How did you choose your playing cue?

I used it at the bar a lot when I didn't bring my cue. One night I was killing it, starting off by not missing a shot for 5 or 6 racks and felt like I was running every other rack I broke at least. Turned it into a two piece and continued to play better with that than with my old cue. May have been the honeymoon, but I'm certain it's real. The cue is beat up from years(decades?) of bar abuse, but when I pick it up, it feels like it was built for me.
 
Banks said:
I used it at the bar a lot when I didn't bring my cue. One night I was killing it, starting off by not missing a shot for 5 or 6 racks and felt like I was running every other rack I broke at least. Turned it into a two piece and continued to play better with that than with my old cue. May have been the honeymoon, but I'm certain it's real. The cue is beat up from years(decades?) of bar abuse, but when I pick it up, it feels like it was built for me.
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That is what counts with the cue that does what YOU want.

If you hit with enough house cues.....
...one of them will feel like a Szamboti
 
Any good cue maker can build you a cue that will more than get the job done IF you know what that is.

Therefore, IMO, you have to know what works best for you AND you have to spend sometime with the builder so that you are both in the same page. he understands you needs and how best to achieve them.

I can NEVER understand that thousands of people who buy a "Custom" over the net or phone. Pick a fancy inlay, specify a weight bolt and call it 'custom'. Anyway....

Back on point; How did I choose my playing cue? Well it started out with having a pretty good idea what I like and what works best for me. Decades of pool helped there. Then I create a list of builders whose reputation I like and are in a range of travel I am willing to accept. Fwiw, I have flown country wide in the past, couple hundred on a plane ticket is a small investment in a multi-thousand dollar cue. Then I contact those builders and discuss what I want...basically feel them out. If things go well there I schedule an appointment, meet the builder, hit his cues, discuss all the variables, describe the specifics I'm looking for and evaluate the methods and materials in which the builder suggests he can provide them. Depending on budget and purpose of the cue, I make a decision from there and start the process.

I suppose that may be too much of an ordeal for most but for me, that whole process IS the best part. And I have very rarely been disappointed in the outcome. Very rarely. Beats the hell out of buy, wait, pray and BST if you ask me.

:)
 
every cue i i have bought i got just because i liked the looks of it except for my last one which is my daily player now. btw i still have most cues. i traded 1 and gave 6 to players less fortunate than i was at the time.

funny thing is the last cue is my cheapest,,, best playing cue and was bought from a friend who loaned it to me to play a set with him. after playing 1 rack with it i had to have it.

been playing with it for 6 months now and intend to keep playing with it until i come across another cue i just have to have lol.
 
Its a journey for sure. As I have played over the years, my idea of a great hitting cue has changed. When I go back to some of my first playing cues and hit with them, I think they play terrible compared to my current players. Maybe someday I will think the same thing about my current playing cues?

Nowadays I have two playing cues. A heavier one (19.5) for slow tables and a lighter (18.5) one for faster tables and bar boxes. Both are wrap less with neutral balance points.
 
I've owned and played with at least 50 different cues over the years . What it comes down to me personally is the shaft taper and diameter , Tip.. in which I like the old soft Moori tip. Butt Diameter including weight and diameter , preferably a neutral balance . Very little vibration in the handle when you strike the cue ball.. just a solid quiet hit. I like a slightly longer pro taper . I can control the spin better if the shaft gives a little and doesn't deflect so much. I think a longer taper provides me that.As far as looks go.. I like an old school look with 4 points and colored veneers. Weight around 19-19.5 oz. Shaft diameter around 12.75mm . Butt diameter around 1.25 inches. Flat faced joint with big pin .. but I have also had some steel jointed cues that played well also.
 
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I got lucky.

When I started back playing after 25 year layoff...I found a room close to me.

(I had had a dufferin bar cue converted, elsewhere, with a wrap. It was a wood to wood joint...I liked that hit. )

A local cuemaker ran the tournaments and there were several of his cues in use. I was able to hit several of his cues. They all hit the same. It was a wood to wood feel, but a metal joint.

