Playing Cue

AK-Stick

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am going to go out on a limb here and state that the builder of a cue makes no difference to your win loss record. I’ve picked up a basic bar cue and as long as the tip is correct won games. I have had MANY CUSTOM cues and yes they provide a feeling of familiarity but they don’t mean i’ll Win. Winning is more ability and reading the table than the cue I am shooting with. I am not a AAA player but at least in my mind I can beat 80 percent of the players 50 percent of the time. I’ve owned more than a few high end cues that were built by some of the best to my specs and if I did my part they all performed. Yes having my own cue gives me a comfort factor but in only maybe two out of a hundred shots does the actual cue make the difference and when it does it in all honesty is probably the tip and it’s performance that is the difference. I play with custom cues and APPRECIATE doing so how ever anyone that plays with a bar cue or a cheap personal cue has no reason to feel inadequate, you play the table and to win, your biggest asset is your brain, your ability and your shots.
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
way out on a limb ,are you?

I doubt that anyone will doubt your conclusions

I have found that there are custom cue makers who make cues exactly like i like them and very famous cue makers,close friends who make cues I don't play good with

Tim Scruggs,once told me that all the cue makers were trying to build cues that played like a house cue
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ANY good player should be able to pick up any cue that weighs between 18 and 21 ounces that is straight, has a solid construction, a 3.4 to 4.2 ounce straight smooth maple shaft or other reasonable substitute, and a tip that is well shaped and be able to play their best game without excuses. All the rest regarding cues is just a fine tuning of one's game and mostly in your head. But I still love cues for a variety of reasons as many here do!
 

logical

Loose Rack
Silver Member
I think most who get all misty eyed about the "great feel or hit" of their $4500 southpetemikewesttimbuskatitleistfullsplicepumkinspice player have never hit a $600 modern LD production cue. I spend stupid money on lots of things so I get it .

I won't go so far as saying any old house cue with a decent tip is fine, but a $200-400 CF or wood LD shaft (less if you just want it to be straight and feel good) and somewhere between $50 and $5000 for a butt that doesn't have any loose parts and you are good.

I also think the first person who uses the arrow and Indian analogy in the thread should have a giant arrow slowly pushed through his heart by an elderly Chinese woman. I doubt it will take long and I can say this openly since those who use it don't read anything past the thread title and half the first post

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

Cron

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I completely agree, in fact I prefer 1 piece cues as long as they aren't bent to hell. If they bend a lot, that distracts me in my peripheral too much. I can deal with it, but it takes away from the game. But yes, house cue for the win (but how do we transport it?).

I can beat 80 percent of the players 50 percent of the time.
So doing the math, you lose 90% of the time... ;-P.
 

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I completely agree, in fact I prefer 1 piece cues as long as they aren't bent to hell. If they bend a lot, that distracts me in my peripheral too much. I can deal with it, but it takes away from the game. But yes, house cue for the win (but how do we transport it?).


So doing the math, you lose 90% of the time... ;-P.

Transport it? In a case. https://www.woodscues.com/collections/1-piece-cue-cases

Buy what you like. Play with what you like. Why care what anybody thinks of it?

.
 

Shuddy

Diamond Dave’s babysitter
Silver Member
I am not a AAA player but at least in my mind I can beat 80 percent of the players 50 percent of the time.

I think this system of rating players should replace Fargo. It’s much easier to understand.

SVB beats 95% of players 100% of the time.

Filler beats 96% of players 99.98% of the time.
 

DelawareDogs

The Double Deuce…
Silver Member
I think this system of rating players should replace Fargo. It’s much easier to understand.

SVB beats 95% of players 100% of the time.

Filler beats 96% of players 99.98% of the time.

:D:D:D

My argument lies in the following statement "Yes having my own cue gives me a comfort factor but in only maybe two out of a hundred shots does the actual cue make the difference"

When players get to that upper echelon of performance and competition..... the difference in making and missing those two out of a hundred shots can play a big factor in losing a set, getting into the money in a tournament, finishing top in league.... so on and so on. All things I'm not willing to put a bar cue into action for.

Given what others have said about a good tip, good shaft, and good weight......Consistency matters, playing with the same cue all the time limits the inconsistency of the feel. Whether it's a $90 players or a $1900 Cohen doesn't necessarily change things.
Changing things..... changes things.....;)
 

Icon of Sin

I can't fold, I need gold. I re-up and reload...
Silver Member
ANY good player should be able to pick up any cue that weighs between 18 and 21 ounces that is straight, has a solid construction, a 3.4 to 4.2 ounce straight smooth maple shaft or other reasonable substitute, and a tip that is well shaped and be able to play their best game without excuses. All the rest regarding cues is just a fine tuning of one's game and mostly in your head. But I still love cues for a variety of reasons as many here do!

Good game. Yes.
Best game. No.

The fine tuning of the cue and is what allows you to play your best game. Good players will play good with anything, but they will play better with what they are familiar with and fit/adjusted too.
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Good game. Yes.
Best game. No.

The fine tuning of the cue and is what allows you to play your best game. Good players will play good with anything, but they will play better with what they are familiar with and fit/adjusted too.

