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runout1961 said:
Hey Folks, I am a firm beleiver that a cue is built to be played with. But what if you have a nice cue that you KNOW will increase in value by the day such as a Tascarella for example....would you use the cue for your everyday player?

I'm not talking about using the cue in the pool hall and then when you go to the bar you switch it out with something cheaper. I'm talking about your EVERYDAY PLAYER. Me personally, I couldn't see myself using any cue as my daily player that cost over $1000.

John<---------Just looking for some opinions.
I played with a Balabushka for years. I haven't played with it though since the mid 90's though. I just play with a cue I made myself now.
 
I play with my Gus and it has received nicks and dings from balls hitting it to me accidently dropping it on the floor. One time I was getting out of my car in a tremendous rainstorm in Miami and the top to my Justis case wasnt closed right. The cue fell out of the case and landed right in a puddle that was like 3 inches deep. The cue was literally under water. I took it upstairs to the pool room and dried it off the best I could and went back to playing. the next day I went to Ted Harris' shop and he got the wrap dry for me better (it was still damp). Ted put the cue on the lathe and showed me that the butt was nearly dead straight a few weeks later so no damage from that fiasco.

I'll break with my cue sometimes when I just dont feel like going to get my break cue thats 5 feet away. I know thats extreme laziness, but sometimes I just do it anyways. My personal feeling is that I plan to die owning this cue, so treating it like it some sort of fragile artifact doesnt make sense. Its a fantastic hitting cue and as such I dont see the point in keeping this horse chained in my closet. Run free Szamboti and do what Gus intended you to do. :-)
 
I bought a second hand Paul Mottey in 1992 for $600.00. Today I am told it is worth $2500.00 or so. Of course it is only worth what someone would pay, and I am not selling. I had it refinished by Paul about a year ago and it looks (looked) like new. None-the-less, it is my playing cue.

My grandchildren can have it refinished after I am gone and make a few bucks, for now, it is the best cue I own and that is what I play with in bars, at home and wherever I play.

So my anser is yes, but then I did not pay all that much for it. Like someone said, it is functional art and made to be enjoyed.
 
I ONLY USE ONE CUE AS MY PLAYER, NO MATTER WHERE I AM......IT'S PLAINER THAN MY OTHER CUES, BUT IT STILL CERTAINLY FITS IN YOUR CATEGORY IN QUESTION.....

CUE.jpg
 
runout1961 said:
Hey Folks, I am a firm beleiver that a cue is built to be played with. But what if you have a nice cue that you KNOW will increase in value by the day such as a Tascarella for example....would you use the cue for your everyday player?

I'm not talking about using the cue in the pool hall and then when you go to the bar you switch it out with something cheaper. I'm talking about your EVERYDAY PLAYER. Me personally, I couldn't see myself using any cue as my daily player that cost over $1000.

John<---------Just looking for some opinions.

Of course. If the cue was the one I wanted to play with everyday, then the fact that it was collectible wouldn't stop me.

Fred
 
What about Brunswick Titlists conversions, which were off the rack production cues? At the time when these were common cues, were they considered special or simply a normal playing cue?

Wondering if I should speculate by going out and hoarding a stack of pre-china 1 piece dufferins.


runout1961 said:
Hey Folks, I am a firm beleiver that a cue is built to be played with. But what if you have a nice cue that you KNOW will increase in value by the day such as a Tascarella for example....would you use the cue for your everyday player?

I'm not talking about using the cue in the pool hall and then when you go to the bar you switch it out with something cheaper. I'm talking about your EVERYDAY PLAYER. Me personally, I couldn't see myself using any cue as my daily player that cost over $1000.

John<---------Just looking for some opinions.
 
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It depends

If it plays better than anything else you have, absolutely play with it but I wouldn't be stupid with it. I didn't take a fifteen dollar cue that I liked to places I thought it was likely to be destroyed. It was destroyed in a bar back in the seventies however so things can happen. If your Tascarella is just an average good player and you have other cheaper cues that play as well or better you might as well leave it in the safe.

There is something else to think about. I had a safe queen that I was well aware that I would probably never use. This was just a rifle barrel when I shot benchrest but it was a barrel capable of winning international events and setting world records. A barrel like that might be one in ten-thousand, maybe one in a hundred-thousand or even less. Peak barrel life is less than a thousand rounds and this barrel was "too good" to use in local competition.

