My New Cue Buying Experience!

[CageyCraigey]

I am one year into my pool playing journey. APA Level 4 and now can play 8 ball, 9 ball, 14.1 and am now captain of my own APA 9 ball team on a Monday night. I have met some great friends in pool in the last year - one or two jerks as well. But that has to be expected. I have very much enjoyed getting into pool culture and I love the competition.

I decided for Christmas to upgrade my basic equipment.

I wanted to support local stores so went to my local hall and tried out a selection of cues. I know my budget of $300 was not going to get me a world class custom cue but for that price I figured I could get something very solid as I work on developing my game, further. They had about 40 cues from basic house cues to some costing in excess of $600.

Having tried out as many as I wanted, I went for an Action INL-11at 58 inches with a black and white irish linen wrap. I tried various cues with shafts claiming they are low deflection but I still like the feeling of the maple shaft and liked the way the cue felt in my hands. I have small but wide hands (think wide palm but relatively short fingers)and this felt very secure indeed. I tried cues of different weights and settled on 20 ounces.

I am sure some will say it is little more than a house cue, but I like the way it looks and most of all the way it performed for me. Of all the cues I tried, it was the one I felt as if it was an extension of my arm if that makes any sense. The salesman did not try to upsell me and was very helpful and thought for a new player I had good technique and above all, a passion and interest in making my game better.

I also tried a used a demo version of an Action 25oz break cue but one was not available however the good people at Pooldawg delivered one within 2 days. I got the black and green version!

I know Action may not be a glamorous brand but to my mind they look good, play well and I really enjoyed the experience of trying out a lot of different cues for the first time. I am sure one or two people may tell me all I did was buy a house cue, but I do not think that way, I picked the cue that best fit my budget and the one I liked the feel of the most having demo'd it first?

Perhaps when I get to an APA 6 or 7 (my goal for 2025 as well as establishing a Fargo rating) I may review it once again but I think Action make good cues for a player starting to get a little more serious about the game. I would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts on Action Cues and my goals for the year.

So although I ended up spending nearly $500, my cue was $225 and my new break cue was around the same and I got a new case as well!

I also think I may get a short course of lessons this spring to help develop a more consistent pre-shot routine and being a sports commentator myself (horse racing) I would love to sit down with a pro for an hour over a drink and discuss the mental aspects of the game and how I can improve on that.

Finally although the tip on the new cue is just fine, I may want to update the tip to something a little soft to medium. I am starting to now regularly play with side and a little draw as opposed to just hitting hard or rolling softly. Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Oh and thank you to whoever it was on here who recommended Triangle Blue chalk to me. It has definitely become my favorite!

Cheers,

Craig

 

[boogieman]

I am one year into my pool playing journey. APA Level 4 and now can play 8 ball, 9 ball, 14.1 and am now captain of my own APA 9 ball team on a Monday night. I have met some great friends in pool in the last year - one or two jerks as well. But that has to be expected. I have very much enjoyed getting into pool culture and I love the competition.

I decided for Christmas to upgrade my basic equipment.

I wanted to support local stores so went to my local hall and tried out a selection of cues. I know my budget of $300 was not going to get me a world class custom cue but for that price I figured I could get something very solid as I work on developing my game, further. They had about 40 cues from basic house cues to some costing in excess of $600.

Having tried out as many as I wanted, I went for an Action INL-11at 58 inches with a black and white irish linen wrap. I tried various cues with shafts claiming they are low deflection but I still like the feeling of the maple shaft and liked the way the cue felt in my hands. I have small but wide hands (think wide palm but relatively short fingers)and this felt very secure indeed. I tried cues of different weights and settled on 20 ounces.

I am sure some will say it is little more than a house cue, but I like the way it looks and most of all the way it performed for me. Of all the cues I tried, it was the one I felt as if it was an extension of my arm if that makes any sense. The salesman did not try to upsell me and was very helpful and thought for a new player I had good technique and above all, a passion and interest in making my game better.

