These days it’s all about the break.

Whether the game is 9-ball, 10-ball or 8-ball, the break is the most powerful tool in a player’s arsenal. Make balls on the break and control the cue ball, and you control the game.

I have long taught students looking to improve their break shots to start with a drill that requires them to drive the center of the cue ball into the center of the front ball in the rack using only their arm. This drill is meant to develop accuracy and consistency in your break shot. Learn to control the cue ball first and you can add power later. Trust me, this isn’t an easy thing to do, but it will really teach you how to control the cue ball. Power on the break without cue ball control is virtually useless and may actually favor your opponent. Think about it. If you smash the rack, sending object balls everywhere, but scratch or end up without an open shot because the cue ball is stuck on a side rail or at the bottom of the table, your opponent quickly becomes the favorite to win the game.

Start by breaking using only your arm and gauge how far your arm goes on the follow through. It won’t be much, maybe a foot or two. Now, with the cue still in place on the follow through, lift your back leg and lean forward a bit, still maintaining control of your body. Notice how far the cue tip now extends. It will probably extend almost to the center of the table. The key is to incorporate this type of extra body movement into your break without sacrificing accuracy and control.

Now break again but incorporate some of this extra body movement into the break. Don’t go overboard. Start this portion of your practice with short movements and shift your body forward on the follow through a little bit more on each attempt. Make sure the center of the cue ball is still hitting the center of the first ball in the rack. If you begin to lose control of the cue ball on a regular basis, dial your follow through back a bit and start again.

The game’s biggest breakers apply this principle, although in different ways. Some players launch themselves into the shot, lifting their back leg high into the air and really reaching forward. Johnny Archer breaks like that, stretching so far that his bridge hand comes off the cue. Other players, like Francisco Bustamante, tend to drive forward with their hips, keeping the cue on the table and their bridge hand still in place.

Both ways are effective. But it is up to the player to practice the break and find his own comfort zone. Regardless of style, the primary goal is to add power to your break without sacrificing cue ball control.