Opening break

terhje

terhje

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've just watched a youtube video about the opening in straight pool,
It says(if i understood it correctly) if you call a ball to a pocket and slams the rack wide open and dont make it its -2, no mather if 2 or more balls + whitey hit the rail? is this true?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZCMzbE0l0A
 
Opening Break

He is correct, but the way he explains it he would've had me scratching my head initially. When I'm teaching someone how to play the game I tell them the opening break is always a soft, safe break - but, 2 balls and the cue ball must touch a rail for it to be legal. I would never start off explaining the opening break by saying that if you call a ball on the opening break and miss it, it's a 2 ball foul - unless 2 balls and the cue ball touch a rail. I wouldn't do that because playing a shot off the break isn't the way to play the game correctly. So why confuse them by mentioning it first and foremost??


4.3 Opening Break Shot
The following rules apply to the opening break shot:
(a) The cue ball begins in hand behind the head string.
(b) If no called ball is pocketed, the cue ball and two object balls must each be driven to a rail or the shot is a breaking foul. (See 8.4 Driven to a Rail.) This is penalized by subtracting two points from the breaker’s score. (See 4.10 Breaking Foul.) The non-breaking player may accept the balls in position or may require the breaker to play another opening break shot, until he satisfies the requirements for an opening break or the non-shooting player accepts the table in position.

http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/index.asp?id=119&pagetype=rules#4.3

Ron F
 
There is no penalty for not successfully pocketing a called shot as long as you make a legal stroke/hit.
 
terhje said:
I've just watched a youtube video about the opening in straight pool,
It says(if i understood it correctly) if you call a ball to a pocket and slams the rack wide open and dont make it its -2, no mather if 2 or more balls + whitey hit the rail? is this true?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZCMzbE0l0A
Click to expand...

I think that if you listen to the whole video, that's not what he ends up saying. If you just listen to just the first part of the video, that part is wrong. This is a very bad video for explaining things, and I think everyone would do well to either avoid this presenter or wait until he gets much, much better.

Suppose you call a ball, play a tremendous smash break, make all 15 balls but not the one you called in the correct pocket, and the cue ball never hits a cushion. That shot is a 2-point foul and your opponent can have you break a new rack. The reason is that the cue ball did not hit a cushion as required by the rule when no called shot is pocketed.
 
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