So I've been paying more and more attention to my break shot in 9 ball. Started taking note of which balls I place where or sometimes simply 2 and 3 as the wing balls to keep track of which ones go down. What I do is place the cue ball a few inches off of the right rail and try to smash it just a hair off dead centre of the head ball with a touch of back spin. I find when I do that, I usually pocket one of the wing balls straight in the corner pocket, they jaw around and end up in the opposite corner pocket, or they jaw around and end up in or near one of the baulk corner pockets. I rarely pocket the 1 ball and the cue ball almost always end up somewhere I could atleast see the 1 ball. Most of the time, I get a nice spread and the break is legal with the 3 balls must be pocketed or pass head string rule they use in the Mosconi Cup.

Contrast that with the cut break. First of all, I can't pull it off. Not with the frequency of ball potting I'd like. Well, I just can't get the 1 into the side pocket and I don't understand how those who use the cut break can. It also seems to me that potting the 1 ball on the break is a double edged sword. Yeah, you have a ball down but you have less predictability of where the 2 ball would be than where the 1 ball would be if you didn't pot it. I hate potting balls on the break and spreading them nicely only to find myself snookered and having to push. Also, isn't there a lesser margin of error for the 1 heading into the side pocket than wingball towards the corner pocket? I'm probably coming off as bashing the cut break here but I'm just curious as to how it works. I know I shouldn't fix what isn't broken and I should stick with what's working for me but I just want to indulge my curiosity.

Also, I just realized the break takes alot of concentration and precision. At the start of my 10 hour session, I was consistently knocking potting wing balls off the break after getting warmed up. At the tail end of the session, it got harder and harder, I was coming up dry more often.

9ball breaks depend so heavily on how the balls are racked and how the equipment is playing. It's good to have as much knowledge of the rack and different types of breaks to have.

If you can find it pick up a copy of Joe Tuckers Racking Secrets. He shares some basic insight into how the rack gets effected by small changes in ball placement. You can expand more by tinkering around yourself.

Better still, get the video version of Racking Secrets where he shows them to you.

I actually meant the DVD as the book is hard to get a hold of - or so I hear.

Any hope of getting it on the internet for free?

Edit: Already checked youtube. No luck.

If you're serious about learning, it's well worth the $ imo.

I don't have a whole lot of money right now. Guess I gotta wait a bit.

csb, playing league match tonite, won the break, proceeded to shank the white straight in the corner pocket. Still won tho /csb

Anyone just have the most luck doing the standard close to the rail at the 2nd diamond into the headball break? I have not really tried anything else because as long as the rack is good or a magic rack is used the wingball goes. I tend to hit it with a lot of force and if the wingball does not go one of the 2 balls beind the middle row often goes up table and back down into the corner pocket.

Just my observations.

That's the break I use.

deviating a touch i go in-off into the centre bag at english 8 ball far too often

Speaking of 8 ball, I play it so rarely now that I've forgotten how to break from the centre. I break it the same way as I break 9 ball racks. I find myself jamming my hand against the table when I break from the centre quite often.

10 Ball racked using MBR. Break about 1 inch outside of the break box from the right side. Hit head ball just a hair off dead centre. Head ball and a ball behind it head towards the left side pocket high percentage of the time, the back ball sinks more often than not. Have I solved the 10 ball break?

Nah, probably not, maybe just for that particular table but I think cutting the head ball into the side is the easiest way to solve the 10 ball break. It's too hard sinking the corner balls consistently.

I am not sure about this, I need some data. I know for 9 ball the one in the side is a speed shot, but I am quite unfamiliar with the 10 ball break. The ten ball breaks I have seen from good florida players have been making one or both of the back corner balls 4 rails with a very high success rate. The balls clearly have a propensity for 4 rails, but I don't know if its a high enough percentage shot to justify taking it. Although success rates on the break very immensely from player to player and from game to different game. These being very good players, I tend to think that the things they are doing consistently are more or less the right way for them to be done. But I would love to be shown why I am wrong so I can play better.

Check out the site for yourself Pro pool video dot com

Under the match videos section there are 2 10 ball matches, tons of other formats and games including some 3 cushion billiards which are amazing imo.

I have lurked 2+2 on and off for years now, this is my first post though. I have 10k online poker games played in the last 3 or so years and I love pool, so I hope to get in some good discussions with you all about the passions of my life, poker and pool.

I watched a couple videos of 10 ball on youtube. Check out Corey Deuel vs John Schmidt and Johnny Archer vs Ralf Souquet. Souquet and for a bit Schmidt were going for the corner ball 4 rail into corner pocket. You have to smash the rack hard and hope the traffic doesn't hold them up. Then I went ahead and did some experiments on my own. I could get the head ball and the ball behind it to head towards the side pocket no problem but you have to hit it slightly softer which leads to a cluster of balls near the foot spot more often than not. I could get the corner balls to take the 4 rail route but pocketing them is really low percentage for me. However, the table spreads better. So my conclusion is the cut break into the side is higher percentage (like 80% for me on a good day) than the cornerball 4 rail (practically 0% for me) but the 4 railer spreads the rack much better. I think it's down to brute force practicing to get a feel for the break to be successful with the 4 railer but the reward is worth it.