What constitutes a legal cue?

F

Fastolfe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello everybody,

Out of curiosity, I googled for cue regulations, and I was surprised to find very few requirements. Essentially I found a few regs at http://www.cueguru.com/cue_regulations/, but most other sites I visited don't have much else.

So, with so few requirements, would a cue made of some fancy plastic or composite material be legal? Or even, for the sake of argument, could a player turn up at a tournament with a cue that has a spring-loaded joint, or even some kind of trigger mechanism that releases the shot all by itself? Kind of like what Graeme Obree did in the world of cycling, i.e. exploiting the lack of regulations on bicycles at the time of his records.

Are there more detailed explanations on what constitutes a legal carom, snooker or pool cue?
 
maybe you could maybe you couldn't but no descent player would ever shoot with a cue like that with a spring or something, and we just beat up some sort of paintball gun air powered cue, that their own player rep trashed on LMAO. No touch and feel to it.
 
You can not play in a tournament with a spring powered/air powered shaft cue. There are some rules.
From the IBSF,
3. Cue
A cue shall be not less that 3ft (914mm) in length and shall show no substantial departure from the traditional and generally accepted shape and form.
As you can see in the above rule, that cue would be illegal in the US, Too short.

BCA update 2006

1. [Under] Rules For Tournament Play
1.4 Permitted Use of Equipment (new in 2006)
The following is a list of acceptable equipment items a player may bring to the table to use
in a World Pool-Billiard Association sanctioned event:
(a.) Cue Stick -- Each player is permitted to use one or more cue sticks which meet the
specifications listed in the equipment specifications section.. He may use either a built-in
extender or an add-on extender to increase the length of the stick.

BCA General rules -Cues
17. Cue Sticks
Cue Sticks used at WPA competitions should comply with the following
during play at table:

Length of Cue: 40 inches [1.016 m] minimum / No Maximum
Weight of Cue: No minimum / 25 oz. [708.75 gm] maximum
Width of Tip: No minimum / 14mm maximum

The cue tip may not be of a material that can scratch or damage the addressed ball. The cue tip on any stick must be composed of a piece of specially processed leather or other fibrous or pliable material that extends the natural line of the shaft end of the cue and contacts the cue ball when the shot is executed..

The ferrule of the cue stick, if of a metal material, may not be more than 1 inch [2.54 cm] in length.

There are lots of other rules, like you can't use those cues with a laser sight built in.
Some have minimum tip size of 9 mm, others don't.Alot is up to the tournamnet directors or league operators.
So you could make a cue from a golf club shaft if you wanted to and a broom handle.
Neil
 
conetip said:
You can not play in a tournament with a spring powered/air powered shaft cue. There are some rules.
From the IBSF,
3. Cue
A cue shall be not less that 3ft (914mm) in length and shall show no substantial departure from the traditional and generally accepted shape and form.
As you can see in the above rule, that cue would be illegal in the US, Too short.

BCA update 2006

1. [Under] Rules For Tournament Play
1.4 Permitted Use of Equipment (new in 2006)
The following is a list of acceptable equipment items a player may bring to the table to use
in a World Pool-Billiard Association sanctioned event:
(a.) Cue Stick -- Each player is permitted to use one or more cue sticks which meet the
specifications listed in the equipment specifications section.. He may use either a built-in
extender or an add-on extender to increase the length of the stick.

BCA General rules -Cues
17. Cue Sticks
Cue Sticks used at WPA competitions should comply with the following
during play at table:

Length of Cue: 40 inches [1.016 m] minimum / No Maximum
Weight of Cue: No minimum / 25 oz. [708.75 gm] maximum
Width of Tip: No minimum / 14mm maximum

The cue tip may not be of a material that can scratch or damage the addressed ball. The cue tip on any stick must be composed of a piece of specially processed leather or other fibrous or pliable material that extends the natural line of the shaft end of the cue and contacts the cue ball when the shot is executed..

The ferrule of the cue stick, if of a metal material, may not be more than 1 inch [2.54 cm] in length.

There are lots of other rules, like you can't use those cues with a laser sight built in.
Some have minimum tip size of 9 mm, others don't.Alot is up to the tournamnet directors or league operators.
So you could make a cue from a golf club shaft if you wanted to and a broom handle.
Neil
Click to expand...

Dont give up my secret to the best playing cue ever!!!!!!
 
No serious or capable player would ever play with anything like that, Anyone would walk into a place with that would get laughed at just like the guy that walks into a pool hall with one of the 5 piece cue's,with ring weights ,,ED
 
I realize no serious player would use something as outrageous as self-propelled or laser cue, I was just wondering whether someone who had the gall to turn up at a big-time tournament with one would be accepted for lack of rules. However, "shall show no substantial departure from the traditional and generally accepted shape and form" and "Alot is up to the tournament directors or league operators" pretty much answer the question.

Which then brings another question: suppose a player uses something much less outrageous than a laser that gives him an unfair advantage (like, say, a thin slice of polymer foam glued between the ferrule and the tip on an otherwise standard cue), what then? the cue would seem to satisfy all known requirements, so would its acceptance at the table depend on the arbitrary decision of the referree?

I guess what I'm driving at is, if a serious/reputable cue maker wanted to improve cues by means of technological gadgetry, it sounds like he won't know exactly when his cue starts being illegal or not, unlike other sports like cycling or formula one in which they can't change the size of a tire without filing forms in triplicate and submitting them to some official organization for the change to be vetted.
 
First off, it's nice to see my site is good for something!

Secondly, I too was surprised to find out how little control and true 'regulation' exists for pool cues in general. With so much in the cue; I mean it's the interface between the player and the game, I fully expected to find a great deal more regulation that what I found...

even with the other information provided by Conetip, you see there is A LOT of room for 'interpretation' in there...
 
Cue Guru said:
First off, it's nice to see my site is good for something!

Secondly, I too was surprised to find out how little control and true 'regulation' exists for pool cues in general. With so much in the cue; I mean it's the interface between the player and the game, I fully expected to find a great deal more regulation that what I found...

even with the other information provided by Conetip, you see there is A LOT of room for 'interpretation' in there...
Click to expand...

I can make a high performance cue that sort of looks like a fishing rod,and it's legal.Much to many peoples surprise.
 
conetip said:
From the IBSF,
3. Cue
A cue shall be not less that 3ft (914mm) in length and shall show no substantial departure from the traditional and generally accepted shape and form.
As you can see in the above rule, that cue would be illegal in the US, Too short.
Click to expand...

Illegal at 8" but Temu has one for $38. See video of it jumping balls at link below

1pc billiard stainless steel pool cue compact manual operation durable nylon grip ideal for pool games gifts yellow billiards pool accessories - sports & outdoors - temu Temu

1pc billiard stainless steel pool cue compact manual operation durable nylon grip ideal for pool games gifts yellow billiards pool accessories at the lowest price at Temu.
www.temu.com www.temu.com

1742041181428.png
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1742041403350.png
 
Paul_#_ said:
Illegal at 8" but Temu has one for $38. See video of it jumping balls at link below

1pc billiard stainless steel pool cue compact manual operation durable nylon grip ideal for pool games gifts yellow billiards pool accessories - sports & outdoors - temu Temu

1pc billiard stainless steel pool cue compact manual operation durable nylon grip ideal for pool games gifts yellow billiards pool accessories at the lowest price at Temu.
www.temu.com www.temu.com

View attachment 812412 ____View attachment 812413
Click to expand...
Great, digging up more ancient threads. and with this no less. wtf-ever.
 
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