I also tried a used a demo version of an Action 25oz break cue but one was not available however the good people at Pooldawg delivered one within 2 days. I got the black and green version!

I know Action may not be a glamorous brand but to my mind they look good, play well and I really enjoyed the experience of trying out a lot of different cues for the first time. I am sure one or two people may tell me all I did was buy a house cue, but I do not think that way, I picked the cue that best fit my budget and the one I liked the feel of the most having demo'd it first?

Perhaps when I get to an APA 6 or 7 (my goal for 2025 as well as establishing a Fargo rating) I may review it once again but I think Action make good cues for a player starting to get a little more serious about the game. I would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts on Action Cues and my goals for the year.

So although I ended up spending nearly $500, my cue was $225 and my new break cue was around the same and I got a new case as well!

I also think I may get a short course of lessons this spring to help develop a more consistent pre-shot routine and being a sports commentator myself (horse racing) I would love to sit down with a pro for an hour over a drink and discuss the mental aspects of the game and how I can improve on that.

Finally although the tip on the new cue is just fine, I may want to update the tip to something a little soft to medium. I am starting to now regularly play with side and a little draw as opposed to just hitting hard or rolling softly. Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Oh and thank you to whoever it was on here who recommended Triangle Blue chalk to me. It has definitely become my favorite!

Cheers,

Craig

I used to own an Action brand cue back in the 90s and they were good sticks. It should serve you well.

The mental game stuff is some of the most important, but also some of the hardest info to come by. @Tin Man has some great stuff on his youtube channel. It's MN Pool Bootcamp. I've also seen some good stuff on Neils Feijen's channel, as well as some of the other pros. There are videos out there. @BC21 has a great book called "Playing to Win." The Pleasure of Small Motions book is also a good one. The Inner Game of Tennis is a good book on mental aspects/sports psychology too.

I honestly think at some point pool becomes 80+% mental. I mean, there's always stuff to learn and stuff to practice but at a certain point you know the shots, you can execute the shots and the mental game/self sabotage becomes the biggest hole to patch in the bucket.

Good luck with your game and enjoy your new equipment!

 

[CageyCraigey]

Hi Boogieman:

Thanks for your response. I will definitely check out those channels! Agree totally on a mental basis. Before some physical issues took their toll I was a decent golfer (6 handicap) and can still shoot 80-82 every time I play but I have the arsenal of shots I need and the mental approach.

In pool there are definite areas for improvement. Having played snooker as a kid, my bank shots in pool are not of a high enough standard, and although I think mentally I have a good pool pre-shot routine, I am still not always standing to the shot as well as I should and I need to work more on my standard bridge.

Have you ever had pool lessons? I know in golf I am a fast learner (I still have lessons now) and can usually repeat what I am shown and "get it" by just reinforcing what I am shown with some practice. Like with golf, I have found with Pool, mistakes often come down to the most simple of set up errors that you have just got into the habit of doing.

Thanks,

Craig

 

[Tin Man]

I used to own an Action brand cue back in the 90s and they were good sticks. It should serve you well.

The mental game stuff is some of the most important, but also some of the hardest info to come by. @Tin Man has some great stuff on his youtube channel. It's MN Pool Bootcamp. I've also seen some good stuff on Neils Feijen's channel, as well as some of the other pros. There are videos out there. @BC21 has a great book called "Playing to Win." The Pleasure of Small Motions book is also a good one. The Inner Game of Tennis is a good book on mental aspects/sports psychology too.

I honestly think at some point pool becomes 80+% mental. I mean, there's always stuff to learn and stuff to practice but at a certain point you know the shots, you can execute the shots and the mental game/self sabotage becomes the biggest hole to patch in the bucket.

Good luck with your game and enjoy your new equipment!

Thanks Boogie!

I teach mental game in an interactive small group setting, three zoom sessions. I let the people I work with bring a list of challenges and situations to the table and build that into what we cover together. I think the value of doing this together is way more beneficial than one way transmissions like books or videos. There is nothing like being able to spot sub-optimal thought processes and call them to attention, help get to the bottom of where they come from, and develop some alternative strategies.

