Make Your Break

Make Your Game!

When you put your best effort into a break shot and it results in a cluster of 5-6 balls, a cue ball back where it started and no balls sunk, you weakly announce to your opponent, “the table is open”.

Let's get out of this mode!

Everyone has an opinion on the best way to break the rack. The break is a personal experience. But at some point, a player will really want to do it right be consistent and get good results.
This is what we want to give you with this report.
Your break often sets the tone for what's ahead and you really give it your best effort. Many, often too many match wins start right here and you always want to give yourself the best chance. Besides a miffed break shot is kind of embarrassing.
If you want a massive break with good scatter, a ball sunk and the cue ball hanging around center table, you’re going to need to practice this shot. It is not a shot that lends itself well to repetition as you only get on crack at it and then you’ve got to rack the balls again.
There is more to a break shot than raw power. Power is most definitely a factor in a successful break, but there is no reason to sacrifice accuracy in the name of getting a big ball spread.
If you are not accurate in hitting the cue ball in its center, or miss your target in the rack, you will find yourself walking to the chair.
I know guys that absolutely crush the pack often making two, three or more balls, however their cue ball is all over the place often ending up stuck on a rail somewhere or perhaps scratching. This impresses me not. Some of the best breaks are soft breaks that players like Corey Duell and Allison Fischer use from time to time.
Corey Duell is one of the pros on tour who has a more gentle, but effective break shot. He gets good ball spread, stays at the table, keeps control of the cue ball and usually has a shot he can make coming up.
It’s a style you can emulate and should consider it.

Perform With Power

Yes, you can attain controlled power with your break and there are a few things to remember:
1. Make sure you are offered a tight rack with each ball touching.
2. Take a slightly wider stance than normal with about 60% of your weight on your leading foot for more speed and power.
3. Slip your grip back towards the butt end; you get more distance between the grip hand and your bridge hand. It also gives you more cue stick for follow through.
4. Keep your grip hand loose without losing control of the cue. It is just like golf, the looser the grip, the more club head (cue) speed you will develop.
5. Turn your back hip more towards the shot; you will get more power if you are square to the target.
6. Keep your cue tip within an inch of the cue ball to more easily find your target on the cue ball.
7. Try breaking off the end rail. A) It gives you a solid base; B) You can stay more upright and C) Your cue tends to stay straighter.
You will see many of the pros digging the cue into the table on their break shot follow through, almost to the point where they are leaning on the cue at the end of their shot. Don’t emulate this. It has a tendency top slow down the cue before it gets to the cue ball.
A lot of players, particularly those who play 9-ball will break from the side rail or close to it. There is a good chance of sinking one of the two wing balls. But the end rail shot, targeting on the head ball has a lot of advantages because it presents a bigger target.
Whatever you end up with as a style for your break shot, perfect it through practice and try to make it your personal best.

Master The Masterful Break

For a truly masterful break, one which will keep you at the table and ready for your next shot, take an arrow from The Monk’s quiver.
From shooting break shots at rack after rack for weeks and months at a time, he learned that a controlled Stun Stroke offered the best potential for anyone’s break shot.
Players who consistently utilize the Stun Break report a 70% batting average, in other words 70% of the time they sink at least one ball with their break shot and have a line on their next shot. An added plus, the cue ball remains more or less where it slammed into the rack’s head-ball, at near mid-table. So, how do you set up for and delivery a “stunning” break shot?
Good question. A stun break stroke is delivered in the same fashion as any other Stun Stroke with an increase in cue speed without sacrificing accuracy.
Start with your cue ball immediately adjacent to the foot spot where you can get a good look at the exact center of the head ball. You want the collision between the cue ball and the object ball to be in the vertical centerline of both to deliver the greatest power to the rack and derive the greatest ball spread.
The key to making it a stun stroke and not a stop shot is elevation of the butt end of the cue well above the close-to-horizontal position you would use for a billiards stroke. At the same time, you want to raise the tip of the cue so it will contact the cue ball above its equator (9 o’clock) and not past 10 o’clock.
You want to drive the cue right through the center of the cue ball at this angle to the point the tip leaves a chalk mark on the table as it drives through the cue ball’s position and follows it towards the rack.
As you can imagine, this will create a slightly airborne cue ball and that’s good. It eliminates any drag or friction on the cue ball from the cloth and provides a slightly downward impact on the head ball which helps spread the force of the impact throughout the rack.

