Two playing cues during the SAME GAME??

[8-ball Rat]

All,

Saw something last night that was a first for me.......a guy who used two cues during the same game.

I'm up in Boston, and got a chance to play at Country Club USA for awhile. While there, I saw a guy using two different cues during the same match.

I asked him about it, and he told me that he uses one cue for "straight draw, stop-shot, and follow" shots....and a different cue for any shot requiring enlish or cut-shot type situations. He says the two cues play and feel differently, and swapping between the two works best for him, depending on the situation he's in.

Anybody ever hear of this?? Anybody do it, themselves??

Just figured I'd throw it out there. I've never seen it done, but I can't imagine this guy is the ONLY one to ever do it.

Insights are appreciated.

Rat

As an aside....I was able to hang out and play a bit with Guycrunch up here. REALLY nice guy, alot of fun to shoot the B.S. with...and has some pretty stellar cues, too!!

 

[BazookaJoe]

I know Efren has a regular cue
a long cue for reach shots
and a short cue for shooting over balls
and almost everyone has a jump cue and a break cue now

I can't imagine switching cues for any other reason

 

[8-ball Rat]

I know Efren has a regular cue
a long cue for reach shots
and a short cue for shooting over balls
and almost everyone has a jump cue and a break cue now

I can't imagine switching cues for any other reason

Yeah,

I can understand the whole Break/Jump cue thing (although I don't use one, personally)....but I've NEVER seen a guy use two "regular" playing cues in the same game.

Swapping from one to the other, in the middle of a match, I can understand.....but having a dedicated "straight shot" cue....and a dedicated "cut shot" cue is pretty unique to me.

 

[Mystick Cue Fan]

Yeah,

I can understand the whole Break/Jump cue thing (although I don't use one, personally)....but I've NEVER seen a guy use two "regular" playing cues in the same game.

Swapping from one to the other, in the middle of a match, I can understand.....but having a dedicated "straight shot" cue....and a dedicated "cut shot" cue is pretty unique to me.

how good does he play?

 

[8-ball Rat]

how good does he play?

Not really sure...I was doing my own thing at my table. I paid more attention to him moving back and forth from his table to his cue case...but didn't really watch him "play." Seemed to know his way around the table..and I only saw him miss one shot....but no clue how good he was.

 

[BazookaJoe]

Maybe he's just a cue nut who is trying to justify the expense to his wife.

 

[Kevin Lindstrom]

maybe

I have thought of doing this myself, just didn't want people to think I was nuts or carrying my golf game into my pool game. Granted I would only have 3 cues as apposed to the 13 clubs I carry in my golf bag. The second playing cue would only be used for long straight in shots. This stick would have a 13mm ferrule and shaft and my main playing cue has a 12.35mm ferrule and shaft. I only think of doing this when I am struggling to make long straight in shots.

 

[bells]

how good does he play?

I have seen someone change playing cues back and fourth during a match before and I thought it was stupid. The player who swtiched cues was a poor player. I think I would focus on learning better fundamentals to achieve desired results with just 1 cue.

 

[CaptainHook]

I remember seeing this during an IPT broadcast. I don't remember who was playing.

 

[Slider]

I saw Grady Mathews using two cues in an old "Legends of One-Pocket" tournament. IIRC, the commentator said that Grady used the alternate cue for inside english shots.

Ken

 

[rackem]

I Break with a Dymondwood cue that I can play with also. If I make a ball sometimes I will just continue to shoot with it until for one reason or the other I decide to switch to my shooting cue with Predator and Morri. Heck this Tuesday in league I made 2 solids on the break and didn't think about it till I was on the 8. I was a foot away straight in 2" off long way down the rail. Wasn't gonna switch then. Made it ! Really boosted my team especially after their leadoff had beat ours with an 8 on the snap
Tribute Photos

 

[socks]

especially with all the different low and high deflection shafts out there now and variations of balance points and tapers and tip hardnesses, etc, i could see this becoming more common place, because its deffinatly easier than unscrewing your shaft and putting a new one on every other shot. though i don't do it other than having dedicated break and jump cues.

