What a NIGHT! The Best EVER!

[JoeyA]

I know, I know it's not what you thought it was going to be about but the other day I was reading one of my fellow AZB member's post about the OB Break Shaft.

The poster was suggesting to OB Cues/Royce that he reduce the height of the tip that comes on the OB Break shaft and as I was reading his post, I was kind of nodding my head in agreement. The tip is rather tall. It's hard to deny that.

I have a few confessions. As I said, the tip is rather tall. I have the OB Break Shaft mounted to a Predator BK2. I actually like breaking with a Predator BK2 but I have been experimenting with some of the OB products and like what I have found. Maybe it's just me but after getting past some subjective stuff, I am becoming more pleased with the OB products by the day.

I have been using the OB Break Shaft for a month or two with mixed results. Last night, one of my Filpino buddies, Robert Bajao and I were playing some nine rocket and I brought my multi-autographed Delta 13 rack, you know, the high end one with the black and silver. I purchased it at a Jacksonville, FL tournament I went to in 2008 and had a few top pros sign the inside of the rack.

The rack sat in my bedroom for over a year collecting dust. Dennis Orcullo, Johnny Archer, Charlie Williams and the very young German kid had signed the rack and no one really had a chance to appreciate the rack or the signatures. Anyway, we have these Diamond wood racks that just don't provide a tight consistent rack. Even the one ball will often stick to the front inside of the rack when you try to pull the rack away from the balls. Every now and then you will get an old wooden rack and it will have a splinter that will stick you but what is worse is the splinter will sometimes pierce my glove starting new holes in my relatively new glove.

So I decided to bring the rack to the pool room to use it. I'm not much of a collector and only value things that I use. After the pool room got a charge out of looking at the signatures and then looking at my like I'm nuts, we started playing 9 ball. The Delta 13 racked the balls extremely well, even though most of the balls are rather OLD; maybe 4 years old (since Hurricane Katrina). Buffalo Billiards lost EVERY SINGLE THING in the hurricane and had to start from scratch. Anyway, after just a little adjustment of moving the balls around on the spot, we were able to get the balls nice and tight on all racks.

So, I notice that we are making balls on the break, fairly consistently which is normally a rarity on the tight Diamond tables and high humidity conditions we play on. Now, I have been working hard on staying down on the shot (one of my big problems) and I seemed to be making tough shots with consistency. I'm feeling pretty good and I have also had a problem with my break, not being consistent so I have been reviewing all of the links and videos that my fellow posters have been sharing as well as their ideas about what it takes to break well.

So now, I know I am getting a good consistent tight rack and I have started developing my own little break and I notice it is going rather well. As we start a new set and I am just realizing that I am making one or two balls on every break and the cue ball is squatting in the middle of the table on practically every break. It is an exhilerating feeling having the power to break, make balls consistently and squat the cue ball practically every single time. With each break my confidence is growing and I am breaking harder, squatting the cue ball with uncanny precision and it is just fun, fun, fun.

Here's what I learned about breaking: First, you must have a consistent, tight rack. Secondly, you have to study how other people break and practice their breaks. Thirdly, you have to find out what works for you and that includes equipment but especially technique.

I have pretty good power and in the past it has just been kind of raw, undisciplined power, with the ball not hitting it's mark consistently and the balls not responding in the manner you would hope for them to. Mostly, it has always been my technique that has held me back. Once in a blue moon I have been able to squat the cue ball but most of the time it has a mind of it's own and by-standers have to be careful.

So I have been experimenting with EVERYONE's style of breaking. Thanks to everyone for providing all of the great links of each of the pros breaking techniques but I finally have something that is working incredibly well. tECHNIQUE WISE, I am doing the same thing I have always done, EXCEPT now instead of trying to time a rise to break harder, I am standing a little closer to the table by a few inches and pulling the cue stick back (without rising) and as I come forward with the stroke, I move my body forward and my body just kind of automatically rises a little bit, but with the results I am getting I am going to stay with what I am doing.

This has just been my latest epiphany and today when I hit the slate, it may have evaporated like an opium addict's dream. We'll see. I do know it was the most incredible night of breaking that I have ever experienced. Right now, I am just thinking to myself that there are MANY ways to do things, shooting, aiming, and yes breaking. It is not easy to find out what works best for you unless you are trying many different things. You can stay stuck in your rut or you can get out there and find out what works for you.

If I come back in a few days or a week and start posting that my wild and unsavory break has returned, please don't berate me too much. If you see me at DCC and you have to dodge my flying cue ball, just smile and walk away. :wink:

My journey is your journey if you wish it to be. It is a stubborn, disciplined, tumultuos, roller-coaster ride and I'm just having fun sharing the sights I see through my eyes. :smile: Who knows it might help someone to improve their game one day. At a worst case scenario, it might just help you pass a good time while sitting in front of the computer.

Oh what a night!

