Advice for beginner cues?

JPB2 said:
I’ve been recommending the cuetec Avid. Prices online are in the 220-350 range depending on design. Avid is a great shaft especially for the money. The butt is ready for the Cuetec Duo extension, and at some point you will want an extension. If you decide to try carbon fiber later, the cuetec cynergy is something a lot of people like and will fit the butt.
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I think this is solid advice. I’ve hit the Cuetec Cynergy shaft and thought it was very nice. This would be a good start with a path to upgrade and add the extension to have a cue you really wouldn’t outgrow performance wise.

If you can find a nice US made Viking or McDermott you like those are great choices too. Or a good price for a used Schon, even better.

I custom ordered a Schmelke once, just a sneaky, I was unimpressed. Never felt great, only cue I’ve ever had noticeably warp on me. Shaft wood was super soft.
 
Island Drive said:
Make sure it rolls straight.... get one with two shafts, and for $800 max/both.
Include a brake cue in that total amount.
It's like buying a car, get one that works, will have resale value and go from there.

bm
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I would be less inclined to worry about a second shaft. Does a second shaft on a budget cue affect ability to resell?
 
I would encourage you to mine Facebook Marketplace. You can find really nice cues for $100 or way less.

If buying new, get a butt with few cosmetic embellishments like inlays. They add to the cost without adding any performance. I’d recommend a 18.5-19.5 oz cue, somewhere around 12.5mm tip. This is middle-of-the-road and should serve you well until you develop and know your preferences for an upgrade later.

As a beginner, getting a custom-ordered cue seems overkill to me; you don’t yet know what you like. Forward-weighted or Butt-weighted? Linen wrap or leather or no wrap? Taper? Tip diameter?

Ideally you can find some used cues and if you are lucky might even be able to hit a few balls on the owner’s table if they have one to see if you like how it feels.

Try to find one with a very common joint so you can easily upgrade later to a different shaft.

Best of luck.
 
For someone who has reached 90% of their ability, break cues might give them a little bit more success. Might... And I'm being generous at that.

For a beginner a break cue is additional expense and a second cue to carry, maintain, forget, or have stolen.

Breaking with a cue doesn't break down a tip fast enough to worry about. Any decent cue will stand up to breaking.

The only really valid argument for a break cue is for different weight, but most people don't actually understand how that affects the break, anyhow.
 
dquarasr said:
I would encourage you to mine Facebook Marketplace. You can find really nice cues for $100 or way less.

If buying new, get a butt with few cosmetic embellishments like inlays. They add to the cost without adding any performance. I’d recommend a 18.5-19.5 oz cue, somewhere around 12.5mm tip. This is middle-of-the-road and should serve you well until you develop and know your preferences for an upgrade later.

As a beginner, getting a custom-ordered cue seems overkill to me; you don’t yet know what you like. Forward-weighted or Butt-weighted? Linen wrap or leather or no wrap? Taper? Tip diameter?

Ideally you can find some used cues and if you are lucky might even be able to hit a few balls on the owner’s table if they have one to see if you like how it feels.

Try to find one with a very common joint so you can easily upgrade later to a different shaft.

Best of luck.
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Agree with all you said. When I suggest a customized schmelke, it is only so one has an option of getting a cue they enjoy the look of.

Loving your cue, having a bit of pride in it will probably have a bit of effect on your success. There is really nothing any expensive cue will physically do that an old red-leaf Dufferin one-piece won't.

Oh, last piece of advice: When you get your cue, set up twenty very easy shots and don't miss any of them. I've seen people lose confidence in cues when they play badly with them in the first outing. Start from a base of success, is good for the attitude.
 
Cuetec Avid. I like the Chroma models myself. I think the 12.75 is easier to play, more forgiving.
 
No need to spend a fortune on a cue. A good player using a warped house cue will beat a beginner with a $2,000 cue every time. I played with a $400 mcdermott for over a decade. You can get a very nice cue for a few hundred dollars
 
Sealegs50 said:
I would be less inclined to worry about a second shaft. Does a second shaft on a budget cue affect ability to resell?
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It could, plus if your trying different tips, it allows you to keep one on and try another. Or if it's somehow damaged or comes off, that speaks for itself. But better players for sure would prefer 2 shafts.
 
dquarasr said:
I would encourage you to mine Facebook Marketplace. You can find really nice cues for $100 or way less.

