Starter Cue?

B

Bill Yerd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You really shouldn't spend over $50 or $60 for a Starter Cue if money is a consideration.
If money is no consideration then you should purchase something like a Gina or Boti.
Calling a $250 to $400 Joss a Starter Cue is like calling a $100k Benz a Starter Car.
Az members, for the most part, are into high priced cues much more than the average player.
Most billiard players consider a $250 to $400 or so cue, a dream cue or a once in a life time purchase or possiblywould never consider a cue over $100 or so.
A player that is one ball better than me with the best playing cue in the world will still be one ball better than me with a decent house cue while I get to play with any cue of my choice.
If money is important, get the best $50 or $60 cue you can find and put a super soft or soft Kamui Black on it and go beat the pants off some players with some expensive cues.
 
Good info. Everyone should read. Good perspective to consider.

Webb's Billiards Supply
Mobile App - Tapatalk Red
 
Whoops, Sorry.

mel_smOg said:
wrong section???//
Click to expand...

I thought I was posting in the main forum.
It was sort of a rebuttal to a previous poster referring to a $250 to 4 or $500 cue being a Starter Cue.
How do I move the thread to the main forum?
I think it's important info for players looking for a Starter Cue as does Webb Billiards:thumbup:
It's not me, but I bet there is at least one azbilliards member who plays well enough to use their choice of a $60 retail value cue and their choice of tip and give the second best playing Az member a run for there money.
I believe that in the hands of those two top skilled players that the "price is no object" cue user might pocket 1% or maybe 2% more shots.
Ill admit that less than 1% is all it takes to win a match or tournament. That's why it's worth an extra few grand for the top players to use multi thousand dollar cues.
If bang for your buck is a concern, then it's not worth spending 100 times as much or so to get a hypothetical 1% to 2% make percentage.
1% to 2% is just a guesstimate. The maximum in my mind would be like 5% or 1 out of every 20 shots attempted. That's stretching it.
Realize we are not talking about the worst cue in the world vs the best cue. We are talking a respectably playable $60 cue with the players choice of tip and top notch players.
I wish I was that player.
 
Perhaps the mods will move this thread for you.

Personally, I think there certainly is a place for the value priced cues. I believe it is perfectly reasonable to get a cue for under $100, even well under $100, that can serve quite well for a starter cue. In fact, I have known many players who could not play up to the level of the cue they had anyway.

Too often the quick response is that such cues are "junk" and that the person considering one should just save their money up for something better. Quite simply I think that is mostly BS.

I do support the cue makers, the guys that turn wood and make dust. But the plain fact is that for many players such a cue just won't be an option, even a lower priced "custom" option blows the budget for a lot of people.

I personally have a number of "cheap" cues and have fun quasi-collecting a couple product lines. It's just for shits and giggles because I can't afford the cues I would really like. Sure I could sell all of them and buy one cue...but that just wouldn't be fun for me. I have bought cues for as little as $2.00, in fact the one I bought for $2.00 is an Abe Rich cue. Now that's fun.

In general I also see numerous reasonable responses when people ask for advice about low priced cues. Usually a couple people will chime in and say "save your money, don't buy junk", but that is easily ignored I think.

Lastly, if one really does want a "custom" made by a cue maker and does not have much money, just find a decent Valley Supreme or Dufferin...there are plenty around still, and have it converted to a sneaky. If you go to your local cue maker you will find it can generally be done pretty inexpensively. Then you have a great cue and a new relationship with a cue maker that can maintain it for you and maybe, just maybe, you will actually decide to move up to a more sophisticated cue and that cue maker will be there for you.

There are numerous inexpensive options and they need not put aside the notion of the local cue maker. It's hard to argue with a good sneaky with a properly set up shaft.

As for the JOSS option that was mentioned by the OP. I got my first JOSS for $35.00 with a Fellini case back in 1985. It might be worth a grand now and was certainly worth more than $35.00 back then. I have two other JOSS cues from post-2000 that I got for less than $100 each in great condition. The reality is that a little patience and some time on Craigs list, Ebay, Goodwill's web site, garage sales, pawn shops, local flea markets, and AZB can yield surprising results. If somebody really wants a JOSS or something of that level, then they can be had at bargain prices. Patience is all that is required.

I do realize that even my lower end JOSS cues are dream cues for some people just as a Mottey or Szam is a dream cue for me. That notion is not lost on me. Same for my Meucci Original, antique Brunswick, Espiritu, and others.



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I try to help people get the kind of cue they want within their budget. In most cases, I'll play with the price to get them the most for their money. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to want and not be able to afford it. My dad wanted a Meucci all his life, and when I started this business I bought him the one he wanted. I'm in business for profit like anyone else, but I get personal pleasure in helping people get something they will enjoy.

Webb's Billiards Supply
Mobile App - Tapatalk Red
 
I think that if you are too cheap to buy a cue for more than 60-80 dollars I doubt that you are going to pay 30-40 for a Kamui tip install. Many of the league players I know 50 plus is the bar tab at the end of the night. Pool halls are around 8.00 an hour. 200.00 is about right for an entry level cue thats any good
 
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my .02

You have to think about it this way, and ask yourself the questions:...are you an avid player, do you love the game, do you see yourself playing forever, a long time, do you enjoy the art of the pool cue

If you answer yes to all then spend the $$ dont look back and get something to grow into, and get it made for you....go to a show like Valley forge or fourkings cues upcoming show and test drive some cues and bring a pocket full of cash!
 
