Looking foward to a snooker cue

SlickRick_PCS said:
WOW! Thank you tons for this one, rethunk. Believe it or not, Kingsville is close enough to where I live at.
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You're welcome. One of my main reasons for creating the national list was to make sure folks like you who are interested in playing the game can find the table(s) nearest them. Sometimes they're closer than one would guess.

Good luck!
 
McChen said:
hey rethunk, i found out that snookers billiards in springfield, ma has a 5x10. it's about a 1.5 hour drive from boston.
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Good job, McChen! I'd seen their website once or twice, but I can't remember why I didn't include them in the list.

Speaking of which, I finished the first draft of the list just this evening. Snookers Billiards makes for a great final entry since it's in our home state.

The final tally: over 300 listings. That includes pool halls, private clubs, Elks lodges, hotels, bed & breakfasts, universities, and senior centers.

I've registered a website and will have the list online within the next week or so. On one of the pages I'll mention the folks from AzB who helped, including you, drsnooker, dr_dave (Dave Alciatore), and others.
 
SlickRick_PCS said:
I could possibly give it a good drive there if I reside in San Antonio - of course if you can give me the good-to-go and if your schedule, drsnooker, doesn't conflict too much. But nevertheless, I am enthused into playing snooker at Corpus Christi, enjoying pool, and -much less- any form of billiards after alienating it for five long months.

Thanks for all the advice, yall!
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No problem. Let us know when you got a little closer and we'll make a weekend out of it!
 
drsnooker said:
Thanks for the plug Rethunk!
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You're certainly welcome.

I've finished the first draft of the list and have started making calls to confirm the presence of snooker tables. This is a much easier task than finding the pool halls in the first place.
 
There are many options for a top quality cue, other than JP. Take a look at Mastercraft, I have one and its fantastic. Top quality and half the price of a Parris. Some cues from thailand are also very good and around the same price as mastercraft. 2 of them would be O'min and Mastercue. Also, my dad has a Hunt & O'Byrne cue that IMO is far better than a Parris in quality but price is a bit higher. A friend of mine just got a Dunn cue which is a great player and is about as good a value as I've seen for snooker cues. They have a good warranty to, as the first one sent to him was burned in a fire during shipping and they still replaced it without any problem.

Parris cues are fine but you pay for the name mostly, so take a look around first. You'll be happy with any of these cues though.
Also, I think a 3/4 joint helps because you won't feel it on your chin during your stroke.
 
northwest cue's also make very good cues and great price as well, there based in freckleton in england and do a lot of the pro's cues
 
Wity said:
As long as the cue joint is well made there really isn't any playing difference between a 1/2 or a 3/4 but a 3/4 joint is prefered because its position allows the cuemaker to alter the weight easier thus giving the customer a wider range of both weight and balance point.

1/2 jointed cues are virtually obsolete nowadays no one wants them as can be seen by there very poor resale values. One piece cues are probably the best sellers now as many players say they give a better feedback though I personally think a blindfold test would prove that most cant tell the difference.

The best known cuemaker is probably John Parris but they are not the best cues out there and most certainly are way overpriced. Not surprising really as he's built his reputation by working on and supplying the pros cues for free. Simply put he's a reasonable cuemaker whose bloody good at marketing.

Peradons cues unless you have one custom made and specify an oil finish are all lacqured (butt and shaft) and need to be sanded an oiled properly first unless your a whacko jackson fan and fart around with gloves and talc.(the latter of which will get you kicked out of any uk club for ruining the cloth and the former laughed out)

Having an expensive, top label, cue wont help your game one bit but it should stop you blaming your cue for your mistakes.

The basic snooker cue made of ash or maple with a handspliced ebony butt has a mateial cost of about £40-£50 and takes say 4 hours to make so expect to pay at least £120 for a new uk made one and because of the transportation costs and weak pound only a bit less for a cue from Thailand. Above that price and you paying for looks, be it fancy splicing a specific grain pattern or exotic wood and the lable/badge.

Tell me your spec and budget including a case or not and i'll point you in the right direction but without that basic info finding the right cue fo you is like finding a needle in a haystack.
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Righto, Im guessing wity that your not much of a snooker player?

just to correct a few massive errors in your post here!

firstly there is a big difference between 1/2 join and 3/4, ideally most people would play with a 1 pce, but ist a bugger to get around with, esp fly, so 3/4 give the feel of 1 pce (almost) and is more transportable. 1/2 joins usually are not nice to play with, and most snooker players run the cue along their chin and the 1/2 join gets in the way.

Secondly John Parris is not just a good marketeer, the pros play with his cues cos they are bloody good, well that is, the top of the range custom parris.

see what pool cue makers dont understand about a snooker cue, is they are judged on how they feel, not on how many inlays and fancy bits are in the butt. buying a challenge cue, or any of the 'off the shelf' parris cues, you are correct in saying you will be getting a well made 'production' cue, however the timbers will be better than any chinese competitor, and on the whole it will most likely play better too.

if you would notice from JPs website, if you order a 'custom' cue, there are 3 grades of shaft, and they are picked to make the playability of the cue better, and you will pay more for the top grade, and what you get is top grade.

now for years parris has been the only real reliable name for ordering a top class cue and getting what you pay for, but recently there are some others popping up, trevor white is now said to be up there too, and i have played with one and it was quite nice i must say.

