The way I play is like you mentioned, if they want to rerack, then no foul if you scratch on the rebrake.
If you make one and sit down, you'll find most brakes, when a ball goes leaves a gold mine for the opposite pocket.
Rod,
I normally agree with your thoughts and ideas. I have to admit here that I don't understand why what you are saying here would be true? If one makes a ball on the break or one hangs a ball (near) the pocket, there can't be much of a difference as to what is available to the opponent, and surely can't be predictable, I don't think.
Tom,
First, we must be considering a rule for tournaments only, as private matches can be negotiated to be anything the two players desire, as we all know.
IN tournament situations, if it is a race to four, where the breaks are divided evenly, there is no issue. So, we are talking only about tournaments where there is a race to a odd number, which we could simply eliminate.
There is NO inherent advantage to "racking your own". Each player racks the same number of times, in all cases the opponent has the right to inspect the rack, so nothing to gain there.
My first option, if we must make a rule would be to ban "rack your own" in OP tournament play (no further issue).
If we must accommodate this "racking your own" for some unknown reason, I would vote for the breaker having to break and sit down, no matter what happens (if he makes a ball he keeps it). This is the simplest solution; anything else just further complicates the game, a game known for it's simplicity and subtleness, and ease of understanding, unnecessarily.
Should there be a modicum of truth to what Rod says, then the made ball works to offset the "goldmine". No matter the rule, discerning thoughtful OP players will ferret out the odds to take advantage of having the break. It could be that they will attempt to avoid making a ball in favor of positioning balls instead, which is done routinely throughout the game anyway.
I think we must keep in mind that we are trying to reduce the unfair advantage of having a majority of breaks in some tournaments, nothing more.
TD's should have pushed back at this "rack your own" movement immediately, that was born out of some frustrated player thinking that he was being cheated, or believing he could gain some advantage if he could actually touch the balls before he broke. This is a relatively new development that has caused lots of consternation and no good.:sorry