Stop Calling A Custom A Sneaky Pete

Bob 14:1 said:
It should appear just the same as any other of the house cues in that hall.

It's a two piece since during hard times, a guy could ride the bus to the pool hall to make a bit of change without it poking another person in eye and just overall easier to transport. Perhaps a better tip.

It could also be stored in a pool hall locker or back room, etc., and used in games, but nobody was any the wiser that the sneaky looked the same, but was straight and had a smooth shaft.
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I almost had my arm broken over a SP. I left the bar with it and this big bar maid (Like 250 lb's) grabbed me in the parking lot taking me down to the ground. She thought I had stolen a cue. I thought she was going to kill me over the cue as I am trying to show her it unscrews and isn't their cue.

Rocky Tillis had made me this cue and it really looked like a one piece cue. Black ferrule and house cue bumper, even the grain lined up at the joint.
I had to keep the joint area clean otherwise you would get a dirt ring that could be seen. Beyond that you had to hold it up to your eye to detect the joint.
 
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Johnnyt said:
A SP was a one piece cue off the wall cut in half and made into a 2 piece that when put together you had to look real close the see where it went together. It did not have a wrap or pretty little inserts in it.

Maybe 50 years ago they would fool a few, but today everyone has a 2 piece cue. Weather there a 2 ball runner or a 100 ball runner. Sorry...end of rant. Johnnyt
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What should i call my Scruggs? Scruggs2 (2).jpg
 
While I do agree with some comments about the Sneaky Pete but here is my take. Words and terms evolved over time. The Sneaky Pete evolved to anything resembling a house cue, custom or not.

The Sneaky Pete have also given their owners a bad reputation witch comes with ownership. For example, if a guy brought out a SP and wanted to play for money, I would tell him, "get out of here, who do you think you are fooling."

Also, SP owners are actually hustlers or wanna-be hustlers. By using a SP, is like saying "I am better than you and I don't need a fancier cue."

If people are willing to spend all that money for a custom SP, at least puts some dings and dents on it so it actually look like a house cue.
 
mortuarymike-nv said:
This all so funny, everyone has a different opinion on what is a sneaky Pete or what is not.

The cue suppliers and the cue makers dictate what the cue is called................

Who do you think invented the Hoppie ? the player or the cue maker ?

There are sneaky Pete's made from bar cues and their are sneaky petes made with snake wood and ivory...

Its a style and until you invent or make your own cues you guys are stuck with what the cue makers and suppliers want to call them.

Regardless what you think is a real sneaky Pete or not , the cue makers and cue suppliers will call it what they want and sale it under that name.

This like debating what a true wrapless is.
I do a stacked leather wrap with a hard smooth finish over it.
The finish is so hard and smooth you cannot tell there is leather under it, so is a wrapless or a stacked leather wrap ?
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Can we call the cues made with snake wood and ivory, just 'Pete'

So you have your Sneaky Pete's and then you just have Pete.
 
A true Sneaky Pete is a collarless converted house cue. Made specifically to be almost undetected by the drunken gambler, or unsuspecting mark. Hence the fact it is called Sneaky.

Any cue that has collars, rings, butt cap etc.. is a players cue or a custom conversion.

JV
 
Tramp Steamer said:
I never said they would play better, and I never said they were actually needed. What I said was, people who own a Sneaky Pete are too cheap to by something fancier. :smile:
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Or maybe they are just like me like the look of a sneaky Pete. I've had plenty of fancy cues.. Now I like the simple look of a sneaky. That's not cheap... It's personal taste
 
poQet trainer said:
it's pretty obvious that its now just a name to describe a design style of cue. you don't expect a butterfly cue to fly away do you? or store objects in a box cue. it's not that serious.
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This is funny. :grin:

I do see Johnny's point, however, and I agree that it's just a little silly to call cues that aren't sneaky, sneakies.

They sure have made it easy though, that when someone refers to a fancy sneaky, I'll have a pretty good idea what it's gonna look like before clicking the picture. :wink:

best,
brian kc
 
classiccues said:
A true Sneaky Pete is a collarless converted house cue. Made specifically to be almost undetected by the drunken gambler, or unsuspecting mark. Hence the fact it is called Sneaky.

Any cue that has collars, rings, butt cap etc.. is a players cue or a custom conversion.

JV
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This ^^^

How can you call a cue with plastic or steel joints and a wrap of any kind a SP? Cue makers can call their cues anything they want but they're still not SPs. You can call a heifer a race horse and she's still a heifer.
 
Doesn't matter because it is still called a sneaky pete.

Like I said, terms and names evolve. Cues are easily and readily available just by calling a cue maker or buying a cue off the shelf. If it is a sneaky Pete than it is a sneaky Pete.

Nobody, in this day and age, are going to pull a house cue off the wall and chop it in half to fool anyone.

I would suggest buying a Sneaky Pete from a manufacturer regardless if it has a butt cap or joints.
 
In casual conversation Keith used to refer to his as Custom Sneaky's but they're actually Exotic Wood Full Splice Cues ( categorized that way on his website )...
 
Heck, if you go into some Dave N Busters, their house cues have purple forearms and green forearms with no points.

Since those are house cues, we can call them sneakies too.
 
dom_poppa said:
Heck, if you go into some Dave N Busters, their house cues have purple forearms and green forearms with no points.

Since those are house cues, we can call them sneakies too.
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I have a couple of customs in my wallrack. Those are obviously now called "house cues" as well.
 
What Trob said... I just like the look of a simple cue. Mine is a Lucasi LZ2000SP. No experienced pool player would mistake it for a house cue.
 
trob said:
Or maybe they are just like me like the look of a sneaky Pete. I've had plenty of fancy cues.. Now I like the simple look of a sneaky. That's not cheap... It's personal taste
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Yeah, I know. I was just jerking his chain. :)
 
FranCrimi said:
A Sneaky Pete is a cue designed to fool the average Joe into thinking that it's a house cue. That was always the intent of the name and still is today. It's designed for luring the poor unknowing player with limited skills into a game.

It's not meant to fool people in the know.
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Nope, that is what it use to be. The name has evolved into a specific design of cue. Just like many other things that were called something or another at one time, but kept the original name even though it has "evolved" over the decades.
 
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