Last week I picked up a Olhausen slate pool table in exchange for removing it from the owners property. The table is halfway decent but the cues it came with are absolute garbage. Out of 6 there is only one cue that isn't warped and it has a tip that besides being completely flat is being held on with scotch tape. No worries there I figure, basically free pool table, I might as well invest in a decent pair of cues. Start poking around on the interwebs and Holy F@^& these things get expensive quick. I suck at pool so I don't need anything fancy. Just need something thats well made and will shoot reliably.
Ideally I'm looking to keep it at or under the $250 mark for a pair of nicely built cues. So is there anyone here who can lend a hand on brands to consider or things to stay away from? Is $250 too low to get a pair of cues? Or does my lack of skill dictate that I just buy whatever I can find at my local Target until I get better?
I wouldn't invest a lot early on. Get the table set up good and level, give it a good cleaning and have at it. As you get better (or not :D) You can invest in some more expensive cues, but always have some relatively inexpensive ones to use for breaking. You don't want to make the beast with two backs up a good cue trying to crush the cue ball. Enjoy. [thumbsup]
You can spend $50 to $100 per stick and get something really decent.
If it rolls true I myself don't seem to play any different based on stick. I would just go find one that rolls true and has a weight you like and go from there =)
McDermott has some decent cheaper cues. Most good players have a predator shaft on a decent base. When you start talking money, the real difference is the inlaid wood and silver and opel stuff they start doing to the base. You can go to any decent pool table shop and they have packages of $30-50 one piece cues that are decent for most players. The key thing to getting better is consistancy. If you use the same cue every time, you learn how it plays. Then every time you shoot, it behaves the same way. I remember switching from a McDermott shaft to a 314 shaft and then to the Z2... I had to change my game every time as the deflection was different for each shaft. Decent cheap cues play good enough for most people.
F-that on the cheap route, spend the $$!! [evil]
I really like http://www.meuccicues.com/ (http://www.meuccicues.com/)
** I would recommend going to a local shop, and knocking some balls around to get a feel for the sticks they have, and picking 2-3 "cheap" 1 piece ones that feel good, and get a nice 2-3 piece one as well whose weight & feel you like. **
Along time ago I used to play pool.. me and a whole bunch of friends used to rent out part of the building my shop is in and we had a bar table, would play every day after work, and played in the city APA league.
I went threw lots of cue's... especially in 9 ball, breaking really hard make the beast with two backss the tip up, its really hard to get some one to re-tip a cue that will shoot straight again.
I decided to use house cues to break with and to shoot with a good cue, for the money the best I found was a Graphite Earl Strickland Cuetech cue. that stick shot pretty well. ran me about $150
Quote from: ROBsS4R on March 05, 2010, 09:00:50 AM
If it rolls true I myself don't seem to play any different based on stick. I would just go find one that rolls true and has a weight you like and go from there =)
I used to play pool a LOT fifteen years ago, even for money occasionally.
Never did buy a spiffy cue, although I looked at a lot of them longingly.
I've seen quite a few
really good players use a tweaked, piece of shit bar cue and never lose.
;)
Quote from: Speedbag on March 05, 2010, 12:58:42 PM
I've seen quite a few really good players use a tweaked, piece of shit bar cue and never lose.
That's because their shooting against hacks. ;D
I think my cue was around $100 or so.
I don't use it for breaking the rack either
Quote from: acalles on March 05, 2010, 11:28:51 AM
I went threw lots of cue's... especially in 9 ball, breaking really hard make the beast with two backss the tip up, its really hard to get some one to re-tip a cue that will shoot straight again.
I get the shaft re-tipped about twice a year. I use a really soft tip. There are a few people around here that really do a good job replacing and then reshaping the tip to your style. I still use a special break cue, as it has a phenolonic tip, that thing never goes bad.
Quote from: Speedbag on March 05, 2010, 12:58:42 PM
I used to play pool a LOT fifteen years ago, even for money occasionally.
Never did buy a spiffy cue, although I looked at a lot of them longingly.
I've seen quite a few really good players use a tweaked, piece of shit bar cue and never lose.
;)
i was going to post the same thing...
crappy cues make you a better player.
I used to play A LOT a few years back and my APA team almost qualified a few times for the National tourney in Vegas (and did a few years after I quit, must have been me (a weak 7/strong6)holding the team back).
I have a decent 2 piece Cuetec cue with a nice inlay on the butt. In my opinion it doesn't really matter what you shoot with as long as the tip is in good shape. A good shaper/scuffer is well worth the 10$. Billiards is all about feel and if you feel better playing with the same cue it'll make you play better. At least you can't blame it on the cue... all user error. I've shot with a nice Meucci cue ($1200) and it didn't help me play better at all, but give me my mediocre Cuetec ($100) I'd run that same table.
In my opinion the best jump/break cue is the McDermott Sledgehammer J/B cue (especially a sexy cue with a linen wrap). It seemed to always give a great break and I never had to throw much weight into the break. But to be honest the break is about accuracy not power. Legal jumping with the McD SH is cake too [thumbsup]
But for the OP, I'd suggest getting a variety of cue weights so when you have people over to play they can use their preferred weight. 18oz to 21oz and a decent J/B cue that can handle the abuse of people throwing all their weight into the break and miscueing.
Quote from: herm (not herb) on March 05, 2010, 05:52:56 PM
i was going to post the same thing...
crappy cues make you a better player.
Yeah right. Tell Jeanette that. ;)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa91/chiflado/JeanetteJen.jpg)
I used to play a lot in my last year of undergrad. I got 1 cheap stick so that I could break with it and not care how much I screw it up. Sledgehammers are nice but they're $$. I found a decent Viper stick with variable weights in the butt so that I could decide what weight stick I liked. That one had a fiber glass joint. The next stick I got had a metal joint. The difference is quite noticeable and which one you like depends entirely on the player. Go cheap at the start and then get something nicer once you get better. I used to get most of my stuff from Mueller (http://www.poolndarts.com/index.cfm?CFID=1043069&CFTOKEN=89445890&).
Having your own personal stick is all about consistency. Regardless of quality, if you use the same stick all the time, your game will improve. Then once you're playing well enough you can get a better stick that can make you even more consistent. I've got some old practice shots from the billiards class I took if you want to learn a few things. They're mostly drills. Billiards is all about repetition and consistency.
A crappy bent cue stick is no reason to shoot poorly. They just take more effort to use. If you're diligent you can make sure that the bend in the stick is always in the same spot so that you can shoot correctly and consistently. It's just terribly annoying. A crappy tip, on the other hand, can screw your action six ways from Sunday and botch even the simplest shots.
Quote from: erkishhorde on March 05, 2010, 08:19:46 PM
A crappy bent cue stick is no reason to shoot poorly. They just take more effort to use. If you're diligent you can make sure that the bend in the stick is always in the same spot so that you can shoot correctly and consistently. It's just terribly annoying. A crappy tip, on the other hand, can screw your action six ways from Sunday and botch even the simplest shots.
+1
Quote from: herm (not herb) on March 05, 2010, 05:52:56 PM
i was going to post the same thing...
crappy cues make you a better player.
And using them makes you
appear to be inexperienced. :)
Thanks for the advice peeps. I was going to head over to my local recreation depot today and check out some cues. But its actually hit 50° outside so I'm going riding.