A square hit beats raw power
Dr. Dave Alciatore calls a square hit on the lead ball the most important factor in a good break. Use only as much power as you can control: extra speed with an off-square hit wastes energy and can send the cue ball off the table. Avoid side spin on the break, because it causes squirt, wastes energy and raises the chance of a scratch. Johnny Archer puts it the same way: hit the head ball dead center for maximum energy transfer. Shawn Putnam's one exception: a touch of side spin if you keep scratching in the same side pocket.
"Squat the rock"
Hit slightly above center at high speed. The cue ball arrives at the rack with a little topspin, which cancels its rebound off the rack and parks it near the middle of the table. Good breakers often address the ball low, but the shoulder motion and elbow drop of a power stroke lift the tip so contact ends up slightly above center; Dr. Dave describes this in Shane Van Boening's break. Keep the cue as level as possible through impact to limit how much the cue ball hops.
Where the power comes from
- A longer bridge.
- Choking up on the grip.
- A more upright stance, for a longer lever.
- Controlled elbow drop.
- A relaxed grip; a death grip reduces power.
- A firmly planted bridge hand, acceleration through the ball and a straight follow-through.
Do not lunge with your body or lift out of the shot unless you have practiced it enough to control it.
Where to break from
- Nine-ball. A break from near the side rail, using a rail bridge, gives the best chance of making the 1 ball in the side pocket or a wing ball in a corner. The near wing ball is the easiest to pocket. Billiards Digest reports that most pros break nine-ball from a few inches off a side rail, adjusting position and speed until a ball drops reliably.
- Ten-ball and power eight-ball. With a square hit, the second-row balls tend toward the side pockets and the corner balls travel about four rails toward the corners.
- The eight-ball "second-ball" break. Breaking from the side rail into the second-row ball at softer speed is a good choice where making the 8 on the break wins the game, as under APA rules.
On an unfamiliar table, look for the most prominent cloth burn marks between the head string and the foot spot. They usually show the best break route.
What the pros get from a break
Statistics from the 2013 US Open Nine-Ball, cited by Dr. Dave: the breaker made a ball without fouling 63 percent of the time, won 56 percent of games, and broke and ran out 21 percent of the time.
Equipment for breaking
Use the hardest tip your rules allow (phenolic, if permitted) and a break cue whose natural pivot length matches your bridge length. A dedicated break cue also protects your playing cue: Dr. Dave notes that power breaking with a playing cue can damage it and flatten its tip.
How fast do people break?
Break speeds are often quoted in miles per hour, but the figures commonly passed around (for example, many men plateauing around 22 to 24 mph) come from forum contributors rather than measured studies, so we do not treat them as reliable norms.