Does the cue make the player?

a cue is a tool, like a carpenter, Not all carpenters use the same hammer, while I might be confortable using one from the dollar store, a man who's profession is driving nails preferes something differnt. Cues are no differnt.. you can most certainly drive a nail with any hammer, the efficiancy in whitch you swing it, matters most at the end of the day.

We all have an opinion, this isnt one, this is fact. So Id have to say without a doubt, the right tool will better enable you to play the best you can, you wont suddenly jump from a "C" to an "A" calibur player, you will be confortable, play more consistant, and enjoy the game more.. whitch may lead to a better game.


Take your game serious? I do..





SPINDOKTOR
 
SPINDOKTOR said:
a cue is a tool, like a carpenter, Not all carpenters use the same hammer, while I might be confortable using one from the dollar store, a man who's profession is driving nails preferes something differnt. Cues are no differnt.. you can most certainly drive a nail with any hammer, the efficiancy in whitch you swing it, matters most at the end of the day.

We all have an opinion, this isnt one, this is fact. So Id have to say without a doubt, the right tool will better enable you to play the best you can, you wont suddenly jump from a "C" to an "A" calibur player, you will be confortable, play more consistant, and enjoy the game more.. whitch may lead to a better game.


Take your game serious? I do..





SPINDOKTOR
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serious enough to have a love/hate relationship with it :eek:
 
Its the Indian! not the Arrow!

To a certain point, it doesnt matter if your using a Player's cue, or a Boti.

I can pick up a House Cue and play just as good, the cue just needs to have a decent tip on it.
 
SPINDOKTOR said:
a cue is a tool, like a carpenter, Not all carpenters use the same hammer, while I might be confortable using one from the dollar store, a man who's profession is driving nails preferes something differnt. Cues are no differnt.. you can most certainly drive a nail with any hammer, the efficiancy in whitch you swing it, matters most at the end of the day.

We all have an opinion, this isnt one, this is fact. So Id have to say without a doubt, the right tool will better enable you to play the best you can, you wont suddenly jump from a "C" to an "A" calibur player, you will be confortable, play more consistant, and enjoy the game more.. whitch may lead to a better game.


Take your game serious? I do..





SPINDOKTOR
Click to expand...


Having the right tools aka cue, you can improve your game without blaming the cue about any bad strokes. Tip has a significant part on playing well. Also, psychological reasons play a role at least in the first period you get a new well-payed custom cue. Two examples that might help: 1. Stephen Hendry who is the best player ever in snooker won his first champioships using a 20 pounds cue! 2. Efren Reyes was once invited in Germany by Bustamente just for vacations. A tournament was taking place around and Bustamente asked him if he wanted to participate. He had no cues with him but he accepted. He took the straightest house cue he could found, sanded to be smooth, shaped the tip, and won the tourney!...Conclusion: playing good to excellent pool, all you need is talent. Cue is an instrument that adjust the way you play. That is what i believe. Costas
 
I have always played better with cues that made want to use them... It may sound weird but if you think about it you will understand...
Confidence is huge in any sport that requires a high level of concentration...
 
Predator is kinda like a pool cue for dummies. It is very good at masking a lot of the mistakes that weaker players make. It does let you get away with off center hits to a certain degree and it does let you be a little bit braver with english. It is a good cue for people to learn on(maybe a bit pricey) but it could be tough to switch back to a reguler shaft.
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you are by no means in the minority with this opinion but i wouldn't totally agree with you. you have to completely adjust your head and your game when it comes to using english with a low deflection shaft because it performs so much different to the cues most of us have grown up with for years. i actually find it very easy to switch back to a regular cue regarding deflection. plus the way they handle on long shots with spin and the swerve effect you can get with them can be a nightmare.

plus the very fact that you've bought a cue which it's main selling point is it's deflection makes you consciously think about something which many people didn't think about before with a regular cue. they just got on with it and played the shot. to play well with a predator or an ob-1 you do need to put a lot of work in i think.
 
Comfort

Comfort is the name of the game. Well if its not it should be. In all reality pool is a difficult game to play with any inconsistencies. I believe firmly in having a cue that you feel comfortable with. I have seen people play with the same cue for years and when they finally change cues their game picks up a ball or more. At this time, I am playing with a cue that doesn't quite meet my expectations and it shows in my game. The weight and shaft diameter are not to my personal specs and it does make a difference in my play. I don't think a cue will keep someone from making a ball. But I do think it will cut down on the "Dead Stroke" days.
 
raybo147 said:
Predator is kinda like a pool cue for dummies. It is very good at masking a lot of the mistakes that weaker players make. It does let you get away with off center hits to a certain degree and it does let you be a little bit braver with english. It is a good cue for people to learn on(maybe a bit pricey) but it could be tough to switch back to a reguler shaft. I had a $50 Riley the whole time I played snooker and my wife got me a custom spec hand made John Parris as my wedding present. I really wish I had the Parris when I was playing because I didn't know a cue could play that good. My wedding was 5 years after I had moved to the states so the Parris hasn't seen much competitive action.
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LOL at this post...

Those who choose not to take advantage of technology are the real dummies IMO

Low deflection shafts help with alot more than off center hits, they are all together more consistent and average players are not the only ones who think this is true...
The fact is that most people that do not like low deflection shafts, don't put in the time and effort needed to adjust to their aiming and feel... So they will never know how much their game can improve by making the switch
 
Predator is kinda like a pool cue for dummies. It is very good at masking a lot of the mistakes that weaker players make. It does let you get away with off center hits to a certain degree...
Click to expand...

