Break/Jump Cue-Necessary or a Luxury?

B

blakerandy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm starting to get a wild hair up my A** and was wondering how many of you use a break/jump cue rather than your playing cue?

My break is okay but not where I would like it to be, so of course I am looking at equipment rather than my technique (JOKE). Actually I work on my break at least once a week.

I have never jumped a ball in my life so maybe a combination break/jump might be worth the money.

What do you think?

Thanks, Randy
 
While sounding good on paper the properties of the break cue and the jump cue are somewhat different.

The break cue wants an extremely hard tip and a stiff shaft with little concern on the weight of the tip-end of the shaft (where deflection takes place).

The jump cue wants a hard tip and a somewhat flexible shaft with as little weight on the end of the shaft as possible--and overall be as light as possible.

On the other hand one can find perfectly adequate jump cues for $80 and break cues in the same ball park.
 
I was wondering the same thing in this mornings practice. I've been playing around with lower cost J/B cues and found I like a Cuetec J/B black grafite/glass shaft screwed to a plain maple Cuetec butt with the B&W wrap. It looks cool too. After the break I move to my Schon.

But the real truth is, I'm a hack, my break sucks and my regular play is not much better. Should I even bother protecting my main stick's tip?

I'm an old geezer but the guys before me always used the one stick they had and never thought anything of it.
 
blakerandy said:
I'm starting to get a wild hair up my A** and was wondering how many of you use a break/jump cue rather than your playing cue?

My break is okay but not where I would like it to be, so of course I am looking at equipment rather than my technique (JOKE). Actually I work on my break at least once a week.

I have never jumped a ball in my life so maybe a combination break/jump might be worth the money.

What do you think?

Thanks, Randy
Click to expand...

I usually break with my playing cue, but I tend to lean more toward control than power on the break, so I like using the cue that I always use.

I have a custom jump cue from a local maker that I couldn't live without. I would look into getting a jump cue and continue practicing your break technique.

The combination jump/breakers, in my experience, do one job well, but never both, and sometimes neither.
 
Dedicated Jumper and Dedicated Breaker is the only way to go.... To have a combo means you have sacrificed a little from both ends for optimum performance to be able to accomplish either modestly....

I will even take this a step further... I think that 2 jump cues are required for optimum success... One for the Dart Jump and one for the stroke jump....

I dart jump everything that I cannot stroke jump with a full cue and I know my success would be higher with a proper jumper.. My current jumper is ultra light weight and is 100% on getting over balls with only a ball width separation but does not have enough mass to full table jump and use english to spin 2 rails back down table or draw....

The jumpers I have tried that could full table jump and control the rock were heavier and needed at least 6-8 inches separation before they were 100% getting over a ball with the control required.... You CAN jump balls closer than that with a stroke jump cue but you have to power the jump instead of simply stroking it....
 
The Predator Air Jump Cue gives you both cues in one. I've tried them all ... gotta use the Predator Air, if I'm gonna jump at all.

I believe in special tools for special jobs, found that to be an AXIOM.
 
luxury all day long. i used to have just a 1/2 case and broke off the wall for years. it's cool to have your own break cue but you can do without it. having a jump cue makes most people lazy. it's much better for your game to learn to kick well than it is to just jump a ball
 
I know its been said that dedicated break and jump cues are the best.
I use a 3 piece Gino Ferarri. I prefer to get myself out of hard places using the rails but sometimes its necessary to jump a ball.
I find I can jump pretty much as well with the 3 piece as I can with my dedicated jump cue.
 
Break jump cue

I find it hard to beat the J&J Break/Jump cue for $65. It lets you get into it without investing a fortune. I have one with 2 shafts. Got the extra shaft for $30, and originally got the J&J off of EBAY for 44.75 with shipping.

So for less than $75, I have the Break/jump cue with 2 shafts.
 
I have a J&J J/B cue and I break very well with it and jump descent with it. It has a samsara tip. For long jumps while trying to add spin it works well. When the OB and CB get close and tight I have a Jester 3 piece jumper for dart jumping and its very light.

I think the game would be better with no jumpers allowed, but if my opponent can jump than you are a fool to not have the same weapons your opponent can have. That being said I feel i kick way better than i jump, but I jump pretty descent too.
 
If you play 9 ball where they allow a jump cue, get one.

I don't have one.

But there have been a # of times where I played some pretty decent safeties....and then the #@!%^#! jump cue comes out.

And when the shoe is on the other foot, i'm cursing myself for not investing in one myself.

As for a break cue, I'm not the best breaker in the world at all. My break is totally unreliable. But on occassion, i've used a buddy's poison vx-2, and I'd hit the rack like a sledge hammer each time.

