The Break

I used to play 14.1 without the use of a safety so I got a lot of practice of hitting a rack of balls and calling a ball on the break. Not a suggested shot but for fun it provided a lot of physics experience with a solid rack of balls and I got pretty good at it. You can by using this knowledge learn how to consistently make the wing ball on a nine ball break. This is ideal because the head ball (one ball) will typically go down the other end of the table close to the corner pocket from where the cue ball was hit. Once you learn where to hit the head ball to sink the wing ball you can experiment on leaving the cue ball in the middle of the table. I am not saying every break will be a beautiful thing, but you can make many more that way by paying attention to the wing ball on the break. It is best to not slam with all you have until your form is good, a firm controlled break with a sunk ball and a clean shot on the one is much better then an atom smasher. The power comes later little by little.

There has been an argument over whether break cues should be light or heavy for years.  My definition of light cues is 18 oz. or less.  My definition of heavy cues is 20 oz. or more.  I base this on an average cue weight of 19 oz.  Having done some reading on the subject, I came to the conclusion that it comes down to personal preference.  However, that wasn't good enough for me, so I did a little more research, and came up with some physics arguments which seem to favor lighter break cues.

The game of nine ball is fast gaining popularity and interest all over the world. It is evident in the good number of tournaments shown on television sports channels. Ten years ago, rotation race to 61 was the game of choice in the Philippines, now nine ball is finding its way into mainstream Filipino pool.

In response to your better break shot article I have found that different tables play differently, I usually watch how others are breaking the rack. and measuring there success, but I will always try breaking from the far left or right of the 2 diamond spot using 2 to 3 fingers distance off from the rail To place the Q-ball

This is one of the shot that can be crucial in all pool/billiard games, the break shot. The way that I have done and still use for 8-ball pool for years is to shoot the cue ball (to me, since I a a righty) between the 1 ball and 3 ball, that is if it was set up like I have shown. I have not yet tested this yet on 9-ball or any other format of pool/billiards, but if this does work on other formats, leave me a comment on the name of the format and how it was done, in your own words.

Power isn't nearly as important as full contact on the one ball. Pros generally break in the 20 mph range. The fastest breaks are just over 30 mph, but you'll never see pros breaking that hard because of a loss of control. You should break only as hard as you can control.

That caveat being given, I'm going to share some tips on generating power on the break.

It is possible to consistently make the 1 ball on the break in the side pocket. The most important factors are the contact point, and the speed of the break.