I run 2-3 of these sessions per year. If you, boogie, or anyone else is interested let me know.

MNPoolBootcamp

mnpoolbootcamp.com

 

[CageyCraigey]

Thanks Boogie!

I teach mental game in an interactive small group setting, three zoom sessions. I let the people I work with bring a list of challenges and situations to the table and build that into what we cover together. I think the value of doing this together is way more beneficial than one way transmissions like books or videos. There is nothing like being able to spot sub-optimal thought processes and call them to attention, help get to the bottom of where they come from, and develop some alternative strategies.

I run 2-3 of these sessions per year. If you, boogie, or anyone else is interested let me know.

MNPoolBootcamp

mnpoolbootcamp.com

Demetrius:

Have just sent you an email.

Cheers

 

[boogieman]

Have you ever had pool lessons?

No but I've read more books than is probably beneficial to my game.

I'm going back on some books though an actually practicing the stuff. When I read them the first time I had no table to practice on and couldn't really afford much table time at the hall as I was young and broke. I read them at work on break and just used my imagination. I literally knew a dozen or more kicking/banking systems and had the calculations memorized but I couldn't make more than about 3 balls in a row. It was hell, but I rarely gave up BIH. I was one of those annoying players that would lay down 5 safeties in a row because I couldn't make a shot.

It kind of hurt my chances of becoming a good student because most of the local guys who did lessons were trying to woo students with arcane systems knowledge instead of working on actual important stuff like fundamentals and CB control. I already had that system stuff memorized, often from the same book they got it from. They were the type of guys who want to teach elaborate diamond systems when a student barely knows how to stand and stroke a cue straight... maybe it was a good thing and I actually avoided snake oil.

I took about 12 years off and once I started up again I became friends with some good players in the area, one had a table and I got a table, so we could all just hit a lot of balls and work on shot making and sharpening each other up. So they weren't really "instructors" but they readily shared and helped me get up to speed, especially the fundamentals. I purposely avoided books in this time period because I wanted to avoid filling my head with overthinking material until I could get my fundamentals and ball making up to snuff.

I'll be honest, I would like to find a good instructor but at this point it takes real effort to be a good student with a good beginner's mindset. That's on me. I'm not an egotistical person but it's so difficult to just clear my head and take stuff at face value. I'm absolutely positive my game needs a lot of improvement. I've already been thinking about Demetrius' mental game course. I'm kind of at a point now where I feel the mental game is my biggest hurdle. I can now shoot well enough, have been re-learning things etc but I often sabotage myself with mental game related things. There's a dozen ways to fail the mental game, all it takes is one errant thought and you're no longer the master of the situation. Recognizing when that happens and side-stepping it's influence is a skill in and of itself. Add in the thrills/chills/distractions/neurochemicals produced in this game and it can be a tall order. At least it's fun to work on. Frustrating as anything at times, but still a fun challenge.

 

[Fatboy]

Action cues are just fine. They have great name, what’s better than “Action” and they play good. Nothing wrong with them.

Enjoy your pool career, it’s fun. I don’t play any longer and pool is still fun for me. You’ll enjoy it for a long time, hope you can have half the fun I’ve had.

Best
Fatboy

 

[7stud]

I also tried a used a demo version of an Action 25oz break cue but one was not available however the good people at Pooldawg delivered one within 2 days. I got the black and green version!

So the deal on break cues is this: heavier is not necessarily better. You may think that with a heavier cue you can hit the cue ball harder. Not so fast. With a lighter cue, you can get the cue moving faster. The question is: does the speed of a lighter cue allow you to hit the cue ball with more force than a slower moving heavier cue? A lot of players use 18 oz break cues, so that should tell you something. This is what Predator says about their popular (and expensive!) BK Rush break cue:

We recommend 18oz. standard weight for maximum efficiency but it can easily be tailored to your needs with our Uni-Loc® Weight Cartridge System.