I ordered a plain jane Birdseye maple one, and still play with it. I ordered another later, a little more complex, but basically the same. I trade them as playing cues,about every two years or so, when I refinish one.

I know there are many fine cuemakers out there...but I'm not looking, I am very happy with mine.

thanks Myron.
 
Great question. My journey was to review the cue makers forum to determine what makes the best playing cue. I chose ebony forearm, bucote butt, and asked John Davis to make the full splice blank. John sent me 20 samples of splice inserts so I could select the colors for a full splice cue.

I then gave the blank to Alex Brick to complete. He turned it down, finished it and installed a OB Classic shaft. Alex installed my preferred milk dud tip.

By talking to both of these experts and reviewing their advice I now have a cue perfect for me.

Since you like the Brick break cue...this may be a good place to start. Investment $1000 or so.
 
I have chosen all of mine in the past based on looks.

My current player was offered for sale here, one look at it and I had to have it.

I use a predator shaft on whatever cue I buy so the play is the same.

I can't run balls, so might as well look good trying:)
 
My son got lucky with a "buy it now" on ebay for a 26 1/2 at a great price.
I must say after all these years (80-90) it was still dead straight. The only choice for me was for Mike Lambros to convert this rosewood titlist to a wrapless player. It turned out great and is my daily player. :smile:
 
I wanted a sneaky pete, and wanted to try a Keith Josey. So, I called them up and ordered one. They made cue, and sent it to me.

Easy. :grin:
 
cashin said:
Funny post.. I like your humorous take on the subject .
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I forgot to talk about the case!

A giant boulder with the cue standing upright out the top. Only the chosen one is able to remove the cue. Lets call it Excalibur... Of course made my predator.
 
lorider said:
every cue i i have bought i got just because i liked the looks of it except for my last one which is my daily player now. btw i still have most cues. i traded 1 and gave 6 to players less fortunate than i was at the time.

funny thing is the last cue is my cheapest,,, best playing cue and was bought from a friend who loaned it to me to play a set with him. after playing 1 rack with it i had to have it.

been playing with it for 6 months now and intend to keep playing with it until i come across another cue i just have to have lol.
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I tried to rep you for helping out other players, but I have to spread it around. I've given away several myself. I get more out of that than I do out of selling them.
 
KCRack'em said:
Great question/great thread I've been reading about the cost of a playing cue led me to this.

I don't play enough right now to choose a player. I'll be in a new home soon and will have a table, so that will change.

I think these cues are in the running: Libra, Davis finished by Sly, Sly thuya burl, Dishaw, McDaniel, and any one of my Barnharts with my favorite Barnhart shaft (ivory ferrule and Kamui black tip). My out of pocket ranges from $600 to about $1200 with more at the low end than at the high end. They all play well even though it's a broad range of cues/hits.

My breaker is a Brick that I kept from a group of three cues I bought. I recouped my money by selling/trading the other two. This one won't go anywhere. I've turned down many offers.

So how do I go about making the decision? Is it what I win with? What moves the cue ball the best? What I'm most consistent with? Most confident with? I can't imagine there's one that clearly rises to the top.

I don't think there's a scientific way to figure it out. It may not be easy at all; however, it's going to be FUN.

Suggestions?
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A lot of it depends on where I'm playing and who I'm playing with. For league matches at night I have a full splice hoppe with leather wrap that's about $2k and a Schuler Break cue that are in my league bag.

For my Straight pool league, I know the guys and it's Sunday afternoons so not many people there that I don't know. I'll bring out my nicer cues a Richard Black, my Mike Bender and more high end stuff on occasion. My trophy cues rarely are played outside of my home.

Generally speaking I play with my league bag cues even though they are not my favorite cues.
 
