David in FL said:

So if I play a lock up safety on you all you have to do to give that result back to me is "accidentally" touch another ball?

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No. As the opponent at that time, you have the right (see my parenthesis) to not impose the 'ball moved' foul. Just move the ball back and the shooter that "accidentally" moved the ball continues on with their shot turn.

WildWing said:

Sometimes no matter what you do, a shaft will warp, just the way it is. Your best chance is to store the cue in a case, upright, not next to a wall if the wall is next to the exterior of your house or building. Climate-control helps also.

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I have had cue makers tell me upright or lying flat. Doesn't matter. It does seem like most store upright but to my knowledge there's no hard data to support upright is any better than lying flat. I can state from my own experience that I've always stored lying flat and have shafts 40 years old that are laser straight.

Nice cue i have a green leaf that I'm thinking about converting very nice cue.

SEB said:

Despite the endless smugness, pyramid scheming, and backlink spamming that dr dave brings to the forum, he is correct on this…We need to change to all ball fouls. The game has evolved the past 5 years. Amateur pool needs to as well.

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IMHO, the bolded was unwarranted, in spite of your attempt to soften it with "he is correct on this." Dr Dave has promoted the sport very well and I enjoy and support his efforts.

Regarding the topic as originally being debated, I see no reason not to structure play with tiered rules. Leagues are targeted for diverse audiences. APA caters to the beginner or casual player, no problem with that. No pushouts, no jumping, CB fouls only. APA Masters is for the APA player who aspires to more skilled competition, and allows pushouts and jumping. (Disclaimer: I no longer play APA for a number of reasons.)

Perhaps leagues could also tier their divisions, and the higher up one goes in targeted skill level, the stricter the rules become, e.g., All Ball Fouls. Tournament play can similarly be tiered, where the more serious the intended audience is, the more restrictive supporting expert play the rules become.

@dr_dave, in anticipation of a response from you, no, I don't support relaxing all the other fouls as you have mentioned in some of your responses, but I can see different rule sets for different levels of play and in particular All Ball vs CB Only fouls. It's a hard game to master, and helping players enjoy the game at all levels maybe should be encouraged by the progressive rules as skill levels of the intended league membership increase.

Maybe I’m just lucky but I don’t think I have been. Instead, I just bought cues that were well made because I have never
had a cue shaft or cue butt I’ve owned, or presently have, warp. My Palmer cue is almost 60 years old and still straight as a taut string. My Runde Schon was completed in early 1985 and could pass for new and still perfectly straight. All of the ivory joint cues in my case are straight without wiggle or wobble and the newest cue in my case was completed over 10 yrs. ago.

If you deal with a quality cue maker, which I obviously must have based on how my pool cues have aged but remained
straight over the years, you shouldn’t have any problems unless you’re careless with how you carry & store your cues

I haven’t experienced any problems with warping or inlays/rings raising or any other issues. Buy quality and you will
not be disappointed, however, I suppose there is always the possibility it could happen with any cue maker. However,
my experience convinces me if the cue maker takes their time, the cue should turn out great. All of my custom cues, after being started, took 12-15 mths. to complete with every single cue maker I’ve used. Again, all my cues remain straight.

Black-Balled said:

Any pool is better than no pool and I got a soft spot for the diamond boxes.
View attachment 835805

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very handsome!!!!
(2 laughing emojis since i dont know which one is you...)

For that price you’ve got to get a custom butt. Spending that much on a production cue would be funny.

Start with the shaft you want. I assume since you’re asking about a butt specifically, you’ll be using an aftermarket shaft. If CF, none of them have joint rings so the butt joint needs an aesthetic to match.

For 2k, any custom guy outside of the elite like black boar should have something fancy for you.

DeeDeeCues said:

Plenty of reasons. Maybe you know your opponent has a terrible break. Maybe you know your opponent has a great break, but isn't a threat to run out. Maybe you are playing a confused old guy. Maybe your opponent is a 23y/o lady in a short skirt. I've done it and had it done to me numerous times. It can be a great mind game.

If I want to give up the break, I try to do it before a coin flip.

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Or maybe the flip winner could tell the deferral's beneficiary would be confustigated by what happened and be thusly unable to prevail.