Break Cues and Playing Cues

Mike in MN

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Last week during league play, I had a minor altercation with a player on the opposing team. A little background first ...

A few years ago, I treated myself to a Predator BK2 break cue. I love it endlessly and play very well with it. The site our league match was being played at is kind of a hole in the wall. The tables are in good shape, but there was only one house cue with a tip on it, and it was being passed around as a "break cue" throughout the other team.

At one point, that lone house cue was nowhere to be found, and the opponent whom I was playing was up to break. He looked and looked, and couldn't find the house cue. So he turns to me and asks, "Can I borrow your break cue?" I don't know this guy, nor do I know how he'll treat my cue, and frankly, he's my opponent, so I politely decline. Then came this exchange:

Him: "Well I don't have anything to break with, so I don't know what we're going to do."
Me: "You have a cue right there," (pointing to his playing cue).
Him: "That's my playing cue, I don't break with it."
Me: "So you'd rather use some old, warped, beat up house cue that you have never touched before walking in here today than your own cue?"

We exchanged words, not hostile or anything, but we simply had a difference in opinion on this matter. I finally concluded by saying "Look, if you don't feel like you can break with your playing cue without harming it, then your playing cue is garbage." He kind of called me a hypocrite since I break with a separate cue, but I explained to him that my Predator cue is specifically designed for breaking - and it's MINE. It took me a while to get used to playing with it, but now that I know exactly how it plays, it's money for me.

I've run into this problem a lot lately. People seem more comfortable grabbing a cue that they are completely unfamiliar with rather than breaking with their own cue. If I didn't have my Predator, I'd feel completely fine breaking with my playing cue. I've always subscribed to the school of thought that your playing cue should be sturdy enough to sustain the stress of using it to break, or else your playing cue shouldn't be played with in the first place.

Your thoughts?
 
I stopped using my break cue more than 2 years ago. Since then I've seen a vast improvement in my break.

I would say control of the cue ball is much more important than power.
 
If i did nt have my break cue with me or the tip came off or whatever it may be i would grab a house cue over my player, the reason is... i use soft tips so id rather not compress one side of it or even the whole tip for that matter, but if there was no cue to use which wouldnt happen ever or very often where i play but... in this case just use your player finish the night and invest in a break cue. if the tip he had on was med to hard a good players cue should have no problem, look at svb before his sponsour he broke and played with one cue.
 
I bet the guy was pretty young huh? Sounds like a little punk that feels entitled to everything. I might offer my break cue to a friend of someone that seems half cool. Maybe. But I think you did right. I just recently started using a break/jump cue and the break is much better than my matching player. If my break cue broke, I WOULD NOT HAVE A SECOND THOUGHT ABOUT BREAKING WITH MY PLAYER! And I surely wouldn't ask to use a strangers cue.
 
I kinda feel this way: If you can't break with your playing cue .... It must not be very good. In the same tokey: If you can't play with your break cue ... It must not be very good.
 
i don't break with my playing cue because i use a soft tip. If i HAD to use my playing cue, i would soft break.
 
I agree 100% with the OP on this. I don't even OWN a break cue. I have a phillipi fullsplice thats just a normal player. It breaks great and use it solely for that or jumping and my Weinstock for playing. The best breakers I've ever used were normal playing cue as a matter of fact!
 
I agree with you too!

The only real reason to not use your playing cue is to preserve the tip.

I can understanding preferring to use a break cue, but to feel that you could not, under any circumstances break with your playing cue is absurd.


So what finally happened? What did he end up using to break with? I can't believe that NOBODY on his team would let him borrow a cue. If I was playing this guy, I would just sit down and wait. Let him know if he does not want to break, he can forfeit. It is not your responsibility to make sure your opponenet has a cue to play with or to break with. It is okay for him to ask, just as it is okay for you to say no.





Jw
 
I'VE ALWAYS USED A SEPERATE BREAK CUE. NOT THAT I'M GODZILLA, BUT I AM VERY PICKY ABOUT THE TIP ON MY PLAYING CUE, AND BREAKING WITH THAT TIP WOULD CHANGE THE CHARACHTERISTICS OF THE LEATHER.

MY PLAYING CUE IS DESIGNED TO PLAY WITH, MY BREAK CUE IS DESIGNED TO BREAK WITH. YOU COULD CERTAINLY PLAY WITH THE BREAK CUE, AND BREAK WITH THE PLAYING CUE, BUT THEY WOULDN'T EXCEL AT THOSE THINGS.

NO, I WOULDN'T LET SOMEBODY I DIDN'T KNOW, USE MY BREAK CUE. IT'S NOT YOUR JOB TO PROVIDE EQUIPTMENT FOR HIM.

Marcus
 
There's no reason you can't break with a playing cue. most people don't realized that over the course of the game a strong force follow or draw shot you are hitting the cue ball harder than you would when you break anyways. Plus playing league how many times are you going to break in one night, 4 or 5 tops. not enough times to ruin a tip, even a soft one
 
Many tournaments only allow you to use one cue anyway and you don't get the luxury of using a designated break or jump cue. 5417 happens. That guy would not use my breaker i guarantee.
 
