Working on my break...what eye patterns do you use

8

8onthebreak

THE WORLD IS YOURS
Silver Member
I'm interested to know what your eye patterns are while breaking...
Do you look at cue ball, object ball, then only cue ball?

Cue, then object ball last?

Cue and object at same time , both thru peripheral vision?

The post about cue ball last got me thinking but I didn't want to hijack that thread, since I'm only interested in the break, and patterns leading up to the final delivery.

As always, I appreciate everyone's input. Thx.
 
Personally for me every shot is 1) cb 2) ob 3)cb 4)ob with the break being no different

1. practice strokes with the english desired
2. aiming at the ob to pocket it
3. check if your practice strokes are on par to strike the cb at spot desired
4. stare down the ob
(5.) follow through without taking eyes off the ob

if you don't pocket the desired ball, most of the time you'll be able to see or hear exactly what you did wrong.
 
Last edited:
8onthebreak said:
I'm interested to know what your eye patterns are while breaking...
Do you look at cue ball, object ball, then only cue ball?

Cue, then object ball last?

Cue and object at same time , both thru peripheral vision?

The post about cue ball last got me thinking but I didn't want to hijack that thread, since I'm only interested in the break, and patterns leading up to the final delivery.

As always, I appreciate everyone's input. Thx.
Click to expand...

I always look at the CB last when I'm breaking. Any other time the OB
 
Same as any other shot.

I go through the same pre shot routine for the break as I do for every shot.
I practice my break using a phenolic tip with no chalk and an open bridge. This makes certain that I am hitting with power that I can control.
 
My break is a lot different than "any other shot" that I execute. After positioning the CB exactly where I want it...

I start by standing probably six feet behind the CB, then walk into the line, trying to keep my head/eyes/"vision center" in line as much as possible. From here on out, I try not to move my head. If I'm not lined up, I stand up, turn away, and start over.

I continue by loosely lining up the CB towards the rack, adjusting my bridge, stance, and the position of my feet. Only then do I begin to actually aim the CB at the rack.

I spend plenty of time, stroking slowly, with my eyes only on the CB, maybe even start to raise my torso up a bit to double check my "active" alignment, as I know my body will move when I pull the trigger. When my body moves, I want to make sure my head moves towards the rack, not off to the side.

Next, I focus my eyes intently on the head ball of the rack, while continuing to move the cue back and forth.

Then I do a few "test" strokes, as if I'm tricking my body into thinking that THIS stroke is THE ONE, but then stop each time, at the last moment before making contact.

Then I execute a few more practice strokes while moving my eyes back and forth between the rack and the CB, ending with a near stop, verifying that the tip is at my intended contact point on the CB.

When that looks and feels good, I then lock in and trust the tip position and cue alignment and focus ONLY on the head ball. I pretend it is the only ball on the table, and I'm going to smack it so straight and fast, the foot rail is going to crack, and the cue ball is going to dribble forward (I find that a touch of follow helps the cue ball "stick" to the middle of the table after it hops back).

I pull back that final time, pause briefly, then all at once, rotate my hips slightly and strike the CB as FAST (not "HARD") as possible, with my eyes glued to the head ball.

I hope this helps. I'll shoot a little video if you'd like to see my technique and eye movements. I know many others break better than I, but this works well for me. I average around 23 mph, according to the Predator Break Speed app.

Rack em!

-Blake
 
Rather than focusing on the cue ball or the object ball last, I like to focus on the spot where my cue tip will appear. For me that's about 6 inches pass the cue ball.

I just change the eye pattern in my regular PSR, every thing else stays the same.

randyg
 
peteypooldude said:
I always look at the CB last when I'm breaking. Any other time the OB
Click to expand...

I actually started doing exactly this. I used to look at the OB last on everything. As long as I line up on the spot of the rack I want to hit and my stroke is fairly straight it has worked pretty well. I am able to hit the spot on the cueball that I want and will draw less on my breaks which tends to have been a problem with breaking harder.
 
randyg said:
Rather than focusing on the cue ball or the object ball last, I like to focus on the spot where my cue tip will appear. For me that's about 6 inches pass the cue ball.