When I bought a break cue I was torn between lighter is faster and a heavier break cue, so I bought a break cue that was the same weight as my playing cue: 20 oz--I hedged in the middle. I have since moved on to a heavier playing cue because of a mid cue extension and a butt extension, so my break cue is now lighter than my playing cue.

I am sure one or two people may tell me all I did was buy a house cue

The first day I took my $160 jump/break cue to the pool hall, I used the jump/break cue as my player for the last few games, and it felt better than the house cue I had been using. Having your own cue with a slick shaft and a well cared for tip is far and away the best thing you can do. Enjoy your new cues.

Oh yeah, get one of these:

Porper Shaft Polisher

This shaft burnisher is made from two pieces of suede leather sewn together with some type of cushy material in between the two pieces of leather. The resulting cushy leather sandwich makes it much easier to burnish your shaft. I also have a shaft burnisher that is a round piece of leather...

forums.azbilliards.com

"Burnishing" your shaft with a piece of leather will make the wood slick. Clean your shaft with a Magic Eraser soaked with isopropyl alcohol before burnishing. Then you need a tip tool to scuff up the tip occasionally and shape it. I use this one:

Last 4 Ever Billiards Cue Tip Shaping and Maintenance Tool

Keeping your cue's tip shaped and scuffed will ensure more accurate shots, better chalk retention, and a much more enjoyable shooting experience. If you own a pool cue you need a tip tool. So, why not get the easiest to use and longest lasting tip tool around? It will literally Last 4 Ever!

last4ever.com

Get the nickel size for 12-13mm tips.

 

[FrankieD]

Congrats on the new cue. I think you made the right choice by ignoring the brand and simply hitting a bunch of different cues. I believe feel is significantly more important than brand or cost. Good luck and enjoy the journey of getting better.

 

[j2pac]

Congrats on the new cue. I think you made the right choice by ignoring the brand and simply hitting a bunch of different cues. I believe feel is significantly more important than brand or cost. Good luck and enjoy the journey of getting better.

Well said. Different strokes for different folks. Find the cue that fits you, and buy it. If you don't like it, there's a wonderful for sale section right here at AZB.

 

[CageyCraigey]

So the deal on break cues is this: heavier is not necessarily better. You may think that with a heavier cue you can hit the cue ball harder. Not so fast. With a lighter cue, you can get the cue moving faster. The question is: does the speed of a lighter cue allow you to hit the cue ball with more force than a slower moving heavier cue? A lot of players use 18 oz break cues, so that should tell you something. This is what Predator says about their popular (and expensive!) BK Rush break cue:



When I bought a break cue I was torn between lighter is faster and a heavier break cue, so I bought a break cue that was the same weight as my playing cue: 20 oz--I hedged in the middle. I have since moved on to a heavier playing cue because of a mid cue extension and a butt extension, so my break cue is now lighter than my playing cue.



The first day I took my $160 jump/break cue to the pool hall, I used the jump/break cue as my player for the last few games, and it felt better than the house cue I had been using. Having your own cue with a slick shaft and a well cared for tip is far and away the best thing you can do. Enjoy your new cues.

Oh yeah, get one of these:

Porper Shaft Polisher

This shaft burnisher is made from two pieces of suede leather sewn together with some type of cushy material in between the two pieces of leather. The resulting cushy leather sandwich makes it much easier to burnish your shaft. I also have a shaft burnisher that is a round piece of leather...

forums.azbilliards.com

"Burnishing" your shaft with a piece of leather will make the wood slick. Clean your shaft with a Magic Eraser soaked with isopropyl alcohol before burnishing. Then you need a tip tool to scuff up the tip occasionally and shape it. I use this one:

Last 4 Ever Billiards Cue Tip Shaping and Maintenance Tool

Keeping your cue's tip shaped and scuffed will ensure more accurate shots, better chalk retention, and a much more enjoyable shooting experience. If you own a pool cue you need a tip tool. So, why not get the easiest to use and longest lasting tip tool around? It will literally Last 4 Ever!

last4ever.com

Get the nickel size for 12-13mm tips.