It is surprising to me that people fail to realize that a single digit decrease is HUGE at the top end of any sport.
 

Shuddy

Diamond Dave’s babysitter
Silver Member
Hendry won 7 world snooker championships with a $50 Riley maple cue he got when he was 13 or something. When it was damaged in transit, he had JP make him a new cue to the specs of his previous cue, but said he never really played the same afterwards.

And O’Sullivan has made more competitive centuries than any player in history with a number of different high end JP cues, sometimes changing cues in the middle of a season.

And none of that should make any difference to you, or me, or the next dude to read this thread. Do whatever makes you happy and helps you enjoy your hobby.
 

alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am going to go out on a limb here and state that the builder of a cue makes no difference to your win loss record. I’ve picked up a basic bar cue and as long as the tip is correct won games. I have had MANY CUSTOM cues and yes they provide a feeling of familiarity but they don’t mean i’ll Win. Winning is more ability and reading the table than the cue I am shooting with. I am not a AAA player but at least in my mind I can beat 80 percent of the players 50 percent of the time. I’ve owned more than a few high end cues that were built by some of the best to my specs and if I did my part they all performed. Yes having my own cue gives me a comfort factor but in only maybe two out of a hundred shots does the actual cue make the difference and when it does it in all honesty is probably the tip and it’s performance that is the difference. I play with custom cues and APPRECIATE doing so how ever anyone that plays with a bar cue or a cheap personal cue has no reason to feel inadequate, you play the table and to win, your biggest asset is your brain, your ability and your shots.

Go to any major tournament or big money match and try to take away the players cues and hand them a bar cue. Get back to us on what happens.

The higher level player you are the more you notice the difference. If I picked up a Stradivarius and a random pawn shop fiddle I couldn't tell the difference because I can't play the violin.
 

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Go to any major tournament or big money match and try to take away the players cues and hand them a bar cue. Get back to us on what happens.

The higher level player you are the more you notice the difference. If I picked up a Stradivarius and a random pawn shop fiddle I couldn't tell the difference because I can't play the violin.

Can I offer a healthy sponsorship with the cue, then see what happens?

.
 

MmmSharp

Nudge is as good as a wink to a blind bat.
Silver Member
I have some expensive cues, and some cheaper cues. I have some solid maple shafts, and some LD shafts. They all play differently. I do not have a large collection by a collectors account (6 cues, but additional shafts), However family and friends are surprised I have that many.

While I can play decently with any of them, I do have to change how I approach the table because there are a few that I play better with. I am not a good enough player to play at 100% with every cue try.

I often think people inaccurately associate the cost of a cue and the playability of a cue though. They are not mutually exclusive to each other. Just because a cue is expensive and pretty doesn't mean it is plays well. We like pretty things, and we like to think they are better because they are pretty.

I am now playing with a Sugartree sneaky with rings at butt, joint and shaft collars. Ordered it last year from Eric, and received it this past July. Cost was less than most production cues that I know people play with. It looks no different than a bar cue, from 5 feet away but plays better than my Scruggs, Cohen, Predator, OB .. This is the one cue I wouldn't consider selling.
 

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
about 1963 or so I ran 101 balls with a house cue.
I was 16 years old.
I didn't know that I was supposed to have a Balabuska,Paradise or a Palmer cue to do that.
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
Hendry won 7 world snooker championships with a $50 Riley maple cue he got when he was 13 or something. When it was damaged in transit, he had JP make him a new cue to the specs of his previous cue, but said he never really played the same afterwards.

And O’Sullivan has made more competitive centuries than any player in history with a number of different high end JP cues, sometimes changing cues in the middle of a season.

And none of that should make any difference to you, or me, or the next dude to read this thread. Do whatever makes you happy and helps you enjoy your hobby.

Hendry’s cue was a PowerGlide...Rex Williams’ company.
When he lost it, he offered a 10,000 pound reward for it...with that cue, he could park
whitey on a dime.
Steve Davis dominated the 80s with a house cue he played with as a teenager...
...when he had to shorten it 3/4 inch...it lost its hit..had it turned into a 3/4 cue to get
length back....the cue was no longer any good for him.

A cue doesn’t have to be expensive to be great....but it has to be great.
...the people that think a great player can play his game out of the rack...
...probably think you can win a pistol shooting contest with a Saturday Night Special.
 

Shuddy

Diamond Dave’s babysitter
Silver Member
Hendry’s cue was a PowerGlide...Rex Williams’ company.
When he lost it, he offered a 10,000 pound reward for it...with that cue, he could park
whitey on a dime.
Steve Davis dominated the 80s with a house cue he played with as a teenager...
...when he had to shorten it 3/4 inch...it lost its hit..had it turned into a 3/4 cue to get
length back....the cue was no longer any good for him.

A cue doesn’t have to be expensive to be great....but it has to be great.
...the people that think a great player can play his game out of the rack...
...probably think you can win a pistol shooting contest with a Saturday Night Special.


That’s right, PowerGlide! It was a connoisseur or a midas or something?
 
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