A good snooker cue makes a huge difference to playing snooker, over time you can learn how to play well with any cue, but it may take longer than with a crap cue.

you dont pay for the 'fancy bits' on a snooker cue, snooker players dont care much for looks, more how it plays.

how to make a good snooker cue maker, is one who knows how to balance the cue properly to make it play well, and not throw very much if at all. whilst putting the materials together could take a short amount of time if done quickly, obtaining the experince to make a good snooker cue could take many many years.

next time dont offer advice to people if you dont know what ur talking about IMO.,

sb..
 
hahahaha I'll reply to that later when i've nothing better to do. For now i'll just say bollocks mate you talking though your arse.
 
Wity and SteveBurford:

What snooker cues do you own?

What other cues have you tried, and how do they compare to the cue(s) you favor?
 
SlickRick_PCS said:
Thanks for all the advice, yall!
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Slick Rick: I updated the list in my earlier post to show which pool halls in Texas I've confirmed have snooker tables. I still have some calls to make.

If you make it up to Oklahoma you'll find tables in Lawton, Enid, and Oklahoma City.

The complete U.S. list will be online within a week or two; it has taken me longer than expected to make the phone calls.

As of this evening I've confirmed there are snooker tables in 132 pool halls, rec centers, Elks lodges, etc., across the country, and I still have a number of calls to make.
 
Howdy, y'all.

The first version of the full U.S. list of snooker tables is here:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=146859

See also the website below.

I've been a bit busy lately and I haven't had the chance to find out whether Chup Chap (with three 12' tables) in Houston is open. The last I tried to reach them their phone number was disconnected.
 
burns420 said:
There are many options for a top quality cue, other than JP. Take a look at Mastercraft, I have one and its fantastic. Top quality and half the price of a Parris. Some cues from thailand are also very good and around the same price as mastercraft. 2 of them would be O'min and Mastercue. Also, my dad has a Hunt & O'Byrne cue that IMO is far better than a Parris in quality but price is a bit higher. A friend of mine just got a Dunn cue which is a great player and is about as good a value as I've seen for snooker cues. They have a good warranty to, as the first one sent to him was burned in a fire during shipping and they still replaced it without any problem.

Parris cues are fine but you pay for the name mostly, so take a look around first. You'll be happy with any of these cues though.
Also, I think a 3/4 joint helps because you won't feel it on your chin during your stroke.
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those are some great cue's you listed, regardless of cost. i'be owned a mastercraft, o'min, parris, hunt & o'byrne. out of all of them the mastercraft was my favorite, with the o'min coming in second (specially bang for the buck factor)
 
Exile said:
Parris cues are the dogs bollocks but if they are a bit pricey i can highly recommend a Mike Wooldridge cue.

http://www.handmadecues.com/

I play with a Wooldridge and would never change from it.
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I just received my Mike Wooldridge cue this week and I'm having fun with it. I'll post photos soon.

As always I'm interested to hear what sort of experiences people have had switching between a pool cue and a snooker cue. Do you change your stance? your grip?
 
Rethunk said:
Slick Rick: Thanks to user GRichmond, there's now a listing on FindSnooker.com for a snooker table in San Antonio at a place called Rocky J's Pool and Games:

http://www.findsnooker.com/Texas.html

Have you had much of a chance to play snooker lately?
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Hey there, Rethunk....

Unfortunately, I have other things in plan at the moment. My plans for San Antonio "balked" and I am going to consider moving elsewhere. Nevertheless, I definately do plan on heading to either Corpus Christi or Kingsville just get my feet wet into playing snooker sometime early next year (pretty much a "New Year's Resolution" :p:thumbup2:). This plan is definately in the works, without a doubt. I do plan on mostly playing English Billiards and then go into regular snooker. Thanks to you, Rethunk, and to all of you that have helped and advised me along the way. More input & advice for my noggin will be gratefully appreciated, folks. :)
 
New 12' tableat Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, TX (near Houston)

SlickRick_PCS said:
My plans for San Antonio "balked" and I am going to consider moving elsewhere. Nevertheless, I definately do plan on heading to either Corpus Christi or Kingsville just get my feet wet into playing snooker sometime early next year (pretty much a "New Year's Resolution" :p:thumbup2:). ...
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Hey, SlickRick, have you had a chance to play snooker? Are you still in Texas?

Thanks to mnorwood, I have one more listing for a 12' table in Texas. They opened just this month.

Big Tyme Billiards (1 - 12')
100 Cypresswood Dr.
Spring, TX 77388
(281) 288-0800
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Tyme-Billiards/149811828390957
Open 24 hours!
 
John Parris has sold out to mass production, in theory, does little of the actual cue work himself. Kinda like the Dale Perry scenario we have in the states. If you find older Parris cues they are better generally. Mike Wooldridge and Trevor White are the best thing going now in the UK. You can find an occasional Trevor used, but you rarely see a used MW cue. That was what sold me on MW when I was cue shopping. I have an MW Shark, and it just plays right for snooker. It's 18 oz, with a 9.5mm tip, which I think is ideal. I have played a little snooker with my Schon at 19 oz, and 13mm tip, and it just doesn't work. The shark sells for 180 GBP, or around $280, which isn't bad at all for a really nice cue, but the shipping from UK is high, like around $125. I ended up buying the cue, 6" butt extension, and a nice Ostrich skin 3/4 case, which with shipping cost around $680, but I'd do it again now, and probably will later this year.
 
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