"dream cue" & placebo effect

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berlowmj2

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that many people appear to have accumulated vast collections in the pursuit of their "dream cue."

Cues seem to be like new lovers with most all being exciting during initial period of the affair.

I wonder if anyone has conducted a test in which an array of cues were made to be indistinguishable in appearance.

Have the subjects rank the same set of cues repeatedly & have them secretly marked with some sign only visible to the experimenter.

Would the rankings be consistent?

Perhaps the rankings could be based upon the elusive "hit."
 
The only perfect cue is the cue you don't own.

Or: the grass is always greener...
 
berlowmj2 said:
Cues seem to be like new lovers with most all being exciting during initial period of the affair.
Click to expand...

Actually, I'd say it's before you even get the thing. Yearning, anticipation, the thrill of the chase, then one massively disappointing bang and it's onto the next one, which WILL be different.

Battered. Wife. Syndrome.
 
berlowmj2 said:
I have noticed that many people appear to have accumulated vast collections in the pursuit of their "dream cue."

Cues seem to be like new lovers with most all being exciting during initial period of the affair.

I wonder if anyone has conducted a test in which an array of cues were made to be indistinguishable in appearance.

Have the subjects rank the same set of cues repeatedly & have them secretly marked with some sign only visible to the experimenter.

Would the rankings be consistent?

Perhaps the rankings could be based upon the elusive "hit."
Click to expand...

Would be an interesting study if you could justify the funding. Dissertation, perhaps?

Anyway, ever heard the expression "all gear, no idea"?
 
The game, as is with most, is prodomenently mental.

However you achieve the ranging benefits of that fact are not only diverse but massively beneficial and can not be discounted. If visual means accomplish this simply and easily, theres no reason not to take full advantage of it.

Even in a full blind test a person will try and find some intrinsic attribute , real or assumed, to gain that mental validation. Why make it anymore difficult?

Plus its easier to please the wife if it 'looks' like money well spent.

:)
 
I just picked up a couple of new cues, did I need them, no, do they play better than my regular cue, no, but they look great!
Might even get some more
 
I am lucky in that my dream cue is my first cue, my old JOSS. I think it has a huge placebo effect. I admit that. No doubt is is a great shooter, even of legendary status, but many cues fit that description. I haven't been able to retire it and I am sure it is greatly due to a placebo effect.

I have a number of other cues for different reasons. A lot of it has to do with nostalgia actually. Some of it is about art. It does frustrate me that I cannot afford the cues I would like. Some of what I like is very affordable though and most would not pursue them I think.
 
cues as art

BobTfromIL said:
I just picked up a couple of new cues, did I need them, no, do they play better than my regular cue, no, but they look great!
Might even get some more
Click to expand...

Cues as art are another issue. Some are breath taking, Taking them to the bar with an AR-15 to protect them might pose some real problems.
 
If there were a cue anonymous support group I would need to join. I love the thrill of researching, acquiring, looking at, playing with cues. I have about $40K invested in a variety of cues and am working with a cue maker right now on 2 new cues. I'm already thinking about the next one even while cues are being built. Although I have a large collection, and many amazing players I still shoot with my first nice cue ever, my old Joss from the '80s. I think its because its what I'm used to because when I let friends hit with all my cues they usually pick a Tascarella, Szamboti, or Martinez as their favorite. I'm sick, please help!
 
I think aesthetics have a lot to do with how we feel about a certain cue or not.
I'm not sure a blind fold test would be a complete gauge without how we feel about it's looks.

Take golf clubs for example.
I like a small blade with a thin top line and no offset with a steel shaft.
Put something else in my hands and sure I can hit it, but over time I will have the most confidence in what pleases my eye and I'm used to.

After playing with shafts that measure 11.5mm - 12.5mm for most of my life, looking down a 13mm doesn't give me the same feeling even though it might have the same hit feel as a skinnier shaft.

So, I think there is a perfect cue out there for some of us.
I think I've found what I like, but I won't be sure 'till the next cue comes :rolleyes:

I do understand why some folks collect cues because they are pure functional art. http://www.superiorcues.com/
 
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Whatever floats your boat...is great!

