8-Ball is the most popular pool game in the world. Most players begin their first pool experience by playing a game of 8- ball. Last year, about 40 million players played a game of pool, and probably most of those games were 8-ball. It’s played everywhere there’s a pool table — in leagues, homes, commercial facilities, colleges, Boys and Girls Clubs, military bases and senior citizens’ centers, just to mention a few.

     8-Ball involves making choices. Your first choice is which group of balls to choose. Either you choose the solids (numbers 1-7) or the stripes (9-15). Next, decide the order in which to play the balls you have chosen. This is called “pattern play,” and it is a key strategy in 8-ball. Last, you must choose the pocket to play the 8-ball into.

     8-Ball is an easy game to understand. It is sometimes referred to as a short rack of straight pool. Plus, the public can understand 8- ball because they have played the game. This is probably the reason International Pool Tour founder Kevin Trudeau picked 8-ball as the game on his tour.

     At the top level, 8-ball is mostly an offensive game. There is some defensive play in 8-ball, but usually it is at the beginning of the game or as the result of a break that leaves some of the balls still clustered. An old saying in 8- ball is “He who goes first and fails to run out loses.” This is because the more balls you pocket, the easier it is for your opponent to win. Every ball you pocket removes an obstacle to your opponent’s runout. This is the reason most players try to attack problem balls or clusters as early as possible. It is better to miss early than to run down to the last ball or two before missing.

     So far, our discussion on 8-ball has been general. Now let’s move on to talk about the break shot. It is a huge advantage to break in 8-ball. The break can set you up to win or lose the game. In this respect, you could compare the break shot in 8-ball to the serve in tennis or the drive in golf.

     I use two different break shots in 8-ball. In Diagram 1, the cue ball is over close to the side rail. On this break shot, you should try to miss the first ball (head ball) and hit the second ball as full as possible. See Diagram 2. In Diagram 3, you can see the hit on the second ball is too thin. If you shoot hard on this break shot, the cue ball could fly off the table. Notice in Diagram 4, the cue ball just barely clips the front ball first before the second ball. When this happens, the cue ball can fly off the table. Try to contact the cue ball at the middle. If nothing happens — if you’re not making a ball on the break — switch to contacting the cue ball a tip above or below center. Sometimes you may have to change sides. If you are not making a ball on the break shot, you must learn to change something. You can try a different contact point, different side of the table, a change in speed or position, or you can go to a different break shot entirely.

     The next 8-ball break shot is the head-on break shot. Here, you hit the front ball head-on (see Diagram 5). On this break shot, you can break from anywhere along the headstring. In Diagram 5, you can see both the head-on rail break (C-1) and a head-on break starting with the cue ball in the middle (C-2). The contact point on the cue ball can vary from the center a tip either way, up or down. As mentioned earlier, sometimes you have to try some variation in order to make a ball on the break. From C-1, you have a better chance to make the front ball in the side pocket. The break from the middle (C-2) is a power break shot. One good thing about this break shot is that the balls are usually spread apart, making a runout very possible. Sometimes the second-ball break shot leaves balls clustered, making it hard to run out.

     To sum up the strategies for the break shot, two break shots were covered in this column. The first one is the second-ball break shot and the second one is the front-ball break shot. If you aren’t having any luck making a ball on the break shot, you should make some adjustments. You could try the following:

• Change from second-ball break shot to front-ball break shot.
• Try putting the cue ball in a different position.
• Change your cue ball contact point either higher or lower.
• Change the speed.

     Many times, the player who finds success first with the break shot will end up winning. Because the break shot is such a huge advantage in 8- ball, you can’t afford to come up dry on the break. If you don’t make a ball on the break shot, it reverses itself and becomes a huge disadvantage. By making a ball on the break you can run out the rack, leaving your opponent sitting helplessly in his chair. If you end up in the chair too much, you won’t end up in the winner’s circle. Even if your name is Buddy Hall or Johnny Archer.

     If you are having trouble with your break shot, try heading to the practice table and experiment with some of the variables mentioned in this article. After some trial and error, you should find something that works.