of the pros I've watched use. Breaking from near the side rail puts more energy into the rack but requires a better hit; move towards the center of the table to reduce your chances of selling out. Grady believes most of the other breaks are too weak to defeat top notch competition. Save your money and buy Eddie Robins' one pocket books for a more complete treatment of break.

 

[Rickw]

This break doesn't work perfectly 100% of the time but it is the most commonly used break, especially by the better players. The corner ball closest to your pocket usually settles down on the end rail by the first diamond. The CB should be sitting next to the side rail 2 diamonds up leaving no shot for your pocket. With the CB two diamonds up, there isn't much of a defensive shot to keep your opponent from having a shot. This is why the better players usually elect to shoot this break shot.

I cant see how this would be a good one pocket break at all, this actually leaves me a shot at my pocket?