My friend talked to Judd a few days ago and he said that Judd has made another cue for Efren. I know of two Judd cues that Efren has used over the years, a JT1 and a fancy Judd, maybe there are more. My friend was not sure if Judd was talking about the specs that Efren wanted on one of the other cues that he has already used by Judd or if this is a new cue for Efren.
Magic in the Cue...
- Thread starter JoeyA
- Start date
Your a brave brave man. 
Just goes to show the truth behind truely talented players can play with any cue in their hands.
Carl
Just goes to show the truth behind truely talented players can play with any cue in their hands.Carl
Yes, the one he won the 2011 U.S. Open One Pocket Championship with.
We all know it is the Indian and not the arrow, right?
Well, it could not be more true than in this case.
When Efren walked away from the table, Alex P was "admiring" his Efren's cue and I asked Alex to tell me what kind of cue it was. Alex being the perennial pixie, quipped, "bamboo stick", grinning wildly. That brought a chorus of laughter from the gallery and I slipped on down to the TV table to get a closer inspection of Efren's personal cue. I and most others have seen Alex's respect for Efren on more than one occasion. Alex and the rest of the Filipino players all acknowledge Efren as THE KING. One time during the tournament Efren was walking past Alex and not talking to anyone, Alex bowed low and extended both of his hands toward Efren like you see in the movies and would not stop until Efren shooed him away with a wave of his hand. I thought that was some funny stuff. Wish I had that on video.Alex is my favorite comedian pool player for sure.
Getting back to the cue.....It had a rather thin shaft, just guessing that it was probably below 12.0 mm. The cue but itself had a few points but for all practical purposes, it was a very plain looking cue. Another thing that caught my eye was the collar of the shaft. It was odd to say the least and did not match the collar on the butt of the cue. The taper looked similar to a pro taper but I can't be sure as I did not have a caliper with me.
Alex had been hitting some balls with THE CUE and I took my chances with facing the wrath of Efren. I know, I know it was stupid for me to hit balls with the champs cue but sometimes as human beings we do stupid things. I figured that my excuse that I was Efren's OFFICIAL "mini-tournament backer" might give me a stay of execution if the tip were to fly off of the cue or the ferrule breaking. Alex warned me that he did not give me permission to use the cue and I acknowledge that and inspected the cue closer. The ferrule had a thin line under it where there was "separation" from the wooden shaft. I placed my fingernail along the separation to make sure that I was seeing things clearly and sure enough there was a thin space not quite as thick as my fingernail under the ferrule. On one side of the shaft, the ferrule actually extended out enough for my fingernail to sit under the ferrule. I was careful not to put pressure on the ferrule for fear of it coming off.
I knew I didn't have much time as Efren would be returning soon. My blood pressure was increasing with each passing second so I set up my signature shot, the one with the object ball frozen to the middle diamond on the foot rail. Cue ball in the kitchen on the head string with the cue ball almost perpendicular to the object ball. I aimed just like I do with my OB Classic Pro and put the same amount of English and was very careful in doing so. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw that the cue ball hit the rail approximately 2 1/8" from the object ball. I shot a second and third time, thinking maybe I was being too careful or not aiming careful enough. I have made this shot many, many times and could not believe that I could not even hit the object ball let alone make it. After aiming directly at the object ball, I managed to barely clip the object ball, not coming close to making it. I whined to Alex that I couldn't play with THE CUE. Alex, opined, "That is what makes Efren such a great player". Efren can truly play with any cue if he can beat the best one pocket players in the world with THAT CUE.
I stopped after a few shots just in time to see Efren returning to the table and took a few moments to ask him a few questions, not wanting to disturb his continuity and focus. He replied that the cue was made or provided to him by Denny Glenn if I heard him correctly. Denny Glenn must be some kind of sorcerer and had given THE CUE some magical powers that only Efren can control. For me, the experience although it aged me quite a bit, I simply came away with more awe than I already had for "Bata". I still don't know if Efren saw me hit any balls with his cue. I only hit four shots with it but I know I couldn't play with it. I was just thankful that he didn't have one his minions punish me for my foolhardy move. As the tournament came to an end, I was in my room, listening to the commentary by Billy I, Corey Deuel and I think Larry Schwartz and I was kind of dozing off because of lack of sleep from the prior days. I set the alarm clock for 3:30 am so that I could donate a few dollars to the blackjack tables before I left for my 7:30 am flight and when I woke a couple of hours later, showered and packed my suitcase for the very early departure, who would I see sitting at the table next to me but THE KING himself. When he walked close by my table, despite still being embarassed by my outrageous move, I managed to mutter a "CONGRATULATIONS CHAMP" and he kindly smiled at me and tapped me on the shoulder. He must have passed on some of his magic to me as I won the next few hands of blackjack and retired a winner.
JoeyA
I agree.