JoeyA

 

[12310bch]

My journey is your journey if you wish it to be. It is a stubborn, disciplined, tumultuos, roller-coaster ride and I'm just having fun sharing the sights I see through my eyes. :smile: Who knows it might help someone to improve their game one day. At a worst case scenario, it might just help you pass a good time while sitting in front of the computer.

Oh what a night!

JoeyA

JoeyA, thanks for your insights on breaking. After all my years I'm still trying to find my break. I like your attitude about expressing yourself here.
I feel the same way. If one reader finds what I have to say interesting, informative , or amusing I'm satisfied. Also, VERY surprised!!:shocked:

 

[3RAILKICK]

Win/lose/matter?

Joey-congratulations!

You didn't mention whether you won or lost. That makes sense. It sounds like one of those rare "ah-hah" events-where your research, practice and execution all came together to yield a consistent and gratifying result. A breaking well- breakthru trumps the win/lose issue.

Sounds like a one-to-one correlation between better breaking-and a consistently tight rack. Hmmmm?

It is uplifting to read of your excitement about discovering a way to improve.
You have played this game a long time. It's good to find something to rekindle our enthusiasm for the game. Sounds like you had a very good night.

Thanks for sharing.

3railkick

 

[sfleinen]

A great pool-inspirational account!

Joey:

(You must've edited your post as soon as I was responding and included a link to that Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons song, for I was ready to paste-in a link to my reply. Reading the thread title, and that song just kinda popped into my head.)

This was one of the best inspirational pool accounts I've read here in a while. Kudos to you for taking the time to think back over the sequence of events, and documenting them here. Very enjoyable reading indeed!

Your experience reminds me of when I *finally* was able to assume a proper snooker stance for the first time, based solely on trying to dissect it from pictures of snooker pros. (Noone showed it to me; and I probably "wasted" a lot of time trying to find it out for myself rather than just seek out a qualified snooker instructor.) I'd been using a normal pool stance all my life, having been shown it through an instructor oh-so-many years ago. During my normal pool stance years, I always thought the snooker stance looked kinda "pansy" and "tea cup dainty." That is, until I watched a snooker pro at work, potting balls with the greatest of ease on that 6'x12' table with small pockets with rounded corners. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Those balls were hitting the back of the pockets, and he made it look so easy and nonchalant. Suddenly, all those "snooker style looks so pansy" type thoughts went right out the window. When I later pulled that player aside and asked him how it was he was so consistently accurate, he told me it all boiled down to strong fundamentals, and making the pre-shot routine "second nature" to lock-in the stance, to minimize the human body's natural tendency to "go slack" in certain places and introduce waver into the stroke. He talked about the importance of having as many joints in the body "face into" the shot (e.g. the knees), so that any variance offered by these joints is to and fro, not side-to-side, the latter of which would induce "yaw" into the stroke. I understood him completely.

I was determined, then and there, to learn those snooker fundamentals. Over the course of a couple of years, I'd tried to play with the snooker stance in the back corners of a quiet pool room (off-hours), and couldn't quite get it. Had books with pictures of snooker pros splayed out on the table, studying foot placement, angles of joints, placement of shoulders / how the body faces into the shot, etc. Couldn't "get" it.

Then one day during a very intense match, I was analyzing a shot while standing up overlooking the table from a little distance, mentally settled on what I wanted to do, and then just walked up to the shot line and stepped into a perfect snooker stance. It was only after I was taking my practice strokes that I realized how solid and reassuring it felt; it felt like a derrick crane or something. I noticed how it locked my stroke into the shot line, and didn't allow any variance in the elbow (or at least made it difficult to have the elbow "waver"). I was locked into the shot, and all I had to do was pull the trigger. Thwack! Split the pocket on a very long (table length) somewhat straight-in shot. I was amazed at how it seemed I almost "could not miss" as long as I aimed correctly. It was also amazing to me that, in the heat of battle, I was able to be lucid enough to notice this, take mental notes, and store them away for the next shot. And the very next shot, I did the same thing -- stepped right into a perfect snooker stance, and just plain "got" it for the first time in my life. It was an epiphany for me.

At that point, I'd found I didn't need to use the slip stroke that I'd been using all the years prior. Just a simple SPF-style stroke, but mounted on the snooker stance's "derrick crane" style foundation. My playing ability went through the roof in just one night, and I'd somehow smashed through a glass ceiling to the next level. I'd just plain "got" it -- that which I wanted to understand -- by sheer accident, by letting my mind go, just focus on the shot. All that practicing of the stance somehow "gelled" together and out it came in one fell swoop.

This was a couple years ago. Since that time, I'd put together some of my highest straight pool runs and advances into the next tier of players that I could offer a stiff challenge to (and beat!).

Thanks for posting this wonderful, inspirational story, Joey. "Oh what a night!" -- I can certainly relate to those lyrics!

-Sean

 

["T"]

Great post, but...

Joey, thank you for trying to help us find our breaks, but I really think I lost mine somewhere between the people movers at the Horseshoe last DCC so unfortunately your insight won't help me. (I think I dropped it watching Jeanette Lee going the other way)


Hopefully I'll find it when I get there.

