Pro's don't need that fancy $5000 crap to do well

[gpeezy]

great players and their cues

when me and our local cuesmith/cuemaker bobby callahan discuss the price of cues,the way a cue plays,cue in general.he always brings up watchin keith mcCready play in a tournament where he didn't have a cue (or didn't want to use his) and just grabbed one and won the tournament.now i do have to say that he probally had the tourny way out classed but it is impressive.i know myself i can play with just about any cue along the lines of an "average" cue (58 in,19oz,13mm shaft) for a week,10 hrs,2 hrs even and eventually get in stroke with it.there are things that i would be able to better and at least with more confidence with a cue i've been playing 3 yrs with but u get the point.5000$ cues are what they are,collectors cues.yes there are some that play great but to be honest you will be able to find a 250-500 dollar cue that looks great and plays the same.cues in the 80-200 dollar range may need a better ferrule and tip but have a good chance of having a good playable hit.after 500 bucks you pay for the joints back and only what u can see imo.

 

[jay helfert]

Ok,ok I agree with that because I just bought a McDermott and it players a heck of a lot better than the Players. But the pro's are spending thousands, why can't they get something that is just plain...no inlays, and around 300 bucks. I guess if you have the money spend it, but again it would be cool to see someone use a plain old cue.

Swanee played for years with a very plain looking Tad with a phenolic joint. He was one of the most feared money players alive.

 

[PKM]

Yes yes, I like the pro's that use the plain old regular cues. I do not admire the pro's that spend 2k on inlays just to make their cues pretty.

They've devoted their lives to the game, I'd say their entitled to spend a few G's on their equipment, even if it's just for looks.

 

[Flex]

A quality cue usually costs between $350 and under a thousand dollars depending on who made it with a few names being worth more. After that you are mostly paying for gee-gaws.

However I have had to revise my thoughts about cheap butts . . . of the cue stick persuasion. I would have guessed that 90% of a cue's playability was from the tip to the joint. I built a sneaky based on the el cheapo Budweiser cue butts. I replaced the pin with a quality pin centered in the butt and replaced the soft plastic joint collar with phenolic. I made a quality shaft for the stick and assumed I was in business. Wrong! At best it feels about sixty to seventy percent as good as a quality stick and the play just isn't there. A pro could probably win with it but they would be overcoming a handicap.

A player can perform their best with under fifteen hundred dollars worth of equipment, under a thousand if they are pinching pennies. That still makes this one of the cheapest sports or hobbies to pursue. No sense handicapping yourself.

Hu

The butt is extremely important, IMHO. I have several cues, all with the 5/16 X 18 joint, and some extra aftermarket shafts for them as well. Everything is interchangeable. There is one butt, a full splice sneaky pete, sold by Excalibur, that has the best feel of any of the cues I've ever owned. It's the 19 oz model, and looks beat up as hell, as I've used a scotch brite pad on it quite a bit and some of the varnish or whatever is on it has come off in places, and is now kind of a dirty blue. Frankly the cue looks like a beat up bar cue. But it plays great. At least it plays great for me.

Use the same shaft that I use on that cue and put it on any of the other butts and guess what? Oh it'll play all right, but the feel just isn't there, nor is the power. Perhaps it's something about the way the splices are cut or where they are, I don't know, but it's just plain better.

Could I swap butts and use another, with good results? Of course, but the feel would be lost. How important is that feel to achieving good results? I'd say that since it always feels so good to shoot with that butt that my results will be better, since I'm getting the equivalent of an "atta boy" every time I shoot, even if I miss a ball.

The psychological effects of this aren't small, at least not in my case.

Flex

 

[smokeandapancak]

plenty of em use plan ol cues...... plenty use 5K dollar beast...
doesnt really matter at that level...and personally I donth think it matters at all .. on any level.... as long as its straight,good wood, and the right ferrule /tip combo .. then it works and it will do what you tell it to.. the trick is figuring out the right way to "tell it"

 

[PastPrime]

Reyes did OK.

When Efren Reyes first came to the U.S. and played under an assumed name he used a Pool Cue that literally sold for $15. This man is an exception of course, but he still doesn't use a flashy cue even though he has his choice of any cue he wants.

 

[RRfireblade]

Maybe they are playing with one of the cheapest cues . . . they own.

If some are playing with $5k cues, whatcha think they might have hanging over the mantle.

 

[PoolSponge]

I think it should be said, however, that perhaps the pro actually likes that cue. If a $5k cue and a $1k cue both feel the same to the pro, why not take the cue being offered that you really like? No different than many of the purchases we make every day in life. Why that car? Why that house? Why that toothpaste? We buy what best fits our needs AND our wants. You can't honestly say that if you were given the choice of cues you would pick a plain jane birdseye vs a custom designed Ginacue, Black Boar, or the likes? Beyond playability, the cue is an extension of ones self. It should empart the character of the player. A beautiful cue, maintained in perfect condition and treated with respect shows a lot about the player that possesses it.

We can all see things in our lives that are above the level of requirement, yet we still indulge as that is our response to our want over need. We can't really expect that a pro would be any different.

Look at a pro hockey player. A stick is a stick, yet many pro's use $300 sticks that don't finish the game because they feel that is the one for them. If given the chance many professionals take the best they care given, while others have a more humble level of requirement to satisfy themselves.

 

[Flex]

ok I disagree. the performance of a cheap players cue compared to even something around the $300 mark is night and day.

