Cue Weight...Heavy vs. Light(er)

SirBanksALot

SirBanksALot

NoMakeANoBallANoMoreA
Silver Member
Knowing that this subject must have come up many, many times - I did a search and didn't come up with anything... so

In the recent past I have noticed that I tend to pocket more balls with a heavier cue (than I usually use). I didn't think much of it until just very recently - I purchased a cue that I planned on immediately removing or at least cutting down the weight bolt because I thought it was too heavy. I've been playing with that heavier cue now for about a week and the balls keep dropping:)

As a young man, first starting outplaying the game, (and I'm going to date myself now-ha), my Palmers and my were all 19.75 and 20 ozs. I have gone with the trend and tried to stay around 18.9 - 19.1 ozs.

What are the yeas and nays of heavier cues vs light cues???
 
IMHO you should never go near anything that is heavier than 19.5 oz. no matter what....
________
 
Last edited:
showboat said:
IMHO you should never go near anything that is heavier than 19.5 oz. no matter what....
Click to expand...


I agree there are many reasons that you shouldn't use a heavier cue. that extra ounce tends to get really heavy if you are playing a long match. There are a bunch of other reasons too. i would stick with what you were playing with.

Tony
 
showboat said:
IMHO you should never go near anything that is heavier than 19.5 oz. no matter what....
Click to expand...

I'm curious to hear why you think this is?
I prefer a 19.7 oz cue and the "no matter what" has piqued my curiousity.

Regards,
Koop
 
Koop said:
I'm curious to hear why you think this is?
I prefer a 19.7 oz cue and the "no matter what" has piqued my curiousity.

Regards,
Koop
Click to expand...

A whole lot depends on your game of choice. If your game is usually One-hole or Bank pool you are probably better off with a heavy cue 20.5 - 22.0 oz. Reason for this is you are drawing or stopping the cue-ball more often and is easier to do with a heavier cue. A heavier cue does a couple of things. It imparts juice to the cue-ball easier and it straightens out your pendulum some so that making balls becomes easier. The downside of a heavy cue is that it is harder to feel the energy transmitted to the cue-ball. It makes playing precise shapes harder than with a lighter cue. A lighter cue takes more effert to move the cueball so you have better control.

A friend of mine, who is an extremely good one-hole and bank player ordered a 19 oz. cue from Gus Szamboti years ago. When the cue arrived it weighed 22 ozs. George called Gus and told him the cue was great but that it was way to heavy and that he had ordered a 19 oz. cue. He told me Gus jumped all over him and told him to use it as it was because he was a one-hole player and that's the weight he should be using. Gus told him to use it daily for 40 days and if it still felt to heavy to then call him. Before the forty days was up and apparently before he acclimatized to the weight the cue was stolen at a tournament and Gus wouldn't build him another for being so careless with one of his cues.

Dick
 
Conversely I have heard that a lighter cue is better for one pocket since the majority of shots are hit with delicacy. Supposedly the lighter the cue, the more touch...

I generally gravitate to 19 oz cues. But have recently been playing with a 20oz cue. I find that I play good straghtpool with it, but feel like a lighter cue is better for 9ball. Just my two cents.

Regards,

Doug
 
"Precise Shapes"

Every game I've ever played requires precise shape, from snooker to nineball to eight ball to three cushion billiards. One pocket, more than most games, requires that you hit shots with great precision in order to achieve or you may "sell the farm".

I would hate to disagree with a legend, but if one experiences a lower level of accuracy with a heavier cue, then it would make sense that a cue in the 19 to 20oz range would be more conducive to accurate, precision type play for optimal position. I play with a 19.7oz Lambros cue.

Gene
 
Salamander said:
Conversely I have heard that a lighter cue is better for one pocket since the majority of shots are hit with delicacy. Supposedly the lighter the cue, the more touch...

I generally gravitate to 19 oz cues. But have recently been playing with a 20oz cue. I find that I play good straghtpool with it, but feel like a lighter cue is better for 9ball. Just my two cents.

Regards,

Doug
Click to expand...

The cue in question is the Jensen. It weighs just under 20 but the balance point is still way forward. I pulled the weight bolt out (it wasn't that heavy a bolt) and so it probably still weighs 19.4. I'll play with it both ways.

For what it's worth - it seems to me that if you are playing a game that requires one to "roll" a lot of shots (straight pool - one pocket) or spin a lot of shots - a heavier cue makes more sense.

But - just like in golf - there probably is really not one answer for everyone.
 
rhncue said:
A whole lot depends on your game of choice. If your game is usually One-hole or Bank pool you are probably better off with a heavy cue 20.5 - 22.0 oz. Reason for this is you are drawing or stopping the cue-ball more often and is easier to do with a heavier cue. A heavier cue does a couple of things. It imparts juice to the cue-ball easier and it straightens out your pendulum some so that making balls becomes easier. The downside of a heavy cue is that it is harder to feel the energy transmitted to the cue-ball. It makes playing precise shapes harder than with a lighter cue. A lighter cue takes more effert to move the cueball so you have better control.

A friend of mine, who is an extremely good one-hole and bank player ordered a 19 oz. cue from Gus Szamboti years ago. When the cue arrived it weighed 22 ozs. George called Gus and told him the cue was great but that it was way to heavy and that he had ordered a 19 oz. cue. He told me Gus jumped all over him and told him to use it as it was because he was a one-hole player and that's the weight he should be using. Gus told him to use it daily for 40 days and if it still felt to heavy to then call him. Before the forty days was up and apparently before he acclimatized to the weight the cue was stolen at a tournament and Gus wouldn't build him another for being so careless with one of his cues.

