What's the deal with Sneaky Pete cues not being... sneaky?

WVShootist

WVShootist

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I made a post yesterday about looking for a 'beater' cue to start lugging around to random bars with me that would play well, that way I didn't run the risk of damaging equipment that I care about. I wanted a Sneaky Pete to not stand out for bringing a cue and also because the Art on cheap cues are usually tacky. (this forum is awesome by the way, for an extra $50 than I was planning to spend I bought twice the cue I was about to purchase due to recommendations.. thanks guys!)

So, I was looking over a whole galaxy of Sneaky Pete cues and it became painfully obvious to me that there are very few passable Sneaky Petes out there. I may be wrong in this but I believe the core reason behind Sneaky Pete cues (not in my case, I couldn't hustle Stevie Wonder out of a nickel) was for hustlers to walk into a place and trick the players there out of their money without sticking out like a sore thumb by using their expensive cues? Like, they're supposed to look like house cues?

So my question is, am I incorrect in my definition of a Sneaky Pete--or are all these companies incorrectly producing cues under the Sneaky Pete guise that are obviously better cues than what's hanging on the walls in bars/pool rooms?
 
Apparently named after Peter Anthony Crisafi,

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2592155

back in the early 1900s - but yea, it's become a very generic term these days.
FWIW - Schmelke still makes one that looks like a house cue. (and a few others)
 
Can't make much money making plain sneaky pete's. Need to make them with all kinds of BS on them and call them Custom Sneaky Pete's @ $200+ a pop. Johnnyt
 
Because people on here don't know what a sneaky Pete is.. they think if it doesn't have a wrap it's a sneaky Pete.. hell I've seen people on here say look at my sneaky Pete and it a wrap lol
 
Howdy, I'm the guy who recommended that cue to you. You will enjoy it.

Here is a list of what makes a True Sneaky Pete.
Also a link to previous posts about incorrect recommendations for a Sneaky Pete.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?454635&p=5902189#post5902189
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

True "House Cue" Sneaky Pete

1. No joint collars of any kind. Must be wood to wood. No wood tone or wood color phenolic rings either.

2. The wood to wood should be machined/turned well, to be as seamless as possible.

3. Shaft wood matching the butt as close as possible is another big plus.

4. No butt caps. House cues do not have butt caps. They are wood all the way to the bumper. A sneaky is trying to mimic a house cue. This is always forgotten.

5. No exotic woods. It can be plain as a house cue, but bocote or cocobolo will ruin the effect.

6. True house cues style points. That means no veneers, no extra-long points, only 4 points - not 5 or 6. Using the house cue type splice.

7. No inlays of any kind anywhere.

8. No long ferrules, or unusually short ferrules (like OB classic or i2). House cues don't have Meucci length ferrules.

9. No wraps of any kind.

10. No fancy or unusual bumpers. There's some leeway here, could use a Schon style bumper and be fine. Maybe a Meucci style one too which is used on some Player's cues. However, the big and large ones house cues typically have is best to maximize the effect.

11. Extreme length pro-tapers, or very small diameter shafts with very long tapers are visibly different and obvious are not recommended. Can still go with a long pro taper, just avoid the pencil shaft profiles.

12. Avoid super high luster finishes (like that of high end custom cues). They are not a good thing, in fact ...too clean of a cue is a give away also. If you are like myself, and keep a cue immaculate and clean, it will always look different and odd. Some dings and dents in the butt, a more matte finish, and some blue on the shaft is a good thing. High quality finishes really stand out, which is why cuemakers put a lot of effort into them. That's not what you want.

13. A nice touch, is the addition of a stamping on the butt's forearm indicating the cue's weight just like house cues have.

However, the days of house cue sneaky petes being sneaky are pretty much over.
Still does fool some people, some of the time.
 
