The "Tragedy" of the jump cue?

Jump Cues

  • Greatest addition to the game ever!

    Votes: 8 3.7%
  • Acceptible addition

    Votes: 93 42.7%
  • Neutral

    Votes: 24 11.0%
  • Shouldn't be a part of the game.

    Votes: 93 42.7%

  • Total voters
    218
  • Poll closed .
inthezone said:
Besides, anything that makes pool more exciting to watch we shouldn't be too hasty to dis....

I think tough kicks are far more impressive, and people I know who are not pool players seem to think so too from what I've seen.
 
By looking at the poll numbers I have come to a conclusion. The voters that want to ban jump cues have probably lost to someone who uses one and does not want the ban. Is that close?

I got my butt chewed by Earl Strickland in Vegas because I made some jump cues. He got beat by a jump shot in his lastest match. He was going on and on about how they have ruined the game. I guarantee that he would pull one out and use it if it meant winning a match.
 
ratcues said:
By looking at the poll numbers I have come to a conclusion. The voters that want to ban jump cues have probably lost to someone who uses one and does not want the ban. Is that close?

Not even. I just think it makes it too easy with a jump cue. When I began jumping balls, there were no jump cues. I don't own one.
By the way, I got a look at one of your cues a few months back, and was impressed.
 
Snapshot9 said:
In fact, I have found myself wanting to carry 2 jumpers, 1 for real close-ups and another for all other jumps with perhaps better control.
And I just pendulum stroke, but I am going to practice the dart stroke

I don't carry two jumpers... I do have a nice jump cue which I use for most full ball jumps.

But I use my break cue (which has phelonic tip) on long jumps where the object ball is 6ft+ and the impeeding ball isn't too close OR it isn't a full ball jump but accuracy is needed.

Then there are the half or quarter ball jumps that I just use my playing cue (medium tip) for where most people don't even realize I did a jump shot because it is only an inch at most in the air.

Chris
 
I use a jump cue simply because it allows me to make shots I can not make with a full cue, and if I don't my opponent will.

That being said, I spent a long time learning how to jump proficiently with a full length and weight cue. I still prefer to use my playing cue to make most jump shots, but when things tighten up, I know I can pull the short monster out of the bag and at least get a hit, if not make the shot.

Last night I played in leagues, and played a guy that couldn't get out of a wet paper bag, but he could jump.

All jump cues are is extra money for everyone to spend so that mediocre to plain bad players can make shots not normally possible for them. As a result, tables suffer everywhere. Every jump shot destroys the cloth where the ball smashes it into the slate.

If they banned them I would gladly burn mine.
 
We know that you can't realistically make it illegal to jump - as one poster said, to get over 1/8 of a ball, he just jacks up a bit and hits it firm and no one even knows it was a jump. The cb is airborne a lot more than most realize.

Jumping with a full cue requires a very different technique and is much harder on the cloth. Grand masse shots are allowed and they are probably harder on the cloth/table than anything.

How do you disallow jump cues? What defines a jump cue - its length?
It is not that it's shorter but that it's lighter that makes it easier to jump close.

If you disallow phenolic tips and insist on leather only, there are ways to make leather just as hard as phenolic.

I say leave it alone - I prefer less rules and restrictions rather than more.
 
I play with a guy here in town that will not gamble with you if you use a jump cue. He plays about 4-5 hours a day and is retired. He practices two, three, and four rail kicks contantly. I play a few hours a week, I like the jump I think it adds piazza to the game. I think the kicks add old school style. The jump shot is he to stay, you have a right not to like it, just don't complain about it when you get beat by it. By the way the guy I'm talking about will save you to death even if he has a easy run out. I think he does it just to get under your skin when shooting against him.
 
Most likely the ones that don't like/want jump-cues are the older players. I had one in my hands once and was going to buy it...then I handed it back to him.No new tricks for me. If I had played in a lot of tournaments I'm sure I would have had one. Johnnyt
 
ratcues said:
By looking at the poll numbers I have come to a conclusion. The voters that want to ban jump cues have probably lost to someone who uses one and does not want the ban. Is that close?

I got my butt chewed by Earl Strickland in Vegas because I made some jump cues. He got beat by a jump shot in his lastest match. He was going on and on about how they have ruined the game. I guarantee that he would pull one out and use it if it meant winning a match.

