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Making the 9-Ball on a Break

8/11/2009 10:23:47 PM

Making the 9-Ball on a Break

The other day I was playing nine ball on a new table at my friends house. One of my friends, who never played nine ball before, sank 3 consecutive 9 balls on three breaks.

He finally missed on the 4th break. Has anyone ever even heard of this happening before?.What are the odds?

I am seriously trying to figure out the odds on this one.

Making the 9-Ball on a Break

Replies & Comments
  1. Hinds-57guest on 2/24/2010 4:35:09 PM

    I have heard the odds of a nine on the snap is somewhere in the nature of 1 in 30

  2. Hinds-57Brucifer on 10/27/2010 9:50:57 AM

    If 30 to 1 is correct for sinking it on the snap then doing it 3 times in a row would be 2700 to 1.

  3. Hinds-57Mitch Alsup on 11/14/2010 2:36:55 PM
    1. I think the odds of a random break dropping the 9 is a lot lower than 1/30
    2. there is nothing random about a carefully crafted break shot
    3. This is one of the reasons that "the powers that be" have been twiddling with the break rules. Way back in about 2003 at a big tournament in the Philippines, the pros figured out how to drop a wing ball essentially every time. In particular, they were using a soft break, leaving almost all the balls in a little cluster around the rack area. This allowed easy run-outs.

    So the "powers that be" tried a bunch of silly rule changes

    1. 9-ball on the head spot instead of the 1. This lasted about 4 tournaments until the pros figured it out.
    2. 3-balls have to stay above the head string. This lasted 3 tournaments when the fans protested (barfed)
    3. 3-balls have to traverse the head string. Apparently still in effect

    What all this goes to show is the the game of 9-ball is not a good way to determine who is the better pool player (on that day), and clearly shows that non-call rotation games are not good at it either. The problem is that 9-ball (and 10-ball) have the perfect length of games for TV broadcast (7 minutes) and getting all those commercials in. 8-ball, 14.1 continuous, 15-ball rotation, cowboy, are simply not.

  4. Hinds-57gibson on 11/27/2010 1:02:08 PM

    I think the table you play has a lot to do with it. My table is an oversize eight foot Gandy and the pockets are quite liberal. I can make a wing ball over fifty per cent of the time. I have experimented on breaking the nine ball and can put the ball within one foot of a corner pocket most of the time as well. This can have a negative effect for the breaker in that the non-breaking opponent may be left with an easy combination or carom shot if he makes a few balls to win the game on his first turn.

  5. Hinds-57Mitch Alsup on 11/30/2010 4:04:14 PM

    Just for fun, I decided to play myself in some 9-ball last night. It started out pretty miserably, and then got better After 4 racks, I potted the 9-ball on the snap. On the very next rack I potted the 9-ball again on the snap. So I got 2 clean 9-balls in 7 total racks, and I'm not a 9-ball player.

  6. Hinds-57erinem2003 on 2/27/2011 1:19:26 PM

    I've done it twice in a row, but never 3 times.

  7. Hinds-57Jay Janzen on 4/28/2011 7:58:05 PM

    9 Ball breaks? Seriously folks... I've seen it countless times before they changed the rules to alternating breaks.

    If you really want to bake your noodle, you should watch Canadian 9 Ball Champion Alex Pagulayan. He's been known for his break shots and on a few rare occasions has pocketed 6 balls on the break

    Google it and you'll find out for yourself.

    Cheers, Jay.

  8. Hinds-57Fenwick on 6/7/2011 6:31:48 AM

    I saw Alex Pagulayan make 6 balls on the break and still lose the game.

  9. Hinds-57MultiplePoolsGuy on 6/20/2011 8:32:31 AM

    It's quite rare to get a 9-ball in on the break three times in a row. And if he is not a professional billiards player, that makes it even more rare.

  10. Hinds-57QStix on 4/11/2012 9:57:04 PM

    In a 9-ball break, actually one person is chosen to shoot first, by breaking the rack. Usually this is determined by flipping a coin, or by lagging, especially in professional tournaments in the case of the latter, or it may be ruled by the authority in charge, the sponsor or the players themselves that the winner or loser of the previous game will always shoot first in the next rack. As with most pocket billiard games, the base of the cue ball must be behind the head string for the break shot. If the player who breaks fails to make a legal break, the opponent can either demand a re-rack and become the breaker, or continue to play as if it had been an ordinary foul, depending upon the rules of the event. If the breaker pockets a ball and commits no foul, it remains the breaker's turn. If the breaker pockets the 9 ball on the break (without fouling), this is an instant win.

  11. Hinds-57QStix on 5/11/2012 12:01:03 AM

    It's amazing to get a 9-ball in on the break three time in a row. It;s mean guy who done this is Briant in his business. But i think it is not possible in regular way.

  12. Hinds-57ivor1987 on 10/10/2012 5:18:22 AM

    You get ball-in-hand, meaning you can put the cue ball anywhere on the table for your next shot. The only possible way this isn't a foul if it's on the shot immediately after the break and your opponent calls a "push out

  13. Hinds-57tasha_silvester on 10/11/2012 2:56:08 PM

    Make sure that the balls in the rack are tight and frozen. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the 9-ball to break out of its comfortable place at the middle of the rack.

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Making the 9-Ball on a Break

  • Title: Making the 9-Ball on a Break
  • Author: (John Hinds)
  • Published: 8/11/2009 10:23:47 PM