Breakig from the box a traditional rule?

Question

i received a free ipt dvd, not sure which announcer said it, mighta even been kt(arggg) hate to even post his name, but someone in the booth was talking about the traditional nap cloth, and going throught the traditional rules, and he said that breaking from the box was a traditional rule? is breaking from the box a traditional rule? i hate the box rule anyway, and the alternate break, give control to the guy who has control. extend the races!, :)

Answer 1

Pro, I can't give an informative answer to your question but it did make me curious. I hope what I found online here helps.

Answer 2

I'm not sure either. One article discussing it says it's a fairly recent development, at least for 9 ball, as a way to combat the soft break.

Answer 3

I researched this thoroughly. The general consensus is that the "Breaking from the box" rule, came into play in 1978 ---three years before I turned pro. We never played with the "break from the box" rule.

I've rarely seen it used in major tournament play.

I wouldn't bank on it though (no pun intended).

Answer 4

The box was an old rule that gone done away with, you would get more action breaking from the side and a greater chance of a golden break in 9-ball, and so it made the break shot and the game more exciting, which was good for TV.

The growth of the cut break or soft break in 9 ball over the past few years has made the break less exciting, so not great for attracting the casual fan, and makes it too easy to break and have a simple road map run out to the 9. Without the alternate break this leads to situations where pro players have lost the lag and never played another shot.Which isn't good for the players and isn't good as a spectacle.

Answer 5

I think you should be able to break from anywhere behind the first two diamonds myself. Some places to the box thing but not many as I think it is kind of an older rule that is dying out