Hits square, cue stays in the middle of the table, spread the balls out and sink one. Could be the "new cue"/unfamiliar cue effect, but it keeps repeating itself.

At some point, i'll break down and buy one, but right now i'd rather spend my dollars on table time than new equipment.
 
I don't think either is of any importance until your game is at the level where that's almost all you're lacking in, somewhere in the transition from B player to A player you should start working with at least a jump cue.

Break cue really isn't that important ever, (if you can get a good break with a normal que) then you're fine. But I see now with the new phenolic tips and the right stick they can sure crack the crap out of a rack without having to put nearly so much stroke into it that you loose cue ball control, so it does have it's value especially for those that just never had a powerful break or good cue control on the break. Women can probably benefit more than anyone from a really good break cue, since they don't have the upper body stregth to get the breaks guys do, but I'm sure most can benefit at least a little. If it's enough benefit to carry three cues and buy a new case to fit them all that's up to you. I like my case and it's only made to carry 4 shaft and two sticks.

I'm entering into A player range now after many years of play and still don't have either a jump or break cue, I can break just fine with my playing stick, but sure do wish I had a good jump cue.

Everyone I play at my level has a jump cue and they know I don't have one, so they always know I'll be kicking. That gives them a bit of an edge I think always knowing what I'm unable to do or what I will be doing for sure. I think I'd like to try one of those j&j cheapies I've heard so many good things about, but first I'm unemployed and second I'm saving for simonis coth on my own new used cheap gold crown I just bought. We all have our priorities...

You can't overlook the cost of a new case to carry all those sticks... The case I have now cost me as much as my cue and my whole used table, and I just can't see replacing it just to carry the luxury of a dedicated break cue and jump cue and playing stick. My cue is just a McDermott, I used to have a meucci originals but it was stolen. Technically the McDermott used to be my break cue and just overall backup cue, it is kind of a basic thick heavy do it all solid club really, never had the finesse the meucci did but I don't feel like I'm missing anything breaking and playing with the mcdermott. I took out the weight in the butt to play with it and it still feels like it it could probably do well clubbing down mid to large game animals if we're ever sent back into the stone ages.
 
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blakerandy said:
I'm starting to get a wild hair up my A** and was wondering how many of you use a break/jump cue rather than your playing cue?

My break is okay but not where I would like it to be, so of course I am looking at equipment rather than my technique (JOKE). Actually I work on my break at least once a week.

I have never jumped a ball in my life so maybe a combination break/jump might be worth the money.

What do you think?

Thanks, Randy
Click to expand...
I've often wondered if I should buy separate pieces of equipment or a least a higher quality combination break/jump cue.

I use a Palmer break/jump cue that I bought over the Internet for about $85 about three years ago. To be in compliance with BCAPL rules, I replaced the phenolic tip with a hard Waterbuffallo tip. I really like my Palmer cue for breaking so I doubt that I would want to give that up while searching for other break/jump cues.

If you play at a pool hall, your best bet might be to ask other players what they recommend and if you can try out their break/jump cues before you make a decision.
 
jump break cue

When I was young my standard statement (regarding breaking with my playing cue) was "If I can't break with it, I won't play with it." I played with a Rich Benson I got from Omaha John Shuput. It had phenolic ferruels, no problem. However it was stolen and I changed cues many times afterwards. None would be able to sustain the punishment. That old perspective like most things in my life has changed with the passage of time. Over the years I damaged or destroyed multiple ferruels. I even managed to break one shaft on my old Muecci MO-7. Still I didn't get a break cue for many years. I opted to break off the wall, then I used a cheap Sneaky Pete for a time. While I agree with the premise of using the rails when possible, situations at times necessitate the use of the jump shot. For years I jumped with my playing cue. Usually when I had no other choice. Although certainly possible, jumping full cue has it's limitations. In the 90's my friends had jump cues. I tried them & found them to be a remarkable improvement over jumping with a full sized cue, & incredibly easy to use. I purchased a small jump cue, still no break cue. After one of my long periods of not playing I returned to playing and retooled. I purchased a Predator playing cue and later I had Bob Owen make me a jump/break cue. It has proved to be a worthy investment. I now have a piece of equipment I am accustomed to for those aspects of the game. At this point I am looking to retool again. I am looking to replace my Predator & I am also inclined to look at purchasing seperate break & jump cues. I am a firm believer in the addage to each his own, however if you are going to play this game for the foreseeable future I would highly reccommend the purchase of a jump/break cue or seperate cues for this purpose. Today there is a vast array of quality equipment to choose from. Good luck & good pool. Billy Bones:thumbup:
 
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