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How to Prevent Cue Ball Follow on a Break Shot

12/10/2006 10:12:10 AM

How to Prevent Cue Ball Follow on a Break Shot

While I consciously try to hit the cue ball below center when I'm breaking a rack of 9-ball, nine times out of ten the white ball hesitates a second then shoots forward with more follow than I can muster when I'm actually trying applying high stuff.

Am I so far out of whack that on my final break shot stroke I miss the spot on the cue ball where I am aiming, or is some other spherical phenomenon at work?

I've been setting the cue ball up about 6-8 inches from the head rail and using a rail bridge. For the heck of it, I broke today from a point even with the spot holding the cue with a regular bridge and, lo and behold, only one time out of 20 breaks did I inadvertently put follow on the cue ball.

As far as my intentions go, I'm looking to bring the ball back and have it come to a stop near the center of the table so as to increase my chances of having a shot if I pocket something on the break.

I watch a lot of guys who crush the balls on the break but have no control of the cue ball.

I'm at a stage now where I have a pretty good chance of running the rack if I can get that first shot.

How to Prevent Cue Ball Follow on a Break Shot

Replies & Comments
  1. acedotcomBVal on 12/29/2006 3:18:03 PM

    When I break, I hit the cue ball as dead center (no english) as possible and can get the cue ball to hit the head ball and stop in the middle quite often.

    I break from just behind the head spot with a closed bridge. I have experimented in many different ways and for me, this is the best way that I have found to pocket a ball and have control of the cue ball.

  2. acedotcomHustl3r on 12/29/2006 3:50:40 PM

    You are going to have to determine if you are truly hitting the cue ball at dead center.

    To do this, empty the table, minus the cue ball. Then, set the cue ball at one end of the table and hit it straight down to the opposite rail. During this shot, watch the path that the cue ball travels on the way back up the table toward you.

    One thing that has helped me tremendously is something my buddy told me one day. It sounded so profoundly stupid, but so correct it wasn't funny. How many times do you watch people break, and just before they finish the stroke, there looking at the racked balls instead of the cue ball? Same as how some players focus on the racked balls while actually breaking instead of one the cue ball.

    I was doing this to a slight degree and my buddy comes up to me and says "Hey, do you think after you racked those balls, do you think they moved any?"

    I'm like "Moved?, Of course not, it's a racked set of balls".

    He said "Exactly, then why concentrate on them? They are not going anywhere until the cue ball hits them".

    Now I line up stance, my line and where I want to hit the rack, and then I take my stroke and do nothing but concentrate on where I hit the cue ball. I literally watch my tip approach the cue ball on every pre-shot stroke and continue to do that on the break shot stroke.

    I don't actually look at the rack until my follow through stroke is complete. I've become much more accurate with cue ball hits this way. I always have a tendency of breaking hard, and would sometimes not connect properly with the cue ball and it would fly all over the place, including off the table.

  3. acedotcomBVal on 12/29/2006 4:16:11 PM

    I also do the same thing as @Hustl3r. I line up, watch the cue ball and then concentrate on where I am hitting the cue ball.

  4. acedotcomacedotcom on 12/30/2006 9:19:16 PM

    Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give them each a try. I really need to get my breaks under control, especially with where the cue ball comes to rest afterward.

  5. acedotcomMilty on 12/30/2006 10:01:51 PM

    @Hustl3r - But since you're aiming for a specific point on the head ball -- probably to get a full hit, then why is the break shot any different from any other shot where we are encouraged to look at the object ball?

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How to Prevent Cue Ball Follow on a Break Shot

  • Title: How to Prevent Cue Ball Follow on a Break Shot
  • Author: (Michael Toscano)
  • Published: 12/10/2006 10:12:10 AM