Parkin' the rock

Hal

Hal

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I see people all the time saying to hit slightly below center to park the cue ball on the break. This may sound silly but for me to park the cue ball, I have to hit a little above center.

The cue ball will come back a few feet and will have just a little forward spin on it. It looks like it's gonna roll forward but it dies and stops dead.
 
It all depends on how high the cueball is in the air when it hits the pack. The pack is much heavier then the cueball so it will throw the cueball backwards if the cueball is on the table. This is why it is much easier to get lots of draw on the break shot. If the cueball is in the air it will pick up some topspin from hitting the pack. So the higher your cueball bounces the more draw you will need.
 
Yeap, seen guys do this all the time. The problem is you have to hit the 1 VERY square head on...else the cue ball will cut loose and go through the pack, which can be a bad or good thing, depending on where it stops. Also puts more action on the 9 with the cue going through the pack.

Seen a guy named Dave Favor do this very consistantly and stop the cue ball just about dead center of the table every time. He was spreading them nicely as well.
 
Just a little added info:

I break from about 6-8 inches to the right of the spot. I don't break as hard as I can. I just use a good smooth hard stroke. And you're right. If you don't hit the one ball square, the cue ball will run rapid.
 
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Hal said:
I see people all the time saying to hit slightly below center to park the cue ball on the break. This may sound silly but for me to park the cue ball, I have to hit a little above center.

The cue ball will come back a few feet and will have just a little forward spin on it. It looks like it's gonna roll forward but it dies and stops dead.
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That's the way a lot of players do it. Just slightly above center with a lot of force. If you hit too high, the cue ball flys off the table, too low an it comes right back at you.

If you get a chance to pick up a tape of Ralf Souquet playing 9 ball, check out his break. I love watching Ralf break. He has the most controlled hard break I've ever seen. The cue ball pops back a foot and stops in the same place time after time. It can only do that with a little follow to "put on the brakes".

It helps to have a fairly level stroke as well. This keeps the ball on the right trajectory for control.

Chris
 
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The result of a cueball - singleball collision is different than a cueball - pack'oballs collision. The cue ball will bounce back a bit off a rack as the rack has much greater mass than a single ball. The tiny bit of top stops the cueball after it bounces back. Note that this phenomena will also cause a draw shot into multiple balls to 'draw' back much farther. The draw spin is about the same, but it gets a boost from the bounceback. The corollary is that follow will not go as far when hitting into a multiple-ball mass, cause the follow must first counteract the bounceback. Something to remember when shooting those 'plants' where two ball are touching.

Dave
 
I get down on the cueball and make sure I am cueing in the EXACT MIDDLE then smash em'. I found it works the best for me. Also I find it much easier to park the cueball breaking from the side rail. Also aligning your body and aiming square at the 1 is essential. My 4 cents.

Eric A.
 
Hal said:
Just a little added info:

I break from about 6-8 inches to the right of the spot. I don't break as hard as I can. I just use a good smooth hard stroke. And you're right. If you don't hit the one ball square, the cue ball will run rapid.
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This is one of the breaks I use. The only problem is that you can't hit the "1 tip high" break shot too hard or bad things happen to the CB. I only use this when the table is breaking easy.

The other "pop the CB back and stop" break is harder to execute consistantly. Usually, I'll use this if I'm breaking from the rail. You hit about 1 tip below and it's kinda like you are semi jumping the CB. You hit slightly downwards, punching the tip of your cue towards the bottom of the 1 bal, where it meets the cloth. You have to hit it fairly hard to get the right action. What happens is that the CB is slightly above the cloth when it hits the 1 and that gives a CB some forward spin so it will park when it bounces backwards.

I hope this makes sense.


Eric
 
My percentage of stoping the cue ball is very small but it's happening a lot more than it used to. I used to break like a wild man from the side rail with no regard or thought to what would happen to the cue ball.
 
Hal said:
My percentage of stoping the cue ball is very small but it's happening a lot more than it used to. I used to break like a wild man from the side rail with no regard or thought to what would happen to the cue ball.
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Hal, try this. From any position, just break trying hit a stop shot on the 1 ball. start 1/2 speed and ramp up as you get comfortable with it. Without going into great details of why.....I'll just say you will like the results. this is how I was taught to break 15 years ago, and I still use it today because it works!

Gerry
 
I think it has to do w/ the plane of cue/ CB impact. Your cue isn't parallell to the playing surface, so true 'center' impact point isn't the actual center of the CB.
 