After impact, a properly delivered stun stoke will skitter forward slightly depending on the downward force applied during the collision. Even with an 8-Ball break, you will get good ball spread with a good chance for one or two falling into pockets.
You do not focus on speed. You focus on quality of hit. You will discover, for yourself, the right speed for you. What ever it takes to shatter the balls will be your speed. Its not how hard you hit the racked balls, accuracy is much more important as accuracy allows you to spread the energy of the impact to every ball in the rack.
Energy in equals energy out. Seems simple, right? Well it is… We all make it seem difficult because we all think that if we don't create this massive explosion on the table, that we can't pocket any balls.
Power is not the single answer, Aim is not the only answer, Speed is not the exact answer; CONTROL is the answer!! We need to dominate all of the above. Power through! Body positioning and movement through the stroke will increase your power.
Make sure your aim is true. What to aim at is most important, more so than any aiming theory. There are two positions involved in aiming a break shot. First, be sure you aim at the exact core of the cue ball to keep it going straight. Your second target is the exact center of the head ball, or the point where it rests on the table felt. You need to position your aiming eye so you can clearly see both points; cue ball core and head ball center. In this way, the cue ball will draw or jump back out of the way and hopefully come to rest near the center of the table (where you want it). During your warm up strokes, follow the intended path of the cue ball, with your eyes, point to point…slowly!
Now speed things up. But remember, you must maintain control at your highest speed. The greater your control over bodily movement, the more speed you can generate. Maximum speed at the moment you make contact with the cue ball will give you more consistent results.

It is totally impossible to have a perfectly level cue on the break because you have to deal with the rail. Consider raising your bridge a little and shooting down at the cue ball. This will cause the cue ball to leave the table at impact. The distance the cue ball travels before landing back on the surface depends on the speed.
Place the cue ball where you have a chance to be reasonably successful. You will find that the further away from table center (left or right), the more exact you must be. As you are practicing in the beginning, shoot with the cue ball close to the center and gradually move it towards the rail. Keep the distance of your bridge, one tow inches back from the cue ball.
Power comes from the way our body moves. Instead of maximizing their effort towards the rack, many players appear to concentrate their efforts behind them. Learn from martial arts; to increase power, simply move your body forward, toward the rack, during the follow through. Martial arts trainees know that the slightest forward movement will create a tremendous amount of power. The elbow of your bridge hand should be bent just slightly in full backstroke position and be about 90 degrees when you have the cue at the cue ball. During your warm up strokes these work these angles back and forth ready for your stroke.
Allow yourself three or four slow warm up strokes. You need to feel your upper body pivoting back and forth on your front ankle, with your cue close to your body. When you execute the final stroke, be sure to STOP for at least one second when the cue is at the cue ball and again when you are at the end of your backstroke. Move your body with your stroke, allowing all forward movement to increase your power. This is not a time to stiffen up; you need your muscles relaxed. Don’t grit your teeth.
What to aim at is really the most important consideration. You came with the ability to aim naturally. You learned this from the time you started to walk. You naturally aim your shins to stay away from tables; you naturally pour liquid into the center of a cup without a thought. How you go about aiming is built into you by nature. In billiards aiming, you need to be aware of the two points you are going to aim at. The first is the exact center of the cue ball and the second being the point where the rack’s head-ball touches the felt, this point is the exact center of that ball. Position your head so you clearly see both points and imagine a line through them.
The key is to keep control of your highest speed. The greater control you have over your body's movement, the more speed you can generate. Maximum speed at the moment you make contact with the cue ball will give you the best consistent result.
You need to stay in control even at your highest speed. The greater control you have over your body's movement, the more speed you can generate. Your maximum speed occurs the instant the cue makes contact with the cue ball.
Try this experiment. Stand up and raise your arm straight up in the air. Now make a fist tensing all of your muscles in that arm, keep them tense and bring your arm down as fast as you can. You will find it slow and awkward. Now try the same move with your arm muscles as loose as possible.
Many players are deluded into thinking they are tapping into a reservoir of power when they tense their muscles and slam the cue into the cue ball with all the strength they can muster. Conversely, it has a lot more to do with accuracy and speed. A good habit: concentrate on keeping the backhand loose and consciously think about speed as your goal.

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