It's hit and miss! If I find one with a really nice butt, I'll check to see if it's straight because I can always buy a shaft to add to it. If I find one with a good shaft and butt, it's like hitting the lottery! LOL For $35, you'll have a bunch of stuff to practice one, use the worst ones first of course and see if there are any that would produce a nice cue later on after you have it all down. Hope that helps!