Anyone use a separate break cue for UK 8 ball pool???

[sootyvrs]

Thinking about getting a separate cue just to break with.

My current cue is only 13.8 oz and very short at 51" and no good for breaking with plus I loath smacking the balls with my perfect pressed tip thinking that repeated breaking cant do it any good plus it's only a 8.5mm tip and the shaft is medium stiffness.

At one of my league clubs I use the cheapo club cue with a screw on tip and find that I can generate great power with this cue and break very well with it.

I have however, tried other club cues in away venues and some are not so good so was thinking just to get a cheap 2 pc pool cue (with screw on tip) to give me some piece of mind not to damage my fragile playing cue.

The cue is only a tenner so no big loss if it's not so good.

I have also seen US Pool break cues with phenolic tips which look tempting if they work better. Not used one myself but would be interested if anyone uses one.

As breaking off is such an important aspect of the game which can greatly influence winning or losing a frame, I don't mind investing in a US pool type break cue if they do make a difference.

[MattCash]

My current cue is only 13.8 oz and very short at 51" and no good for breaking with plus I loath smacking the balls with my perfect pressed tip thinking that repeated breaking cant do it any good plus it's only a 8.5mm tip and the shaft is medium stiffness.

so was thinking just to get a cheap 2 pc pool cue (with screw on tip) to give me some piece of mind not to damage my fragile playing cue.

I can't see any harm in breaking with your cue, I've been playing UK 8 ball for 9 years with a cue 49" long, 11.5oz and 8.25mm tip and there's never been any problems at all when breaking with it. If it really bothers you though, then any cheap bce, riley etc should do the job.

[old school]

I agree with "snookerloopy" and see no problem with breaking with your existing cue.Myself,Crispian and "snookerloopy " all break and play with cues of a lighter weight and smaller tip than average and we are comfortable with this,however if it is a psychological or confidence issue then do what you think is best.Consistency in your break is everything and if you are not consistent because you are afraid of damaging your cue or tip and thus break differently then,yes, buy a cheapo to thrash on the break.I will say however that good technique and consistent cueing would be better in the long run.Hope this helps.

[jaffa.johnson]

I agree with old school and snookerloopy but if you want to have break cue then go for it.

I was going to try a phenolic tip but the person on here who was gonna send me it hasnt. I cant even remember who it was now.

My personal choice for a breaking cue would be a MW pressed tip, i have better and more consistent breaks with this tip compared to, blue diamond, diamond plus, elkmaster, mw laminated and the screw tips.

[sootyvrs]

I think it's a combination of things like you said relating to psychological or confidence issue.

I don't think the weight of cue is an issue as having such a short cue now I have now developed a shorter back swing on delivery which I find is greater for accuracy and touch but perhaps not as powerful (ultimately).

I think I may just go for the cheap 2 pc cue to break with for my own piece of mind.

[scottd9993]

I love to smash balls really hard....... i would definitely advise a breaking cue, even if it makes no difference at least your playing cue and tip will remain consistent!! I prefer a lighter cue with mine weighing in at 14oz, which i feel i can give it more beans.... but trial and error and see what works for you!!!

[sootyvrs]

I love to smash balls really hard....... i would definitely advise a breaking cue, even if it makes no difference at least your playing cue and tip will remain consistent!! I prefer a lighter cue with mine weighing in at 14oz, which i feel i can give it more beans.... but trial and error and see what works for you!!!

Can I ask what specification this light break cue you use. e.g. Length, tip type & size and where you got it from?

[scottd9993]

To be honest, i ''aquired'' it whilst away for a weekend golfing and happened to pick a cue out of the rack (1 piece) and knocked in a 67 after drinking all afternoon!! Its only a cheap nasty standard thing which is why i use it for breaking in 8 ball. It's 56" long, 9mm tip which ive never changed in over 2 years of owning it. Breaking is all about confidence and technique, once you find the 'right' cue, you won't change back!!

The break is the most important shot, do it properly and you will not lose again..... like me!!!

[poolqjunkie]

I do not know much about British 8 ball I have to admit as it is not a popular game at all here in Canada.
But we do play US 9 ball, 8 ball, and 10 ball and almost everyone has a seperate break cue.
A lot of players these days like to go for a lighter break cue as it allows them to move the cue with higher velocity..hence, more power.
Of course, if you can move a heavier cue with the same velocity then you can generate even more power but most players cannot swing a 19oz as fast as they can with a 17oz cue.
Since you are moving so many body parts it is easier to hit off center and miss hitting the object ball where you want to hit. Therefore, a lot of people also prefer to use a "low deflection" cue to try reduce this error.
A hard tip such as phenolic can also give you a more powerful break but it is harder to control. It is easier to jump the cue ball off the table with this kind of tip.
Some of these guys jump up and bend their shafts on the table when they break. The shaft and tip certainly take a lot of abuse when it is being used that way. I am not sure if they break like that in British 8 ball. If they do, then I would advise a seperate cue just to protect your own playing cue. But if it is not that extreme, and the break shot is just like a regular but shot a bit harder, then it should be fine to do so with your regular cue..
It is mainly just due to what you like, and how comfortable you are with using whatever you are using for breaking.

