Break (billiards)
The break (sometimes also break-in ) is the kick-off (opening kick) of a game of pool and snooker .
In the pool disciplines 8-ball , 9-ball and 10-ball , the break is usually carried out very powerfully with the aim of sinking a ball, as this allows you to “stay at the table”, including the one on the break may perform the following impact.
In the 14 and 1 endless pool and in snooker , however, the break is usually carried out slowly so that the opponent does not leave a punchable ball.
In snooker, the term break has a second meaning, namely as a designation for the number of points achieved in a recording (see also: break in snooker ).
Break in 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball
In 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball, an attempt is generally made to keep the cue ball in the middle of the table after the break, ideally even to stop it. This is very difficult, especially with a fixed break. If you can do it, the chance of having a good position on the next ball after the break is much higher than with a break without control, since you can walk short distances from the center of the table in every direction and on every pocket and thus easily has balls to punch.
Soft break at 9-ball
With 9-ball, the so-called "soft break" has in some cases become established on modern tables. The player intentionally breaks with very little force. This allows him to control the run of the "1", the ball that has to be played after the break, quite well. The aim here is to move the “1” in front of a middle or (upper) corner pocket so that it can then be positioned on it.
This form of breaking has only prevailed for a few years. The main reasons for this are the new, faster cloths that the balls better, i. H. diverge further, and new construction techniques, which place the balls perfectly pressed against each other, whereby an optimal distribution of force takes place within the group and it can be opened in a controlled manner.
With good players, there is a very high probability that the corner ball of the diamond-shaped 9 ball group will fall into the corner pocket. Furthermore, the slower the break, the easier it is to execute the stopball.
As a consequence of this break form, there were unbelievable series of games that were knocked out one after the other in professional tournaments, but also in the high amateur level. For the pros, it was not uncommon for a player to knock out between 5 and 10 games in a row, which often meant there was no tension in matches. It even happened that a player did not come to the table during a match.
There are different approaches to this:
- The so-called “Kitchen Rule”: here it is determined that on a break, basically 3 balls must cross the head line, with punched balls counting as “balls run over the head line”. If a ball falls during the break, 2 more must run over the head line.
However, this rule has one major disadvantage: even with a firmly executed break, it can happen that the balls collide in such a way that they prevent each other from crossing the head line. If the “Kitchen Rule” is violated, the non-breaking player may sit at the table.
- Changing the position of the group (normally moving the group by 2 ball sizes in the direction of the head line): This is to prevent the corner ball from falling directly into the corner hole.
- The introduction of the so-called "breakbox", an area in the header from which a break must be made. This prevents the soft break, which is normally carried out by a long gang, because the group is now hit from a different angle and the corner ball falls less often into the corner pocket.
- The "Alternate Break": Here all breaks are carried out alternately, so that no player can shoot several games away from the break.
The disadvantage here is that it is much more difficult to catch up because you have to let your opponent at the table after every second game.
All of these approaches have little success, since the soft break still offers advantages over the firm, strong break. For this reason, 10-ball is played more and more , a game with the same basic rules as 9-ball (but mandatory announcement!), In which only the group is set up differently (as a triangle). With this shape, the course of the balls can hardly be assessed after the break, which is why the break is more solid. Furthermore, with the 10-Ball, as the name already suggests, there is one more ball on the table, which the game together with the duty, except for the kick-off, every ball that is to be punched and the pocket in which they fall is supposed to make it considerably heavier than 9-ball.
Break at 14 and 1 endless
With 14 and 1 endless , the kick-off is usually carried out slowly so as not to leave the opponent with a punchable ball. However, at least 2 colored balls must run into a band to prevent the bumpers from bumping too slowly. This is due to the fact that with 14/1 you have to announce all balls, even when breaking, into the pocket in which you want to punch them. However, it is very difficult to determine the course of a single ball from the triangular group. Because of this, the kick-off in the 14/1 is usually considered a disadvantage.
Break in snooker
In snooker, a safety kick is usually played on one of the outer red balls, with the cue ball ideally rolling back into the head area.
A very precisely played break can lead to the game ball remaining behind one of the colored object balls, which means that the opponent is snookered and is therefore put under pressure right at the beginning of the frame .
It should be noted that the word break has a second meaning in snooker, namely as the number of points that a player scores in a sequence (see also break and maximum break ).
Decision on the break right
In all pool disciplines, the right to decide who may take the first kick is determined by the board decision, a kind of "game of skill". Both players play a ball from the upper third of the table to the footboard and back at the same time. The player who manages to get the ball closer to the headband has won and can decide who breaks.
In 8- and 9-ball, the break is rated as an advantage, accordingly the winner decides with a very high probability to break himself, with 14-1 he usually lets the opponent bump into it.
In snooker, people take turns breaking. The right to kick in the first frame is drawn by lot.
See also
literature
- Andreas Huber : right billard , BLV Buchverlag, Munich, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8354-0132-7 .