I just change the eye pattern in my regular PSR, every thing else stays the same.

randyg
Click to expand...

Interesting randy.:D

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9100 mit Tapatalk 2
 
I look at cue ball last, but you may need to decide what to look at based on your individual results.

If you keep accidentally drawing to the head rail, jumping off the table, or getting massive sidespin, you may have an issue hitting the intended spot on the cue ball. So you should pay extra attention to the cue ball.

If you never hit the rack square and your ball always flies off to the side, you may have an issue with your aim. Then it may help to be staring at the head ball during your stroke, with the idea that you want to shoot it like a stop shot. In the past I'd imagine it travelling straight through the rack to hit the rail on the same line I'm sending whitey.

I think most people's errors are the first one (hitting the wrong spot on the cue ball). If you line up correctly and don't steer midstroke, you should be able to look at the cue ball on your final swing and send it where you lined up.
 
CreeDo said:
I look at cue ball last, but you may need to decide what to look at based on your individual results.

If you keep accidentally drawing to the head rail, jumping off the table, or getting massive sidespin, you may have an issue hitting the intended spot on the cue ball. So you should pay extra attention to the cue ball.

If you never hit the rack square and your ball always flies off to the side, you may have an issue with your aim. Then it may help to be staring at the head ball during your stroke, with the idea that you want to shoot it like a stop shot. In the past I'd imagine it travelling straight through the rack to hit the rail on the same line I'm sending whitey.

I think most people's errors are the first one (hitting the wrong spot on the cue ball). If you line up correctly and don't steer midstroke, you should be able to look at the cue ball on your final swing and send it where you lined up.
Click to expand...

^^^ I like this. :thumbup:

Most of the time I tend to look at the cueball last, while breaking.
 
While breaking, I step into the position where my shaft is aimed to the center of the head ball. I then look at the cue ball and memorize that position, look at head spot, then look back to spot on the cue ball. My eyes then flicker up to the spot on the head ball and follow through to break... This works for me..

I do agree with what creeDo said as well.
 
randyg said:
Rather than focusing on the cue ball or the object ball last, I like to focus on the spot where my cue tip will appear. For me that's about 6 inches pass the cue ball.

I just change the eye pattern in my regular PSR, every thing else stays the same.

randyg
Click to expand...

Somebody taught me this a couple of years ago and my break has improved a lot. Focus on a spot 5 or 6 inches past the CB where you want your tip to end up, on the cloth.
 
Thenclick_Save_-_Save_for_Web_and_Devices_to_save_it_as_GIF_and_now_we%27ve_got_the_blink_or_wink_image.gif
 
randyg said:
Rather than focusing on the cue ball or the object ball last, I like to focus on the spot where my cue tip will appear. For me that's about 6 inches pass the cue ball.

I just change the eye pattern in my regular PSR, every thing else stays the same.

randyg
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, Randy. Sounds promising.

I'm off to the pool hall to try this on my lunch break.

Well, I mean try it ON my 9-ball break, DURING my lunch break. :)

-Blake
 
I like to look at my cue ball last, but only on the break. Personally, I would file this subject away in the "grey area" bin. That is to say, there is no "correct" answer. So experiment a bit, and do what works best for you.
 
randyg said:
Rather than focusing on the cue ball or the object ball last, I like to focus on the spot where my cue tip will appear. For me that's about 6 inches pass the cue ball.

I just change the eye pattern in my regular PSR, every thing else stays the same.

randyg
Click to expand...

Very good and informative post. Thanks
 
randyg said:
Rather than focusing on the cue ball or the object ball last, I like to focus on the spot where my cue tip will appear. For me that's about 6 inches pass the cue ball.

I just change the eye pattern in my regular PSR, every thing else stays the same.

randyg
Click to expand...

I'm finding this to be somewhat easier than trying to look at the cue ball...and im finding more cue ball control than looking at the object ball last. the cue ball seems like its the start point of the stroke, feels like it limits my follow-thru looking down at the cue ball...
Anyone else tried this?
 
I agree with what a lot of other people have said on here. For the break I look at the cue ball last, which is different than any other shot I take. I was taught by a masters level BCA instructor and his advice was to always look at CB last on the break and then look at the OB last for every other shot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top