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WVShootist said:
I made a post yesterday about looking for a 'beater' cue to start lugging around to random bars with me that would play well, that way I didn't run the risk of damaging equipment that I care about. I wanted a Sneaky Pete to not stand out for bringing a cue and also because the Art on cheap cues are usually tacky. (this forum is awesome by the way, for an extra $50 than I was planning to spend I bought twice the cue I was about to purchase due to recommendations.. thanks guys!)

So, I was looking over a whole galaxy of Sneaky Pete cues and it became painfully obvious to me that there are very few passable Sneaky Petes out there. I may be wrong in this but I believe the core reason behind Sneaky Pete cues (not in my case, I couldn't hustle Stevie Wonder out of a nickel) was for hustlers to walk into a place and trick the players there out of their money without sticking out like a sore thumb by using their expensive cues? Like, they're supposed to look like house cues?

So my question is, am I incorrect in my definition of a Sneaky Pete--or are all these companies incorrectly producing cues under the Sneaky Pete guise that are obviously better cues than what's hanging on the walls in bars/pool rooms?
Click to expand...

For 25 years or more-every pool player on earth who would bet a quarter, knows what a sneaky pete is. They have totally lost their relevance as a "hustling tool" and now it just means a simple non fancy cue.

Who here has been fooled by a Sneaky Pete? Ahahahaha
 
mchnhed said:
Howdy, I'm the guy who recommended that cue to you. You will enjoy it.

Here is a list of what makes a True Sneaky Pete.
Also a link to previous posts about incorrect recommendations for a Sneaky Pete.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?454635&p=5902189#post5902189
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

True "House Cue" Sneaky Pete

1. No joint collars of any kind. Must be wood to wood. No wood tone or wood color phenolic rings either.

2. The wood to wood should be machined/turned well, to be as seamless as possible.

3. Shaft wood matching the butt as close as possible is another big plus.

4. No butt caps. House cues do not have butt caps. They are wood all the way to the bumper. A sneaky is trying to mimic a house cue. This is always forgotten.

5. No exotic woods. It can be plain as a house cue, but bocote or cocobolo will ruin the effect.

6. True house cues style points. That means no veneers, no extra-long points, only 4 points - not 5 or 6. Using the house cue type splice.

7. No inlays of any kind anywhere.

8. No long ferrules, or unusually short ferrules (like OB classic or i2). House cues don't have Meucci length ferrules.

9. No wraps of any kind.

10. No fancy or unusual bumpers. There's some leeway here, could use a Schon style bumper and be fine. Maybe a Meucci style one too which is used on some Player's cues. However, the big and large ones house cues typically have is best to maximize the effect.

11. Extreme length pro-tapers, or very small diameter shafts with very long tapers are visibly different and obvious are not recommended. Can still go with a long pro taper, just avoid the pencil shaft profiles.

12. Avoid super high luster finishes (like that of high end custom cues). They are not a good thing, in fact ...too clean of a cue is a give away also. If you are like myself, and keep a cue immaculate and clean, it will always look different and odd. Some dings and dents in the butt, a more matte finish, and some blue on the shaft is a good thing. High quality finishes really stand out, which is why cuemakers put a lot of effort into them. That's not what you want.

13. A nice touch, is the addition of a stamping on the butt's forearm indicating the cue's weight just like house cues have.

However, the days of house cue sneaky petes being sneaky are pretty much over.
Still does fool some people, some of the time.
Click to expand...

This was great. Yea I was pretty shocked, not that I was trying to fool anyone but my original plan was to more or less try to find a house-cue looking cue. Though I feel I'll more than adequately be pleased with what I ended up going with.

Curious though, if the cue is more or less identical to a house cue--how do they differ from them that would affect the way they play?
 
WVShootist said:
This was great. Yea I was pretty shocked, not that I was trying to fool anyone but my original plan was to more or less try to find a house-cue looking cue. Though I feel I'll more than adequately be pleased with what I ended up going with.