Nonsense. Low-squirt cues like Predator are less forgiving on slightly offcenter hits than high-squirt cues, because high-squirt cues have their pivot points much closer to the bridge so squirt compensation is more automatic.

pj
chgo
 
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Nonsense. Low-squirt cues like Predator are less forgiving on slightly offcenter hits than high-squirt cues, because high-squirt cues have their pivot points much closer to the bridge so squirt compensation is more automatic.
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i always heard this more forgiving on off centre hits argument banded around but never found it to be true in the slightest, moreso the opposite, and it puzzled me. thanks for explaining it.
 
Low-squirt cues less forgiving

Patrick Johnson said:
Nonsense. Low-squirt cues like Predator are less forgiving on slightly offcenter hits than high-squirt cues, because high-squirt cues have their pivot points much closer to the bridge so squirt compensation is more automatic.

pj
chgo
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Thanks for this explanation also. I've also experienced this "less forgiving" effect using an OB-1 and never understood why. Can you say a bit more what you mean by "have their pivot points much closer to the bridge"? Tx.
 
sherlock said:
Thanks for this explanation also. I've also experienced this "less forgiving" effect using an OB-1 and never understood why. Can you say a bit more what you mean by "have their pivot points much closer to the bridge"? Tx.
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Your shaft's pivot point is where you should pivot your stick to apply sidespin so the new aim angle will exactly compensate for the squirt produced by that much tip offset.

An accidental offcenter hit occurs when your back hand doesn't travel in a straight line and your tip hits the CB offcenter (because it pivots at your bridge) and produces squirt, which causes you to miss the shot.

If your pivot point is at or near your bridge (a high-squirt shaft), then squirt compensation is more or less automatic for these small accidental offcenter hits. But if the pivot point is farther back (a low-squirt shaft), then pivoting at the bridge over-compensates for squirt, causing the CB to travel offline in the opposite direction.

If you have trouble visualizing this, let me know and I'll post a drawing for you.

pj
chgo
 
I think a cue can make a huge difference to be honest. A very respected player here in Canada got a new endorsement deal from a top-quality cuemaker. He used to play Predator Z shafts I believe.

He is/was really struggling and was talking to me. He said basically he has to completely re-adjust to the taper and how the cue plays compared to the old cue. He said it took less then 2 weeks to adjust to the predator shaft but this one had taken 6 weeks and he was going back to the maker again to get it the shaft tuned down again. Then he went into deflection of the maple shaft vs the predator.

Now, his game has gone down a couple of levels due to an equipment change. To me, although unlikely in most cases, I can see a cue helping a player a lot also.
 
Shaft's Pivot Point

Patrick Johnson said:
Your shaft's pivot point is where you should pivot your stick to apply sidespin so the new aim angle will exactly compensate for the squirt produced by that much tip offset.

An accidental offcenter hit occurs when your back hand doesn't travel in a straight line and your tip hits the CB offcenter (because it pivots at your bridge) and produces squirt, which causes you to miss the shot.

If your pivot point is at or near your bridge (a high-squirt shaft), then squirt compensation is more or less automatic for these small accidental offcenter hits. But if the pivot point is farther back (a low-squirt shaft), then pivoting at the bridge over-compensates for squirt, causing the CB to travel offline in the opposite direction.

If you have trouble visualizing this, let me know and I'll post a drawing for you.

pj
chgo
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I think I get it--if you'd like to post a drawing to further illustrate this, that would be great. So, given this lesser known "disadvantage" of the low squirt shafts, I'm wondering why so many believe their game improves shooting with one...tx again for the education.
 
given this lesser known "disadvantage" of the low squirt shafts, I'm wondering why so many believe their game improves shooting with one...
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Because that disadvantage is minor compared with the advantage of having to compensate for less squirt on every sidespin shot, and because you can fix your stroke so that disadvantage disappears.

pj
chgo
 
Well put two cues in front of a banger and it won't make a difference.


The true test though is this.

Put a "straight" POS on a table in front of Efren and also a cue that has the specifications he likes in a cue on the table in front of him and tell him to choose the cue he wants to use in a $1 million winner take all tournament.

Of course.....
 
worriedbeef said:
you are by no means in the minority with this opinion but i wouldn't totally agree with you. you have to completely adjust your head and your game when it comes to using english with a low deflection shaft because it performs so much different to the cues most of us have grown up with for years. i actually find it very easy to switch back to a regular cue regarding deflection. plus the way they handle on long shots with spin and the swerve effect you can get with them can be a nightmare.

plus the very fact that you've bought a cue which it's main selling point is it's deflection makes you consciously think about something which many people didn't think about before with a regular cue. they just got on with it and played the shot. to play well with a predator or an ob-1 you do need to put a lot of work in i think.
Click to expand...
I used to sell cues back when I ran a pool room and with the predators I would do a simple demo shot comparing a 314 to a slightly cheaper but comparable cue (usually a stock joss or something like that). Extreme draw and right hand english in a half table shot. The predator was always the easiest cue to control and I could be a lot more aggressive with it. I have nothing to do with predator, I was just showing them what it was all about (FOR THE WEAKER PLAYER USUALLY BUYING THEIR FIRST CUE)
 
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