Stupid pool question of the day

Pangit said:

Do expensive cues and fancy shafts, gloves, and all that other stuff make you play better at the end of the day?

In retrospect, I should have tried to steal a good house cue somewhere, invest my money in good tips, talcum powder...and just roll with it.

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The talcum is 95% of it. Just be sure what you are getting is pure.

I always count on my lucky socks

Cues are a personal preference thing I think but I’d say that having your own cue would give you an advantage over a player of the same skill level that uses whatever house cue looks decent. I also believe in the glove. Once you get used to the feeling of wearing one you don’t even notice it’s on and then you don’t notice the shaft sticking or nicks and scratches on the shaft and you can fully focus on the shot.

Pangit said:

Do expensive cues and fancy shafts, gloves, and all that other stuff make you play better at the end of the day?

In retrospect, I should have tried to steal a good house cue somewhere, invest my money in good tips, talcum powder...and just roll with it.

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They CAN, not that they will.

If you happen to miss some shots, changing shafts may help you adjust for deflection to make them.

If you can't draw a ball as much as you like, it may very well be your shaft. No matter what people say, shafts DO make a difference in the action you get on the cueball. I played with quite a few shafts that just felt horrible with cueball action. The cue in my avatar for example, I had to hit it a lot harder to get the same action from the cueball, and the guy that sold it told me the same thing he said "I got tired or working hard to get the same action from the cue".

Everything affects your pool game one way or another. Probably the butt of the cue is the least likely thing to affect how well someone plays, with maybe the exception of length that could make someone play better due to being able to execute the stroke properly.

Price or what product will make someone better is all variable. You can't just tell someone they will play better with a $500 cue vs a $100 one or that changing to this one shaft model will make they play better, but you can 100% of the time tell them that maybe something new they will try will make them play better, and it may be that $2,000 cue with some special taper and shaft build that just happens to match how the player shoots and has just the right feel for them.

That is what makes all those "expensive cues won't make you play better" and "It's the player not the equipment" ideas not really correct. The real statement should be "The cost or technology of the equipment is only part of the overall game and having something more expensive or newer tech is not a guarantee of a change for the better. But it may be."

Pangit said:

Do expensive cues and fancy shafts, gloves, and all that other stuff make you play better at the end of the day?

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Anecdotally, my rough gauge in bars is that a minority (probably around 20%) with own cues play at high speed A and remaining 80% around C+ to B-
Of those who play with house cues, probably 10% play around A, 70% around C+ to B- and 20% below C+

Celophanewrap said:

Lets' put it this way -
If you think they make you play better, then they do

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In other words, it is like a placebo.
:grin:

spartan said:

Anecdotally, my rough gauge in bars is that a minority (probably around 20%) with own cues play at high speed A and remaining 80% around C+ to B-

Of those who play with house cues, probably 10% play around A, 70% around C+ to B- and 20% below C+

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You must play in a highly competitive area. Around me, bars are 90% D players, 5% C, 2% C+, 2% B, and <1% A. C+ and above always have their own stick unless goofing off at random.



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Snooker Theory said:

Couldn't agree more, if you have two samurai who are matched equally in skill, I personally would assume the quality of the sword come into the equation.

Same with two Indians in an archery competition, who wins if equally matched, probably not the guy with the crooked arrows that don't fly straight.

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Or race car drivers with one having better tires and engine. Or birds with one flying into the wind and another with the wind. Or cooks, one with an oven that heats like crap the other with a high end one. Or shoe makers where one has to make shoes from foam and the other has quality leathers. Or... well, the list is really long when we compare things like that.

Pangit said:

Do expensive cues and fancy shafts, gloves, and all that other stuff make you play better at the end of the day?

In retrospect, I should have tried to steal a good house cue somewhere, invest my money in good tips, talcum powder...and just roll with it.

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You were right, it is a stupid question.

Pangit said:

Do expensive cues and fancy shafts, gloves, and all that other stuff make you play better at the end of the day?

In retrospect, I should have tried to steal a good house cue somewhere, invest my money in good tips, talcum powder...and just roll with it.

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Not until you get to the $5,000 level cue. Then you see a gain, but to get any real pop it starts around $10,000. I'm sure those of us who are at plus 10K will attest to that!

CocoboloCowboy said:

Why would you use talcum? Makes a mess, if your hand are clean, or gloved your problem is solved.

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I second this! I hate when people use the talc cone.

MattPoland said:

You must play in a highly competitive area. Around me, bars are 90% D players, 5% C, 2% C+, 2% B, and <1% A. C+ and above always have their own stick unless goofing off at random.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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I think your D player estimation is too high, even a D player has actually started to learn how to play. I would say that even D players are more like 30% or less of players you see anywhere outside of a real pool hall. People that have no idea about the game at all outside of you hold a stick and try to make a ball go in a pocket are not yet D players. To be a D player you need to have some ideas of a correct stance, way to hold the cue, correct way to chalk, some table etiquette, etc... Most people shooting at your local bar table are not even D players. If you see someone looking to find the rack on the table, or where the coin slot is on a standard 9 footer, or tries to make a perfect "solid, stripe, solid, stripe" pattern in 8 ball rack, or puts their face in front of a pocket when someone is shooting, that digs in chalk like they are starting a fire, or basically anyone that only knows random made up rules, those are not yet good enough to be a D player.

hang-the-9 said:

I think your D player estimation is too high, even a D player has actually started to learn how to play. I would say that even D players are more like 30% or less of players you see anywhere outside of a real pool hall. People that have no idea about the game at all outside of you hold a stick and try to make a ball go in a pocket are not yet D players. To be a D player you need to have some ideas of a correct stance, way to hold the cue, correct way to chalk, some table etiquette, etc... Most people shooting at your local bar table are not even D players.

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I 100% get what you're saying and agree. D is your bottom tier league players. Below D, your casual bar bangers will never play in a tournament but if they did they'd have to hope there's a D bracket to throw them into because there's definitely not an E.

Celophanewrap said:

I always count on my lucky socks

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You wear socks when you play pool?

Snooker Theory said:

Couldn't agree more, if you have two samurai who are matched equally in skill, I personally would assume the quality of the sword come into the equation.

Same with two Indians in an archery competition, who wins if equally matched, probably not the guy with the crooked arrows that don't fly straight.

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The OP is a retired military man.
Guaranteed he didn’t ask for a Saturday Night Special when they issued him a gun.

pt109 said:

The OP is a retired military man.
Guaranteed he didn’t ask for a Saturday Night Special when they issued him a gun.

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Perfect response!

you'll be the best player ever with the most expensive cue ever

hotelyorba said:

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Great for jumping and masse.

I wonder how may deflects you can get with that bad boy

pt109 said:

You wear socks when you play pool?

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Yeah, well, during the winter, sometimes it can be a bit nippley here