That hasn't been my experience. My beat up Excalibur sneaky pete purchased new on eBay for $15 a couple of years ago plays light years better than an older Meucci that looks 10 times better. That Meucci went for about $350 new.

However, I have another Excalibur sneaky in the same weight as the first one, both are full splice cues, that doesn't play as well.

Not so simple as one might think.

Flex

 

[JCIN]

So take a $40 Players cue, it has a decent LePro on it, its stright, and there you go. I'm not talking about Bar or house cues here, but it would be fun to see someone own a Pro with a cheap stick.

Why?

Pro's don't get to be pro's because of the cue they play with. Alot of the Pro's who do play with High $ cues, have them so beat and dinged up (from playing with them) they would need to be refinished and have new shafts made just to get anything out of them. Take a look at Chohan's South West some time.

It ain't like these guys are running around with Gina Rasputin break cues to go with their diamond encrusted Joss West. I can't really think of too many guys who use a cue that would cost over $2000. Many play with cues that can be had for far less.

 

[Flex]

Ok,ok I agree with that because I just bought a McDermott and it players a heck of a lot better than the Players. But the pro's are spending thousands, why can't they get something that is just plain...no inlays, and around 300 bucks. I guess if you have the money spend it, but again it would be cool to see someone use a plain old cue.

Some people like plain, I'm one of them, although I really admire beautiful cues as well. In my hands those beautiful cues wouldn't look so great after a few months of me inadvertently banging and dinging them. I'd worry about hurting the cue, or its finish, wouldn't want that. And that would affect my game.

Flex

 

[Flex]

When Efren Reyes first came to the U.S. and played under an assumed name he used a Pool Cue that literally sold for $15. This man is an exception of course, but he still doesn't use a flashy cue even though he has his choice of any cue he wants.

So you really think the cue Effren is using in this picture is plain? By the way, that picture is on the Capone custom cue website. Here's their link:
http://www.caponecues.com/showarticle.php?articleID=3

 

[cigardave]

I always said that the guy with the most expensive cue never wins the tournament.

I agree... but imo, that's because the better pool players at a tournament rarely have the money to spend on an expensive cue ($2000+)... they're usually trying to make the rent and grocery money for the month... while the so-so shooter that has a good-paying job does have the money for that expensive cue... that is, if he/she wants to spend their money in that direction.

 

[jimmy-leggs]

speaking of expensive cues,the one that will change your game forever.i've got a longoni collection lux for sale. check out for- sale section. sorry,couldnt resist.

 

[desi2960]

how you look

you can get to the pool hall driving a pinto or driving a porsche. bottom line is, in either, you are going to be there at the end of the drive. it just depends on how you want to look getting there.

 

[Big Perm]

All the pro's use a very high class cue, I know they get them for free because they are sponsored, but is it really necessary? The idea that they are giving the smaller pool players is that you need a really expensive cue to be the best. I would love to see one of the pro's use a cheap Players cue or something, and just kick butt! I know they could, they just like all the expensive inlays and custom crap.

Feel free to disagree...

I agree

Yes, if a pro player had a really quality house cue, played with it all the time, and had confidence in the cue, they would do just as well.....like golf clubs, the most important thing is that the instrument fits your eye and you feel it will get the job done.....if you feel you need a $5k cue to win, then you probably do.....if you like basic cues, then you'll probably play better with them....personally, I like basic 4-point style cues with clean lines, but that is just me...... and I still lose more often than I'd like

 

[seymore15074]

Ok,ok I agree with that because I just bought a McDermott and it players a heck of a lot better than the Players. But the pro's are spending thousands, why can't they get something that is just plain...no inlays, and around 300 bucks. I guess if you have the money spend it, but again it would be cool to see someone use a plain old cue.

Just as an example, if a car-company was going to give you a free car, and they ask what do you want, are you really going to say "give me the base-model?"

 

[Flex]

Just as an example, if a car-company was going to give you a free car, and they ask what do you want, are you really going to say "give me the base-model?"

Good point.

For me the base model in cues is probably a graphite cue. Sure don't like those.

Next up might be a cue that is so plain that it is painted green, or red, or something like that.

Then maybe a decalled cue, perhaps a Cuetec or Scorpion.

But a plain cue isn't one of the aforementioned cues, IMHO. A plain cue is something on the order of a sneaky pete. Sneakies can look plenty good, depending on the grain in the butt, and the color.

Full splice sneakies are plenty good.

Add a wrap to the sneaky, say a stack leather wrap and it gets better, but doesn't necessarily reach the flashy stage, but some of them can be plenty flashy.

Above that come the inlays, ivory, etc. etc. etc...

Give me the classic lines of a four or six pointer with a nice wrap, preferably leather, a good milk dud tip, and I'm ready to roll.

Flex

 

[RBLilly]

Just as an example, if a car-company was going to give you a free car, and they ask what do you want, are you really going to say "give me the base-model?"

I would tell them I want the most reliable exotic thing they have!

Then I would probably sell it!!!! LOL

 

[8-Ball Player]

I agree

Yes, if a pro player had a really quality house cue, played with it all the time, and had confidence in the cue, they would do just as well.....like golf clubs, the most important thing is that the instrument fits your eye and you feel it will get the job done.....if you feel you need a $5k cue to win, then you probably do.....if you like basic cues, then you'll probably play better with them....personally, I like basic 4-point style cues with clean lines, but that is just me...... and I still lose more often than I'd like

Yes, I love the clean lines also, I'm more of a contemporary kind of guy, none of this frilly, fancy, lacy crap, give me something simple and clean.