Instruction: - Steve "The Miz" Mizerak

"The Miz" Steve Mizerak was a Hall of Famer who began collecting titles in the late 1960's, including four U.S. Open Championships. He was one of the most recognizeable faces in the world of pool, appearing in the movie " The Color of Money" and a series of Miler Lite commercials. "The Miz" was named 5th in the 50 Greaest Players of the Century.  Steve Mizerak passed away on May 29, 2006 at the age of 61.

The Break

Possibly the most important element in9-Ball is the opening break. Many times a good player will sink a ball on-the-break and then run out the table, with his opponent never getting a chance to shoot.

Unlike the opening break in straight pool, where your main objective is not to leave your opponent with a good shot, in the 9-Ball opening break, you are definitely trying to sink a ball to have a shot at the next one. Your best chance to accomplish this depends on whether all the balls in the rack are frozen. In straight pool, it is imperative that the five balls at the rear of the rack be frozen; in 9-Ball, all nine must be frozen. That’s the key.

If the balls in the rack are not frozen, they won’t travel as far when your cue ball contacts them. If they are loose, as opposed to frozen, the 9-ball, being in the middle, is not going to move—and moving the 9-ball is what you really want to do. After all, it's the name of the game. So make sure all the balls in the rack are solid-frozen.

If you are lucky enough to win the chance to break, there are several points to keep in mind. Years ago, players would position the cue ball right next to the head spot on the head string and hit the l-ball in the rack straight on, contacting the cue ball just above center. A few players still prefer to open that way, but today most of the better players have what they call a floating cue ball on the break, which means they will move it anywhere along the head-string. But, from whatever point along the head-string you hit the cue ball, you want to hit it a tip above center and have it strike the l-ball flush. That way, the cue ball will carom away from the l-ball a little bit and come to a dead stop, which is what you want it to do.
The major mistake people make on the break is having a wild cue ball, which can fly off the table or scratch in a pocket. If either happens, and you’re playing a decent player, you are not going to be able to win. The key to avoiding these pitfalls is to control the cue ball. If necessary, sacrifice speed, but get control of that cue ball.

Wild cue balls occasionally plague even the best competitors. About what seems like a hundred years ago, I played Allen Hopkins. With the score 10-10, he broke, and his cue ball jumped the table. He left me with a 1 and 9 combination. It was a tough shot, but I made it. His wild break cost him the game.

I won that tournament in Houston, partly because I experimented with positioning the cue ball on the break. Early in the tournament, I was breaking from the right side of the head string and not making anything. So I moved over to the left side and started making everything. The one place you shouldn’t move it, though, is back near the head rail. That's one of the worst things you can do, because you lose power; and when you lose power you’re sacrificing the strongest part of your break. Whenever you hit something, the velocity is greatest right at impact. The closer you get to the rack, the better. The closest you can legally get on the break is to have your cue ball stationed along the head string, so get your cue ball as close to the rack as possible and hit it with authority, but without letting it go wild. In other words, sacrifice a little speed and power for control, which is the most important thing. Relax and have fun—it’s a great sport!

“THE MIZ”