I must have owned close to 100 cues. My current playing cue, I bought because of the deal. I intended to resell it. But it hit and feels so comfy that I kept it. It's a Carolina Custom and I've owned several and all hit awesome.
My advice is keep trying different cue makers lower priced cues. When you find one you like talk it over with that cue maker to build you that is personalized for you. I have found that cues that I like the looks of, aren't the one's that I like for play-ability. I tend to like full spliced cues. But, by trying different makers you find the hit that you like. And you can always resell here after you're finished with the cue. Then try another.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Great question. My journey was to review the cue makers forum to determine what makes the best playing cue. I chose ebony forearm, bucote butt, and asked John Davis to make the full splice blank. John sent me 20 samples of splice inserts so I could select the colors for a full splice cue.

I then gave the blank to Alex Brick to complete. He turned it down, finished it and installed a OB Classic shaft. Alex installed my preferred milk dud tip.

By talking to both of these experts and reviewing their advice I now have a cue perfect for me.

Since you like the Brick break cue...this may be a good place to start. Investment $1000 or so.
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I have a Brick but with a SS joint. I think it plays great. It's not my first cue by Alex. To be fair, I have to say it's in the running, too.

I think this is a great conversation. Thanks to all who have weighed in.

The Davis finished by Sly is the first cue I've had made for me. It's zebra wood into zebra wood with four veneers: natural, black, natural, black. I've been playing with it as I think I owe it the opportunity. I do like it a lot.

The end result of this may be that I have another cue built...if I can figure what it is I like best about several cues.

A player I know once brought up how fine tuned golf clubs can be. He believes it wouldn't be hard to do something similar with pool cues, but that there isn't enough money in it to warrant the R&D it would take to do it. Maybe someday....

Before I took a long break from the game, I fell in love with a Capone kingwood merry widow. I had a Gulyassy Sledghammer that worked perfectly for me. When I came back after several years, I didn't find the magic in them that I remembered.

So began my journey to find it again. I think we evolve and our strokes evolve. The perfect cue may only be perfect for a limited time period. At the very least, that's a damn good excuse to buy/try new cues. I know for a fact I can't swing the same golf clubs I used to swing.

I also wonder about tip/ferrule combinations and tip choices in general. For example, I have several Barnhart shafts (about six), and one stands out as mentioned previously. I think part of this journey may be trying different tips. I think it's possible that a hard tip may work best on some cues and be awful on others. I can't say that I have a clear preference at the moment.

Again, thanks for the great conversation.
 
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SouthernDraw said:
I must have owned close to 100 cues. My current playing cue, I bought because of the deal. I intended to resell it. But it hit and feels so comfy that I kept it. It's a Carolina Custom and I've owned several and all hit awesome.
My advice is keep trying different cue makers lower priced cues. When you find one you like talk it over with that cue maker to build you that is personalized for you. I have found that cues that I like the looks of, aren't the one's that I like for play-ability. I tend to like full spliced cues. But, by trying different makers you find the hit that you like. And you can always resell here after you're finished with the cue. Then try another.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!
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That reminds me that there is some debate about construction:
full splice vs. merry widow and cored vs. solid wood

The Libra is cocobolo and doesn't appear to be cored. I bought it out of curiosity and was shocked at how well I played with it. I haven't played much for a few months, and when I do, I play the Sly.

I generally like wrapless cues, but I'm fond of bison on two of my Barnharts and EE. The Libra and a McDaniel I have both have linen. I'm afraid to change either given how well they play. With the McDaniel, topspin is easier than with anything else. I've yet to figure out why.

I had a Barnhart butt that was all one piece of rosewood. I let it go back to a previous owner after quite a bit of begging. I think I like that feel better than the full splice feel.

I think my next project will be a Brazilian merry widow....
 
I was playing with an old Mali while did the job I knew I wanted a better cue. I was at a tournament and Jerry Olivier had a display of his cues, I knew Jerry from leauge play and ask if I could hit one of his cues. it hit like a dream. I knew then that I wanted one of his cues. He ask me what kind of kook was I looking for , I told him something along the lines of Joe Gold's Concigs ebony and ivory cue. Sometime later he called me and ask if I was at Legends, I said and he said stay there, about 20 min. later he walks in and lays my cue on the table. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and it hit like a dream also. I have never regreted paying what I did for that cue. No matter where I play people are always saying what a beautiful cue.--Smitty
 
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