First of all, what you need to do is separate fiction from fact. The Color of Money was fiction. Tom Cruise and Paul Newman are actors. The Balabushka was "the" cue 40 years ago when Fast Eddie was the Hustler. Today it's an expensive collector's item. The "Balabuska" cues of today are commercially made cues made by a company the bought the rights to use the Balabushka name. They are no more like the real Balabushka cue than hotdogs are like a steak.
At this stage of your pool playing career, what you need is decent playing commercial cue of average dimensions, say, 19-20oz. Use it for a while while you find someone to give you lessons (there are several good instructors on this board). Then, after you have some idea what you are doing and what you like in a cue--a year or two from now--then it would make sense to think about a custom cue. Right now it would be like ordering a custom suit and not knowing what size you want it made.
As for what cue to get for now, you can't go wrong with a Lucasi. They are reasonable, well made, and play unbelievably well for the price.
