How much do I really need to spend on my first cue?

Z

Ziljibar

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Me and some of the guys from work have been grabbing some beers and shooting pool a few times per week recently; enough that I'm sick of playing with house cues. After a significant amount of googling and reading, I'm a bit lost. Most of the stuff I've read seems to suggest that a low end Viking or McDermott is essentially the cheapest "playable" cue. As some guy who likes to play pool and drink beer, will I even notice the difference between a $50 Player's cue and a ~$200 Viking or McDermott? $200 is within the budget but I don't want to spend it if the extra quality that money brings is essentially wasted on a person like me.

Drop a few opinions on me!
 
My vote. Players sneaky Pete. They are cheap and for the most part play well. No sense in spending 200 bucks for something you may not like doing 6 months down the road.
 
NolesFan83 said:
My vote. Players sneaky Pete. They are cheap and for the most part play well. No sense in spending 200 bucks for something you may not like doing 6 months down the road.
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That's not even really how I'm approaching this though. I just don't know that a novice like me will even be able to tell the difference between the two. Without actually getting to try out cues before I buy, it feels like a total crap shoot.


measureman said:
http://www.billiardwarehouse.com/cues/schmelke/schmelke_pool_cues.htm
look here at the M series. Hard to beat them for under $100.00
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I was looking at the S series at one point. Do you know what the difference is between the M and S series? As a novice I see this everywhere; different lines of cues from the same manufacturer with no description of what differentiates them and makes one worth more than the other.

Also, the S series for instance has a pretty large price range ($85-$170); is there any practical difference between the different S series models other than how fancy they're made to look?
 
Basic construction of an s or m series cue is going to be the same. The fancier the more costly but will play and feel the same.
Get one with the 3/8x10 joint and you will have a fine cue with out spending a lot.
Lets talk about Schon cues. They are regarded as top of the line production cues.
Basic Schons start at about $450 and go up to close to $2000 or so. They all have the same basic construction and just the more fancy they are the more costly but will all play close to the the same.
Hey if you can go $450 or so grab a basic Schon and you are set for life.
 
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$450 is definitely out my price range.

I'm starting to feel like this is just coming down to whether or not I want to start out with an LD shaft or not. I get a lot of squirt playing with house cues, though I don't know if that's strictly down to the house cues or if a poor stroke is a significant factor.

Do I start out with a Schmelke and upgrade the shaft later on if I feel it is necessary or do I just start out with a cheaper McDermott or Viking that comes with an LD shaft? I wish I could try out some of these cues before buying but it's not really practical, especially when I want to get my hands on a cue pretty much ASAP.

I'm thinking I might flip a coin.
 
Copy and paste your original post on the main forum and you will get a lot more responses.
But you may get even more confused as to what to do.Be forewarned.
 
Ziljibar said:
$450 is definitely out my price range.

I'm starting to feel like this is just coming down to whether or not I want to start out with an LD shaft or not. I get a lot of squirt playing with house cues, though I don't know if that's strictly down to the house cues or if a poor stroke is a significant factor.

Do I start out with a Schmelke and upgrade the shaft later on if I feel it is necessary or do I just start out with a cheaper McDermott or Viking that comes with an LD shaft? I wish I could try out some of these cues before buying but it's not really practical, especially when I want to get my hands on a cue pretty much ASAP.

I'm thinking I might flip a coin.
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SEYBERTS has great return/exchange/refund policy if you do not like what you bought. Spend the most you can afford. By something you like. Take care of it and it'll last a lifetime.
There is nothing wrong with a CueTec.
 
measureman said:
Copy and paste your original post on the main forum and you will get a lot more responses.
But you may get even more confused as to what to do.Be forewarned.
Click to expand...



Ok, thanks for the input. I will repost over there shortly. Hopefully my head doesn't explode.
 
GoldCrown said:
SEYBERTS has great return/exchange/refund policy if you do not like what you bought. Spend the most you can afford. By something you like. Take care of it and it'll last a lifetime.
There is nothing wrong with a CueTec.
Click to expand...

That really is a great return policy. Thanks for the link.
 
id get a decent sneaky pete. You can put a good tip on it, which is really the main thing you want from having your own stick, something repeatable and reliable with a good tip. If you decide to get into pool more, you always can use a good sneaky for playing out of town or in unknown pool halls where you dont want to take your good stuff, or you can retip it and turn it into a jump cue, win win situation.
 
Right now you feel your dilemma is you don't have a cue. For my APA team members, I made the offer to lend them my old cues until they get comfortable and decide what they want to purchase.

If you go with with $50-$75 Sneaky Pete, you can always sell it or lend it as second cue.
 
Depends on why you think you want a cue. If you just want something nicer to play with than the average house cue, get a McDermott...a couple hundred bucks really isn't that much to spend, you can go about a buck twenty five and get all the cue you'd ever need.

Back when I was still gambling, I played with D series McDermotts, loved them all...a guy I ran with played very well with a POS ramen wood cue that cost about $20. It had an aluminum joint and a dragon woodburned into the forearm. He fell off his motorcycle one night and broke it (it was slung across his back). A carpenter buddy put it back together with glue and wooden pegs (no kidding) and he played with it for another couple of years. Looked like hell, but looked a little better everytime he reached up above the light to claim the stake. He could have afforded any number of cues, but the crappy Asian cue was part of his hustle. It made noises when he hit a shot that was like nails on a chalkboard and it was a wonder he could draw the CB at all, but he made it work...very well. :wink:
 
First cue

The main reason for buying your own cue purely just to shoot with, is to have something that shoots the same every time. A nice sneaky pete is a good starting point, anything more than that and you are just paying for looks for the most part
 
first cue

Most everyone gave good advise. Search for a used sneaky on the for sale side. Make sure it's straight together and apart. Put a nice tip on say Moori med. And away you go. Everything else is just gingerbread. Remember it's about playing well. Not looking good and playing poorly. My 2 cents worth.
 
best cue for the money

Ziljibar said:
Me and some of the guys from work have been grabbing some beers and shooting pool a few times per week recently; enough that I'm sick of playing with house cues. After a significant amount of googling and reading, I'm a bit lost. Most of the stuff I've read seems to suggest that a low end Viking or McDermott is essentially the cheapest "playable" cue. As some guy who likes to play pool and drink beer, will I even notice the difference between a $50 Player's cue and a ~$200 Viking or McDermott? $200 is within the budget but I don't want to spend it if the extra quality that money brings is essentially wasted on a person like me.

Drop a few opinions on me!
Click to expand...
best money cheap you can spend is on the new players hxt cues, they play exceptionally well for $100. best pool player I ever saw outside of a world champion pro( which by the way play with crappy sponsored cues, SVB- Cuetec)) played only with house cues, so that tells you all you need to know about cues.
 
Second to Players hxt cues, take one an go to practice.
If your game grows up, in couple years you can buy another cue.
 
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