If buying new, get a butt with few cosmetic embellishments like inlays. They add to the cost without adding any performance. I’d recommend a 18.5-19.5 oz cue, somewhere around 12.5mm tip. This is middle-of-the-road and should serve you well until you develop and know your preferences for an upgrade later.

As a beginner, getting a custom-ordered cue seems overkill to me; you don’t yet know what you like. Forward-weighted or Butt-weighted? Linen wrap or leather or no wrap? Taper? Tip diameter?

Ideally you can find some used cues and if you are lucky might even be able to hit a few balls on the owner’s table if they have one to see if you like how it feels.

Try to find one with a very common joint so you can easily upgrade later to a different shaft.

Best of luck.
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FYI, my frame of reference: I've been serious about playing pool for about three years, joined leagues. I'm an APA SL6.

My playing cue is a vintage Adam, with zero cosmetic embellishments. Just a plain wooden cue with a linen wrap, fairly common 5/16"-18 joint. Someone gave it to me. It has a plastic joint, so it's slightly more back-weighted (by about 1.5") than my other vintage Adam. I also have a vintage Adam, circa mid-90s, I think. It has a metal joint, so it's weighted slightly more forward. The first one was free; the second I picked up via FB Marketplace for $80.

I can play these two cues interchangeably with a common shaft (getting used to the balance point is pretty quick) although I have stuck with the older Adam the last three months and don't plan to switch back and forth. Last November I bought myself a birthday/Christmas present, and had Ed Petersen (EAP Cues) make me a CF shaft for $265. I LOVE IT!! It has a Kamikaze Elite soft tip. I really do love it.

I have also owned a Meucci 97-1, which I eventually sold. Nice cue, but I never gelled with it. It had the slightest wobble in the shaft but that's not why I didn't like it that much.

I had a Heubler I also found on FB. It had a weird taper I did not like, and had an annoying (to me) PING. I sold it. I did not lose any $$ on either the Meucci or the Heubler, and I only sold them for what I had in them (I probably could have gotten more.)

My break cue was also given to me by the guy who gave me my Adam player. It's probably a Chinese knock-off, has decals to look like inlays. It hits about the same as my Adams. It's nothing special but it's OK. I have a hard tip on it.

Moral of the story: I'm sure you can find something local for cheap, then possibly upgrade it later with an LD or other shaft.
 

Advice for beginner cues?​

I called Pooldawg with this same question, and this is what the recommended that I purchase. One of my best pool related purchases I have made. The shaft is glass coated, avaliable in in two diameters, weighy adjustable, linen wrap, perfect for a beginner !

www.pooldawg.com

AVID ERA 95-321W Natural 4-Point Pool Cue - Linen Wrap

Cuetec's AVID series Cues and Shafts are designed with a focus on performance, longevity, and player growth
www.pooldawg.com www.pooldawg.com
 
Hungarian said:
... Anyways, Mountain View ain't too far. Very friendly pool room there. ...
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So far as I know, there is no pool hall in Mountain View. Both Shoreline and California Billiards are long gone. There are a couple in Sunnyvale including a new one that used to be Santa Clara Billiards.
 
Eric M. said:
I've been playing a short time now but am already seeing the difference between the no name cues that came with the table and the one half-way decent Brunswick cue we have (Circa 1980 .... I think). I'd like to upgrade but really have no idea what would be next. I see cues from all sorts of manufactures, each have at least 10 different models and prices from $80 to $800 and more.

I'd also like to try a break cue.

Any advice would be helpful. I have no problem buying used, infact, I'd probably prefer that.
I am a beginner and am on a budget. Plus, I'm pretty sure I would not be able to realize or appreciate the performances of an $800 cue at this point. ...
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My experience with the low-end McDermott cues has been good. A local billiard supply store lets you shoot with the cues on sale and the $100 (about) McDermotts hit the ball better than the $400 cues. Check out https://www.mcdermottcue.com/pool_cues_100-149.php

As for a break cue, here is some contrarian advice: don't get one. Many of them have phenolic tips -- the same material the balls are made of. Those tips damage the cue ball. This is easy to test and see, if you have a nice, new polished ball that you don't mind ruining. Beyond that, until your power gets up to the point that you are destroying tips, there's not much point. You are better off learning to control the cue ball on the break shot while learning how to play power shots with your normal cue.
 
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