break

• ball hop
• follow-through
• making the 8-ball
• measuring your own break speed
• technique advice

for more information, see Section 7.05 in The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards

ball hop

Why does the cue ball sometimes jump in the air and/or off the table during the break?

HSV A.123 and HSV A.124 show some possible effects at play.

A significant hop can occur only if the cue ball is slightly airborne at impact (assuming the balls are the same size). This is actually very common because the cue stick, which needs to be elevated over the rails, strikes down on the CB causing it to bounce. The cue ball can also "climb" the lead ball a small amount with topspin from follow on the break shot, but this effect is not significant.

If you hit the lead ball squarely (as you should with a good break), the cue ball hop is not a problem. However, with a non-square hit, the cue ball can easily fly off the table.

To reduce the amount of hop, try keeping the cue more level (less elevated) at impact with the CB. Also, try to reduce how much you are hitting the CB above center, especially if the CB has too much follow action after landing. Above center hits cause squirt into the table, which causes CB hop (e.g., see HSV B.13).

from Patrick Johnson:
That's good advice. There's also a way to improve your results even if you can't entirely get rid of "the hops": adjust the length of your break shot so the cue ball is at the bottom of its hop (touching the cloth) when it hits the rack. If you're breaking from the head string, try moving back some. If you're breaking from the head rail, try moving forward some.

follow through

Should I use an extended follow through on the break shot?

I think this is a question of cause and effect. A follow-through strictly has no influence on the cue ball because the cue tip is in contact with the cue ball for only a very short amount of time (approximately 0.001 seconds). The only things that significantly affect the breaking power for a given cue stick are cue stick speed at impact, tip offset (distance away from a center ball hit), and the squareness of the hit on the lead ball. However, if a powerful stroke does not exhibit a big follow-through, it is either not very powerful, or effort is being made to limit the follow-through. If one tries to constrain the follow-through, one will probably not achieve maximum speed at impact. Many authors and instructors recommend trying to "accelerate through the ball" for power shots. This thinking often helps one create good power, and it results in significant follow-through.

Follow-through can also be important in achieving good action on draw shots (although, not always for the reasons people think). For more info, see my May'06 instructional article. In particular, see item "b" under "other advice" and item "5" under "stroke best practices." I think these points apply equally well to both a power break and a power draw.

from Fran Crimi:
Besides making sure the rack is tight, you MUST exaggerate your follow-through. Even if you think you are following through enough, push through even more. Watch Strickland's follow-through. The cue literally comes out of his bridge hand and is extended all the way down the table. It's difficult to master that letting-go technique with accuracy but with lots of practice, it will pay off in spades.

The other option is to leave the cue in your bridge hand but with an over-extended follow-through, if you lean into the break shot, you will definitely bend the shaft and possibly crack or break it like some other players do.

I prefer the letting-go technique.

making the 8-ball

How can I increase my chances of making the 8-ball on the break?

Not all leagues and tournaments award a game victory for making the 8-ball on the break; but if they do, it is wise to try to increase your chances for pocketing the 8-ball. A good tehcnique for this is to place the CB close to the side rail on the head string, and hit the 2nd ball in the rack squarely. The 8-ball will often head toward the opposite side pocket, and the balls will usually disperse well. Clips HSV 7.8-7.11 show how it works. For illustrations and more information, see Section 7.05 in The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards.

measuring your own break speed

Is there an easy way to measure your break shot speed without a fancy radar gun?

from Runnin8:
To find your own break speed:

1) Measure the distance between where your cueball rests on the table for a normal break and the headspot, subtract 2.25" for one ball diameter.

2) Use sound recorder on a PC to record the sound of your break. We used a laptop with it next to the table. Most PCs can record at 44Khz, or 44 thousand times a second, more than accurate enough. Also, forget about having to get it right in the middle. Unless your break speed is near the speed of sound its a nit. Use a sound program like Wavepad to open the file and identify the peak where the cue strikes the cueball and then the peak at rack contact. If you highlight with Wavepad it will tell you to the thousandth of a second.

3) Your break speed in mph is:

(distance-2.25) / 12*60/88 / (measured time)

technique advice

What is some important basic advice about the break shot?

The most important thing to remember is: an accurate (square) hit on the lead ball is the most important factore for a good break. Only use as much power as you can control.

Colin Colenso's video (NV A.20) on power break technique is pretty good.

For more info, see BD's breaking tips of the pros.

from Cornerman:
I notice that players that are stronger in the arm can break big with a short bridge. Others get great control with a super long bridge. Anyone who discourages the long bridge needs to step back and really really really make sure they understand the mechanic and why some players can indeed get better control with a longer bridge.

The longer bridge allows you to get to a higher speed while maintaining a lower acceleration. That is, you might be under more control with a longer bridge in getting the final desired stick speed. The shorter bridge, you'll need to have a higher acceleration for the same final stick speed. And that will need more arm strength to keep under control.

See also: Fred's posting on break technique.

from Jal:
You want the cueball to have some topspin when it meets the rack. This will act like a brake and stop it from rebounding back too far.

It doesn't necessarily mean hitting above center. The cueball will tend to pick up some topspin after it leaves your tip, even if it sails all the way to the rack. It gets it from the first bounce off the bed just after tip/ball impact, and of course, any subsequent bounces. (In fact, to my understanding, if it is airborn all the way, it should pick up more topspin from the one bounce than if it slid along the surface the entire way.)

Exactly where to strike to get the right amount of topspin depends on ball speed, cue elevation and cloth/ball conditions. But, it's going to be near centerball.

The adjustment, in theory, is very simple. If the cueball is following too far forward, hit lower; if it's rebounding back too far, hit higher. If it's badly inconsistent, shorten your bridge length and/or slow down some until you get better control.

from DSAPOLIS:
These are some articles that I wrote several years ago...

Breaking To Win

Mastering The Break