Jump Cues

T

TheVirus

The Pool Guy
Silver Member
Now, I'm still a fairly new player but I do know cue's themselves have different characteristics and different playing styles. I also know tips make differences, and shafts etc... but when it comes to jump cues, they all just seem the same to me.

When I say jump cues I mean both jump/break, or at least I think they're the same? Am I mistaken? Regardless.. with a phenolic tip, are the different jump/break cues really different?
 
There is a difference between jump cues and jump/break cues.

A jump/break is just that. A break cue that has a joint so that it can be broken down into a jump cue. A jump cue is a cue designed just for jumping, is usually very lightweight and typically 2 or 3 pieces for different jump shots.

I prefer to have a break cue and a separate jump cue. Primarily because I like a hard leather tip on a break cue and a phenolic on a jump cue. I feel the leather on a break cue gives me better control. Many prefer a jump/break, it just depends on what you like and your budget.
 
For breaking I generally use a house cue, I kinda just wanted a cue I could jump with haha... I've tried with a house cue before and I couldn't for the life of me... and then I used a friends jump/break and I was just flabergasted by how easy it was lol.. would a jump/break cost more than a jump?
 
Normally, a jump break will cost more than a specific jump cue. But, you will have two uses for it, jumping and breaking.

You are probably struggling with a house cue mainly because of the tip, and secondly it is probably not an ideal length/weight for jumping. With a phenolic tip, jumping is not that hard.

As for jump/break cues, a friend of mine has a McDermott j/b that for the money I think is really nice. Even though I look a break cue and a jump cue, he executes shots very successfuly with it.
 
Do you know of any jump/break cue that's really cheap and effective? I only ask because I'm lookin to buy another cue and don't really wanna spend too much more... I may not even buy a break/jump really lol... just thought about it cuz of my friend.
 
For a cheap j/b cue, I like the Players Cue Jump/Break. I've used this cue and for the money not bad at all. Check out AZ Marketplace.
 
The J&J Jump Break seems to be the most popular budget jump break around the forum. For less than 200 you can get the poison VX2.9, many people have said it breaks just like the BK2 (one of the more popular break cues). For less than 150, you can try the Fury J/B but many people complain about the balance. Or you can also try a Mcdermott stinger, the price varies.
 
A jump cue is a cue made primary for jumping balls. It was discovered by Pat Fleming that a shorter cue, a couple of inches longer than just a shaft, with more weight and lower center of gravity was easier to handle. Some of the Pros are adept enough to jump with a full length cue.

A break cue came about because of the popularity of 9-ball (Color of Money maybe). Rather than deform your carefully groomed leather tip, most people tend to use a house stick for that purpose. I believe Mike Gulyassy was the first one to patent a phenolic tip for breaking. It doesn't deform and holds chalk pretty well. In one of the leagues (BCAPL), there is a backlash against phenolic tips because of a controversy that certain variants (G10) will leave cracks on the balls. To deal with the issue, their rulebook was updated to prohibit phenolic tips for break cues. For that particular league, phenolics are okay for jump cues.

A jump break cue will have a full length shaft, and a 2 sectional handle. The front handle will turn it into a jump cue, and with both handles jointed, you can use it as a break cue.
 
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Here's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong.

Break cues typically have a dense forearm to enhance a solid hit which limits how light you can make the cue. On the other hand, the jump cue performs best when kept light in weight. About the only thing the two cues have in common is the shaft needs to be firm, more like a straight taper.

One other thing to keep in mind is some leagues like BCA won't allow the use of G10 or phenolic tips when breaking, but will allow either tip material when jumping. This is a good enough reason to have separate break and jump cues.

By the way, does anyone know what the preferred weight of a jump cue is?:confused:
 
Are they really different?. . .

Yea, I would say they are. For a break cue, I think there are a couple of things which would be helpful.

A hard tip for good energy transfer and to retard(reduce) the english put on the CB by an off center hit.

A more conical shaft for weight, > 4.0 oz. . .and also for stiffness.

A larger diameter shaft to fill a closed bridge better for keeping the tip inline with the shot.

A heavy (SS with brass shaft insert) joint for forward balance and quick assembly.

A leather, rubber, wrapless, etc wrap area for more traction with the grip hand. I like to keep my grip loose, but still be able to apply a lot of force on the break.

Forward balance to make the shaft stay down on the bridge to improve consistency when hitting over normal speed.

For me, a heavier than normal cue so minor errors in steering the cue are less apparent.

I use my Sneaky. It is about 20oz. 13mm tip, 4.5 oz shaft, if I remember right. Brass pin. Very forward balanced, like maybe 20". . .PM me and I will measure. Med -hard Emerald tip.
 
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