How straight does a cue have to be?

I've found that some taper roll or a slight bend in the cue don't matter as much as many players tend to think.

Whenever I've played with a cue that is so bent that I can tell when i'm off on a horizontal plane, I adjust how I hold the cue so that the bend is in vertical line with my stroke and I end up with a relatively straight aiming line.

I'd say that most of the time it's more of a PITA than a problem, per se.

Since a lot of folks have crooked strokes, using a cue that is .020 -.03 off the centroid axis won't bother them at all. I've seen players play with a half inch of air in the closed bridge & that doesn't bother them, they are used to being a 4 speed.

Id say 1/4 inch would be enough to make you not hit the cb in the intended spot and cause misses.

Here is my response to cue straightness: There are two factors that I consider in determining if a cue is playable : 1. When you sight down the cue during a shot execution do you SEE any variance in the straightness of the shaft, and 2. when you are executing a shot, do you FEEL and warpage in the shaft. If I answer no to both questions than I cannot blame the cue for any of my misses. if I answer yes to either question, then the cue straightness becomes a factor in my performance.
Good luck to anyone looking for shafts that roll PERFECTLY FLAT all the way around on a perfectly level surface, or sight perfectly straight from joint to tip - I have seen very few of those no matter what the cost.

When you set your bridge hand down for a shot, you do it so that the tip will contact the desired spot on the cue ball. If you have a good straight stroke, you will be pulling the cue straight back and then propelling it straight forward again. The bridge hand is the guide, and the tip has to come back to its original intended spot on the cue ball. In other words, the bend of the cue has no bearing on where the tip ends up; it's the placement of the bridge hand and the stroke that matters. The cue would have to be very badly warped in order for it to be anything more than a psychological hindrance.

Roger

Roger Long said:

When you set your bridge hand down for a shot, you do it so that the tip will contact the desired spot on the cue ball. If you have a good straight stroke, you will be pulling the cue straight back and then propelling it straight forward again. The bridge hand is the guide, and the tip has to come back to its original intended spot on the cue ball. In other words, the bend of the cue has no bearing on where the tip ends up; it's the placement of the bridge hand and the stroke that matters. The cue would have to be very badly warped in order for it to be anything more than a psychological hindrance.

Roger

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I totally agree with this. Unless you're spinning the cue in your hand as you stroke, the tip should come back to the same point you lined up on the CB regardless of how warped the cue is.

If I play off the wall, I don't roll it on a table. I just make sure it has a good tip and tap it on the floor to make sure it doesn't rattle or vibrate. Sometimes I'm surprised to find out later that I've been playing well with a cue that is bent like a banana.

Actually, it has to be straight enough so that it doesn't play on your mind while you're shooting with it.

After a few strong drinks being straight just don't matter......




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poolguy4u said:

After a few strong drinks being straight just don't matter......




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We are still talking about pool cues aren't we?!?!?

Lord I hope so!


* wish I had started this crap earlier *