what am i doin wrong on the break?
- Thread starter gpeezy
- Start date
gpeezy said:
After having it pointed out to me that my backswing tends to rise (which is the likely reason for my popping the cue-ball off the table), I've also been trying a number of things to bring my swing down while maintaining a "natural" feel.
One thing I've had some success with is keeping my head down. I sort-of shift my weight forward in my stance which keeps my head from rising on my swing. It's not terribly noticeable to those watching but I have had better results.
Breaking consistently is one of the most difficult things to achieve, I think, and that's probably going to require lots and lots of practice. Keeping your cb out of the lights, however, should be easy enough to accomplish by making a minor change or two.
When the cb jumps that high on the break, then it's usually because the cb is way up in the air when it hits the 1 ball. A little air under the cb is normal, but too much will result in loss of control. Two big factors that can contribute to this are a)striking downward on the cb and making it bounce into the rack, and b)uneven playing surface. Take a look at the angle of your cue when you break, and, if it looks like you're hitting down on the cb, then that may be the culprit. Also check out the playing surface on the path to the rack to make sure there aren't any "speedbumps" along the way. I put a cb into the lights once, and, after inspecting the table, found that my cb had settled into a divot by the head-string. Apparently, someone had slammed a ball down on the table and create a dimple, and that's what I had broken out of. My cb was probably an inch off of the table when it hit the 1b, and it headed straight for the moon.
Good luck!
When the cb jumps that high on the break, then it's usually because the cb is way up in the air when it hits the 1 ball. A little air under the cb is normal, but too much will result in loss of control. Two big factors that can contribute to this are a)striking downward on the cb and making it bounce into the rack, and b)uneven playing surface. Take a look at the angle of your cue when you break, and, if it looks like you're hitting down on the cb, then that may be the culprit. Also check out the playing surface on the path to the rack to make sure there aren't any "speedbumps" along the way. I put a cb into the lights once, and, after inspecting the table, found that my cb had settled into a divot by the head-string. Apparently, someone had slammed a ball down on the table and create a dimple, and that's what I had broken out of. My cb was probably an inch off of the table when it hit the 1b, and it headed straight for the moon.
Good luck!
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first things first - When I practice breaking it is very easy to give yourself a sloppy rack. Tighten it up.
Just like golf - sometimes we like to "overswing" - Start breaking slow and controlled and then speed up to your comfort level (Sometimes hitting too hard prevents balls from dropping)
Get someone to rack for you. Tell scully if he racks for you for a half hour, you'll rack his 8-ball game for a half hour.
Whatever spot you are breaking from, make sure to hit the 1 ball full.
Just advice I have received and found to work.
Welcome to AZ gpeezy.
Just like golf - sometimes we like to "overswing" - Start breaking slow and controlled and then speed up to your comfort level (Sometimes hitting too hard prevents balls from dropping)
Get someone to rack for you. Tell scully if he racks for you for a half hour, you'll rack his 8-ball game for a half hour.
Whatever spot you are breaking from, make sure to hit the 1 ball full.
Just advice I have received and found to work.
Welcome to AZ gpeezy.
Aaron_S said:
Aaron, you're very right. Faulty equipment can definitely lead to such results but in this instance, I think the player is speaking of a consistent pattern. I think this is likely a mechanical issue rather than equipment related.
Aaron_S said:
Given the need to clear the rail, one's cue butt will always be elevated at least slightly. The cue ball will always jump. Getting it back on the table before it hits the rack is a matter of power control. Most people who hit the lights are breaking too hard. Back off a little.
Dhakala said:
I disagree. Most people who hit the lights are elevating significantly. You're right that slight elevation is unavoidable, but many people pop balls off the table because they're elevating far more than required by the height of the rail. With a close-to-level stick, I think you can break EXTREMELY hard before you get to the point where the CB is going to have so much air when it hits the rack that you get excessive jumping.
-Andrew
Andrew Manning said:
Exactly. Slight elevation is unavoidable, and, if you're breaking pretty hard, then it may cause your cb to get a little "hoppy". If the cb's going into the lights, though, then there's another problem. If it was a simple matter of breaking too hard, then guys like Larry Nevel would be knocking shingles off of every roof they played under.
Good luck!
gpeezy
for sale!
thanks
its something i always have worked on.hitting it into the lights is something i don't really do anymore,but sometimes.i've noticed if i level out my cue as flat as possible i go back through the rack as if or i'm sure it does have top on the cue ball.so where you say the cue will be in an angle i understand.breakin with my hand on the table isn't an issue.i set the ball down fairly easily and i'm pretty accurate.problem is i don't always make a ball and i feel i need to be able to break from where ever is needed.
its something i always have worked on.hitting it into the lights is something i don't really do anymore,but sometimes.i've noticed if i level out my cue as flat as possible i go back through the rack as if or i'm sure it does have top on the cue ball.so where you say the cue will be in an angle i understand.breakin with my hand on the table isn't an issue.i set the ball down fairly easily and i'm pretty accurate.problem is i don't always make a ball and i feel i need to be able to break from where ever is needed.
One cause of the cueball jumping straight up when contacting the head ball is the "dent" in the spot caused by people hammering the ball on the spot. With the spot ball setting low the contact will be slightly above center and cause the cue ball to jump. If that's not the problem then it's surely just hitting down on the cue ball when breaking. A friend once told me that with the ideal break you hit down on the cue ball just enough for it to fly all the way to the head ball and land just as it makes contact. This makes sense to me since this reduces the friction of the cue ball sliding across the felt and makes for max speed. About 10 years of practice should do the trick.
Moronix said:A friend once told me that with the ideal break you hit down on the cue ball just enough for it to fly all the way to the head ball and land just as it makes contact. This makes sense to me since this reduces the friction of the cue ball sliding across the felt and makes for max speed. About 10 years of practice should do the trick.
Shouldn't take 10 years, maybe an hour of nothing but breaks.
I've found that for the strength of my break that when breaking off the long rail 3 or 4 inches is that a specific degree of elevation (the butt of my cue is probably something like 10 or 12 inches higher than the rail) that almost always I pot a ball or two and oftentimes three, and the cue ball hits the one, pops up in the air and comes down. When I break like this I aim smack dead center on the vertical plane and try to hit the cue ball about one tip's thickness below center, so the upper edge of the tip is near the equator on the cue ball. Done like this usually works just fine. If you are using a cue with a phenolic tip (I'm not, on this break) you may need to slow your break down a bit. Hit right the cue ball never goes off the table, just pops up perhaps a few inches to maybe a foot off the table.
Try it and see if it works for you.
Flex
P.S. If it's of interest, when breaking as noted above, I used a closed bridge above the long rail, so the edge of the shaft is probably 2-3 inches above the rail, the stroke used is a smooth pendulum stroke with full extension upon contact. The feel is similar to that when trying to jump a ball with a fullsized cue.
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