When does equipment make a difference?

First and foremost is practicing with a good house cue.
Find one in the best condition and start with a 19 oz cue.

From there it will be easy to go up in weight or down as
you might want to experiment to see what you like most.

The next progression would be to get your own SP cue.
Spend a few hundred and get a good one. It will last you
a lifetime until you are ready to get into more elaborate,
better made cues. Just what are those? Well, along the
way you are going to learn more about cues so don’t try
to rush your education by relying on the opinion of others.


Matt B.

Basic non answer is if the equipment is impeding your progress then get stuff that doesn't. There's lots of entry level stuff you can experiment with/on without going broke. Call it RnD.

@ OP, have you compared tapers on your two sticks? I find all thing being equal or similar, the taper directly effects the location and stroke of the hit; peripheral but related factors include friction, tip boing etc...

yesterday

dquarasr said:

I used to do road course race car tracking. I have instructed at over 120 track days. Constantly I encountered students (and others) whose primary focus was on the car: what mods should I make? Should I get (these brake pads) (these shocks) (this exhaust) (these sway bars)? My usual answer was "make the nut that holds the steering wheel as good as the car, then start improving the car."

Similar to those questions, but not being particularly experienced with a wide variety of cue sticks, my question: When (or ever?) should someone interested in improving his or her game, invest in a "good" cue? How do we know when our equipment is holding us back?

(Disclaimer: I am a wildly inconsistent 350 USAPL / Level 4 APA player. I've played with a crappy cue at home, don't even know the brand name, can't make a shot, yet switch to an Adams and can make the same shots - In my head or something real?)

Thanks for the responses. I have found this site to be a wealth of appreciated information.

Click to expand...

You gave bad advice about the cars. There is absolutely no advantage to fighting a shltbox while you are trying to learn to drive. I started off dirt tracking in a half decent late model. In a few months I was competitive with anyone. A few years later my car wasn't finished for the start of the season and I was restless. Jumped into a lower class car when the owner offered it to me. The thing flexed where it shouldn't, the shocks were wrong and binding or locking up, worst of all when the poorly handling car got you in trouble there wasn't enough horsepower to get you back out. I would have struggled for several years had I started driving in a car like that.

I have competed at many things. I have never found it an advantage to start with crappy equipment in any pursuit. The time to buy first class equipment is as soon as you decide you are serious and have the money.

A cue doesn't need a bunch of inlays and ring work. It does need to have a well made butt and a carbon fiber shaft. You are going to have to learn how a low deflection shaft handles, might as start learning from day one!

Since we are using car analogies, an old saying is "if it don't go chrome it!" Competing, I would make sure it goes. There is so much difference between plain maple and the best low deflection shafts that an advanced beginner will feel like they are starting over again when they swap to low deflection. Start how you are going to finish. How many wooden racquets do you see on a tennis court?

Hu

If you want to get a loaded-up, badass cue go right ahead. So much of pool is mental thus liking and having confidence in your cue is important. Way before i played halfway decent i always had good equipment, not over the top fancy-wise but from a top maker. I could have played with anything in those early days but i was certified cue junky early on. Was it in my head? Sure but what's in your head is important imo.

Buy a nice cue. It'll last a lifetime. Can always be refinished, Can add new shafts. Pride of ownership. Does not have to be expensive. When does it make difference. Good question.

Skill is better then equiptment. Nice Cue is that a nice Cue.

dquarasr said:

I used to do road course race car tracking. I have instructed at over 120 track days. Constantly I encountered students (and others) whose primary focus was on the car: what mods should I make? Should I get (these brake pads) (these shocks) (this exhaust) (these sway bars)? My usual answer was "make the nut that holds the steering wheel as good as the car, then start improving the car."

Similar to those questions, but not being particularly experienced with a wide variety of cue sticks, my question: When (or ever?) should someone interested in improving his or her game, invest in a "good" cue? How do we know when our equipment is holding us back?

(Disclaimer: I am a wildly inconsistent 350 USAPL / Level 4 APA player. I've played with a crappy cue at home, don't even know the brand name, can't make a shot, yet switch to an Adams and can make the same shots - In my head or something real?)

Thanks for the responses. I have found this site to be a wealth of appreciated information.

Click to expand...

Equipment makes a difference all the time. There is no way to find out without trying things and seeing what helps. You never know what will be better or worse without experience. Pool is so dependent on the person to make the shot or move the cueball that there is no answer for everyone as to what they should play with to be their best. I have a similar idea about talent, there may be the most amazing piano player out there but that person never played a piano so the potential is hidden. You won't know what cue/shaft/table/etc.. is best for you if you try 3 and stop. You maybe just did not find the best thing that matches how you play yet.

