Tip size for UK 8 Ball?

[jrc750]

..... plus another cue for potting the black (yes I HAVE seen this!!)....

Lol, what is different about this cue (tip size ??) or is it just some confidence thing maybe ???

[ger]

..................possibly because its owner was a bit of a plonker, I suspect

[bigrich]

i think its all down to prefrence! got a mate who is an amazin snooker player, played a season at pool for my team and could do what ever he wanted with the white!he used his snooker cue which had a 10 mm ferrel but with what i think was 11 mm tip! i profer a 9 mm tip can get enough out the white with out the miss cues! used to use a 10mm but profer my 9mm now! played with friends 8mm befor and dont mind it but do miss cue a bit with! so go with what u feel happy with most of its in ur head and if ur timing is right u can use a broom handle and move the white on a pool table!

[joe1990]

i dont think tip size is that important a good player will be able to use most size tips i saw the current aus champ use a 9 ball cue cause he was a bit off and he cleared 3 frames in a row with perfect postion everytime a good trades man never blames his tools

[travis-bro]

tip size

I have 2 cues, 1 is a breaking cue with a 10mm tip size.. the other is my playing cue with a 8mm.

Because you're playing on a smaller table, a smaller tip size just gives more control over the cue ball in my opinion - there's also more margin for error with a smaller tip on a smaller table compared to a smaller tip on a snooker table.

[madmatt]

i use 9mm for 8 ball

[jaffa.johnson]

I use 8.5mm

Personally I find and think anything between 8mm - 9mm for good white control but can pot the balls with any size tip.

[mox]

re-8 ball tip size

Not very familiar with pool so I thought I'd asked. Simple question but I couldnt find the answer nowhere.

I see a few ppl in the club using the same cue for snooker as they would for UK 8 ball. I'm assuming a 9-10mm tip size is ok for UK pool?

Generally competition 8 ball players use a much larger tip than snooker players. Efren Reyes for instance, who is the greatest pool player ever uses a 12.5mm medium elk master tip. If you have a look at the other top ten players, they all use similar sized tips. Also the don't use small metal ferrules, they use a plastic composite ferrule as it absorbs the hard hitting better. They also tend to use a separate cue to break, called a break cue as to not damage the top on their main cue.

[RogiBear]

Generally competition 8 ball players use a much larger tip than snooker players. Efren Reyes for instance, who is the greatest pool player ever uses a 12.5mm medium elk master tip. If you have a look at the other top ten players, they all use similar sized tips. Also the don't use small metal ferrules, they use a plastic composite ferrule as it absorbs the hard hitting better. They also tend to use a separate cue to break, called a break cue as to not damage the top on their main cue.

This thread relates to UK 8 ball pool not american pool. These games are completely different

[Antz Morrison]

I use 8.5mm

Personally I find and think anything between 8mm - 9mm for good white control but can pot the balls with any size tip.

100% SPOT ON JAFFA!!!!

I've played pool to a decent level, for about 20 years, former PPPO Pro, World Champ Runner Up, now playing on IPA, and it really is as simple as Jaffa points out..................

ANY good player can pot the balls with just about any size tip, probably even up to 11mm, but to CONTROL THE WHITE, they need to have a tip size, with which they feel confident, to pot AS WELL AS play with side.

Some snooker players that play pool won't deviate at all from what they play snooker with, but that's only because they're 100% comfortable with what they use most days (you'll also probably notice, the guys that do go from snooker to pool, at a decent level, don't feel they need to flash the white ball all over Europe!!!)

What you invariably notice is:

Ex snooker player, now decent pool player, probably plays with 9-9.5mm tip, has controlled 8-Ball finish, but doesn't play every shot with side, and is confident enough to leave himself a bit further from the object ball, knowing he'll pot it anyway.
WHEREAS
Pool player has a tap-in, plays with 7mm tip, goes for a "Crystal Maze" finish (4 different zones) plays first couple of shots with a trace of side, starts straying out of position, so plays next couple of shots with lots of side, gets to about 5th or 6th ball, and is now playing with SO MUCH SIDE, he is almost missing the cue ball altogether, then SURPRISE SURPRISE, plays his last red/yellow with SUI-SIDE!!

..........gets tapped in, but tells everybody that his 6th red/yellow was the shot of the night, because he NEARLY got on his last ball, off 23 cushions!!!!!!

Some players go too small with tips, end up playing with too much side, and, unless they are a good cueist, or have the right temperament, end up at best average!!!

THINK ABOUT THIS THOUGH....................WHERE can you buy 6mm or 7mm Kamuis, Talismans, Phoenix, or even Elks?????



Oh by the way, my tips 4mm, but I use mine for darts, as well as pool!!!!!!

[DeanH]

What you invariably notice is:

Ex snooker player, now decent pool player, probably plays with 9-9.5mm tip, has controlled 8-Ball finish, but doesn't play every shot with side, and is confident enough to leave himself a bit further from the object ball, knowing he'll pot it anyway.
WHEREAS
Pool player has a tap-in, plays with 7mm tip, goes for a "Crystal Maze" finish (4 different zones) plays first couple of shots with a trace of side, starts straying out of position, so plays next couple of shots with lots of side, gets to about 5th or 6th ball, and is now playing with SO MUCH SIDE, he is almost missing the cue ball altogether, then SURPRISE SURPRISE, plays his last red/yellow with SUI-SIDE!!
..........gets tapped in, but tells everybody that his 6th red/yellow was the shot of the night, because he NEARLY got on his last ball, off 23 cushions!!!!!!

have you been watching the youngsters in my team?

[perpetualboredom]

Pool player has a tap-in, plays with 7mm tip, goes for a "Crystal Maze" finish (4 different zones) plays first couple of shots with a trace of side, starts straying out of position, so plays next couple of shots with lots of side, gets to about 5th or 6th ball, and is now playing with SO MUCH SIDE, he is almost missing the cue ball altogether, then SURPRISE SURPRISE, plays his last red/yellow with SUI-SIDE!!

..........gets tapped in, but tells everybody that his 6th red/yellow was the shot of the night, because he NEARLY got on his last ball, off 23 cushions!!!!!!

Sounds like my average frame of pool! Shot of the season is when do get on your last ball off 23 cushions tho!

[mox]

reyes plays 8 ball as well and im sure it's on the same sized table with basically the same rules so im not sure why people would be playing with microscopic tips other than ego....he gets all the side he needs with 12mm tip and he's the best there is at the moment, some say the best ever

[ADR147]

reyes plays 8 ball as well and im sure it's on the same sized table with basically the same rules so im not sure why people would be playing with microscopic tips other than ego....he gets all the side he needs with 12mm tip and he's the best there is at the moment, some say the best ever

you can't play uk 8 ball with a 12mm tip - my 10 year old would beat efren trying that!

[Dave Walton]

reyes plays 8 ball as well and im sure it's on the same sized table with basically the same rules so im not sure why people would be playing with microscopic tips other than ego....he gets all the side he needs with 12mm tip and he's the best there is at the moment, some say the best ever

Totally different games, Reyes plays American 8 ball not UK 8 ball. UK 8 ball use 2" balls with a 1/7" cue ball on a 7ft table (6ft playing surface) its like comparing lawn tennis to ping pong lol.

I used to play with a 7.5mm tip and at that size you get too much unwanted side over distance when the pressure is on. I prefered my tip at 8mm then got a new cue made and by mistake the tip was bigger than I asked for at 8.75mm, and although it took some getting used to I know love it, anything between 8 and 9mm is ideal for UK pool, up to 10mm is about the biggest tip you can play with, any bigger and it becomes difficult to do anything with the cue ball