What order to upgrade equipment

J

JReuter21

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I moved a few years ago and got rid of all my pool gear. I recently purchased a used table. It's in great shape but the cloth is pretty bad. I'm in the process of a lot of renovation in getting my basement finished so money is tight when it comes to getting my pool gear all back. I'm currently using a really cheap cue an pretty beat up balls along with my bad cloth. The cloth is mercury ultra.

I am getting really frustrated because I can't get any movement on my cue ball. (draw, english, etc. after contact with ob)

Just curious which is going to be most important in what order to start replacing things? Cuz, cloth, balls?

Thanks for any help.
 
I'd replace the cloth first. A better cue and balls are still going to play sub-par on lousy cloth.

After that it just depends on whether the cue or balls are in worse shape.
 
Yes new cloth first. It is much better than upgrading cues and then getting used to a nicer cue on the crappy cloth then everything changes when you change the cloth.

Personally I would upgrade cloth, then cue, then balls.
 
That's pretty much what I was thinking.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of ball movement can I expect to get out of new MU cloth compared to a good worsted like 3030 or simonis? MU is what is on every table in my area so that's what I was planning on getting.

Also, how much of a difference will it make putting a good Ferrell and tip on a shitty cue?
 
Cloth first. Get a cue like a Player or similar, there is no need to spend money you don't have on cosmetics. Then, look on ebay for a used set of balls in good shape. That's what Id do anyway.
 
Stroke first:) if you can't move the CB even on worn cloth it's your stroke.

Second cloth.
Third balls.
Forth cue. Cue won't make any difference unless the one you have now is falling apart with no tip or so sticky it doesn't slide smoothly.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Stroke first:) if you can't move the CB even on worn cloth it's your stroke.

Second cloth.
Third balls.
Forth cue. Cue won't make any difference unless the one you have now is falling apart with no tip or so sticky it doesn't slide smoothly.
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I second that...and what is MU cloth?
 
realkingcobra said:
I second that...and what is MU cloth?
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Mercury Ultra. Don't know if MU is what anyone calls it, just something I made up probably lol.

My stroke is probably pretty rusty, I won't deny that. It just seems excessively crazy how much difficulty I'm having. The cues I have are a couple beat up bar cues and a horribly cheap fat cat cue someone had laying around. It's practically brand new but it's probably worth $30. Super super cheap.

Kind of got the table out of nowhere and didn't have any budget at the time so I have what I have for now.
 
I'm having trouble drawing the cb 1 diamond with the cb 1 diamond away from the on. Sooo discouraging lol
 
Mercury Ultra cloth... looks like it's less than half the price of simonis.

But instead of making me think "omg what a steal",
it makes me think "uh oh, what's wrong with it".

Cloth definitely the right first step, whatever you do.
 
JReuter21 said:
I'm having trouble drawing the cb 1 diamond with the cb 1 diamond away from the on. Sooo discouraging lol
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Then get a better cue, and work on your stroke. I don't care how bad the table condition is or how bad the balls are, and there's no worse cue ball ever made than the Valley mud ball, if you've got a stroke...you can still draw even that cue ball back on worn out old cloth. I'm not saying anything about the rest of how the table plays....but out in the open, on a flat surface...don't matter what the table is, you should still be able to draw the cue ball back. If not, then your cue would be the first place to start, as that's the tool you use to control the cue ball.
 
CreeDo said:
Mercury Ultra cloth... looks like it's less than half the price of simonis.

But instead of making me think "omg what a steal",
it makes me think "uh oh, what's wrong with it".

Cloth definitely the right first step, whatever you do.
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When it comes to investing in the pool table, the first thing you want to know....are you wasting your investment...as in is the table worth investing money into, or it's it going to cost more than the table is worth;)
 
My uncle is in the Amusement business. He had a table he pulled out of a bar. It was about 9 months old. 7' valley bar box. The room in my basement only had enough room for a 7' table and he was going to put the table in storage until he put it in a new location. Instead gave it to me and said pay him when I got the money. So it worked out pretty well. So the table has minimum wear buy practically brand new. In my area all the leagues and bars are all pretty much valley bar boxes with mercury ultra cloth. So I figured what's the point of getting anything else. I don't play competitive outside of league but still love to play and want to improve my game with time.

