Just curious about this. Here's my story. Back when I was a young teen...maybe 13 or so, my dad got me my first cue: A cheap piece of crap Cue Ball Kelly cue. I think we paid $50 or $75 for it, and that's probably overpriced. I've been using it as a practice cue on my new cue lathe.
About a year later, I was ready for a better cue. My dad got a McDermott D4 for himself, with a linen wrap, and I got a D19.
At some point, I picked up a Lucasi. At the time it was pretty cheap, and it was my bar cue. That's the only time I ever took it out.
Anyhow, I played with that D19 for almost 30 years. I just replaced it earlier this year, not because I didn't like it but simply because I wanted to retire it. It has sentimental value to me. To replace it, I bought a very odd McDermott from Kickin' Chicken. It's not really a production model, and has a strange (and confirmed) story behind it. Anyhow, it looks pretty similar to the D19, and really plays just like it. It's one of the last McD made with real half-spliced ebony points. That's my main cue, now.
So other than my first "starter" cue that got put way almost immediately, and the Lucasi that I used as my bar banger, I've basically played with one cue my entire life, which was retired and replaced with another cue which was as similar as I could possibly get.
Anyone else find a cue they like and just hang on to it forever, or do you like to flip every few months?