So what finally happened? What did he end up using to break with? I can't believe that NOBODY on his team would let him borrow a cue. If I was playing this guy, I would just sit down and wait. Let him know if he does not want to break, he can forfeit. It is not your responsibility to make sure your opponenet has a cue to play with or to break with. It is okay for him to ask, just as it is okay for you to say no.

Jw


After he lumbered around looking for that house cue for a solid three minutes, and after we had our lovely little conversation, I finally said something to the effect of "We should get the match going." He begrudgingly grabbed his playing cue, broke, poked at a few balls, missed, and I ran down and out. Hope it was worth all the trouble for him :p
 
I agree with this 100% ....... Brad Simpson and I hit some balls when he came down last year, and he carries a 15K scrim-SW with ivory points & ferrules. He plays and breaks with it.......hard too.... nuff said.....

Last week during league play, I had a minor altercation with a player on the opposing team. A little background first ...

A few years ago, I treated myself to a Predator BK2 break cue. I love it endlessly and play very well with it. The site our league match was being played at is kind of a hole in the wall. The tables are in good shape, but there was only one house cue with a tip on it, and it was being passed around as a "break cue" throughout the other team.

At one point, that lone house cue was nowhere to be found, and the opponent whom I was playing was up to break. He looked and looked, and couldn't find the house cue. So he turns to me and asks, "Can I borrow your break cue?" I don't know this guy, nor do I know how he'll treat my cue, and frankly, he's my opponent, so I politely decline. Then came this exchange:

Him: "Well I don't have anything to break with, so I don't know what we're going to do."
Me: "You have a cue right there," (pointing to his playing cue).
Him: "That's my playing cue, I don't break with it."
Me: "So you'd rather use some old, warped, beat up house cue that you have never touched before walking in here today than your own cue?"

We exchanged words, not hostile or anything, but we simply had a difference in opinion on this matter. I finally concluded by saying "Look, if you don't feel like you can break with your playing cue without harming it, then your playing cue is garbage." He kind of called me a hypocrite since I break with a separate cue, but I explained to him that my Predator cue is specifically designed for breaking - and it's MINE. It took me a while to get used to playing with it, but now that I know exactly how it plays, it's money for me.

I've run into this problem a lot lately. People seem more comfortable grabbing a cue that they are completely unfamiliar with rather than breaking with their own cue. If I didn't have my Predator, I'd feel completely fine breaking with my playing cue. I've always subscribed to the school of thought that your playing cue should be sturdy enough to sustain the stress of using it to break, or else your playing cue shouldn't be played with in the first place.

Your thoughts?
 
I bet the guy was pretty young huh? Sounds like a little punk that feels entitled to everything. I might offer my break cue to a friend of someone that seems half cool. Maybe. But I think you did right. I just recently started using a break/jump cue and the break is much better than my matching player. If my break cue broke, I WOULD NOT HAVE A SECOND THOUGHT ABOUT BREAKING WITH MY PLAYER! And I surely wouldn't ask to use a strangers cue.

Actually, he was easily in his 40s, which caught me off guard. I think, in this case, age is irrelevant since the guy was socially inept. He appeared to have the social skills and logic barely equal to that of a mentally disabled rodent.
 
I agree with everything everyone else has said.

To me only 3 reasons for a break cue:

1: Hard tip then what you have on your playing cue
2: When you break you break super hard and actually bend your shaft on the break.
3: You like playing with a heavier cue and you like a very light cue to break so you can generate more cue speed.

Any of those 3 reasons would warrant a break cue. Any cue is fine to break with yes even your player. Your not going to break one day with your player and have it explode from the force of impact and if you are someone who CAN do that I hope I never play you :) You don't *need* a break cue it's that you *want* or *prefer* to have one and there is nothing wrong with that.

If someone I didn't know asked to use my break cue or my player cue for that matter, I'd sarcastically tell them I charge $100 for rental fee. I paid for the damn cue so I can play with it not others. If I'm at the hall practicing and someone admires my cue and asks if they can test hit some balls I'd let them if they were nice but that's a totally different situation.
 
What do the pros use for a break cue? I would say the vast majority use break cues. Correct? Who doesn't? SVB now uses one.
 
There's no reason you can't break with a playing cue.

Agreed. I have, no biggie, but as others have posted, I don't like what it does to my tip.

most people don't realized that over the course of the game a strong force follow or draw shot you are hitting the cue ball harder than you would when you break....

I have to respectfully disagree with you. I'm not godzilla, but I've been on the radar gun at 25mph+. I've never hit a normal shot in a game that came anywhere near that effort of stroke / speed.... and stayed on the table.

Another seldom mentioned point is the comparison to using a driver in golf; yes, I can hit my 7-iron off the tee (playing cue), but if I have a driver (break cue), am used to it, and strike it well, I will hit it with greater effect off the tee than the 7.
 
break cue

My shooter breaks better then my jump/break.I do not break with my shooter because it is hard on the tip.I did break with my shooter for quite some time and I do not worry that it will harm the cue other then the tip.Breaking with a house cue is less then Ideal because of the taper.On some tables I use a softer break and use my shooter for more accuracy and controll.
 
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