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

[old school]

Selby was the World 8 Ball Champion in 2006 and his wife isnt bad either,she s an Irish International player.Thats a mixed doubles pairing you woulnt want to meet.Chris Melling still visits a club that "perpetual" and myself have visited and is the top 147 scorer ,as far as I remember.Very talented player whether Snooker,American or English pool.If I remember rightly Chris was still playing when Lee Kendall started in the England set up,now Lee is England captain and along with Gareth Potts ( 3 x World Champ) owns Players in Newcastle where I believe Mark Selby visits,when he can,small world isnt it.

[poolqjunkie]

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......

Yes, agreed. If you just shot the ball with a bit more power, without giving it too much, you can get a good spread with more "power' without losing control of the ball using the Stinger.

Now that I think about it, Melling, Appleton...all did not have a monster break when they switched to 9 ball in the US. As a matter of fact a lot of people at the time commented that they were so good (potting, cue ball control...etc) and the only thing setting them back was their break.

They have changed the way the balls are racked in 9 ball and 10 ball and very often a hard break does not work as well as a softer , more control break these days.

In the old days, on slower tables, it is not uncommon to see a guy break the ball so hard the whole room could hear it.:-)

[old school]

A lot of people,in particular younger players,break witha "closed bridge" when playing World Rules i.e cue is placed on the top rail between index and middle finger OR index finger is looped over the cue.Personally I play and break with an "open bridge".The "closed bridge" technique,in my opinion, is an attempt to prevent the tip riding up the cue ball (causing a mis cue) when breaking with a bit of power or trying to generate tip speed.Again from a personal view point I think "stop dropping your back/butt hand" concentrate on good technique, all you are doing is trying to move the cue in a straight line,stop using artificial means ( closed bridge) to acheive this.But each to their own and live and let live.I am glad you are getting on with the phenolic tip and yes they do transfer more of your break for less effort to the cue ball,enjoy your game.

[AndyC]

Just had to take my cue to my local cue doctor because of the way I break has made the joint come loose!! I break with a closed bridge, give it a bloody great whack and lift the cue butt as I cue through. This puts the tip on the baize and flexes the shaft, and has put too much repeated strain on the joint in my 3/4 cue. Gonna get myself a cheapy cue to break with, not a nice feeling when your main cue breaks, hopefully I'll get it back all fixed soon.

[old school]

One of the problems associated with a " closed bridge " I am afraid to say.With the tip on the baize and the shaft flexing ,the shaft has nowhere to go,so the joint takes more torsion/lateral force,not good.Try to keep the butt down or play with an " open bridge " is my advice.If you play with an open bridge and still manage to "ground" the tip at least the shaft can escape in an upward direction and so no strain on the joint occurs.