Best cue for beginner - middle of the road player

drewstaff711

drewstaff711

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I have been playing on an Oldhausen for about a year and a half (8ft). On a 9ft table I would probably be a "6 - 7" handicap. I've been trying different cues (McDermott G-series, Lucasi flexpoint, and a Players cue). My favorite thus far has been the players cue (Likely only because I've played the most with it).

What would you all recommend for me to graduate to a little higher end stick from the players? I really liked the McDermott, but it was a little too skinny on the shaft and the tip was small, I really liked the English it produced and the way it hit. The Lucasi seems a little too fat on the shaft?

What size diameter shaft (?), size/type tip (?), low deflection (?), carbon fiber(?), brand (?) Any comments/suggestions would be good, thanks!
 
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McDermott has an excellent reputation as a mid-priced production cue company. I'm pretty sure they offer their shafts in a range of diameters and tapers.

Also everyone and their mother is going to carbon fiber now. You might want to check out one of those.
 
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I’d try a different tip with the same cue if you feel like you’ve hit a plateau and take it from there. What tip are you playing with atm?


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If the McDermott shaft is too skinny and the Lucasi shaft is too fat, I would get some really fine sandpaper and take the LucasI shaft down, very little by very little, until I found the diameter that I liked.
 
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This seems easy. You have at least 3 options that won't cost you much. 1) Stay w/ the Players b/c it's your favorite. 2) You say you really like the McDermott but the shaft is a little too skinny. Just buy a little fatter McDermott shaft. 3) Buy a skinnier Lucasi shaft. A fourth option is to start fresh. If you do that, at least keep in mind the things you like/dislike about your current cues.
 
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Can't go wrong with Joss cues.
They've been around a long time.
An entry level Joss plays as well as any production cue out there.
That being said, no cue stick will get you over the plateau hurdle.
There's no substitute for hitting a million balls and thinking about your fundamentals
while hitting those million balls and competing against better players.
 
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drewstaff711 said:
I have been playing on an Oldhausen for about a year and a half (8ft). On a 9ft table I would probably be a "6 - 7" handicap. I've been trying different cues (McDermott G-series, Lucasi flexpoint, and a Players cue). My favorite thus far has been the players cue (Likely only because I've played the most with it).

What would you all recommend for me to graduate to a little higher end stick from the players? I really liked the McDermott, but it was a little too skinny on the shaft and the tip was small, I really liked the English it produced and the way it hit. The Lucasi seems a little too fat on the shaft?

What size diameter shaft (?), size/type tip (?), low deflection (?), carbon fiber(?), brand (?) Any comments/suggestions would be good, thanks!
Click to expand...
I think the most important part of your decision is how much squirt (cue ball deflection) you want. I would recommend a wrapless cue. I think you will get used to all the other parameters of the cue within a month of playing with it.
 
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drewstaff711 said:
I have been playing on an Oldhausen for about a year and a half (8ft). On a 9ft table I would probably be a "6 - 7" handicap. I've been trying different cues (McDermott G-series, Lucasi flexpoint, and a Players cue). My favorite thus far has been the players cue (Likely only because I've played the most with it).

What would you all recommend for me to graduate to a little higher end stick from the players? I really liked the McDermott, but it was a little too skinny on the shaft and the tip was small, I really liked the English it produced and the way it hit. The Lucasi seems a little too fat on the shaft?

What size diameter shaft (?), size/type tip (?), low deflection (?), carbon fiber(?), brand (?) Any comments/suggestions would be good, thanks!
Click to expand...

All you need to do is try out different shafts to see what you like. Without doing that, recommendations are just that, between shafts and tips you will have like 60 combinations to try out. The butt of the cue is not much more than a handle for the shaft. And that shaft only you can decide what to use. I figure a sample of 6-12 would be good before you can find one decent enough to grow with your game and keep trying things out as you can.
 
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hang-the-9 said:
All you need to do is try out different shafts to see what you like. Without doing that, recommendations are just that, between shafts and tips you will have like 60 combinations to try out. The butt of the cue is not much more than a handle for the shaft. And that shaft only you can decide what to use. I figure a sample of 6-12 would be good before you can find one decent enough to grow with your game and keep trying things out as you can.
Click to expand...
Good advice. Thank you!
 
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Bob Jewett said:
I think the most important part of your decision is how much squirt (cue ball deflection) you want. I would recommend a wrapless cue. I think you will get used to all the other parameters of the cue within a month of playing with it.
Click to expand...
What cue gives the least deflection? I'm not even sure I understand deflection - is it when you put bottom left/right top/bottom on the cue ball, and then the amount of throw that puts on the object ball?
 
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iusedtoberich said:
McDermott has an excellent reputation as a mid-priced production cue company. I'm pretty sure they offer their shafts in a range of diameters and tapers.

Also everyone and their mother is going to carbon fiber now. You might want to check out one of those.
Click to expand...
I see the carbon fiber crazy - do you think it's worth it? What are the advantages? I see that cuetec and predator make a nice carbon fiber shaft, but very pricey (to me).
 
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drewstaff711 said:
I have been playing on an Oldhausen for about a year and a half (8ft). On a 9ft table I would probably be a "6 - 7" handicap. I've been trying different cues (McDermott G-series, Lucasi flexpoint, and a Players cue). My favorite thus far has been the players cue (Likely only because I've played the most with it).

What would you all recommend for me to graduate to a little higher end stick from the players?
Click to expand...
For your first cue, it matters more that your eye likes the looks of the cue and your hand does not disagree with your eye.

Anyone can get used to any cue, any shaft, any tip given enough practice, and no cue, shaft, tip will prevent you from getting better than 90% of the players out there (only you {as in lack of diligent practice under instruction} can prevent this).
drewstaff711 said:
What size diameter shaft (?), size/type tip (?), low deflection (?), carbon fiber(?), brand (?) Any comments/suggestions would be good, thanks!
Click to expand...
The smaller the shaft the more mechanically deliberate and mechanically straight your stroke has to be--that is thicker shafts are more forgiving--but thinner shafts can do a few things that fatter shafts cannot (spin--for better or worse).

If low deflection fits in your budget, get one; if not don't worry abut it--after 1,000,000 shots your mind will have figured out the deflection characteristics and created compensations for them. That is:: it is easy to go from a HD shaft to another HD shaft of similar deflection, it is easy to go from a LD shaft to another LD shaft of similar deflection--but it is difficult to change the amount of deflection your brain has wired into your compensation strategy. Only table-time can allow for the readjustment of deflection.

Brand:: buy a shaft that has a warrantee !!
 
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