Adjusting To A New Cue

J

Jarryd

New member
Hi All,

First post here, recently I went out and purchased a new cue. It's 60" in length, which I would have thought would suit my height at 6ft 2". It felt great in the shop and was recommended. Costing $200 - I'm getting serious with my pool so I thought it would be the right way to begin.

But damn I still havn't got use to it after 3 weeks of playing. I still play better with my old cue (6 years old and cost $100) which is a bit short and the tips worn. (should have just got it re-tipped really) Which I first started playing with.

With the new cue after playing a fair bit with it, the shaft feels way to light/thing and all the weights at the butt, this may be normal (this is my 2nd cue) but I'm just not shooting as good as I should be. I play 8-ball on 7ft tables, this cue feels like its for snooker on a 12ft table!

How can I trouble shoot and find out what is causing this? Maybe the cue is just not going through my bridge exactly the same each time? Or do I just need to keep practing and playing? I've got upcoming league matches and not sure what cue to use. How long does it take to adjust to a cue?

Thank guys.
 
Jarryd said:
Hi All,

First post here, recently I went out and purchased a new cue. It's 60" in length, which I would have thought would suit my height at 6ft 2". It felt great in the shop and was recommended. Costing $200 - I'm getting serious with my pool so I thought it would be the right way to begin.

But damn I still havn't got use to it after 3 weeks of playing. I still play better with my old cue (6 years old and cost $100) which is a bit short and the tips worn. (should have just got it re-tipped really) Which I first started playing with.

With the new cue after playing a fair bit with it, the shaft feels way to light/thing and all the weights at the butt, this may be normal (this is my 2nd cue) but I'm just not shooting as good as I should be. I play 8-ball on 7ft tables, this cue feels like its for snooker on a 12ft table!

How can I trouble shoot and find out what is causing this? Maybe the cue is just not going through my bridge exactly the same each time? Or do I just need to keep practing and playing? I've got upcoming league matches and not sure what cue to use. How long does it take to adjust to a cue?

Thank guys.
Click to expand...

LOL i feel ya man just go a New cue myself .And just can't swing it like my old skool cue ..
Rember this if you like the way the old cue plays and you want to get one made have the cue maker spec the cue so you can get the same playability like your old cue. ( from the tip to th wrap.. ) And do drills just to see how the cue will reacts ..
GL ..
 
I would say Stick It Out.....

the transition to a new cue is sometimes not always easy, i was fortunate with mine. i ran a 108 the first day i shot with it.

The worst thing you can do is jump back/forth with 2 different cues, you really have to apply yourself to the cue. Re-Train your muscle memory to the feel of the new cue.

good luck
Steve
 
stevekur1 said:
I would say Stick It Out.....

the transition to a new cue is sometimes not always easy, i was fortunate with mine. i ran a 108 the first day i shot with it.

The worst thing you can do is jump back/forth with 2 different cues, you really have to apply yourself to the cue. Re-Train your muscle memory to the feel of the new cue.

good luck
Steve
Click to expand...

When you did that, was the it a custom cue or production ' ??
 
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Hussa!

If it s going all around playability it its hard to find a cue which fits up with your mind and body directly :)
As long as you didn t find *YOUR* cuemaker, who makes you sure to get what you want only testing helps. I used to call up a guy to meet with me with his crazy collection of about 50 cues or so and then took one by one, made some test-strokes. In my opinion just the only way to find what is good for you (how i said before, as long you didn t find your *personal cuemaker* ^^). A cue have to feel directly like it is just made for your, you have to feel good with first stroke- otherwise you ll be perhaps unlucky...and that s the badest thing which could happen (my opinion).
I hope that your problem fits itself and you ll find your way *to love* your new cue buddy.

lg and a happy new year,

Ingo
 
weight bolt

Sounds like this cue might have a weight bolt in it. Shortening this weight bolt or changing to a lighter one might help. While both matter, I find balance more important than weight. If you shift the balance point to match your old cue, as measured from the tip not the butt cap, you will probably be happier. I play with a 60 inch cue and nobody trying it notices it is long, they do notice that it is a little light, my preference.

When I made a substantial change it took me several months to get used to a cue just playing a few times a week so if you are like me you may need to play with the cue a little longer before making changes.

Hu
 
Re-training your muscles ( muscle memory) to the new cue is what it is going to take. A pro could be me with a broom handle, so its not the cue. Time. You have to give it time, and it will come. I wouldn't start adjusting the weight bolt just yet, however balance, as stated by shootingarts, is absolutely the key to that "sweet" feeling. If all else fails, give it back and by a Southwest :)) Happy Holidays to all.
-Dave
 
My .02

When you get to a certain level in your game, it won't make any difference what cue you have in your hand. The shot will make itself. Just keep practicing and it will come.
Merry Christmas, Don P.
 
it took me months to get used to using my z2, but when i finaly did it was well worth it.
 
On your bridge hand: Do you completely straighten your elbow or bend it? If you bend it, you may not really benefit from the extra cue length. If you keep your elbow straight, you probably do need more stick.
 
lol. pretty much should be expected. drive the same race car for a longtime, and learn to drive it really well... learn to feel how it handles when cornering, how fast it accelerates, when to break, feel it's limits, etc..etc...etc... lets say that car is a honda... but it's your honda, you can talk to it.. now step into a porsche... yeah you can still drive it... and it is a epic upgrade from your honda... but I guarentee you smack into a couple walls, blow a tire and have a handfull of nasty fender benders before you start getting that beauty to really perform.... But once you have that girl humming, which might take some time..... WOOT~~!!!

Same situation.
 
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balance point

With your old cue you were holding it by the end of the butt, this will transfer weight to your shaft end, now that you have a longer cue you are holding it closer to the balance point and that is what is making the shaft feel lighter in your bridge, If you fully stretch out your bridge arm you might start holding the new cue on the end of the butt also, just like your original cue. My observation on taller players is that they tend to hold their cue by the end of butt and also crook their bridge arm to shorten their body length to match the cue they are using, which in reality is a cue to short for their body.
 
ssminn said:
My observation on taller players is that they tend to hold their cue by the end of butt and also crook their bridge arm to shorten their body length to match the cue they are using, which in reality is a cue to short for their body.
Click to expand...

Not always. I'm on the tall side, but not that tall (6' tall) and I crook my bridge arm because I like the cueball a little closer to my eyes for a better aim. But there are other advantages to a bent elbow:

- you can rest your elbow on the table, which further stabilizes your stance.

- If you have to jack up big time, to reach over several balls close to the cueball, again you can rest your elbow onn the table, and leave your bridge hand in the air. It's harder to be steady, but I find it better than playing with a shaky bridge and too much shaft.

- If there are balls behind the cueball but you have the space to form a normal bridge, it's easier to twist your arm and leave your elbow in the air, to reach over the balls.
 
Jarryd said:
... I've got upcoming league matches and not sure what cue to use.
Click to expand...

Retip your old cue with a good tip (I use Triangle for one piece leather or Wizard or Kamui medium for layered). You are going into combat so get your tried and true stick ready to go. At worst it will serve as your backup. Or, you might want to use your old cue as your break cue (if you don't want to purchase a 3rd cue), in which case you would want a harder tip (I use the Samsara jump/break tip).

As far as the new longer cue? Do your best to acclimate to it. If it doesn't work out for you, dump it after a thorough trial if need be. Don't feel roped into it (if it just doesn't work for you) just because you spent $200 on it.

Hard to compare sticks of different lengths without knowing all of the specs (tip/ferrule diameter, balance point, joint diameter, butt diameter, total weight, ...)

As someone above said, a good player can use a broom handle or any stick that they pick up. However, they are still going to shoot better with what feels best to them. And, I agree with another poster above that balance point is the most important of what feels best to me.

Ideally you could go and test play with as many different peoples' sticks as possible (and/or go to a big store that will let you test out sticks). In the process, carry a pair of calipers, scale and tape measure.

After much trial and error I found that I like (for my playing cue):

-Length 58"
-Balance point 19"
-Weight 19.8 oz
-Tip/Ferrule diameter 12.65mm
-Conical taper
-Joint diameter .845"
-Butt diameter 1.25"

Find out what spec cue feels the best to you!
 
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Jarryd said:
the shaft feels way to light/thing and all the weights at the butt...
Click to expand...

Shafts vary in density and "spine" greatly I have found, so what you "feel" may be true. A couple suggestions, take both cues to the post office and use their scales (unless you have one that's reliable) and weigh the shafts and the butts separately.

Make a note of the weight of the shaft in particular, to begin to take inventory of what you like in a shaft. And do the two cues have the same joint? (i.e. flat-face big pin vs. stainless piloted). Because if it's the flat-faced, your shaft would normally not have any brass insert where the stainless piloted would - this would contribute to different weight with the same density/weight of the wood in the shaft. Plus, most shafts play a little differently (deflection, action, etc.). Just so you know, I typically prefer heavier shafts, but I have found shafts that weigh as little as 3.4-5 oz that played great.

Butts can weigh the same but have completely different feel do to weight distribution. I may be very light wood and a big weight bolt added in the back, it may be heavey wood in the forearm and then a lighter wood was added under the wrap, etc. If you're current cue has a balanced feel where the weight feels equally distrubuted throughout, vs. the weigh at the very end of the butt as yuo described in your new one - but they could weigh the same. So I agree with those that say it's not the weight, it's the distribution of the weight and balance point.

This is the reason I started buying different cues from various makers, to learn about the characteristics of many different types of cues. But beware, it's a sickness and a hard habit to break. But to start with, please weigh what you have so you can begin to learn what you like so you can ask the right questions before buying the next one.

Dave
 
Thanks for all the great replys guys! Really appreticiated. Got some things to think about and will keep shooting and get use to it.

It's a bit funny I didn't realise I was so attatched to my old cue, its just been there all along - not to I tried something else that I realised how much it was my cue and how much I was use to it!

I keep a straight elbow when shooting but don't have my hand all the way to the end of the butt like a lot of tall players do.

The cue is 18oz, it felt heavy at the back - but with a bit of reasearch 18oz is a bit on the lighter side I think?

For those interested my new cue is 'The Equalizer' endorsed by Jason Twist.

http://www.theequalizerpoolcue.com/about.html

Funny story - A couple months back Jason Twist came to my local pub for an exhibition and I almost beat him (fouled on the 8) in a one off frame with a dodgey pub cue! haha.

He went on to beat me 4 times and won all 30 frames he played that night. Great player.
 
i'm not a champion by a very long shot, but I do have alot of years experience playing pool, What I have noticed is the more years I play the faster I can adjust to a cue.

I use the word adjust "lightly" meaning that I can play say 75% of my speed in a hour of using the cue-some cues are hopeless for me and I know with in 30 minutes if it will NEVER work. years ago it longer for me to determine if the cue was hopless or not, it took weeks, I been playing 25 years to put it inperspective, 70% of those years full time.



The cue I'm using now brings out the best in me more than any cue I have ever played with,I kept all but one of my full time playing cues over the years,to compaire my current cue with the and there is no doubt my cue is best for me. When I go grab one of my old player cues, I adjust back to it instantly as I just know the cue because used it for thousands hours of play is what it takes me to know a cue that good, my current player has about 1000 hours of play time on it, and i'm likeing it more daily. I didnt think of the specs(length, weight) who built it, price, looks had zero bering on my choice, and I took out my old players and used them for a week then I jumped to my current cue and I played better with it than any of my previous cues. Will I use it forever? who knows-I have my eyes open. I wasnt blessed with the talent of some guys so I have to rely on a cue more, for me the right cue makes a huge difference-time has shown me the more gifted a player the less important the cue is. I pay attention to that kind of stuff.

1000 hours isnt much 20 hours play time a week for a year. I have atleast that perhaps 1400 hours on my current cue and it aint even broke in yet. LOL make sure your tip is good too, thats the most important thing in a cue,


I would say it takes a full 2-3-4 months to fully get to know a cue perhaps longer, but 60 minutes(for me) to see if its a canadate. Kinda like a girl if she smokes she is out of the picture for me instantly, but it takes years to fully know a girl.


if your not comfortable after 3 weeks I'd keep looking.


you'll never find the perfect cue, none of us will. but the search is the fun part.
 
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18oz's is in the average cue weight range. I would believe that 18-20oz is pretty commen. I also have several cues and tend to jump around amoung them from time to time. Deflection is one of the biggest issues I run into when changing cues often. Shaft deflection varies from shaft to shaft. I started playing with a OB-1 that will fit several of my cues and it has added more consistant results. It took a while for me to get tuned into the OB-1 but now that I'm there, I'm really playing well. It is very frustrating to rattle pockets when you knew your stroke was dead on.

Regards!
 
If you've been playing with the same cue for six years, it's gonna take you at least an hour at the table every single time you go out to get used to it.....your body, brain, and eyes are used to six years of the other cue.....even after a good night out, they will likely default to the old settings the very next time you play.....IMHO, patience and plenty of warm-up are in your future :wink:

Remember, it takes a year to wear in a good pair of boots, and well over 50,000 miles to wear in a diesel engine.....stick with it.....oh, and like others have said, if you like your tip from the old cue, then make sure you have the same tip on this one.....that will help with the transition....
 
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