Jump Shots - so easy with the right equipment !

M

mamics

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Got my break/jump cue today (fathers day) - wasn't real sure it would help my inability to make jump shots... boy was I wrong.

Cant believe it - after all those years of watching pros jump balls like it was childs play... and all those years of me failing to get any higher than about 1/4 ball in height.

Slate table, aramith balls, short cues - none of these things helped much - seems a hard tip (phenolic) PLUS short cue is the big secret ! (All my previous jump attempts have been with relatively soft tips - elkmaster soft/medium - cant believe a soft tip kills the jump action height so much - incredible)

For anyone having problems jumping the ball - get a short cue with a phenolic tip - I reckon my grandmother could jump a ball with that gear ! :-D

btw, my new jump cue is a cheap & nasty J&J. So as long as the tip doesnt break off anytime soon it will do me just fine ! (I'm but a mere D Grade player)

Cheers.
 
Jump cues

Yes, jump cues allow one to jump over obstacles in pocket billiards. It's ridiculous!
They should ban jump cues from the game. I totally agree with Earl that if a player wants to jump, use a full-length cue.

Jump cues are just wrong. Can you imagine if in golf they decided to allow a "scooper" device so as to make it "easier" to get out of a sand trap? The sand is there for a reason; use it. Granted, golf utilizes different size clubs, but as we know the difference in "size" is in the loft.
There should be only one "loft" in pocket billiards—the felt and the rails. Seeking a short-cut by not learning how to efficiently utilize the rails is harmful to our beloved sport.

By the way, I am a young player who knows how to use a jump cue, but chooses not to use one. I stand by my convictions.:cool:
 
Yes it's not really a skill thing to jump balls with a jump cue and i'm with Boogeyman on this; jump cues and jumping balls should be banned from the game.
 
boogeyman said:
Yes, jump cues allow one to jump over obstacles in pocket billiards. It's ridiculous!
They should ban jump cues from the game. I totally agree with Earl that if a player wants to jump, use a full-length cue.

Jump cues are just wrong. Can you imagine if in golf they decided to allow a "scooper" device so as to make it "easier" to get out of a sand trap? The sand is there for a reason; use it. Granted, golf utilizes different size clubs, but as we know the difference in "size" is in the loft.
There should be only one "loft" in pocket billiards—the felt and the rails. Seeking a short-cut by not learning how to efficiently utilize the rails is harmful to our beloved sport.

By the way, I am a young player who knows how to use a jump cue, but chooses not to use one. I stand by my convictions.:cool:
Click to expand...


Actually, golf has an equivalent. It is called a sand wedge. It is unlike other irons in that it has a much wider sole that keeps the club from digging into the sand when utilized properly. Back in the day, golfers didn't have a sand wedge and had to rely on a regular club to play out of green side bunkers.
 
boogeyman said:
Yes, jump cues allow one to jump over obstacles in pocket billiards. It's ridiculous!
They should ban jump cues from the game. I totally agree with Earl that if a player wants to jump, use a full-length cue.

Jump cues are just wrong. Can you imagine if in golf they decided to allow a "scooper" device so as to make it "easier" to get out of a sand trap? The sand is there for a reason; use it. Granted, golf utilizes different size clubs, but as we know the difference in "size" is in the loft.
There should be only one "loft" in pocket billiards—the felt and the rails. Seeking a short-cut by not learning how to efficiently utilize the rails is harmful to our beloved sport.

By the way, I am a young player who knows how to use a jump cue, but chooses not to use one. I stand by my convictions.:cool:
Click to expand...

The other side of the coin is a player trying to win a game because they push you up behind a ball and don't even try to take a shot. The jump cue is sort of an equalizer. It takes a little better safety if you know your opponent can just jump. Want to really fix the game, get rid of one foul BIH all together. There should be no ball in hand at all. If a player snookers you you can kick and if you don't hit the ball they can accept the shot or make you shoot again, or again for that fact, till you hit the ball or they want the shot.
 
boogeyman said:
Yes, jump cues allow one to jump over obstacles in pocket billiards. It's ridiculous!
Click to expand...

Yep, just like paddle shift transmissions in auto racing--ban them first (paddle shifters) and then we can talk about jump cues. Until then ..........
 
I tend to agree with both the ease of jumping with a specific shorter cue & that they should not be allowed & the 'governing body' (if there really is one) could outlaw them very easily.

I've only made a full table jump shot once to pocket the 8 ball for the win & I did it with a full length house cue. For me, kicking has always been easier because I did not carry a jump cue & like the OP I have always used a soft tip.

The BCA is a trade organization & their is money to be made selling jump cues.
 
boogeyman said:
Granted, golf utilizes different size clubs, but as we know the difference in "size" is in the loft.
There should be only one "loft" in pocket billiards—the felt and the rails. Seeking a short-cut by not learning how to efficiently utilize the rails is harmful to our beloved sport.

