picked up a new cue last night

[lorider]

since I got back into pool about 6 years ago I have worked my way up the pool cue ladder so to speak.

my 1st couple of cues were players which I gave away and got a few mid level production cues. 400 to 500 dollar range. then I got a couple of higher level production cues, 1400 dollar range ending up with a 3000 dollar custom which is my daily player.

last night I was hanging out at the pool hall raffling of a few items for our trip to vegas. thamks billiard pro for donating a cue for our raffle.:thumbup:

a friend wanted to play some and I did not have my cues with me. who goes to a pool hall without their cues? me.

well he said I could play with his , I told him I appreciate the offer but I could not shoot worth a darn with a predator, I got one of them that sits in the closet.

well he pulls out a sneaky pete also and said try this one then. after I broke with his bk2 which I like almost as much as my alex brick I ran the table with that sneaky. I said damn I like this cue.

he said he would let me have it for 25.00. it was a brand new premier sneaky pete he picked up at the southern classic. now I know he let me have it for less than what it cost him just because we are friends, thanks bobby.:thumbup: but I promptly pulled out the money and gave it to him after I found out he bought a few more than this one to re sell.

like I said its a cheap import but the fit and finish is flawless and the joint is seamless as hell. the butt is thinner than any cue I have but must say it just felt right in my hand. the balance was perfect for me also.

well my custom is going in the closet and this will be my main player until I find the holy grail of cues.i got to thinking I might have to keep as close an eye on this cue like I have my custom because some one will pick it up thinking its a house stick.

 

[SCCues]

That's a great story and from my experience cost doesn't equal a good playing cue. I read one time that a top cue maker said that only 20% of cues play great and the rest are just "so so" players. It comes down to how the wood and hardware work together and the density of the wood used to build the cue.

I remember when Johnny Archer was sponsored by Schon Cues they made him a number of different special cues to play with. One of the models was really fancy and it had his initials in ivory boxes in the butt sleeve. They built 3 exactly alike and asked Johnny to try them out and pick the one out of the three they built that played the best to be his player. If there wasn't a difference in how finished cues play then why did they build him 3 identical cue to choose from. Johnny had 3 to pick from and the rest of us who order a custom cue have one shot to hope we get one of those special cues that just feels better than most other cues.

James

 

[lorider]

can a new cue " especially a cheap import " really improve your game ?

over the years i have had good streaks before , im sure we all have. i have to say i have never had a spike in my game before like i have since i got this cue. like i said in my 1st post i got a break and run with it, but that with the open break rule which is easier than the apa closed break rule.

i got curious just how well i have done with this cue so i looked up my stats. 3 break and runs in 8 ball with 4 rackless nights. yea i get the occasional b&r but have never had 3 in one session before.

2 b&r in 9 ball and have never had any b&r in 9 ball before in my 3 years in apa. i have come close a lot of times but had the match called because i reached my point total.

skunked my 1st opponent in vegas last weekend by a score of 38-4. my 1st skunk ever after 3 years in apa and it happenened in my 1st match at the nationals and they said they did not have any skunk patches .

my 2nd match against another 5 i win 38-10.

my 3rd match against a 7 i am down 18-2 after he b&r the 1st rack runs to the 9 the 2 nd rack and gets hung up. 3rd rack i finally get to make a few ball and he is up 24-6 going into the 4th rack. from the 4th rack on we both run balls and play safe with him winning 55-36. from the 2nd rack on i score 34-37 when i finally get to shoot after being down by 16 points . thats pretty good shooting against a 7 in my book.

today i play 10 ball in my napa league and win 4-0 in a 4-4 race. again something i have never done before.

i cant believe my level of play has went up this dramatically since i went to a cheap 22 oz import cue. dang i hope this streak continues for a while.

 

[gehawe]

Good story.

My situation is not simillar by close.

I have a few fancy cues, among that Tascarella, Josey, Blackcreek, Schon customs and so on. My player is a Ed Prewitt and I play best with that. However, at days that I feel real confident and there is no pressure, I pull out a Bob Frey sneaky to play with. The BF does not make me play better, but this crisp hit is just a real pleasure. Then I can enjoy every hit. And that cue was really not too expensive.:thumbup: