Prrof that the cost of a cue doesn't always matter

Pidge said:

I think it was Stephen Hendry that won God knows how many world championships with a crappy £20 snooker cue he had since he was a child. Cues really don't matter IMO. It makes me laugh when I see bad players using a £600 cue because whilst I have nothing against expensive Cues or people who choose to buy them because they appreciate the work that's gone into it... But you just know they bought it because they thought it was going to improve their game.

I play snooker and pool with cues that were over £700, yet I play English pool with a £100 cue. The English pool cue is battered, bent, full of dings and scrapes... But I can't play with anything else.

Click to expand...

That Powerglide that Hendry played with was a decent maple cue made by Rex Williams'
company....and if you think a good cue doesn't matter...Hendry offered a 10,000 reward
when it went missing.
Steve Davis played with a one-piece cue he was given as a teenager...it was very straight...
...eventually, the brass ferrule ate into the shaft and he shortened it 3/4 of an inch...
...the cue lost it's hit...
..he had it made into a 3/4 cue to get the length back, but the magic was gone.

Pidge, do you really think a title has been won with a cue a man didn't like?
...a great player can beat anybody in the room with a crappy cue...except another great
player who has a good cue.

pt...thinks that brass and ivory ferrules should've disappeared with the Neanderthals

I watched Efren at Hard times run full racks of rotation with a house cue... guess it had one of those old Elk Master tips he likes!
He IS particular about his gear... he was playing in a One Pocket match with what looked like a Titlist conversion, no wrap.

And Keith used to just borrow anyone's cue if he didn't have one, so long as it had a tip he liked.

IMHO, your custom cue takes the adjustment to a new cue out of the equation, and the tip you are used to has a lot to do with it.

drv4 said:

Nice shooting. I'm getting close to beating the ghost. Might have to go by a pawn shop and find a new cue

Click to expand...

My brother found an early McDaniel at a pawn shop. The guy running the place thought it was a McDermott and sold it to him for $75 bucks. It's not a bad idea to hit some pawn shops. I'm doing it right now.

pt109 said:

Once again, you guys like to ignore evidence that doesn't fit your theory.

Efren is VERY particular about his equipment....and a lot of posts have been made about it.
....and he took one shot with an LD shaft and handed it back...he said " I don't like where
the cue ball goes."

....and that four cue that people say he robbed everybody but Buddy Hall with when he
first came over.....I have one made by the same cuemaker...it's a good cue...it just isn't
fancy.

Click to expand...

What does Efren's particular preferences have to do with the cost of his cue?
Did you even read the title?

So what's the point of playing pool? Just to win with the minimal amount of expenditure? Or to enjoy oneself and enjoy the feel of the equipment while playing? I love my Gilbert and Mottey cues, they feel incredible when playing. So now I'm supposed to grab a house cue and use that because of why again?

Why don't we all just play pool with branches off a nearby tree then? **** it, why do we even put felt on the table? We could just play on dirt surfaces...wait, isn't that marbles? Let's just give up pool and play marbles instead and then we can all be holy and righteous and laugh at every other sport out there that requires equipment other than your fingers.

(I was actually pretty good at marbles as a kid, and it was gambling since we played keepsies, not that bad of an idea, adults gambling at marbles)

Robert Byrne once wrote that Willie Mosconi could beat everyone in the house, if he had a broom handle with a decent tip.
Remember that old saying... It's not the arrow.. it's the Indian. A custom cue is nice but a decent cue & tip are all you need.

.

Ralph Kramden said:

Robert Byrne once wrote that Willie Mosconi could beat everyone in the house, if he had a broom handle with a decent tip.
Remember that old saying... It's not the arrow.. it's the Indian. A custom cue is nice but a decent cue & tip are all you need.

.

Click to expand...

Mosconi says in his book that he won most of his world championships at the beginning with a house cue, he didn't have enough $ to buy a cue. But later he did purchase and stick with one cue for many years.

I have a couple of $200 cues, $400 cues and $900 cues. I bought most because I liked them. $400 is where I thought real lasting quality started, and is as much if not more cue than I'll ever need. I also have a $89 Lucky cue that sits in the trunk of my car. The Lucky cue hits well, plays fine, and whoever I lend it to wants to buy it. I don't expect any cue to better my game, that wouldn't be why I'd buy it.

I have ran more racks and won way more money with a house cue than any of my customs.

I go a long with a previous poster that a $400 to $500 retail price cue is all anyone really needs to play well.

Pool cues need not be expensive. I've tried some very expensive ones, and as far as I could tell they did perform better in any way than a 200 dollar McDermott or equivalent. The "hit" of the cue is a very subjective thing (does not mean that it isn't important BTW) but as far as I can tell there is not a consistent way in which the hit varies with price.

That being said, after playing every day of the week for a few years with the same cue, I get sick of the way it hits and looks, and want something new, just to get some variety. Usually you play better for about 14 days, then go back to playing the same, but with a different feel. It's not ideal, since ideally the best thing would be to always play with the same cue, but that's how I am.

True...and then they lose interest BECAUSE they can't break 90, and the clubs get sold later for $200...which they then use to buy a pool cue!

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

sonny_burnett said:

The vast majority of people that play any sports, just cannot resist trying to "buy" a better game.

Those that play golf know. Check the bags of golfers, that could not break 90 in their dreams.

$2000 plus sets are very common.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Cue's and Confidence

For me it's confidence more than anything. When I am confident it does not make any difference what I paid or where it came from they just pot.

I switch up when I feel like it because I have many nice cues to choose from. Generally when I am playing poorly or want different look/feel and am in need of that confidence.

Going to my old standbys is like coming home...even an old vintage cue feels new to me and helps me mentally get my game is back on track. It's a mental thing and pool is like golf is 70% mental 30% skill to me.

I believe that the price of my cues has nothing to do with my game which can always improve. If that Miz is a winner for you at the moment, play it, enjoy it, and do not let go of it when you move on cause chances are you will. But you will be back.

Have a good weekend and happy cue hunting:groucho:

-Davekat