I hate to admit it but I'm guilty of this. I carry a jump stick but I'm not that proficient with it and would rather kick at a ball for the most part. Unfortunately I've been beaten by a jump cue more often than it's saved the game for me. It sucks when you put somebody in jail and they pull one out and make a hit or the shot. Just my old school crotchety self not getting with the times I guess.
 
ratcues said:
By looking at the poll numbers I have come to a conclusion. The voters that want to ban jump cues have probably lost to someone who uses one and does not want the ban. Is that close?

I got my butt chewed by Earl Strickland in Vegas because I made some jump cues. He got beat by a jump shot in his lastest match. He was going on and on about how they have ruined the game. I guarantee that he would pull one out and use it if it meant winning a match.

That is for sure, he was jumping with his shooting cue before many of the other pros back in the 80's.:)
 
SphinxnihpS said:
I use a jump cue simply because it allows me to make shots I can not make with a full cue, and if I don't my opponent will.

So, if you are faced with a shot where your choice is to jump or kick, your opponent will take the shot for you and jump it if you don't?

That being said, I spent a long time learning how to jump proficiently with a full length and weight cue. I still prefer to use my playing cue to make most jump shots, but when things tighten up, I know I can pull the short monster out of the bag and at least get a hit, if not make the shot.

So, you prefer to use the tool that you are most comfortable with for the range of shots you know it works for and you use another tool for the shots that are beyond that range? Did you know that some "full length and weight cues" are better suited to jumping than others? You can take the jump shot that you feel most comfortable with and I guarantee you I can hand you a two cues off the rack and unmodifed in the slightest which you will have radically different performances with. One you will be able to jump almost effortlessly, that is if you have the developed skill you say you do, and with the other you will struggle to make the jump shot. What do these two cues have to do with your skill? One allows you greater use of it and the other restricts what you can do with your skill level.

Let me put this another way. Let's say that you have developed yourself into the greatest shotmaker on earth. You can make any shot from anywhere. What if I put a tip on your cue that reduces your shotmaking by 50%. Would that be fair?

A jump cue is simply a tool, like the tip, which allows the person with the greatest skill the opportunity to exercise it.


Last night I played in leagues, and played a guy that couldn't get out of a wet paper bag, but he could jump.

You played a person who has invested more time in developing one aspect of his game to the detriment of others. I can make the same statement about the guy who can draw his ball two table lengths but can't run three balls.

All jump cues are is extra money for everyone to spend so that mediocre to plain bad players can make shots not normally possible for them.

Are you saying that the range of shots possible with a jump cue are possible for above average to pro players without a jump cue? If so then I will be glad to wager a substantial sum of money to disprove that view.

As a result, tables suffer everywhere. Every jump shot destroys the cloth where the ball smashes it into the slate.

No it does not. Sorry, but I have done more jump shots and jump exhibitions than anyone on this forum. I have proved to room owners time and time again that jump shots do not ruin the cloth. The occasional jump shot does not harm the cloth at all. Practicing jump shots for an hour in one spot tamps the cloth down but does not break the fiber. The white spots that one sees from jump shots are there because the cloth is tamped down and the fiber reflects light at a different angle. When the table is cleaned with a damp cloth the fiber restores and the spots are gone. On top of that the cloth gets a different level of compression depending on the type of cueball used. Some cueballs leave quite bright marks and others leave very faint ones. Every shot played on a pool table drives the cue into the cloth because every shot is approached with a cue that is not level with the slate bed.

If they banned them I would gladly burn mine.

Why don't you burn yours now? No one is forcing you to use it. No is forcing you to use chalk on your cue. No one is twisting your arm to learn to kick or draw your ball. You don't absolutely have to jump. You can forgo the range of shots that a jump cue gives you. There is no rule that says you must take the correct shot.
 
Johnnyt said:
Most likely the ones that don't like/want jump-cues are the older players. I had one in my hands once and was going to buy it...then I handed it back to him.No new tricks for me. If I had played in a lot of tournaments I'm sure I would have had one. Johnnyt

I disagree. I have sold many hundreds of jump cues to older players who were delighted to have a new skill to use. Many of these folks were happy to get the stoke lesson that came with the cue and thanked me for improving their game overall.