Oh there is a tonne of great advice and insight there, thank you so much indeed!!

 

[CageyCraigey]

Congrats on the new cue. I think you made the right choice by ignoring the brand and simply hitting a bunch of different cues. I believe feel is significantly more important than brand or cost. Good luck and enjoy the journey of getting better.

Frankie: Loving the journey. Want to be an APA Level 5 by the end of the year, 3 right now!

 

[Mensabum]

I am one year into my pool playing journey. APA Level 4 and now can play 8 ball, 9 ball, 14.1 and am now captain of my own APA 9 ball team on a Monday night. I have met some great friends in pool in the last year - one or two jerks as well. But that has to be expected. I have very much enjoyed getting into pool culture and I love the competition.

I decided for Christmas to upgrade my basic equipment.

I wanted to support local stores so went to my local hall and tried out a selection of cues. I know my budget of $300 was not going to get me a world class custom cue but for that price I figured I could get something very solid as I work on developing my game, further. They had about 40 cues from basic house cues to some costing in excess of $600.

Having tried out as many as I wanted, I went for an Action INL-11at 58 inches with a black and white irish linen wrap. I tried various cues with shafts claiming they are low deflection but I still like the feeling of the maple shaft and liked the way the cue felt in my hands. I have small but wide hands (think wide palm but relatively short fingers)and this felt very secure indeed. I tried cues of different weights and settled on 20 ounces.

I am sure some will say it is little more than a house cue, but I like the way it looks and most of all the way it performed for me. Of all the cues I tried, it was the one I felt as if it was an extension of my arm if that makes any sense. The salesman did not try to upsell me and was very helpful and thought for a new player I had good technique and above all, a passion and interest in making my game better.

I also tried a used a demo version of an Action 25oz break cue but one was not available however the good people at Pooldawg delivered one within 2 days. I got the black and green version!

I know Action may not be a glamorous brand but to my mind they look good, play well and I really enjoyed the experience of trying out a lot of different cues for the first time. I am sure one or two people may tell me all I did was buy a house cue, but I do not think that way, I picked the cue that best fit my budget and the one I liked the feel of the most having demo'd it first?

Perhaps when I get to an APA 6 or 7 (my goal for 2025 as well as establishing a Fargo rating) I may review it once again but I think Action make good cues for a player starting to get a little more serious about the game. I would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts on Action Cues and my goals for the year.

So although I ended up spending nearly $500, my cue was $225 and my new break cue was around the same and I got a new case as well!

I also think I may get a short course of lessons this spring to help develop a more consistent pre-shot routine and being a sports commentator myself (horse racing) I would love to sit down with a pro for an hour over a drink and discuss the mental aspects of the game and how I can improve on that.

Finally although the tip on the new cue is just fine, I may want to update the tip to something a little soft to medium. I am starting to now regularly play with side and a little draw as opposed to just hitting hard or rolling softly. Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Oh and thank you to whoever it was on here who recommended Triangle Blue chalk to me. It has definitely become my favorite!

Cheers,

Craig

As long as you like it, that's all that counts my friend. You'll know when you need a different cue. Best of luck to your continued advancement in this game!!

 

[hkstyle]

Good for you! My favorite is a $25 camel cue that I picked up locally. Dropped in some extra weight, and changed the tip to a hard layered one and I play lights out with it. It’s just comfortable to me. I think that’s the most important aspect to any cue. Finding one that feel like it’s an extension of you. Best feeling ever.

 

[brilliance]

That much money would be better invested in a good shaft such as Predator Vantage that I recommend for your level. It would hold value unlike Action and give you better cue experience when used with your old cue. I spent & lost lots of money by buying production cues, better invest in Predator or Mezz from production line or get some sneaky pete from custom cue makers such as Josey or DZ Cues, they will hold resale value and play better. Just my 5 cents