What am I doing wrong please?

[bluenose1940]

Hi folks, I am experiencing a bit of a problem with my break-off shot.

Normally I can break off and get the white pretty close to the baulk cushion but, on a number of occasions lately I am finding that I am bringing a red out of the pack and it is coming down the table and is often 'on' for a pot into the middle pocket on the yellow side of the table.

I am obviously doing something wrong and would appreciate any pointers to help me correct this please.

[SouthPaw]

Sounds like your hitting the last red too thick, do you play the harder break off with side or the easy one?

[Terry Davidson]

You are hitting the outside red too thick. The answer is a touch more side hitting that outside red a little thinner. The touch of more side should swing you around the blue and get you to the baulk cushion. This break-off shot is not as easy as it appears as you are using side over distance so remember to adjust your aim so you can hit the outside red just a touch thinner

Terry

[vmax4steve]

Also where do you place the cue ball in the D ?

Close to the brown gives you a naturally thinner break, close to yellow or green gives a naturally thicker break and all points in between can be experimented with. Hitting the end red isn't the be all and end all of breaking off either. I for one aim to hit the second from the end red with the cue ball in the middle of the brown and green and very rarely bring a red up the table, but on occasion I do hit right in the middle of the two end reds and get close to or go in off in the top left corner pocket.

[bluenose1940]

Sounds like your hitting the last red too thick, do you play the harder break off with side or the easy one?

Hi SouthPaw, I play the harder one with side. As a matter of interest, what is the easier one? I've only ever played the one with side.

[bluenose1940]

Also where do you place the cue ball in the D ?

Close to the brown gives you a naturally thinner break, close to yellow or green gives a naturally thicker break and all points in between can be experimented with. Hitting the end red isn't the be all and end all of breaking off either. I for one aim to hit the second from the end red with the cue ball in the middle of the brown and green and very rarely bring a red up the table, but on occasion I do hit right in the middle of the two end reds and get close to or go in off in the top left corner pocket.

I usually place the white about 1.5" from the brown on the yellow side. Perhaps I should try putting it even closer to the brown eh?

[jrc750]

I'm right handed, but place the white very close to the green, lots of left hand side off the bottom red, seems to work for me

[SouthPaw]

Hi SouthPaw, I play the harder one with side. As a matter of interest, what is the easier one? I've only ever played the one with side.

The easier break off is the two cushion plain ball, white close to the brown, but it spreads the reds more than the one you play, so it's more likely to leave an easier pot for your opponent, so in the long run your probably best sticking to what your doing, you'll soon get the hang of it, could maybe spend an hour just practicing the break off...

[bluenose1940]

The easier break off is the two cushion plain ball, white close to the brown, but it spreads the reds more than the one you play, so it's more likely to leave an easier pot for your opponent, so in the long run your probably best sticking to what your doing, you'll soon get the hang of it, could maybe spend an hour just practicing the break off...

Hi again, thanks for your input on this. Just had another thought, I do tend to hit the cue ball somewhere between 4 and 5o/c, is this too much, should I be hitting it at 3o/c instead?