Breaking in Straight Pool

Video Transcript

"Ok, in this next clip, I'm going to talk about the break for straight pool. Alright, the break. The break, there's certain rules. Now, you could break and call one of these shots and make it and that's a good shot, if you make it. If you don't make it, that's a foul. A foul automatically gives you a two point negative score on your thing. So, if you called the five, in this corner and you slammed it and this five didn't go in, and none of the other balls went in, it's a foul but it's not a foul if you call this in and the cue ball hits the rail and two balls, hit a rail, that's a legal shot and your opponent, would have to then, shoot after that. So that's the legal shot, opening for a break. You either call a ball and make it or you make the cue ball and two balls, hit a rail. That's a legal shot. Let me show you how it looks. A common opening break and I'm going to give it to you, I'm going to try to execute it, is when you hit this five ball and remember what I talked about all the balls touching each other, this is where this comes into, and you leave your opponent with a hard shot. You actually hit this ball in a manner, with low right hand English, you hit this. By hitting right into the five, causing the five to go into this rail and come back here. This will also cause the one to go back and come back here, this will hit the two rails and go back into that corner, leaving him, hopefully, behind the head rail and putting these balls all on the cluster, leaving him a hard shot. This is the opening game and it's very strategic. You don't want to break these balls up too bad because then you give your opponent that run, where he could actually start running balls. So, very crucial part of the game, is the opening break. Let me show you how to execute that opening break. So you see I hit the five, I hit the one and I bring the cue ball back here, as far as I can. Now, that wasn't a great execution but it will give you an idea of what I was trying to do."