What Pool Cue Specificationdo I need?

[sharkey]

I am looking for a 8 ball UK pool cue, question is, how do the specifications differ from snooker and do they also differ for 9 ball US pool?

Would I then just ask a UK maker to make them to this specifacation.

Or I could just use my snooker cue but it is one peice & I would prefere a two peice for pool

Any ideas!

[KeithinFrance]

I play uk8ball pool, and I use a 56.5" cue with an 8mm tip, and it's about 16oz and for snooker I'd use a 57" - 57.5" cue, about 9.5mm tip and about 17.5 - 18oz weight. However, I also know people who play uk8ball using a 58" cue, another who uses a 10mm tip and another who uses a 19oz cue. It's horses for courses, tbh.

[sharkey]

So, smaller, lighter, smaller tip seems to be the way. Is this the same for 9 ball pool then?

[RGCirencester]

9 ball goes the other way because the balls are bigger than snooker. I think if you were going to use different cues for each you might go for say 8.75mm for 8ball with the small balls, 9.5mm-10mm tip for snooker, then 11mm+ for 9ball

Personally I play 8 ball with my 10mm snooker cue and don't see a problem.

[eightballtom]

I play uk8ball pool, and I use a 56.5" cue with an 8mm tip, and it's about 16oz and for snooker I'd use a 57" - 57.5" cue, about 9.5mm tip and about 17.5 - 18oz weight. However, I also know people who play uk8ball using a 58" cue, another who uses a 10mm tip and another who uses a 19oz cue. It's horses for courses, tbh.

Yep I concur

I play far more English pool than snooker at the moment. My pool cue is 56.5" long, around 17oz and has an 8.3mm tip, and I think that's about spot on for me. A standard snooker cue is more like 58", 18oz, 9.5mm tip. The main thing for me is that I like a slimmer taper on my pool cue - it'd definitely be too 'whippy' to play snooker with, but offers just the right amount of responsiveness on the pool table.

It's definitely a matter of preference though. Most people (like me) start off playing pool just with their snooker cue, and it takes a bit of getting used to when you start playing with a smaller tip. If you want pool specs you're looking at a custom job, whether it's just having a snooker cue thinned down or ordering one from scratch.

[burwatchampion]

Shark

I have just got a english 8 ball pool cue today from Mike Wooldridge and i would have to say the specs seem to be about right 8.5mm 17-18 oz and about 57 inches.

As far as 9 ball etc... predator cues seem to get good press.

[sharkey]

I have just got a english 8 ball pool cue today from Mike Wooldridge and i would have to say the specs seem to be about right 8.5mm 17-18 oz and about 57 inches.

As far as 9 ball etc... predator cues seem to get good press.

Would Predator be 9 ball then and does anybody on here play 9 ball who can clarify if the specs are different.

They play 9 ball at my local Rileys but I havent noticed any differance in the cues but then again I suppose it would be hard to see, or is that it is just in the US etc that the specs differ?

[KeithinFrance]

Would Predator be 9 ball then and does anybody on here play 9 ball who can clarify if the specs are different.

They play 9 ball at my local Rileys but I havent noticed any differance in the cues but then again I suppose it would be hard to see, or is that it is just in the US etc that the specs differ?

Predator make US pool cues, be it 9ball, 10ball, straight pool or US 8ball. A typical US pool cue is about 58" long, 19oz weight, 12mm tip. You'll find loads of examples here: http://www.ozonebilliards.com/shopbyman.html US pool cues can be 2-piece or what they call sneaky petes, which is to say a 1piece house cue.

In a pool/snooker club, you might have snooker and pool house cues, which are very cheap and basic and will look alike, as they'll probably be maple shafted with machine-spliced butts, but if you pick them up, you should notice the difference in tip size, unless they've just got 11mm tip house cues for both snooker and pool, which is a good economic compromise, but not such a good playing one.

Hope this helps ...

[sharkey]

9 Ball

Predator make US pool cues, be it 9ball, 10ball, straight pool or US 8ball. A typical US pool cue is about 58" long, 19oz weight, 12mm tip. You'll find loads of examples here: http://www.ozonebilliards.com/shopbyman.html US pool cues can be 2-piece or what they call sneaky petes, which is to say a 1piece house cue.

In a pool/snooker club, you might have snooker and pool house cues, which are very cheap and basic and will look alike, as they'll probably be maple shafted with machine-spliced butts, but if you pick them up, you should notice the difference in tip size, unless they've just got 11mm tip house cues for both snooker and pool, which is a good economic compromise, but not such a good playing one.

Hope this helps ...

Ah I see, so 9 ball specs are same as snooker except the tip size and maybe two piece, would that be universal then?

[perpetualboredom]

As mentioned already, ask 20 pool players and 20 9 ball players, and you'll get 20 different answers from each. Cue choice is personal preference, nothing more, nothing less.

I'd say get yourself down to good shop that sells all three types of cues, and has a practice table of both types in (if any exist). Then you can see what actually suits you, not everyone else on this forum.

You can play 8 ball pool with a snooker cue no problem at all.. if you're used to 9.5mm to 10.5mm from playing snooker, there's no chance you'll be comfortable picking up an 8mm pool cue straight away. Most players converting from snooker tend to find in time that smaller tips increase positional acuracy... but sometimes at the expense of your potting if your cueing is suspect!

You can also use a snooker cue for 9 ball but I wouldn't recommend it, they're not designed to take the impact of the heavier balls and I think with regular play you'd risk trashing you snooker cue. My 9 ball cue is 12mm ~20oz and all the english pool players I know laugh their heads off when they see it, as they all play with much thinner snooker cues. Each to their own, I'd not feel safe playing a long deep screw with a snooker cue, but with "big bertha" I never have any worries... (maybe that's another story).

[sharkey]

Nice one, thanks to you all