I never made it to the big events I entered several times due to one issue or another and when I quit shooting benchrest I sold the barrel to a friend in a deal with my other benchrest gear at the price of any other used barrel. I did carefully show him the date and markings on the barrel because if I were still shooting benchrest ten thousand dollars could not have bought that barrel although it cost less than $250 new when I bought them quantity price.

To sum things up: If you bought the stick to collect and it is an average player, leave it in the safe. If you bought it to play with and it improves your play, play with it.

Hu


runout1961 said:
Hey Folks, I am a firm beleiver that a cue is built to be played with. But what if you have a nice cue that you KNOW will increase in value by the day such as a Tascarella for example....would you use the cue for your everyday player?

I'm not talking about using the cue in the pool hall and then when you go to the bar you switch it out with something cheaper. I'm talking about your EVERYDAY PLAYER. Me personally, I couldn't see myself using any cue as my daily player that cost over $1000.

John<---------Just looking for some opinions.
 
runout1961 said:
Hey Folks, I am a firm beleiver that a cue is built to be played with. But what if you have a nice cue that you KNOW will increase in value by the day such as a Tascarella for example....would you use the cue for your everyday player?

I'm not talking about using the cue in the pool hall and then when you go to the bar you switch it out with something cheaper. I'm talking about your EVERYDAY PLAYER. Me personally, I couldn't see myself using any cue as my daily player that cost over $1000.

John<---------Just looking for some opinions.

John,
Everything is relative. Some people wouldn't hesitate playing daily with a $4000.00 cue let alone a $1000 cue. It really depends upon what your goals are and what kind of cue you enjoy playing pool with as well as what you can afford to play with.
JoeyA
 
I wouldn't hesitate to play with a $2500 cue. If it has everything I am looking for in playablity etc. My daily player is a Tim Scruggs that I will take with me everywhere. It was my dream purchase when I got the cue. I am going to put it to use as much as I can.lol
 
i will definitely play with a cue that is worth than 2.5k!:smile:
currently playing with a sw that i believed will rise in value soon!:smile:
 
If I could buy a $50,000 IVORY BOXED SZAMBOTI cue tomorrow I would play with it everyday (if it played as well or better than my current Steve Klein cue).

I like a cue that looks good and plays good! I don't sweat dings, etc. I like a cue that looks a little road-weary myself. Kind of like an old beat-up aged Fender stratocaster guitar.
 
I want to see what Fatboy says. Every time I play pool with him, he pulls out a different Szamboti worth 10K or more and says he wants to try this one out today. He's funny that way. He usually lets me play with a plain Szam that is only worth like 6K. But it hits so good. In fact, they all do!
 
runout1961 said:
Hey Folks, I am a firm beleiver that a cue is built to be played with. But what if you have a nice cue that you KNOW will increase in value by the day such as a Tascarella for example....would you use the cue for your everyday player?

I'm not talking about using the cue in the pool hall and then when you go to the bar you switch it out with something cheaper. I'm talking about your EVERYDAY PLAYER. Me personally, I couldn't see myself using any cue as my daily player that cost over $1000.

John<---------Just looking for some opinions.
I played with a $2,500 Robinson for 5 years. It was the only cue I played with. Where ever I went, it went. To the bathroom etc. I wanted to sell it but high end cues are hard to sell. I put it on Ebay and got scammed out of it. No more expensive cues. I play with the cheapest cue Robinson makes now.
 
My playing cue is a collectable SW that was on the cover of the first Blue Book and previously owned by the Blue Book author. It's a wrapless w/6 high points and was made in the early 80's. I won't take it out of the house anymore. Instead, I've become used to other cues I have and willing to play with them on occasions that I go out... which are few. I do use the cue at home, some of the time.
 
Play with collectable cue

I know a guy who plays with a loaded up with ivory one of a kind Szamboti worth at least 20,000.00. He also has a Josswest one of a kind worth at least 3,500.00. He also uses both cues to break with. He said he bought these cues to play with and enjoy. He feels cues should be played with and would never buy a cue just to look at.

I own a Judd cue that the original owner paid around 2,500.00 for it (listed in the cue gallery section). I use it to play everywhere and is my only player. I do get nervous in bars but I don't leave my cue laying around. When not in play its immediately put in my case.
 
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