This is a topic that's always had me wondering but I suppose I'm the same when it comes to fishing tackle. While there are varying degrees of quality in the equipment, sometimes to a great extent, I believe it comes down to what you like and have confidence in that's going to be the biggest factor in your success.

Does a Shimano cast better than a Zebco....absolutely! Can Bill Dance outfish me with a Snoopy fishing rod...you got that right son! Same with cues I've found.

I am starting to appreciate the collector side of it though I can't afford it. I do want a nice custom cue though I like my Predator. I hit with a Josey and it was fabulous. I want one, period. When it comes to spending thousands on a cue that's fine if you have that kind of cash to drop. Will it be the perfect cue? That's for the individual to decide I suppose.
 
I think there is a placebo effect but there is also a real reason too that a person may play better with a high dollar cue.

I think you should figure out what sort of hit you like first and then order a cue that looks the way you want it from a cue maker that has the playability you like.

I played with a real nice cue for twenty years, then started trying numerous cues from different makers, probably over a hundred cues in about a year, playing with them for at least an hour each. I found out I played better with a different hitting cue. Then I ordered a custom cue with that hit, the way I wanted it to look.

Do I think I play better with my $1,000 plus custom, sometimes, I have a couple of other $400 cues that hit about the same. Do I look cooler when I play with my custom, hell yeah, hahaha.

I tried two used very expensive custom cues that had the look I wanted in a cue and both of them shot terrible to me.

If you buy a pretty cue and it plays well, you will play better with it because you are using it all of the time, just like adjusting to a table.

There are good players out there that have used the same cue for thirty years, I know some good players that are always changing their cues. To each their own.
 
berlowmj2 said:
I have noticed that many people appear to have accumulated vast collections in the pursuit of their "dream cue."

Cues seem to be like new lovers with most all being exciting during initial period of the affair.

I wonder if anyone has conducted a test in which an array of cues were made to be indistinguishable in appearance.

Have the subjects rank the same set of cues repeatedly & have them secretly marked with some sign only visible to the experimenter.

Would the rankings be consistent?

Perhaps the rankings could be based upon the elusive "hit."
Click to expand...

This has been done here on AZ a couple years ago.... http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=158043
this is the thread about it, the reviews start a few pages in.....
 
StuartK35 said:
This is a topic that's always had me wondering but I suppose I'm the same when it comes to fishing tackle. While there are varying degrees of quality in the equipment, sometimes to a great extent, I believe it comes down to what you like and have confidence in that's going to be the biggest factor in your success.

Does a Shimano cast better than a Zebco....absolutely! Can Bill Dance outfish me with a Snoopy fishing rod...you got that right son! Same with cues I've found.

I am starting to appreciate the collector side of it though I can't afford it. I do want a nice custom cue though I like my Predator. I hit with a Josey and it was fabulous. I want one, period. When it comes to spending thousands on a cue that's fine if you have that kind of cash to drop. Will it be the perfect cue? That's for the individual to decide I suppose.
Click to expand...

Good analogy and a big reason that fishing, for me, had at one time become a rather expensive hobby.

Just knowing though, that your Shimano Curado on that new Loomis rod, is going to deliver that six inch soft plastic worm to the exact spot where that hawg is waiting to ambush it and anything less than that is going to cause you to deliver it by the wrong brush pile and cause you to bring in a sack that is just a few hundredths of an ounce out of the money, is why you leave those cheap rods and reels at home in the hot water closet.

Confidence. Can't put a price on it.

Nut
 
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TheThaiger said:
Actually, I'd say it's before you even get the thing. Yearning, anticipation, the thrill of the chase, then one massively disappointing bang and it's onto the next one, which WILL be different.

Battered. Wife. Syndrome.
Click to expand...

haha nice.

It's like being in a relationship. The thrill of the chase begins with the infatuation. It predominates your mind until you eventually get her.

Then you bask in it's awesomeness when it's in your hands because you worked so damn hard for it. You fiddle, play, admire, respect and make out with it.

After awhile, you realise that the flame isn't really there anymore.

You either:

1) Start hunting for a new flame and restart the entire cycle
2) Have no choice but to commit because you sacrificed way too much on her.

Either ways, that's my take on a cue collector's "cycle" of cue life :D
 
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