Question about percentages after the breakshot

[curiousofpool]

Hello Guys:

Sadly, I never had the chance to watch a big straight pool tournament, but looking at straight pool matches on DVD made me wonder if the standard break shot is the right opening for professional play (only on this level). It seems to me that the second player almost always has a long but still decent shot (at least decent for these very strong players).
If I recall it right somebody mentioned that one can get a 30% chance on the corner ball bank. So my question is if there are statistics of how many scoring first inning there are on professional levels and if yes how high this number is (>70%)?

curiousofpool

 

[selftaut]

The corner ball bank is much lower percentage as opposed to a successful standard opening break shot, thats why you never see anyone doing the corner ball bank in a tournament. Even with leaving your opponent a long shot shooting off of the bottom rail, your percentage of getting back to the table will be higher than trying the corner ball bank. JMHO.

 

[dmgwalsh]

Hello Guys:

Sadly, I never had the chance to watch a big straight pool tournament, but looking at straight pool matches on DVD made me wonder if the standard break shot is the right opening for professional play (only on this level). It seems to me that the second player almost always has a long but still decent shot (at least decent for these very strong players).
If I recall it right somebody mentioned that one can get a 30% chance on the corner ball bank. So my question is if there are statistics of how many scoring first inning there are on professional levels and if yes how high this number is (>70%)?

curiousofpool

Have you lost your mind??:grin-square:

What are they doing to you over there in Germany? Feeding you too much beer?

You better get back to the club. Post haste.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Hello Guys:

Sadly, I never had the chance to watch a big straight pool tournament, but looking at straight pool matches on DVD made me wonder if the standard break shot is the right opening for professional play (only on this level). It seems to me that the second player almost always has a long but still decent shot (at least decent for these very strong players).
If I recall it right somebody mentioned that one can get a 30% chance on the corner ball bank. So my question is if there are statistics of how many scoring first inning there are on professional levels and if yes how high this number is (>70%)?

curiousofpool

It is an interesting approach to analyzing the break and I'd be curious to know the answer as well. However, how a successful break is defined is a bit subjective. You can't simply say that if your opponent pockets the next shot, your safety break was obviously a failure since there's a reasonable chance most of the balls are still clustered. Even if they get through the entire first rack, the safety you opened with could have forced them to play all balls laying well for a break shot.

On the otherhand, if you smash into the rack with the hopes of making a 30% shot, the remaining 70% of the time, your opponent will have their way with you. With two professionals, that shot may very well be your last.

 

[curiousofpool]

Let my try this differently

Hello Again:

I have thought a bit more about this and I'll try it differently. I guess my main question is the following: How much of a handicap is it to have to break in straight pool on the professional level? Is it a rack a balls, less or more in a race to 150? Has somebody really statistics of the average score between 'breaker vs. return player'?
And my other question is still what is the percentage for a return player to score in the first inning? Is the return player able to score and maybe to keep control of the table with a strong safety play in the vicinity of the rack thereafter?

Thanks
Michael