You take which ever pocket rolls the best. And/or if one of the two rolls IN, you take that one.
One Pocket - Which Pocket for Left vs. Right Handers?
- Thread starter Patrick Johnson
- Start date
To answer your intended question from 18 years ago... I do believe most players have a stronger side for making cut shots. I know I do. I find it easier cutting balls to the right, so that makes choosing the right pocket the better choice. I'm a right hander. That should trump any body positioning stuff, imo.
I shoot right handed and have always broken from the left side. Shots come up both inside and outside the player and stick so that prolly evens out. There might be a psychological aspect where greed and a kind of hording effect takes place ie picking the pocket and shots that lie on the player side of the stick. I mostly got over that in the 70s. Don't play enough to have any concrete observations. I mostly like running balls.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Depends on what side of the table the basement pole is on. 
In all honesty I don't think it matters much, I break from the right side as a right hander. I know this is somewhat odd as many right handers break from the left side, but I like to think that is may leave other right handers weird layouts as they are used to everyone breaking from the left side... I have no idea if true but I like it.
My buddy and I used to both break from the right hand off magic racks and it got to where it was always a super repeatable layout. I started breaking from the right to add some variance and it did just that. I actually like it better once I got used to it.
In all honesty I don't think it matters much, I break from the right side as a right hander. I know this is somewhat odd as many right handers break from the left side, but I like to think that is may leave other right handers weird layouts as they are used to everyone breaking from the left side... I have no idea if true but I like it.
My buddy and I used to both break from the right hand off magic racks and it got to where it was always a super repeatable layout. I started breaking from the right to add some variance and it did just that. I actually like it better once I got used to it.
If you have a strong preference for L or R in 1P there is a probably mechanical problem in your stroke.
A player of the Great at the Game One pocket mast both side of table to be proficient at game.
well i guess all these CHAMPIONS that always break from one side must have stroke issues. WTF. c'mon man.
">" swStretchStyle=meet type="application/x-director" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/">
I think #2 on your list is an under appreciated reason for a right handed player to break to the left pocket (as he faces the top of the rack for the break).
It is not often between good players that one player just makes an absolute terrible shot and leaves his opponent straight in with an easy shot to the hole. However, if this happens the cost of not capitalizing is BIG. One benefit of a righty breaking to the left pocket is that IF the opponent totally screws up shots just after the break, the breaking party can easily reach shots to his hole.
People might justifiably say, "well how often does this happen?" "Is that really a good reason to break that way?"
I think the case to break the other way is that if the breaker gets loose on the correct side of the stack after he pockets a bank, then its easier to reach balls. I am not sure this happens anymore than a catastrophic error among good players, because good players view leaving a short rail bank as basically a catastrophic error.
These days everyone is playing power one pocket (me included) and some do it better than others. When I am in a gambling session and my opponent totally screws up leaving me straight in my hole: I want to make certain I have the best opportunity to punish him to the fullest extent. I want to leave marks. Not doing so, invites trouble. Accordingly, I am a right-handed player that breaks to the left.
Just my 0.02
kollegedave
Last edited:
Some very smart people saying the side doesn't matter. That means they shouldn't mind giving up the breaks which would fly against all conventional thinking. Normally playing a right hander I will break from the left side of the table so most of my shots are more convenient. However, room geography and what is going on will affect that. A noisy and busy counter or bar that might be a distraction for an opponent, a front door, I may choose the side I break from to give the opponent the distractions.
In an old hall where the air conditioner runs nonstop a favorite table to play particularly strangers on was frozen on one side and warm on the other in the summer. The old copper coiled monster air conditioner blew ice cold air out, just not enough of it for a busy pool room. The cold air blew on pretty much exactly one half of a table. One side was as hard as a preacher's pecker, the other side soft and warm. The end rails were even pretty much half hard and half soft. Threw me the first couple times I played on that table, I think most others wrestled with banks on it too. I liked the cold side to bank off of, those hard rails banked truer.
Read the room, read your opponent. If what you do as far as break side bothers him more than it does you, go for it. Don't do yourself more harm than your opponent trying to get in his head though.
Hu
In an old hall where the air conditioner runs nonstop a favorite table to play particularly strangers on was frozen on one side and warm on the other in the summer. The old copper coiled monster air conditioner blew ice cold air out, just not enough of it for a busy pool room. The cold air blew on pretty much exactly one half of a table. One side was as hard as a preacher's pecker, the other side soft and warm. The end rails were even pretty much half hard and half soft. Threw me the first couple times I played on that table, I think most others wrestled with banks on it too. I liked the cold side to bank off of, those hard rails banked truer.
Read the room, read your opponent. If what you do as far as break side bothers him more than it does you, go for it. Don't do yourself more harm than your opponent trying to get in his head though.
Hu
He was talking to "YOU" as almost no champions post here.