Dick
Click to expand...


Your logic makes perfect sense to me.....great minds think alike (or travel the same rut!):D
 
SirBanksALot said:
I have gone with the trend and tried to stay around 18.9 - 19.1 ozs.

What are the yeas and nays of heavier cues vs light cues???
Click to expand...

I struggle with my stroke with anything less than about 19.5 oz. The thing is, you're making more balls. That's all that matters.
 
I also believe it's what you feel comfortable with as well; however, I know that I'll do better with a heaver cue (19 to 19.5), because is slows me down and it doesn't take as much effort to move the ball around. Plus, I get more feel out of a heavier cue (one with a wood-to-wood joint mind you...) than I do a lighter cue. I feel more confident with a heavier cue, because I have more control. When you have a lighter cue, you have to use more stroke to move the QB from what I have seen. Now, this may not always be the case, but from what I've seen, it's been an issue. Now, when you get into the 20 oz. range, that's too heavy.
 
cue weight...heavy vs light

SirBanksALot said:
Knowing that this subject must have come up many, many times - I did a search and didn't come up with anything... so

In the recent past I have noticed that I tend to pocket more balls with a heavier cue (than I usually use). I didn't think much of it until just very recently - I purchased a cue that I planned on immediately removing or at least cutting down the weight bolt because I thought it was too heavy. I've been playing with that heavier cue now for about a week and the balls keep dropping:)

As a young man, first starting outplaying the game, (and I'm going to date myself now-ha), my Palmers and my were all 19.75 and 20 ozs. I have gone with the trend and tried to stay around 18.9 - 19.1 ozs.

What are the yeas and nays of heavier cues vs light cues???
Click to expand...

I recommend you play with as heavy a Q as you feel comfortable with. That may be 18 oz. or it may be 21 oz. The reason is that with a lighter Q, on long shots, you will have to hit HARDER. That tends to make the Q tip go to the right (for a right hander). That puts unwanted spin on the Qball. That means you don't hit your aiming point. With a heavier Q, the weight of the Q does the work for you...JER
 
Sirbanksalot,

I think you will find that a forward weight cue will feel lighter than a cue that is back weighted even thought they weigh the same. Jensen generally makes his cues forward weighted. If you take out the weight bolt on yours it will be even more forward weighted, which, depending upon your preferences for balance might be good or bad.

Over the years I've gravited to cues that balance anywhere from 18.5 inches to 19.5 from the butt on a 58 inch cue. Any thing more or less does not feel right to me. In my opinion, I would sooner get used to the weight of a cue, than to a cues balance point.

It's all up to personal preference, I know a guy who loves cues that balance as far forward a possible (21 inches from the butt), others like rear weighted.

Food for thought.

Regards,
Doug
 
PS...Don't listen too much to the people that say you should not play with a cue that weights over 20oz. Efren Reyes and Steve Mizerak both play with cues that weight over 20 and they don't play too bad.

Regards,

Doug
 
i remember reading in an old players survey in the 90s on an international 9 ball tournament... The average cue weight for the pros is 19.2 Oz
 
bottom line is you should play with whatever weight feels more comfortable to you. there is really no pro or con other than your own comfortability factor.

more comfortable = better playing ability.
 
Salamander said:
PS...Don't listen too much to the people that say you should not play with a cue that weights over 20oz. Efren Reyes and Steve Mizerak both play with cues that weight over 20 and they don't play too bad.

Regards,

Doug
Click to expand...
-------------------------------------------

Hey Doug....

I don't usually buy into "conventional wisdom" unless it makes sense.

As I said in an earlier post - I tend to roll balls a lot and it seems like a heavier cue just lets the cue do more of the work.

It would also seem that a lighter cue would be more subject to the inconsistencies of a flawed stroke or the "yips" of stress.

I pulled the weight bolt out of the Jensen and it still feels a bit "heavier" than what I'm used to but it does indeed feel very smooth. What a great playing, great looking cue it is:) )

Also - I put a weight bolt back into one of my other cues and the heavier weight immediately felt better in that cue.

Thanks for your input and looking forward to heading up your way.

Keith
 
Great Input !!!

Thanks for the input pool aficionados:D

I think I'll crank the weight up on one of my cues to about 30 oz's and use it for a putter at the golf course-I'd probably make more of those 10 footers out there than I would on the pool table.:o
 
Keith
Just more food for thought. I have a customer from New Orleans. Wanted 20oz cue and also built him a 22 oz break cue - said he needed that weight to play well. I think it may have something to do with the humidity, maybe moisture content of cloth slows down the action. Heavier cue moves the balls easier?? Since I haven't played in New Orleans I don't know. You ever have a chance to play there? But in Phoenix you have been dry for 140+ days?
Jack
www.johnmaddencues.com
 
Jack Madden said:
Keith
Just more food for thought. I have a customer from New Orleans. Wanted 20oz cue and also built him a 22 oz break cue - said he needed that weight to play well. I think it may have something to do with the humidity, maybe moisture content of cloth slows down the action. Heavier cue moves the balls easier?? Since I haven't played in New Orleans I don't know. You ever have a chance to play there? But in Phoenix you have been dry for 140+ days?
Jack
www.johnmaddencues.com
Click to expand...

I have lived in Louisiana most of my life, played down around New Orleans. I live in Knoxville now. It definitely is humid in Louisiana, and in general the tables definitely play a little slower. That is an interesting thought, and maybe that is why your customer likes a heavier cue, but I have never considered players in LA choose heavier cues on average. Mike Johnson in Baton rouge might know if players around New Orleans generally like them heavier.

Kelly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top