[old school]

Airin an English Pool ball is approximately 98g ( 3.4oz) for the cue ball and 116g ( 4oz) for the red and yellows.The cue ball is usually 1 7/8" & the object ball is usually 2".Compare this to an American set of 2.25" balls weighing anywhere between 5.5 oz & 6oz and you can see that there is a huge difference.In American pool a lot of players do use "break " cues,as you stated, but I believe this is because you are attempting to accelerate a greater mass cue ball into a denser pack than in English.The break in English pool is not normally as dramatic as in American as you have less mass to move and therefore a faster,smoother stroke with a short backswing can be just as effective as the "gung ho,take no prisoners " approach.Personally this is why I use my playing cue for breaking,I see no reason not to,a short compact ,punchy break works for me.Hope this helps you to understand English 8 ball a little more .

[ace man]

Airin an English Pool ball is approximately 98g ( 3.4oz) for the cue ball and 116g ( 4oz) for the red and yellows.The cue ball is usually 1 7/8" & the object ball is usually 2".

Are you saying that those object balls in UK 8ball are even smaller in diameter than regulation size snooker balls? If so, switching to snooker and back might not be trivial. I have never even seen UK pool table nor UK pool balls in person so I wonder how it feels to play the game since you guys mention usage of incredibly light cues in 14oz range...

[poolqjunkie]

Airin an English Pool ball is approximately 98g ( 3.4oz) for the cue ball and 116g ( 4oz) for the red and yellows.The cue ball is usually 1 7/8" & the object ball is usually 2".Compare this to an American set of 2.25" balls weighing anywhere between 5.5 oz & 6oz and you can see that there is a huge difference.In American pool a lot of players do use "break " cues,as you stated, but I believe this is because you are attempting to accelerate a greater mass cue ball into a denser pack than in English.The break in English pool is not normally as dramatic as in American as you have less mass to move and therefore a faster,smoother stroke with a short backswing can be just as effective as the "gung ho,take no prisoners " approach.Personally this is why I use my playing cue for breaking,I see no reason not to,a short compact ,punchy break works for me.Hope this helps you to understand English 8 ball a little more .

I see. Thanks for the info.
I think a regular playing cue should be good then in this case.
Watching some US pool especially those matches in the old day I am sure you have seen guys jumping up in the air with one leg kicked to the back, cue arm totally extending to the front, grip hand way pass the chest, with the shaft of the cue bent on the table by the bridge when breaking. With that kind of break, a seperate cue is highly recommended. :-) And it is also recommended to stay clear of the guy at a minimum 3 m radius. LOL
I have never seen a break in UK pool, thanks for the info. Sounds more like a game of fine cue ball control.

[old school]

To answer "ace man" yes snooker balls are technically 1/16"-1/15" ( approx o.1mm) larger than the object ball in English pool and some of us go down to12oz and below for our cues ( some would question our sanity).To answer Airin,I too have seen the style of break you mention in old footage and personally I would be standing even further away.The game is all about cue ball control in a tighter environment (the bed of the table is much smaller) and the table is more congested earlier in the frame.The game does require a fine control over the cue ball and lighter cues do help,but it is also as much about "touch and feel" as anything else.Remember,after the break you are trying to manoeuvre your cue ball around a surface of approximately 1/4 of a snooker table bed,potting seven balls of the same colour (red or yellow) and then the black.When you bring World Rules into account and have to either pot or hit a cushion after the cue ball makes contact with the object ball,you can see that control is everything,but that control has to be tempered to a smaller playing area,taking into account speed of cloth,speed of cushions etc thats why some of us use such light cues.Any amount of side,screw ,swerve or check all has to be modified to suit this smaller playing area and to position the cue ball where you want it.There are plenty of videos on "youtube" etc showing English pool and some of it is fascinating,everyone plays even snooker stars in the top 32.Why not have a look ( I love the clips of Olly Bale,playing one handed , brilliant control ).

[ace man]

To answer "ace man" yes snooker balls are technically 1/16"-1/15" ( approx o.1mm) larger than the object ball in English pool...

Thanks for that. On youtube object balls looked the same to me.

Selby seems to be pretty good at this game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uSgGTvWzBk

I know of a few top UK 8ballers like Melling, Appleton etc...because they switched to American pool game and made quite a career there.

[sootyvrs]

Just an update -

I decided to buy a US Pool Stinger break cue on ebay which was relatively inexpensive so thought why not.

The cue has a phenolic 13mm tip and is 21oz.

I have tested this cue today and all I can say is WOW.... This thing is so effortless to use and breaks the pack up with vigour that my previous playing cues simply can't match.

I can now break and spread the balls much more easily than before. The thing I like about it is that I can almost play the break shot as if it's a normal hard shot with plenty of control where as with my previous playing cues I had to put so much more "into" it to get a good split which can cause body movement on the shot which often leads you not to hit the first ball dead centre.

I was a little concerned with some players saying how difficult to control the white using the phenolic tip and a lot of talk about cue ball flying off the table but all I can say is that they must be still trying to break the same way as before where you giving it "too much" and perhaps not keeping the cue level.

As mentioned earlier, the splitting of the pack is effortless so for me it's been a worthwhile purchase.

With a good split there is always a better % of potting a ball off the break and taking control of the table so hopefully this will lead to more success......