How not?
Short Answer.
Yes and they keep helping in the ways they were intended.
Long answer.
I started with a dorm cue as a junior, got a better one that helped until it disappeared one day. Sometime later got another one that lived in a Michigan storage unit most of it's life and is now a wobblier but still working for practicing cue twirling and stroke practice at home keeping the good stuff safe..
About a year and half ago I started playing obsessively and got a Lucasi LZ2000SP 12.75 and way better then the old wobble cue. My game was getting better but before I knew it I was back to thinking how I wanted a smaller tip again.
I got a Lucasi Hitman with a 11.75 tip and immediately realized I was naturally holding the cue forward of the sport wrap.. Adjusted my grip and it's always there to remind me now.
Then I heard Ronnie O'Sullivan saying something about practicing with microscopic tips and well I got a 9.5 mm snooker cue and had a Kamui super soft tip put on it. Now this one almost fell into the no love category until I got the thought in my head I was getting tired and twisting my wrist. Now when I get tired or I'm feeling especially chipper I just put my fingers on the flat part and watch them drop.
I had been working on point shooting on a small scale but then after seeing Earl pocket moving balls and then somebody here recently posted a video which included Ruth McGinnis and I just loved the shot she does at 26 seconds.
https://youtu.be/ZvTdRIz1NqU?t=26
Getting there is going to take a lot of practice on just making long shots etc, and you don't have an hour to line up your shot. So I use the cue balls as seen in my profile to work on shooting quickly and repeatability. Now depending on my ability level based on diet, sleep, drama, shoes, temperature, how much computer work or eye strain, and how much my heart is pumping I will switch between all three cues to push myself and improve my skills.
I usually start at 11.85, if I'm slacking or need to work on my focus I switch to the snooker cue, and when I get tired and start playing around or "have a few pops" I use the 12.75 and have fun. So I use them all on a regular basis and they all help improve my game as I push myself.
Now none of these are really player cues to me. They are all real nice and I love them all but to me they are for practicing, not playing. I can, and I do but it's not the cue I want to play with. I think of them as disposable work horses actually.
Right now about the only "Player cue" I have is a cheap popular soda drink sticker-ed thing with a milk dud (Dudley) screw on tip. It's intended for some rougher places and is disposable. But it still improves my game and always will since it's intended for bar box tables (per advice I received here) and not the 9 footers I regularly play on. I'll be improving my bar box game on a regular basis with this cue and the advice I have gotten from here.
After a lot of reading here and seeing some of the most incredible cues I have ever seen I do have my eye on a Samsara Cues, True Color Series Cue but there's no money in the budget for that. But when there is I will be able to play a nice game of pool with any of the highly respectable members of this community without being embarrassed to be holding a "fill in the blank". I will feel better and play better holding and supporting something made in America.
I'll get used to it but still practice with the other stuff because that's what it will take to make it dance. It will not only inspire me to practice more but also to play better and I will look forward to the times I leave the training tools at home and take it and a set of balls out for the night.
My cues don't just improve my game on a regular basis, they improve my life on a regular basis.
Short Answer.
Yes and they keep helping in the ways they were intended.
Long answer.
I started with a dorm cue as a junior, got a better one that helped until it disappeared one day. Sometime later got another one that lived in a Michigan storage unit most of it's life and is now a wobblier but still working for practicing cue twirling and stroke practice at home keeping the good stuff safe..
About a year and half ago I started playing obsessively and got a Lucasi LZ2000SP 12.75 and way better then the old wobble cue. My game was getting better but before I knew it I was back to thinking how I wanted a smaller tip again.
I got a Lucasi Hitman with a 11.75 tip and immediately realized I was naturally holding the cue forward of the sport wrap.. Adjusted my grip and it's always there to remind me now.
Then I heard Ronnie O'Sullivan saying something about practicing with microscopic tips and well I got a 9.5 mm snooker cue and had a Kamui super soft tip put on it. Now this one almost fell into the no love category until I got the thought in my head I was getting tired and twisting my wrist. Now when I get tired or I'm feeling especially chipper I just put my fingers on the flat part and watch them drop.
I had been working on point shooting on a small scale but then after seeing Earl pocket moving balls and then somebody here recently posted a video which included Ruth McGinnis and I just loved the shot she does at 26 seconds.
https://youtu.be/ZvTdRIz1NqU?t=26
Getting there is going to take a lot of practice on just making long shots etc, and you don't have an hour to line up your shot. So I use the cue balls as seen in my profile to work on shooting quickly and repeatability. Now depending on my ability level based on diet, sleep, drama, shoes, temperature, how much computer work or eye strain, and how much my heart is pumping I will switch between all three cues to push myself and improve my skills.
I usually start at 11.85, if I'm slacking or need to work on my focus I switch to the snooker cue, and when I get tired and start playing around or "have a few pops" I use the 12.75 and have fun. So I use them all on a regular basis and they all help improve my game as I push myself.
Now none of these are really player cues to me. They are all real nice and I love them all but to me they are for practicing, not playing. I can, and I do but it's not the cue I want to play with. I think of them as disposable work horses actually.
Right now about the only "Player cue" I have is a cheap popular soda drink sticker-ed thing with a milk dud (Dudley) screw on tip. It's intended for some rougher places and is disposable. But it still improves my game and always will since it's intended for bar box tables (per advice I received here) and not the 9 footers I regularly play on. I'll be improving my bar box game on a regular basis with this cue and the advice I have gotten from here.
After a lot of reading here and seeing some of the most incredible cues I have ever seen I do have my eye on a Samsara Cues, True Color Series Cue but there's no money in the budget for that. But when there is I will be able to play a nice game of pool with any of the highly respectable members of this community without being embarrassed to be holding a "fill in the blank". I will feel better and play better holding and supporting something made in America.
I'll get used to it but still practice with the other stuff because that's what it will take to make it dance. It will not only inspire me to practice more but also to play better and I will look forward to the times I leave the training tools at home and take it and a set of balls out for the night.
My cues don't just improve my game on a regular basis, they improve my life on a regular basis.
