Break shot: most important component?

[gulfportdoc]

Which do y'all think is the most important consideration in the break shot? The perfect 1st and 2nd ball hit, or the proper CB speed and english in order to leave it on the rail between the 2nd and 3rd diamonds? Sometimes the rack is spread open nicely with balls in front of your hole, but the CB is left in an easy defensive position. Other times the CB might be left perfectly, but there are hardly any balls out of the stack, and nothing near your hole. Comments?

Doc

[gulfportdoc]

Which do y'all think is more important on the break shot? Getting the perfect hit on the 1st and 2nd balls, or using the right speed and english to leave the CB on the rail between diamonds 2 & 3? Oftentimes the breaker will get a good spread, only to leave the CB in an easy spot for the opponent. Other times the CB is left perfectly, but the stack hasn't been opened well for the breaker. Comments?

Doc

[hemicudas]

Which do y'all think is more important on the break shot? Getting the perfect hit on the 1st and 2nd balls, or using the right speed and english to leave the CB on the rail between diamonds 2 & 3? Oftentimes the breaker will get a good spread, only to leave the CB in an easy spot for the opponent. Other times the CB is left perfectly, but the stack hasn't been opened well for the breaker. Comments?

Doc
The hit, Doc. If you don't split hit the 1st and 2nd ball it probably doesn't matter where the cue ball is because the guy is subject to having a hanging ball in his pocket.

[Troy]

Mmmm... Both... :) But I'd go for the CB on the rail between the 2nd & 3rd diamond while being sure the corner ball on my opponent's side does NOT come out too far.
The break is the easiest shot to practice by yourself, IMO.

Troy
Which do y'all think is the most important consideration in the break shot? The perfect 1st and 2nd ball hit, or the proper CB speed and english in order to leave it on the rail between the 2nd and 3rd diamonds? Sometimes the rack is spread open nicely with balls in front of your hole, but the CB is left in an easy defensive position. Other times the CB might be left perfectly, but there are hardly any balls out of the stack, and nothing near your hole. Comments?

Doc

[OldHasBeen]

If your playing even - The most important shot is the eighth ball you make.

TY & GL

[lfigueroa]

Leaving the cue ball on the rail will cure a host of sins.

Lou Figueroa

[SactownTom]

Leaving the cue ball on the rail will cure a host of sins.

Lou Figueroa

Tap! Tap! Tap!

[NH Steve]

Assuming you have decent inside english, and you have decent speed, the perfect hit will pretty much take care of the cue ball.

O course the english is important for landing the cue close to the side cushion, and it is also reported to help open the rack to your advantage (not sure about that, though), but the worst that can happen with weak english is that the cue ball will be more accessible for your opponent 'cuz it's off the rail; the speed is important, but as long as you land somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd diamonds you should be okay; but if your hit is off, you're pretty much dead in the water against a good player. So I vote for the hit.

A good aggressive break is a real precision shot, and players who execute inside english well from a distance, and spend time perfecting their break, will definitely be rewarded if they make the effort to develop a good break. You can play the break more aggressively, IMHO, if you are capable of that kind of accuracy consistently.

On the other hand, if your execution is just a little bit weaker, you are better off moving the cue ball an inch or two farther from the side cushion (to maybe 6 inches or so off the rail, as opposed to 4 or so for an aggressive break), which is a more forgiving approach angle into the first two balls.

Anyhow, that's my thought...

[Voodoo Daddy]

If your playing even - The most important shot is the eighth ball you make.

TY & GL

Best answer I ever heard...thank you OHB. I was at a 9-ball tournament once and a bunch of us were at the board. I heard "if I beat him I gotta play him" so on and so on. I was asked who's in my bracket and I said "it dont matter if I dont make the last ball" !!!

[Tennessee Joe6]

I think the most important aspect of a One Pocket break is to inspect the rack to determine if and how to break!!!---Any comments.

Tennessee Joe--- "I never had a pretty girl forget my name."

[iusedtoberich]

Inspecting the rack is very important in my "intermediate" opinion. Very few players I play know what to look for. I always play rack your own, and I laugh when these guys seem to get a kiss off of the corner ball with a relatively high frequency.

On a similar topic, I just recently watched the 2005 DCC One Pocket final between Cory and Efren. They were using the Sardo rack. After each of Cory's racks, he would disturb the balls by placing both of his hands/palms over the entire rack. Does anyone know what he was trying to do? The way he was touching all the balls at once suggests to me that he was trying to introduce gaps in the rack, rather than try to eliminate gaps in a specific area as you would when just nudging at a single ball. Efren didn't seem to question what Cory was doing in the video, and Efren was satisfied on his own racks without disturbing the balls after the Sardo rack.

Thanks.

[kollegedave]

Holy cow, did you get lost? Now, I know what to practice for this summer.

kollegedave

Leaving the cue ball on the rail will cure a host of sins.

Lou Figueroa

[nah2ofounten]

Here it is from the beginner's perspective:
a. it is important to keep the corner ball away from opponent's pocket.
b. it it important to leave the cue ball on the rail as described.
Generally, I can accomplish these, BUT, it is also important to spread/push the balls to your pocket to obtain the advantage of the break. I have trouble with this. The better breaks that I have seen appear to employ speed/english to slow/kill the cue ball at after the 1-2 spilt. I feel like I do not have the speed/english portion of the equation so I end up only spreading a few balls.

[gulfportdoc]

a. it is important to keep the corner ball away from opponent's pocket.


If the 5 balls are frozen on the breaker's side of the rack, then after an otherwise good hit the 4th or 5th ball won't kick out, which often causes either a sell-out or a scratch.

I think inconsistent break results are many times due to poor racking. If the balls are well racked, then with practice, the breaks should be responding with ball-park similarity.

Doc

[lfigueroa]

Holy cow, did you get lost? Now, I know what to practice for this summer.

kollegedave

It won't help your cause -- the tables are playing *real* tough right about now. They will, however, really sharpen you up for any other (read C&C crap) equipment you might play on this summer :-)

Lou Figueroa