 

[twilight]

There is a guy at my hall that shoots league that does this. I don't shoot league but I regularly shoot on the nights the league plays. He's asked to play me several times and I can give him the 7 and I'm not that great. He's actually got 3 cues that he switches back and forth on, plus a house cue to break with. As far as I know, one is a normal weight for playing, one is a lighter cue for delicate shots, and the other one has something about the tip that puts more draw on the ball, don't know why he needs them all, I don't talk to him much.

More than one cue might not be a bad idea. Golfers have tons of Clubs, it might not hurt to shoot with 2 cues. I mean we've gone from 1 cue and have expanded to break cues and jump cues. Why not a second player? Personally I would just have different shafts instead of different cues but that's time consuming, and unscrewing a cue in mid game could be seen as concession.

 

[Stones]

A couple of years ago at the state 9 ball championships, one guy brought 6 cues to the table for his match.

I would have asked but he had a look in his eyes that made me think he saw music and heard colors.

To each, their own, I guess.

Stones

 

[rackem]

I am not sure about other leagues but i believe in APA it is illegal to switch playing cues during a game. Breaking cue being excluded.

 

[TheBook]

I always thought that is why cues come with two shafts. One shaft for right handed shots and the other for left handed shots.

 

[poolcuemaster]

I could use a change at times just because I played with one of the Balabuska signed copies for ten years and the last time Kevin Varney put a tip and ferrule on it it was under 9 mm and let me tell you I could cut-throw a ball in so good with that cue, till I found out one night that I could make straight long shots 9 out of 10 with my break cue with a phenolic tip and might make 3 out of ten of the same shots with the skinny shaft. So the next session of APA I started out using a full 13 mm predeator and stuck with it till I wore it out and now I use an OB 1 13mm shaft. This week I grabbed the 9 mm cue and ran 2 racks and missed the nine the next rack playing the ghost on my triple shimed Diamond Pro and man that thing felt good spinning balls in on new 860 cloth, oh I forgor to tell that I used a soft elkmaster tip on that small shaft and KV said when this ferrule gives up its all over for this shaft.--Leonard

 

[StevenPWaldon]

I will also do this pretty regularly. In one of my YouTube videos that I posted, I broke and ran with my break cue. This was sort of a typical time that I'd break, and continue using my break cue. I had an almost impossible layout, so I figured that regardless of what I used it would be an uphill battle. Someone was almost repulsed that I'd use my playing cue to break! Little did he know that I just happened to use my break cue to play!

But often I'll do the same as you -- break, and shoot until I have a tricky shot that requires intimate knowledge of the cue. Maybe it's a spin/english shot, or a power shot. After breaking and running a ball or two, it's not uncommon for me to then go to my "real" cue.

I Break with a Dymondwood cue that I can play with also. If I make a ball sometimes I will just continue to shoot with it until for one reason or the other I decide to switch to my shooting cue with Predator and Morri. Heck this Tuesday in league I made 2 solids on the break and didn't think about it till I was on the 8. I was a foot away straight in 2" off long way down the rail. Wasn't gonna switch then. Made it ! Really boosted my team especially after their leadoff had beat ours with an 8 on the snap
Tribute Photos

 

[matcase]

Did ya ever see the trick shot where Masse used 2 cues to jump 2 balls on the same stroke.

I wonder when the equipment fanatics are going to start carrying different cue balls for different shots. Legislators will have to step in and make new rules.

 

[eastcoast_chris]

I kind of use two "regular" cues when I play sometimes plus a short jump cue.

My regular playing cue I use 99% of the time... it has a fairly soft tip that is difficult to jump more than half a ball with...

When I have a long distance jump shot that requires more aiming percision than jumping height, then I'll switch to my break cue which has a really hard tip (I can jump full balls from 5-6 inches with it... and full balls from 1 inch with the jump cue) ... I just like the cueing action of the full cue for long distance jumps.

Chris