 

[ShootingArts]

a great read!

Joey,

A great read, I enjoyed every word. It is super when things are working and you know the result of the break or the shot will be absolutely what you want before you swing the stick.

Hu

 

[Matt90]

Wow

I got a OB break shaft too and I really like it.Although I did have to stop and think ,when I get older is a great break cue going to be what does it for me ??
Sorry ,uncle Joey I had too :rotflmao: Great story and well written as usual .

 

[JoeyA]

I got a OB break shaft too and I really like it.Although I did have to stop and think ,when I get older is a great break cue going to be what does it for me ??
Sorry ,uncle Joey I had too :rotflmao: Great story and well written as usual .

The only thing that will help you is a spanking and you've got one coming.

JoeyA

 

[JoeyA]

Joey:

(You must've edited your post as soon as I was responding and included a link to that Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons song, for I was ready to paste-in a link to my reply. Reading the thread title, and that song just kinda popped into my head.)

This was one of the best inspirational pool accounts I've read here in a while. Kudos to you for taking the time to think back over the sequence of events, and documenting them here. Very enjoyable reading indeed!

Your experience reminds me of when I *finally* was able to assume a proper snooker stance for the first time, based solely on trying to dissect it from pictures of snooker pros. (Noone showed it to me; and I probably "wasted" a lot of time trying to find it out for myself rather than just seek out a qualified snooker instructor.) I'd been using a normal pool stance all my life, having been shown it through an instructor oh-so-many years ago. During my normal pool stance years, I always thought the snooker stance looked kinda "pansy" and "tea cup dainty." That is, until I watched a snooker pro at work, potting balls with the greatest of ease on that 6'x12' table with small pockets with rounded corners. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Those balls were hitting the back of the pockets, and he made it look so easy and nonchalant. Suddenly, all those "snooker style looks so pansy" type thoughts went right out the window. When I later pulled that player aside and asked him how it was he was so consistently accurate, he told me it all boiled down to strong fundamentals, and making the pre-shot routine "second nature" to lock-in the stance, to minimize the human body's natural tendency to "go slack" in certain places and introduce waver into the stroke. He talked about the importance of having as many joints in the body "face into" the shot (e.g. the knees), so that any variance offered by these joints is to and fro, not side-to-side, the latter of which would induce "yaw" into the stroke. I understood him completely.

I was determined, then and there, to learn those snooker fundamentals. Over the course of a couple of years, I'd tried to play with the snooker stance in the back corners of a quiet pool room (off-hours), and couldn't quite get it. Had books with pictures of snooker pros splayed out on the table, studying foot placement, angles of joints, placement of shoulders / how the body faces into the shot, etc. Couldn't "get" it.

Then one day during a very intense match, I was analyzing a shot while standing up overlooking the table from a little distance, mentally settled on what I wanted to do, and then just walked up to the shot line and stepped into a perfect snooker stance. It was only after I was taking my practice strokes that I realized how solid and reassuring it felt; it felt like a derrick crane or something. I noticed how it locked my stroke into the shot line, and didn't allow any variance in the elbow (or at least made it difficult to have the elbow "waver"). I was locked into the shot, and all I had to do was pull the trigger. Thwack! Split the pocket on a very long (table length) somewhat straight-in shot. I was amazed at how it seemed I almost "could not miss" as long as I aimed correctly. It was also amazing to me that, in the heat of battle, I was able to be lucid enough to notice this, take mental notes, and store them away for the next shot. And the very next shot, I did the same thing -- stepped right into a perfect snooker stance, and just plain "got" it for the first time in my life. It was an epiphany for me.

At that point, I'd found I didn't need to use the slip stroke that I'd been using all the years prior. Just a simple SPF-style stroke, but mounted on the snooker stance's "derrick crane" style foundation. My playing ability went through the roof in just one night, and I'd somehow smashed through a glass ceiling to the next level. I'd just plain "got" it -- that which I wanted to understand -- by sheer accident, by letting my mind go, just focus on the shot. All that practicing of the stance somehow "gelled" together and out it came in one fell swoop.

This was a couple years ago. Since that time, I'd put together some of my highest straight pool runs and advances into the next tier of players that I could offer a stiff challenge to (and beat!).

Thanks for posting this wonderful, inspirational story, Joey. "Oh what a night!" -- I can certainly relate to those lyrics!

-Sean

Sean,
You really do understand my post. YOU GET IT! I especially enjoyed your story about the snooker stance. One day when we meet I want you to share your knowledge with me.

Thanks,
JoeyA

 

[JoeyA]

I got a OB break shaft too and I really like it.Although I did have to stop and think ,when I get older is a great break cue going to be what does it for me ??
Sorry ,uncle Joey I had too :rotflmao: Great story and well written as usual .

Now that I look at your Avatar, I think coal and switches are exactly what you need. :bash:

JoeyA