A joss starter cue is much more like a Honda than a Benz. I think you should at least refer to a $1000 cue as a Benz and even then it's only a base model. And throwing a kbss on it is like throwing flat tires on it, you would be better off playing with whatever crappy tip came on it or switch to a triangle or
Something decent for much less!
 
jgobigred said:
A joss starter cue is much more like a Honda than a Benz. I think you should at least refer to a $1000 cue as a Benz and even then it's only a base model. And throwing a kbss on it is like throwing flat tires on it, you would be better off playing with whatever crappy tip came on it or switch to a triangle or
Something decent for much less!
Click to expand...

In Europe they use Mercedes for Taxi cabs.

It's all a matter of perspective I guess.


And for some people, a new Honda may as well be a Benz.
 
chuckpilegis said:
I think that if you are too cheap to buy a cue for more than 60-80 dollars I doubt that you are going to pay 30-40 for a Kamui tip install. Many of the league players I know 50 plus is the bar tab at the end of the night. Pool halls are around 8.00 an hour. 200.00 is about right for an entry level cue thats any good
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I've never paid 200 for a cue that I can think of...including four JOSS, an Espirutu (not a plain jane, a four point with ring work), and others.

And I put my own tips on. :thumbup:

There are many cues sold here on AZB for under $200 that IMHO are good cues. Perhaps such cues should be banned? JOSS, Huebler, Meucci Original, McDermott (even D series), Viking, and others. Even some "customs" under $200.

I have seen sales on the open market within the last 9 months for under $100.00 that include JOSS (even classic JOSS), Huebler, Meucci Original, Doc Fry, third catalog Palmer, Tim Scruggs, Schon and others. Yes, I aid under $100.00.

All it takes is patience and watching.

Personally, I don't think any of those cues is a poor starter cue.
 
I think banning the meucci cues is a good idea so everyone can at least start off with a decent cue!
 
I heard about a guy from somewhere, not sure, maybe the Philippines....
played with a $15 dollar cue, and did pretty well I'm told. I think he actually won a few tournaments....... :grin:

Spend what YOU want on a cue. There are lots and lots of good players playing with cheap cues. If you're not comfortable spending a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand on a cue, then don't. Just don't think for a nano-second that a $50 cue is anything but a $50 cue....;)
 
Whether the cue costs $40, $400 or $4,000, buy the cue that:

1. Gives you confidence at the table
2. You can afford
3. Looks like it will last for years to come

Trying to shoehorn other folks into your material preferences, definitions of value and/or worth is just doing them a disservice IMO.

Patrick
 
Years ago, I purchased my first cue from Paul Huebler, spent pretty good money for it back then which would probably be like buying a $ 250.00 cue today. Since I lucked out a bought a solid first cue that I could use, two things happened. The cue i bought could perform the shots that I was watching and learning from the better players and the bonus is that I still have it. I can pull the cue from it's storage case and still shoot with it. My opinion only, buy a good solid cue for $ 250.00 with a five year plan of using it. What's the difference, $ 50.00 per year for a cue that is "what do you expect" for $ 50.00 or a keepsake of a instrument that is going to perform consistently while you learn the game. My opinion only, but move up a bit. If your going to go cheap, go to walmart, buy a sportscraft and throw the thing away and buy a new one every few months ??, does not make sense to me. I do respect everyone's opinion here and I think they really hate to see you go $ 500.00 and up on a cue before you know if the game is something your going to latch onto. But, since your even posting a question here, I believe your wanting to give it a good shot and again, my opinion is finding a good solid cue.
 
Chopdoc said:
I've never paid 200 for a cue that I can think of...including four JOSS, an Espirutu (not a plain jane, a four point with ring work), and others.

And I put my own tips on. :thumbup:

There are many cues sold here on AZB for under $200 that IMHO are good cues. Perhaps such cues should be banned? JOSS, Huebler, Meucci Original, McDermott (even D series), Viking, and others. Even some "customs" under $200.

I have seen sales on the open market within the last 9 months for under $100.00 that include JOSS (even classic JOSS), Huebler, Meucci Original, Doc Fry, third catalog Palmer, Tim Scruggs, Schon and others. Yes, I aid under $100.00.

All it takes is patience and watching.

Personally, I don't think any of those cues is a poor starter cue.
Click to expand...

Where did you see a Scruggs sell for under $100?
 
The more you play with the same cue, the more consistent you will become. This is the essential reason for a starter cue. Most of my customers are working full time jobs, have kids to raise and bills to pay. On average here in the south, yearly pay is around $30,000. Breaking that down to about $500 a week before taxes, then bills and food, fuel, and everything else a family needs. The majority of my best customers play several times a week in tournaments and just having fun. So to say you need a pocket full of cash to enjoy the game, or be serious about it is nonsense. If you can afford to pay $150 for designer jeans, good for you, but my $25 pair fits just fine. Seeing some of the rudeness and smug comments reminds me of high-school drama, where the rich popular kids would make fun of the poor kids for not having good stuff. If you truly love this game, and want people just starting to get serious about it to be better, don't look down on them for what they can afford, but help them with knowledge and give them encouragement.
 
+1 wish i could give you more respect for that post those are the most honorable words Ive seen/heard in a very long time. Wish I could buy something from you just because you said that but unfortunately I was one of those poor kids :/
 
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