Are pool cues fragile?

Pool cues are comparatively fragile, especially compared to a bo - Chinese quarterstaff. The cue is thinner and tapered while a bo is one solid rod of hardwood hardened by boiling in oil. So you can expect a cue to break.

Can you break a pool cue?

With repeated breaks, the leather tip of a nice cue will mushroom over time. You can always replace the tip, but doing this on a regular basis can be a pain. It can also become costly if you play with expensive cues. Over time, frequent hard breaks can also damage the pool cue shaft and joints.

How long does it take a pool cue to warp?

It takes over two years of curing the wood and turning the wood to make it straight, and only two hours to warp it. Insulated cases will help but cannot prevent warping. Graphite or fiberglass coated cues are much less likely to warp but still are not guaranteed 100%.

How heavy do pool cues get?

Pool, snooker and billiard cues range from 17 ounces to 21 ounces, and we recommend a cue between 17 to 19 ounces for snooker and standard English and Australian pool playing. A heavier cue (between 20-21 ounces) is often recommended for American Pool as the balls and table are bigger.

What are most pool cues made of?

Materials and design

Good quality pool cues are customarily made from straight-grained hard rock maple wood, especially the shaft. Snooker cues, by contrast, are almost always made of ash wood, although one might come across one with a maple shaft. Maple is stiffer than ash, and cheaper.

Pool Cue Comparison

What is the difference between cheap and expensive pool cues?

There is a big difference in the manufacture process. Making a Hand-spliced cue is a longer process and often involves extra splicing and includes more exotic woods. The cheapest cues that many suppliers sell are not spliced at all and are in fact painted to look like they are spliced.

What is the best material for cue?

The best quality snooker cues are made of maple wood or ash wood. There are many other types of woods which you can choose from, including rosewood and snakewood which are used in more luxurious cues. Different types of wood will have different grain lines, colours and feel.

Is a lighter cue better than a heavy cue?

In general, a lighter cue will allow more control over finesse shots, and a heavier cue will allow more cue ball (CB) speed with less apparent stroke effort. A heavier cue might also be easier for some people to keep on line during the stroke, but this is a very individual thing.

Is a heavier cue better for breaking?

The idea is that the lighter the cue, the faster you can swing it. And the faster you can swing it, the harder you can break. Because this theory revolves around acceleration and speed, lighter break cues are good for players who are able to be accurate with a fast, athletic break stroke.

What is the best weight for a breaking cue?

What Weight Should My Break Cue Be? The ideal cue stick weight varies and depends on one's personal preference. However, heavier sticks providing similar accuracy and speed tend to break with greater power than lighter cues. For the break cue, you want a stick that falls under the standard weight (18-21 oz).

How do I know if my pool cue is good?

Should a pool cue be perfectly straight?

All cues have some variation in the straightness and roundness of the cue. Remember that cues are made from a natural product and are affected by their surroundings. Humidity and temperature will always affect a piece of wood. Even the most expensive cues are not perfectly straight.

Do you lose if you sink the cue ball on break?

If any balls are sunk on the break, the breaking player continues to shoot. The table remains open after the break regardless of what is sunk on the break. Sinking the cue ball on break is a scratch and passes the turn to the opponent, giving them ball in hand.

Is it illegal to chip the cue ball in pool?

It is a foul (scratch) if on a stroke, the cue ball is pocketed. If the cue ball touches an object ball that was already pocketed (for example, in a pocket full of object balls), the shot is a foul. Touching any object ball with the cue ball while it is in hand is a foul.

How often should you chalk your cue?

How Often Should You Chalk Your Cue? Some players find success re-chalking after every other shot, but others prefer to re-chalk before each shot they take. You can chalk your cue more sparingly if you want, but if you need to take a shot with some spin, it's a good idea to apply some chalk.

What is the most popular pool cue weight?

While professional billiards players tend to use pool sticks that weigh about 19 ounces, it is a better idea for beginners to use pool sticks that are a bit lighter (around 15 ounces) while they are still learning how to pocket those tough shots with ease.

Is a soft cue tip better than a hard cue tip?

A harder tip has a slightly better hit efficiency (energy transfer) than a softer tip. This will result in slightly more CB speed for a given stroke speed. This can provide a slight advantage for draw shots, where, where slightly more CB speed will retain slightly more backspin on the way to the OB.

Why do pool players have 2 cues?

It is a type of cue stick that is widely used today. The two-piece cue has a mid-point or a joint that you can find in the middle of the stick. Many players prefer this stick because of their convenience. Because of the adjustable size, you can take it anywhere with you and store it away easily as well.

What pool cue do most pros use?

PROFESSIONAL billiard players TRUST their game to Predator more than any other brand, including many WORLD CHAMPIONS ★ and top ranked players.

What size cue do professionals use?

If you are mostly playing an eight-ball pool game, the stick you would generally use is about 1.39 to 1.44 metres or 55-57 inches. Some manufacturers provide up to 58 inches. Professional players opt for between 56 and 57-inch cues because they believe these are the perfect sizes for the cue ball.

Who has the best pool cue?

What cue did Tom Cruise use?

The famous scene in the 1986 sequel to The Hustler, The Color of Money where Tom Cruise is given a beautiful cue by Paul Newman and told, “It's a Balabushka,” made the name Balabushka synonymous with top quality pool cues.

What size pool cue is best?

A standard cue length is considered to be 57 inches. This should suit most adults. Also appropriately-sized for adults, but ideal for younger or shorter players, are 48-inch cues. For very young players, a range of 36-inch cues is available.

What is the best tip size for a pool cue?

Generally speaking most pool players prefer and 8mm to 8.5mm tip for a 1 & 7/8 pool cue ball, and most snooker players prefer a 9.5mm to 10mm tip for a full size 2 1/16 snooker cue ball. American pool uses an even bigger cue ball so the tip sizes are normally between 12.5 mm and 13.5mm.