So saying that, I know it's not the best, but it's great for me and for a starter table. Hopefully it won't take long til I can get everything I need to get everything the way I'd like it. But in case it's not real soon, that's why I was curious at which direction to go.

I really appreciate all the replies. Any other recommendations for my situation I would love.

Loving these forums. I'm trying to be a sponge and soak up all your great knowledge.
 
JReuter21 said:
My uncle is in the Amusement business. He had a table he pulled out of a bar. It was about 9 months old. 7' valley bar box. The room in my basement only had enough room for a 7' table and he was going to put the table in storage until he put it in a new location. Instead gave it to me and said pay him when I got the money. So it worked out pretty well. So the table has minimum wear buy practically brand new. In my area all the leagues and bars are all pretty much valley bar boxes with mercury ultra cloth. So I figured what's the point of getting anything else. I don't play competitive outside of league but still love to play and want to improve my game with time.

So saying that, I know it's not the best, but it's great for me and for a starter table. Hopefully it won't take long til I can get everything I need to get everything the way I'd like it. But in case it's not real soon, that's why I was curious at which direction to go.

I really appreciate all the replies. Any other recommendations for my situation I would love.

Loving these forums. I'm trying to be a sponge and soak up all your great knowledge.
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Does the cue ball return to the head of the table when it's pocketed? If so, does it look a little gray, with little white marks on it?
 
The tables I play most of my tournament and small change gambling on are all valley bar boxes with Mercury Ultra as well. It is definitely not Simonis, but for the price I think it is a pretty good cloth. Much much better than most of the cheap felt out there with the backing on it. (I hate that stuff) And I am glad I put it on my table since it is what most of my "serious" games are played on. This seems to have given me a better touch when it comes to speed and controlling draw and stop shots.

But unless your cloth is in terrible shape I would think having a decent cue with a good tip would be the first step. This not only helps on your table, but will be worthwhile anywhere you go to play.
 
realkingcobra said:
Does the cue ball return to the head of the table when it's pocketed? If so, does it look a little gray, with little white marks on it?
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Yeah the cue ball return is at the head of the table. Not sure about it looking gray with white marks? I guess it never caught my eye if it did. What would thus mean?
 
Sorry to bump, but am I missing something with this color of the cue ball thing? Tried googling it and see nothing lol
 
A bar table has special provisions to make the cue ball (CB) go to a different area so that you don't have to put quarters in every time you scratch.

These provisions are usually a larger diameter CB or a CB that has a magnetic core. In either case, the CB is not perfectly matched to the OB, which changes the physics of how the balls bounce off of each other. This can make draw more difficult. (But still not to the degree where you can't easily draw a full table length with the balls only separated by one Diamond).

So on your table if the CB goes in the separate return just for it, that would mean you have a bar table CB, that is not perfectly matched to the OBs.

Try using an OB as your CB and see if you can get better action. If you can, then buy a set of quality balls for non-bar tables (that come with a matched CB).

If that doesn't help, then frankly you are not hitting the CB where your eyes think they are. Start another thread asking for advice in improving your stroke.
 
iusedtoberich,
This bar box is identical to hundreds I've played on in the area which is what has made me curious. Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely put a couple hours in tomorrow and see what happens.

If I get a new set of balls with the matching cb, does that mean the cb will drop to the foot side? If so I guess it will help me really practice on not scratching haha
 
Yes correct. If you get a normal sized cue ball it will go with the other object balls. I assume this would not be a problem for your home table since you can bypass the coin operated mechanism.

But before you buy a new set, just use one of the object balls as a cue ball for a quick test. They will be perfectly matched in size and weight and you will see how they react.

Another major trick (stroke advice) is to use a striped ball as a cue ball to see if you are hitting the ball where you think. Clean the ball with a rag. Then orient it on the table so the stripe is perfectly horizontal, and the number is in the middle. Then aim to hit the bottom of the stripe. Note the draw action. Then check the ball for the chalk mark of the tip. Use these two observations to learn about your stroke and accuracy.
 
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