By the way, I am a young player who knows how to use a jump cue, but chooses not to use one. I stand by my convictions.:cool:
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need to take up golf. Each club is a different length along with the loft. I'd kill to have a driver length 60 degree wedge. Imagine the spin and height you'd get. Your analogies are so painfully wrong you may never understand what you're doing. There are plenty of times in which you cannot kick into your ball so you must either masse or jump. Most people will jump because performing a masse isn't as reliable, even if you're great at it.

It's not a shortcut, it's a tool many wish they could be better at. You may think jumping is easy, but that's like saying you can drive a golf ball 300 yards, but you're always 40 yards left or right of the fairway. Yea, you did do part of the shot right, but did you really do it well? Getting the cb to jump an object ball is one thing, but can you control your distances? How many bounces, if needed, is the cb going to take before it hits your ob? Have you ever tried to land on top of your ob to make it? I have it. There are so many things you don't know about jumping to make a blanket statement like that. And have you never jumped the cb off the rail either?

Do not forget that jumping doesn't imply you are directly hitting your ob either. Kicks, banks, caroms, and masse's are all possible off of jump shots.
 
Last edited:
Remember that the legal minimum length for any pool cue is 40" and the cue can be as long as 60", 75" or even 90".....no limit on length but the cue has to be 40" long or the cue is illegal, There are specifications for pool cues like a ferrule length cannot be longer than one (1) inch or you cannot have a wrap that is contoured with finger grooves.......the cue can be wrapless or have a wrap but the wrap must be smooth. So make sure your jump stick measures at least 40" and do not play with a cue under 40".
 
Last edited:
Bavafongoul said:
Remember that the legal minimum length for any pool cue is 40" and the cue can be as long as 60", 75" or even 90".....no limit on length but the cue has to be 40" long or the cue is illegal, There are specifications for pool cues like a ferrule length cannot be longer than one (1) inch or you cannot have a wrap that is contoured with finger grooves.......the cue can be wrapless or have a wrap but the wrap must be smooth. So make sure your jump stick measures at least 40" and do not play with a cue under 40".
Click to expand...
I never heard of some of those rules. Quite a few companies make cues standard with ferrules longer then an inch.
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
Believe that rule applies to metal ferrules only.
Click to expand...

Your correct. The rule was made in the early ninties, I was involved with the WPA and a committee and it was my recommendation to have Metal ferrules NO longer than an inch. I'm surprised this rule has not been tampered with in over twenty years. I played a guy once in a bar tourney 30 yrs ago in KS. He had a galvanized pipe, with a plastic stomper on the end. He made whitey jump like a Super Ball. If the ball in the way was at least 2'' apart it was an easy shot for him to hit up and over.

It actually took the Fun outta the game with his contraption.

When snooker allows jump cues, I then may reconsider. Till then, jumping to me is for motocross.
 
Ahh yes, to be more specific - jumping a full ball (in height) is now a piece of cake for me [When I set the balls up for maximum ease] - but achieving accuracy & length control (and even height) during a game may still be somewhat of a challenge at times I suspect...
 
I would love to see them banned, but there is too much money to be made for that to happen. Johnnyt
 
Last edited:
boogeyman said:
Yes, jump cues allow one to jump over obstacles in pocket billiards. It's ridiculous!
They should ban jump cues from the game. I totally agree with Earl that if a player wants to jump, use a full-length cue.

Jump cues are just wrong. Can you imagine if in golf they decided to allow a "scooper" device so as to make it "easier" to get out of a sand trap? The sand is there for a reason; use it. Granted, golf utilizes different size clubs, but as we know the difference in "size" is in the loft.
There should be only one "loft" in pocket billiards—the felt and the rails. Seeking a short-cut by not learning how to efficiently utilize the rails is harmful to our beloved sport.

By the way, I am a young player who knows how to use a jump cue, but chooses not to use one. I stand by my convictions.:cool:
Click to expand...

I am a bit of a purist when it comes to pool and wish the specialty jump cue trend had never taken hold. I don't play at an extremely high level so it isn't that big of a deal that I don't have jumping in my bag of tricks.

I am even more of a purist when it comes to golf. You must have sensed half way into writing your post that it was the world's worst analogy. Only brain surgery and German transmissions are more about specialized equipment and tools than golf.
 
Once you get used to jumping with your J&J, see if you can jump with your regular cue.

mamics said:
Ahh yes, to be more specific - jumping a full ball (in height) is now a piece of cake for me [When I set the balls up for maximum ease] - but achieving accuracy & length control (and even height) during a game may still be somewhat of a challenge at times I suspect...
Click to expand...
 
ctyhntr said:
Once you get used to jumping with your J&J, see if you can jump with your regular cue.
Click to expand...

After reading this thread yesterday, I spent a little while trying to learn to jump with my J&J yesterday, and it certainly wasn't "so easy"... I managed to do it a few times, but nothing close to regularly.

Obviously I need some better instruction, and practice.

I don't even want to think about using the "jump" cue, as its not allowed in my league. But I am allowed to jump with the full size cue, so I thought that maybe once I learned the technique, I could eventually graduate to jumping with the full size.

Easy? Not for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top