John
 
jimmymac said:
I play with a guy here in town that will not gamble with you if you use a jump cue. He plays about 4-5 hours a day and is retired. He practices two, three, and four rail kicks contantly. I play a few hours a week, I like the jump I think it adds piazza to the game. I think the kicks add old school style. The jump shot is he to stay, you have a right not to like it, just don't complain about it when you get beat by it. By the way the guy I'm talking about will save you to death even if he has a easy run out. I think he does it just to get under your skin when shooting against him.

Then I'd offer to play him Grady's Rules. If you don't run out when it's your turn at the table it's ball in hand for the opponent. We'll see what the size of his cohones are then. No jump cues and no safeties, either intentional or accidental.
 
Takumi4G63 said:
I think tough kicks are far more impressive, and people I know who are not pool players seem to think so too from what I've seen.

What defines a tough kick? And how do people who don't play pool know the difference enough to appreciate it.

I have been to PRO tournaments, both men's and womens, where the knowledgeable audience goes nuts hollering and cheering after a successful jump shot yet gives an obviously less enthusiastic show of appreciation for successful kick shots.

The "shot of the match" is often a jump shot.

And what is a successful kick shot anyway? Is it making the ball? Is it hitting the ball?
 
I voted against the jump cue. I wouldnt vote against the jump shot, but use your playing cue or break cue without breaking them down. Im not a fan of phenolic tips either. Guess I am just a traditonalist. A properly executed kick is alot more satisfying to me than a jump.
 
John Barton said:
I disagree. I have sold many hundreds of jump cues to older players who were delighted to have a new skill to use. Many of these folks were happy to get the stoke lesson that came with the cue and thanked me for improving their game overall.

John

A lot of players in their late 50's may have grown up playing a game which did not really see the need or use of a jump cue, but they have come to appreciate jump shot through watching pro events. They are also very excited that they now, can also jump the ball when they are hooked, much like the pros they see on TV.

I have sold a lot of X Breakers to players over 45 years of age. When I met them again in trade shows, they would bring their friends over, refer them to buy a X Breaker. Guess what, the first thing they said, they told their friends to try the jump, to see how easy it is. Usually, the cue is sold after that.:)

I have sold a X Breaker to a gentleman who could not raise his arm too high, he was in his late 50's. He has been playing the game all his life, but his injury had stopped him to play lots of shots that he could have otherwise made.

He never had a break cue before, because he grew up playing straight pool. He needed to play 8 and 9 ball in his league and his break is always letting him down.

He was also very frustrated that his opponent can jump out of hooks, but he couldn't.

Well, he was very pleased with his X Breaker. I met him again in Valley Firge, and he took another friend with him, also a gemtleman in his late 50's, and purchased a X Breaker from me. :)

A lot of people think jump cue and jump break cues are for the younger players, but my experience has shown that to be incorrect.

Richard
 
I have always been on the fence with this issue, but all I know is we are going to Vegas because I used my jumper in a hill match to make the eight last Sunday. And the crowd went wild when it went in, I can only guess that the reaction was impart to the spectacle of the jump shot for all the coin, long live the jump cue ! :D
 
New Jump Cue!

I have been using a Bunjee jump cue that I bought a long time ago and it was my trusted friend despite the beating it has taken over the years. Recently I won a break challenge at a local tourney and was given a new Bunjee cue with a phenolic composite tip. Loved it. Now I have just gotten my cue back from Don at DB Custom Cues (Awesome work. Awesome guy.) and I bought a custom Predator jump cue. The butt of the jumper is the same as my Predator playing cue (old 314-5 which now is stack wrapped and looking brand new) and the shaft is a custom made by Don. I am an alright jumper...this thing is incredible. I could jump shots underhanded that I was having to use the dart stroke for with every other cue I have tried. I would easily compare it to my friends X-Breaker! Anyone who likes their jump cues and wants to try something different and highly functional...please call Don. Last night was my first night with that jump cue and after about 4 hours at the pool hall I have about 5-10 friends that will be placing orders when Don is back from the Canadian 8 Ball Championships.
 
Wow, close vote. The No's took the lead again. With the power of AZB, we are close to banning the jump cue!
 
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