How did you choose your playing cue?

KCRack'em

KCRack'em

I'm not argumentative!!!!
Silver Member
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?
 
The value, for me, of a good cue is how it spins.
If it's a big deal to check a ball under heat...the cue is not for me.
 
I think finding the right cue is a lifetime pursuit for many. Eventually, you'll come across something that looks and feels just right and you just know, this is the one. Like most things in life, though, the journey itself is almost as much fun as the reward. (My own search has been on hold since I got married)

In my experience, there's a "honeymoon period" with cues, which is where you play absolutely lights out when you first get a new cue and then once you get used to it, you realize it's not that great after all. But the good thing is that unlike relationships, you can easily move on to something new after the honeymoon is over.

Either that, or just pick one for better or worse and stick with it, because nothing messes with your game more that constantly switching between cues.
 
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I bought a McDermott D-19 because a guy I really respected owned one. Hits well, but its not the one for me to play with. (No, I wont sell it.)

I bought another McDermott (G501)... it was new and shiny and it made me feel good for a few months,,, but alas, not the one for me.

An old codger at the hall said, Hey young man, come hit a few with this thing (Old 8 point predator sneaky pete with a tiger shaft). Instant Love, 18.5 ounces of magic. I traded him a beautiful piece of personal defense for it and I've been happy ever since.

I am firmly of the opinion that it is not so much the cue as it is how you feel about the cue, The predator came from someone I liked, who actually bought it off another player I really admire (who, incidentally really wants the predator back) and it hit so sweet and solid I can feel it in my bo-jangles. So... any well-made cue will do, but this one has a real personal worth to me.

This is my cue. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My cue is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life

Lesh
 
the 64 dollar question

I wish i had the answer , like others have posted here , its a journey

At the moment i have 11 cues, 4 of which i have never hit with yet so my holy grail might be in this latest lot.

Of the other 7 I seem to change around about every couple of years as my main player, All of them play great but I still have not found my unicorn , that mystical cue that feels and fits perfect and all the stars align lol

Good luck and happy journey
 
A few years back, a friend loaned me his old Tad to play with because I didn't have my cue with me. On that day, a rainbow appeared and the cue and my arm became one. I spent the entire two days in dead stroke and all I remember of it is a blur of balls smacking the back of the pockets like a crappy cut scene from a bad pool movie.

I asked him how much for the cue and he just smiled, told me the price and shat on my dreams.

Someday, when he's not looking...
 
I saw Efren play with the Judd JT-1, eight years later I bought one. The cue is not perfect but the honeymoon seems to last forever.


Best regards
 
My perfect cue specs:
Made from the finest Unicorn horn
Have Zero deflection
Garmin navigation with Onstar
Laser scope sighting
Earl Strickland tennis grips
A Hybrid tip made by feeding the animal a Kamui only chalk diet
 
I had a budget. A very small one. There was no place locally at the time to try cues.

I tried the Wanted For Sale forum here, nothing in my budget.

I picked one I liked the look of from a catalog, that fit my budget.

I like it. Someday I'll have the budget to get another...
 
although you may have cues that play close or that you are comfortable playing with
(btw do you use the cue makers shafts or a ld shaft to fit each pin??)
im sure there will always be one that just FEELS better in your hand
ie size of grip area /balance point/type of grip/joint
jmho
 
I built my own cue based on past cues and what hit,taper,weight,woods, and various other things I felt partial to.


There is that extra bonus of having the perfect playing cue and being the maker of it.Happy holidays
 
i bought a sneaky pete off the rack ($160 with taxes, discounts and i new the salesman) because my old sneaky had lost its tip and i had a match that night. it was straight and felt good (19.5) and off we went to beat every player that challenged me. through the years i've replaced the ferrule and tip to my liking and i treated it like a lady and the cue has outlasted my last playing days 15 yrs. it still is a fine cue and many want to be placed on the list when i choose to give it up.

in my opinion, buy a cue based on the specs you like and not how nice it looks or who the maker of the cue is. stick with your choice if it feels like "the one" and you will be happy. if you like collecting, then by all means collect but stick with the one that brought u to the dance, and u will never have to worry about how to choose a cue because it will choose u.
 
After some messing around I figured out exactly what I like ... Which is exactly what my Scruggs sneaky was before I sold it :-( so, I found an old dufferin house cue at my local room that closely matched the dimensions of the Scruggs and had it matched to my predator shaft. It's not pretty at all but it was cheap, It rolls straight, and it hits amazing :-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I used a Viking for many years and don't remember how or why I bought my first one. The Cuetec I use now for about the last three years to be honest I overheard SVB say he gets his off the shelf and it cost about $150. I figured if it was good enough for him it would be good enough for me. I haven't gone back to my Viking. Johnnyt
 
I had been playing with an Adams Cue that Jim Rempe sold me in the late 1970's. Forgot my cue one day in 1994. My friend let me use his spare cue, a Nick Varner Model Falcon Cue. I liked the way it played so much that I made him an offer and I bought it off of him. I've been happy with it for nineteen years now.
 
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?
Click to expand...

For me it took a long time to find the right cue, I bought and sold a few prior to being satisfied with what I have today.

Currently I own two cues with 4 interchangeable shafts great combination, it took 10 years to get here, don't know any other way to do it other than trial and error.

Good luck,

John
 
Funny post.. I like your humorous take on the subject .
IamCalvin06 said:
My perfect cue specs:
Made from the finest Unicorn horn
Have Zero deflection
Garmin navigation with Onstar
Laser scope sighting
Earl Strickland tennis grips
A Hybrid tip made by feeding the animal a Kamui only chalk diet
Click to expand...
 
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?
Click to expand...

It's very personal...and not always about how the *cue* plays, but how the cue enhances the *person* who plays...

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=4099109&postcount=81
 
I always questioned if Shane uses a stock Cuetec; his cue is 60" long and the stock one is only 58". On the other it looks exactly like a normal Cuetec r360 cue, just with a Kumai tip.




I have a Simple Cuetec r360 pearl black cue that I bought used ($60). I liked the r360 shaft (apart from the finish). I added a soft tiger tip to it and it played great ($15). But ultimately I changed to a Predator 30" shaft for the extra reach($260). I still play with the Cuetec shaft in smaller tables.

I believe that consistency is a key. That is why I hardly change my cue and try to improve my game instead. All the money I can spare is spent on table time and entering tournaments. :)
 
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