Curious though, if the cue is more or less identical to a house cue--how do they differ from them that would affect the way they play?
Click to expand...
Quality Wood.
Drying Process.
Ferrule Material.
Tip Quality.
 
mchnhed said:
Quality Wood.
Drying Process.
Ferrule Material.
Tip Quality.
Click to expand...



Add to that simply familiarity. The player who plays with the same SP knows the cue and its properties, rather than using a new Wallabuska every time.

By the way, there has been discussion on here recently about what a true hustler's cue should look like these days, with some really neat examples of cues made to look like Walmart or crappy Asian cues.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
The main reason most custom cuemakers do not make ringless Sneaky Petes is that the failure rate of shafts cracking when no joint ring is installed is staggering. And no one wants to build cues that crack.
 
Question for OP and other elitists (LOL)

What then, do you call a Sneaky Pete that has an ivory collar, ivory Hoppe ring and four veneers on the points?

A four point no wrap? I don't know, nor have I ever met or seen anyone who tried to actually hustle players using a true to definition SP.

For what it's worth, unwrapped Titleist conversions and Sneaky Petes have sort of blended over the years to where the modern Sneaky Pete has evolved today.
 
GideonF said:
Add to that simply familiarity. The player who plays with the same SP knows the cue and its properties, rather than using a new Wallabuska every time.

By the way, there has been discussion on here recently about what a true hustler's cue should look like these days, with some really neat examples of cues made to look like Walmart or crappy Asian cues.
Click to expand...
Speaking of Stealthy Cues......
I am having a graphics wrap done up for one of my Schons.
It will be a Budweiser theme just like the cheap $30 ones, but underneath a Good cue.
 

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trob said:
Because people on here don't know what a sneaky Pete is.. they think if it doesn't have a wrap it's a sneaky Pete.. hell I've seen people on here say look at my sneaky Pete and it a wrap lol
Click to expand...

Basically, newer players on the internet forums have abandoned the proper use of the term Sneaky Pete as well as the terms Plain Jane and Merry Widow.
 
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michael4 said:
People have thought my cue was a "house cue" and placed it back on the wall rack......
Lots of threads about that sort of thing happening...
Click to expand...
I had to place my initials on the face of the joint to 'prove' the cue was mine!
 
I wondered the same thing as the OP.

You might want to have a look at the Eliminator sneaky Pete on eBay by the seller billiardsheaven. $39.95 including fast free shipping and about as sneaky as it gets. If you rubbed off the name and weight with a little steel wool it would be indistinguishable from a house cue; the joint is totally invisible.

Funny thing is, it's really a pretty decent cue in it's own right regardless of the cheap price.
 
RickLafayette said:
Question for OP and other elitists (LOL)

What then, do you call a Sneaky Pete that has an ivory collar, ivory Hoppe ring and four veneers on the points?

A four point no wrap? I don't know, nor have I ever met or seen anyone who tried to actually hustle players using a true to definition SP.

For what it's worth, unwrapped Titleist conversions and Sneaky Petes have sort of blended over the years to where the modern Sneaky Pete has evolved today.
Click to expand...

Elitist? What? Lol....

I'm a C player who posts here when I'm bored at work. I can assure you I'm the furthest thing from arrogant that you'll find on this forum. That said, I didn't realize the term had basically been opened up to mean 'generally plain cue.' I was confused by all of the cues being advertised as a SP that were obviously not a bar cue.

Luckily there's a place where a novice pool enthusiast, such as myself, can turn to learn such things! Honestly though, it's pretty amazing that this forum exists. There's some pretty fascinating stuff (especially in the History of Pool section)here along with a wealth of knowledge from users. Thanks everyone for the replies.
 
Type79 said:
Basically, newer players on the internet forums have abandoned the proper use of the term Sneaky Pete as well as the terms Plain Jane and Merry Widow.
Click to expand...

I am curious to know the legitimate old school version of what plain jane and merry widow are? I see it debated over and over. I am aware what a true sneaky pete is.
 
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