Have you gone from using a 21oz to 19/18oz cue? Why?

S

Slim J

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been away from the game for about 5 years. I always used a 21oz cue and loved it. I loved the solid feel combined with the steadyness of weight.

Since I've been back playing ( I was a B level player)I haven't met anyone that uses a 21oz cue which surprises me a bit.

Have any of you converted from heavy to light? And what has been the benifit?

Thanks
 
i used a 21 for a very VERY small amount of time when i first started, but i quickly realized that i preferred the finesse of a 19 over the power of a 21... i also have a bit of a snooker background though, so maybe thats why i enjoy the lighter cue. :)
 
I know a snooker player who is an excellent pool player who uses a 16 oz cue so yeah, I see the connection.
 
When I started to play I liked heavy, 20 to 21oz. I stoped playing for around 10 years, I picked it back up again 2 yrs. ago, and I like a lighter cue now, 19 to 19.3oz. I feel I shoot better with a lighter cue. My stroke is better, and pocket more balls.
 
I used to break with a 21oz cue, then i changed to a 18oz and my break was much much better.:D :D
 
Slim J said:
I've been away from the game for about 5 years. I always used a 21oz cue and loved it. I loved the solid feel combined with the steadyness of weight.

Since I've been back playing ( I was a B level player)I haven't met anyone that uses a 21oz cue which surprises me a bit.

Have any of you converted from heavy to light? And what has been the benifit?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Years ago I always looked for the heaviest cue on the rack for the same reasons you mention above. Somehow over the 6 years since my kids got out on their own and I had time to get serious about the game I gradually came to the point of using a cue between 18.5 to 19.5. I don't know why, other than the fact that I felt I had more success using the lighter cue. I was never a 'B', but I think the same principles apply.
 
I, too started out with a heavier cue, @ 20oz.(Espiritu), but in all fairness, alot of women, especially in my league, prefer a heavier weighted cue. My next cue came in @ 19.5oz(Jacoby), as did the next(Jacoby). Then, my last Skip weighed in @ 19.25oz. My Allers SP, that I got while waiting on my new Skip, weighs 19oz, which I really liked. I had requested that my new Skip weigh approximately what the old Skip had weighed, 19.25oz, but when I got to weigh it, on a digital, calibrated scale, it actually came in @ 19.0 oz, right on the nose, as the Allers SP. I was actually happy with this, as, after playing with the Allers for a little over 6 months, I was really liking the 19 oz weight. I am currently very comfortable playing at the weights that both of my cues are currently at, and will likely stay there.

It was once mentioned here before, that many people, and especially beginners, like to start out in the heavier weights because it tends to straighten out your stroke, because it's bringing your strokin' arm into the correct position for accurate strokes.

As to breaking cues.....I used to have a Falcon j/b, and had gotten it at the recommended 21oz. I did okay with it. I wound up selling that cue, pratically brand new, and began breaking with whichever cue I was currently playing with. I noticed that my breaks began to get a bit better. Now, I do not break with my current Skip, but use the Allers SP. It is 60" long, and I find that I am getting some really terrific breaks with it. The longer cue is allowing me to get more forward motion into my break stroke, thereby giving me a more powerful break.

Lisa
 
i have shot from 24 ounce sticks to 12 ounce sticks

I have shot everything from 24 ounce sticks to 12 ounce sticks and in truth the quality of my game was about the same regardless. I did change playing styles totally several times over the years as I swapped sticks. My favorite was the twelve ounce snooker stick. I let it warp when I quit playing for awhile and couldn't replace it. It was a bit of a hassle anyway since it was a one piece cue.

I am shooting an 18.5 ounce stick now and want to go lighter but I also want a thicker cue butt so I will probably have to choose one or the other.

Hu
 
I went from a stainless steel jointed 5/16-18 Helmstetter that weighed about 22 ounces and 13.5mm shaft to a 3/8 10 phenolic jointed custom that weighed about 18 ounces with a thinner shaft.The cue did bring my game up,i was able to move the ball around easier,the cue had more action,the weight was apart of it but the joint and shaft certainly had there affects also,i believe in this game its preference,some people like this and others like that.
 
When I started I played with a 21 oz. I would go to play every weekend with a friend of mine and he always told me to play with the heaviest cue available. So I did that until the owner of the pool hall told us we should be playing with 18 oz, so we did, lol. But I gradually found that the 19 oz gave the best feel.

As for snooker I prefer 13 oz cues.
 
I like to use a lighter stick on a barbox like 17.5. On bigger tables I use a 19.
 
Truth to the matter is...way back when...players used heavier cues. It was because of the table conditions. The felt was very thick, held moisture, rails less lively, and the balls were not generally as good. It made it harder to move the ball around so the heavier cue made sense.
Now...almost everywhere has Simonis so the tables are faster, rail rubber is better, and Aramith balls. So now that the tables are faster...the heavy cue is not required. Notice that Efren and a lot of the crew from his country play with heavy cues. Its what they got used to because they needed it over there with the super humid conditions and cheap felt. Then they come over here and seems they can do stuff with the cueball Americans couldn't believe. It was so much easier for them on the fast tables.
In this day and time, most decent poolrooms offer quality tables and conditions. Most of the tables I play on are so fast its amazing. My 18.75 is almost heavy for the conditions. A 21oz cue simply is no longer needed to get maximum cueball action.
Everything you've just read above is strickly my theory so take it for what you may.
 
Back in 1993 through 1998, I swore using a heavy cue would make your game better. Than I realized "mass to mass DOES NOT EQUAL speed to mass". I'm talking about the break.

I used to use a 23 ounce Schmelke with a HUGE brass joint, as my break stick. I gave that stick away, knowing full well that (the stick) would end up on a burn pile. [truth be told, the stick is now ashes]

Weight and ballance is key for any person that is trying to improve thier game.

Keep your mind open, keep your balance methodical, keep your stroke true.

I wish you good luck.
 
I currently use an 18.3 oz. cue and it certainly helped my game tremendously...I used to use a 19.6 oz. cue...I think a lighter cue will cause less CB deflection IMO...
________
 
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