It's personal preference because it really doesn't matter.Sorry if it’s embedded in one of the 11 pages of this thread, but regarding “edge of the tip”, how does the tip shape (nickel vs dime) come into consideration, if at all? Or is this a naive question? (In my pool playing progression I’m still trying to determine if I like nickel or dime better; I’m definitely leaning toward dime.)
The story I told was about practicing with Buddy Hall at Bakers Billiards in Tampa one day. I had just got a new tip and ask Buddy that same question, "Buddy, should I shape this tip like a dime or a nickel" - Buddy smiled, with a twinkle in his eye said "It don't matter, CJ, you play the game with the edge, not the center!"
I thought he was being kind of cryptic in his response (which usually means there's a deeper meaning when coming from someone like Buddy Hall), but the more I watched him effortlessly move his cue ball around the table the more I could see he was clearly using the edge. The way you do this is with the angle of your cue, you'll notice all the Filipinos for example cue the ball low on every shot, Bustamante cues a few inches to the cloth Behind the cue ball. They don't draw the cueball on every shot, what they are doing is using the top Edge of their cue.
This is another reason that using "center ball," and a level cue aren't prudent when trying to play at your highest level. There's more reasons, but hopefully you can experiment with this part, let me know how it went and I'll be glad to give you another suggestion that will enhance it more.
The Game is the Teacher