Honestly at your level as an APA 4 you may not have enough knowledge or skill to know yet what would be your personal goal for a cue since you may not know what should be happening. That is just playing for a very long time and seeing what happens. Like people knowing when the rails play funny, most players don't have any idea why they missed a bank, but someone that played for a long time would know what should happen, when it does not they can see there is an issue. Same thing with anything else.

Never seen a pic of any of the HOF players like Mosconi, Crane, Miz etc. playing with ANYTHING that wasn't the best at the given time. Every time someone asks on here about getting a cue people chime in with "well, get a Schmelke". They do make a good cue for the money(i own one myself) but there IS better stuff out there. If you've got the $$ and having nice stuff appeals to you then by all means get a killer cue. Don't worry what any one else says.

You can play with something decent, without spending huge amounts on it. Using the same thing regularly will help you, just from the consistency of using the same thing every time.

Depends on your budget, of course. Unless you have plenty of disposable play money, I'd buy a decent cue to get started with until you decide that you're gonna stick with it. Then you can go nutz buying nicer stuff.

I spent about $160 on a McDermott, after playing for a year or so with a department store cue. I thought for sure that I'd eventually bump up to a "nice" cue, bigger name, etc. I decided that my McDermott suits me just fine. And I'd be paranoid as hell having a fancier cue around the pool room.

Short answer: at your level you probably can’t tell the difference between a great cue and a average one. You can notice the difference at the edges of the performance envelope once you have enough experience. Like maybe when you’re a 6 or so and you are shooting at a more advanced level.

I remember as a kid that the right "tennies" made you run faster, jump higher, of course,
that's what we thought.....
While I'd never expect to win with a simple broom stick or ax handle, ,what I've found
over the years is that I like higher quality equipment, or something singular, custom.
Something that's mine and fitted to me, but whether it was $2 or $2000 really never
mattered, it's all in how good I played with it. Better, or higher quality stuff is nice to
have. I think it shows a certain respect for the game, for your craft (if you will), and many
times here on this website you'll see "it's not the arrow, it's the Indian" there's a lot of
truth in that. You have to find what you're comfortable with, what fits you best

i can not play without a cue i like
but i have like several low price cues,including the sneaky petes i just sols

my advice is get a decent cuew and play pool

two things miles apart

For all practical purposes that car is going to handle the same with or without a supercharger. However, better shocks will aid handling. Shock absorbers, brake pads, buy as soon as possible. A flashy paint job or skin, not so big of a rush.

Now you have decided you probably need to upgrade your cue. Are you going to buy a cue with a better shaft, or the best shaft you can find? That better shaft will take you a little further, then another little better shaft can take you a little further. I'm pretty sure you could make two or three steps between what you have now and the best shafts. Perhaps you should ask around for the worst performing shaft that claims to be low deflection?

Baby steps or get an excellent performing cue so it places zero avoidable restrictions on your progress?

The best shaft you can buy will make more balls for everyone from the bar room banger to the best in the world. When your skills are there it will make it easier to play shape too.

The best low deflection shaft will probably deflect one-fourth as much as a standard maple shaft of the same diameter. That means a top player can juice the ball and be far more sure of making a difficult shot. However, it also means that the banger that accidentally puts a quarter or half tip of sidespin on a ball is only punished 1/4 as much. Many shots that miss with a standard shaft go with the low deflection shaft.

Back to the car analogy for a moment: I have heard of putting governers on school cars to slow them down, I have heard of changing rear gears to slow them down, I have never heard of reducing the handling ability to slow them down. Do you want the best handling cue you can lay hands on or one just a little better than you have now? They are all out there, the choice is yours.

Hu

dquarasr said:

Thanks, Hu. Not to belabor the car analogy too much, I will disagree on your assertion that I gave bad advice to my students. I'm not talking about someone driving a shitbox. I'm talking, for instance, a guy with a brand new Mustang GT, getting passed by Miatas, then musing whether he needs to add a supercharger or install better shocks. My advice (and from other highly seasoned instructors) was to get as good as the car first. When braking and cornering at 6/10ths, adding a supercharger might lower lap times, but a better approach is to first obtain the driving skills, which can be applied to ANY car the driver gets into.

If a CB center hit easy shot is regularly being missed with a stroke that is as straight as the letter "S", a low deflection cue won't fix the stroke and won't help in the long run.

So I'm not asking about a really crappy cue, and whether to get a decent one. I'm asking when to go from a "decent" cue to a more exotic one, such as upgrading from a decent maple shaft to CF. An implied question is how much $$ (talking new, not used) is the right price point for a better functioning cue, excluding cosmetic embellishments. What I think I'm hearing is that it might be time for me to consider a better cue. The search begins.

Click to expand...