It's great to hear from someone in the know such as yourself confirming what I saw and what I described.
I guess Efren and Earl Strickland share the same preferences for a straight taper. How do you get a very forward heavy balanced cue with an extra long skinny shaft? I guess the extra length provides that.
Your a brave brave man.
Carl
No Carl, I am a knuckle-head (jar-head), who thinks that special friendships sometimes allow either party latitudes that normally aren't acceptable, except to those who share the bond. The reason that they work in my case most of the time is that those whom I share the bond with, know that my end of the bargain is genuine and that I can be trusted with a cue or a friendship.
JoeyA
Not really.
Last time I saw him get his shaft re-tipped, he had 3 pressed blue Diamonds with him.
Hi Joey!
Sorry I'm seeing this only now (somehow I missed it). Thank you so much for that explanation. It makes perfect sense why Efren prefers a very long straight taper, because of the closed bridge he uses -- the-index-finger-pressing-down-on-top-of-the-middle-finger closed bridge. In that bridge, there's a distinct "V" channel (much like the "V" channel on an open bridge), but the "V" is laying on its side, like this: ">" (in the left hand for right-handed players; "<" in the right hand for left-handed players). A conical taper would push (or shift) the centerline of the shaft from side-to-side as it travels through that bridge.
And with Efren's loose grip, it also makes sense why he prefers a forward-balanced cue, since he relies upon his bridge hand to provide the majority of the stability and support for the cue during delivery.
Blue Diamonds -- are these the Tweeten product OEM'ed for snooker (i.e. they're really Elkmasters)?
(If so, that would make sense as well, since Efren traditionally used Elkmasters as seen in an IPT "What in the case" interview with Efren during one of the televised matches.)
-Sean
Great story, Joey. Thanks for sharing.
I had made the point about this on a taper thread....
I made this point about conical tapers moving the shaft laterally if the bridge is leaned and all I got was how that much movement could not change the path enough to matter. Well it sure as hell affects how the cue feels, and feel is important. I am glad someone else noticed this phenomenon. Snooker players call it rise because that's what happens when the conical taper goes through the open bridge and it follows that it occurs laterally also. Good post!
I made this point about conical tapers moving the shaft laterally if the bridge is leaned and all I got was how that much movement could not change the path enough to matter. Well it sure as hell affects how the cue feels, and feel is important. I am glad someone else noticed this phenomenon. Snooker players call it rise because that's what happens when the conical taper goes through the open bridge and it follows that it occurs laterally also. Good post!
I heard that exact story from "Little Al" Romero at Hard Times.
I talked to a cue dealer friend and he said Denny Glenn is a cue collector from Houston. Is anyone on here from Houston and know Denny Glenn.
So we still do not know what cue efren was using besides Alex saying it was a Bamboo stick.
So we still do not know what cue efren was using besides Alex saying it was a Bamboo stick.
Efren
Thanks for the thread, Joey! And thanks for doing a little 'recon' work for all us AZers when you had the chance to look at Efren's cue. Clearly there's a genius quality at work like Mozart at the piano or Davinci with a paint brush. There's just something in him that most of us don't have. Alex's 'bow' is probably most appropriate, and pretty funny too. Perhaps his ability to change between cues effectively comes partly from his stroke and grip. Getting a still picture of his back hand at just the right time shows that he's not holding the cue at all, but rather 'throwing' it through the cue ball and catching it again. Maybe that makes a difference with regard to deflection, etc. Probably, though, he's just a freak of nature.
Thanks for the thread, Joey! And thanks for doing a little 'recon' work for all us AZers when you had the chance to look at Efren's cue. Clearly there's a genius quality at work like Mozart at the piano or Davinci with a paint brush. There's just something in him that most of us don't have. Alex's 'bow' is probably most appropriate, and pretty funny too. Perhaps his ability to change between cues effectively comes partly from his stroke and grip. Getting a still picture of his back hand at just the right time shows that he's not holding the cue at all, but rather 'throwing' it through the cue ball and catching it again. Maybe that makes a difference with regard to deflection, etc. Probably, though, he's just a freak of nature.
Great story.
I'll miss seeing him at the DCC. Each year, I wonder if it will be his last year before retiring. I don't think anyone wants to see Efren retire. He'll just have to accept the fact that he will always be THE KING.
The ointment...
The ointment is to offer to his opponents to sooth their bruised egos...
JAden
The ointment is to offer to his opponents to sooth their bruised egos...
JAden
Joey, good thing you didn't op the tip off because as I recall, Efren only has one shaft. It might have been the "What's in the case" video. Sammi noted the single shaft and asked him what he would do if the tip came off and Efren just shrugged his shoulders, LOL. Probably just win the tournament with one off the wall. 
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If it is the same guy that was a car upholsterer or something like that. That guy played mighty good to give much weight to.
I watched him beat a lot of people at the US Open in 99 I think.