Hal said:
I see people all the time saying to hit slightly below center to park the cue ball on the break. This may sound silly but for me to park the cue ball, I have to hit a little above center.

The cue ball will come back a few feet and will have just a little forward spin on it. It looks like it's gonna roll forward but it dies and stops dead.
Click to expand...
You are correct. But, most people will have to start their aim lower because of the natural elbow drop when stroking hard.

If anyone uses a training ball (like the Jim Rempe ball), I think they'll see that any cueball that parked/squatted was hit slightly above center.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
You are correct. But, most people will have to start their aim lower because of the natural elbow drop when stroking hard.

If anyone uses a training ball (like the Jim Rempe ball), I think they'll see that any cueball that parked/squatted was hit slightly above center.

Fred
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I'll bet against you on that one.


Eric
 
Eric. said:
Cornerman said:
If anyone uses a training ball (like the Jim Rempe ball), I think they'll see that any cueball that parked/squatted was hit slightly above center.
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I'll bet against you on that one.


Eric
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Where do you think the spot will be?

We did this demonstration at the BreakRAK booth in VF this year for about an hour. There wasn't a single time that a squatted/parked cueball wasn't hit slightly above center.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
Where do you think the spot will be?

We did this demonstration at the BreakRAK booth in VF this year for about an hour. There wasn't a single time that a squatted/parked cueball wasn't hit slightly above center.

Fred
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Roughly a half tip or a bit more below center ball. I've tried using a striped ball, years ago, when I was trying to figure out how to execute it.

The CB picks up follow by skipping into the rack and being a tiny bit aorborne when it hits the 1 ball. Because it's airborne (ever so slightly), the collision gives the CB some follow and the rack/force of the hit causes the CB to bounce back. Watch Souquet or Busta break. For that matter, I can show you at teh Open in VA. I'm just not as consistant executing as Souquet or Busta, though :(


Eric
 
I'm with Fred on this one.

You hit the cue ball a tip above center, hit the 1 ball square, and that cue will hop a foot in the air. Easy peasy.
 
Eric. said:
Roughly a half tip or a bit more below center ball. I've tried using a striped ball, years ago, when I was trying to figure out how to execute it.

The CB picks up follow by skipping into the rack and being a tiny bit aorborne when it hits the 1 ball. Because it's airborne (ever so slightly), the collision gives the CB some follow and the rack/force of the hit causes the CB to bounce back. Watch Souquet or Busta break. For that matter, I can show you at teh Open in VA. I'm just not as consistant executing as Souquet or Busta, though :(


Eric
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Just to be perfectly clear, I hope you understand that when I say we demonstrated, we actually took the time to align the Rempe ball, we hit the cueball (anyone, not just me) with whatever aim that anyone thought worked (I have to aim pretty low on the cueball), and then looked at the physical mark on the cueball.

I would think that after an hour (or was it more, Charley?) of doing this, one person would have had a parked brake that wasn't hit slightly above center.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
Just to be perfectly clear, I hope you understand that when I say we demonstrated, we actually took the time to align the Rempe ball, we hit the cueball (anyone, not just me) with whatever aim that anyone thought worked (I have to aim pretty low on the cueball), and then looked at the physical mark on the cueball.

I would think that after an hour (or was it more, Charley?) of doing this, one person would have had a parked brake that wasn't hit slightly above center.

Fred
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I can't speak for your sample group. Maybe they didn't stroke it right. For the sake of argument, you are hitting down, slightly, on the CB. You are not trying to be as level as possible.

It's probably ewasier if I show you in person. I use a "9" ball. The middle of the #9 is about center ball. I'm hitting the bottom of the 9, the "dogleg".


Eric
 
Matt_24 said:
I'm with Fred on this one.

You hit the cue ball a tip above center, hit the 1 ball square, and that cue will hop a foot in the air. Easy peasy.
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That's one way of doing it, but the "1 tip above center" break has a limit to how hard you can hit it. You don't have to hit the rack hard at all to get the CB to hop. If you try to break harder, you'll lose the CB.

Ther is more than one way to get the CB to hop and stop.


Eric
 
Eric. said:
I can't speak for your sample group. Maybe they didn't stroke it right. For the sake of argument, you are hitting down, slightly, on the CB. You are not trying to be as level as possible.
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Realizing the difference between the flat break, and the "jump break," I can assure you that as the primary demonstrator, the breaks that I was demonstrating, and jump squatting were of the elevated jump break style, in the 22-24 mph range.

That being said, that was on a 7' table with fast cloth. Results may vary with a slower cloth and longer table.

Fred
 
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