What do you look for in a cue?

[sootyvrs]

I've been reading through some of the cue posts on here and also in the For Sale section and I'm surprised how many on this forum are buying and selling cues on a regular basis.

It would seem as if there are some cue making faves on this forum notably Trevor White, John Parris, Mike Wooldridge among others.

I appreciate that there is great skill to make a quality cue but I assume that even paying around £500 for a cue doesn't guarantee that it will play well for each individual. Is that the reason why there seems to be a lot of these expensive cues for sale?

I recently purchased a cue from Green Baize but was fortunate to be able to try a vast amount of cues they had in stock ranging from £50-£300 and was surprised how a cheap £50 cue felt nicer to play with than a £300 cue! Obviously one was machine spliced and the other hand made and one looked much nicer! I finally ended up with a King Cue Excellence which felt the nicest to play with from all the cues I tested (around 15) which fortunately looks very nicely made also.

I have seen a Mike Wooldrige and John Parris cue and to my untrained eye I don't see any difference in quality to the mid range cues (King Cue and Master Cue). I have examined the splices on my own cue and they are near enough perfect and the grain of the ash is a nice pattern and even just like on the other 2 cues mentioned.

I'm interested in what you look for in a cue and if you have owned plenty... are your priorities when looking for that perfect cue, one that feels right or looks right?

If it's the former and you have a cheap machine spliced cue that players perfect, would you change this for one that looks nicer but try to get one made that feels like your former cue? Hence the changing of cues.

I'd like to hear your thoughts

[willtyson]

In my opinion the look of the cue doesn't mean a lot. If the cue feels right, then it's the right cue for you.

[cueman]

Has to be playability, I never know or understand people who will spend £700+ on a cue with loads of exotic woods or multi spliced like its so important to them. Can you imagine any other sport where design or looks of the equipment is seen as more important than how it performs. I mean do golfers have fancy designed clubs with bright colours or do cricketers have decorative woods on their bats so that it looks better? So why do snooker players feel the need to have such decorative cues, same with the cases, it seems like one of those games whereby people judge quality by looks and not by its characteristics to perform.

[KevinMA]

I also think that playability is the most important when buying a cue.
I have used some club cues that play very well and also come across some well-known brand cues that aren't extraordinary as expected. The playability of a particular cue very subjective. Certainly, a nice looking cue with lots of decorations does not improve its playability. But I think people normally would spend a huge amount of money on one cue is because the guarantee of the quality, such as the precise specs built as required, the quality of the wood selected...etc. so the possibility of getting a cue that matches your expectation is higher, if it does, an expensive cue will usually last years of play whereas a cheap cue depends your luck; if it doesn't, as you mentioned, the second market is very active, so the sale of a cue from well-known cue maker would not be a problem at all.

[gmoore23]

playability is far more important than looks. a good hand made cue with plain butt will still play ten times better than the fanciest looking bce or riley cue

[LWB]

I know a guy who is a very good pool player. He had this old 2 piece maple with a plastic joint when I first starting playing with him. He went through loads of cues, including expensive custom builds. He ended up getting rid of all of them and going back to the cheap 2 piece maple.

It really is mostly about individual preference.

Of course you've got to separate the 'want' from the 'need' in terms of buying a cue.

I need it to be straight, solidly built, and finished smoothly, and have a good tip.

I might happen to want some stunning looking decorative snakewood splices.

You could apply the same logic to many of our purchases in life .

[jaffa.johnson]

I looked for everything in my cue, look, feel, playability etc.

[hotpot]

Feel , taper , balance and the way it plays .

[Bigmeek]

When I bought my first cue many, many, years ago the only thing I was looking at which made any sense to me was the tip. I knew that it had to be the right size, shape etc. The cue also had to "feel right". At the time I didn't really know anything about what was the right length, weight, balance, butt size, taper etc but maybe deep down I could feel what was right for me. If you watch lots of guys picking a cue from the rack the first thing they do is look at the tip and then they give it a wiggle to test the weight. Some then roll it on the table to check for straightness. Never seen anyone balance it on their finger to check the balance point!!!

[jaffa.johnson]

On the rare occasion I am picking a rack cue, I look at the tips first, then check the smoothness through the hand, then feel for a weight and then go have a bash with it.

Generally will take 3 cues before I am happy with it.

The tip is so important as everyone knows, a good tip on crap cue will work better than a crap tip on a top handmade cue.

[sunny3909]

Has to be playability, I never know or understand people who will spend £700+ on a cue with loads of exotic woods or multi spliced like its so important to them. Can you imagine any other sport where design or looks of the equipment is seen as more important than how it performs. I mean do golfers have fancy designed clubs with bright colours or do cricketers have decorative woods on their bats so that it looks better? So why do snooker players feel the need to have such decorative cues, same with the cases, it seems like one of those games whereby people judge quality by looks and not by its characteristics to perform.

Very good advice cueman
Playability is the only important thing to look into the cue.
A silky smooth finish can be achieved on a machine spliced cue aswell.
But you can't change the playability of the cue.

[farlex11]

I am a cue collector ,and have around 70 Pool cues and 10 snooker cues.

In My oppinion You really need experience to judge a cue and test it's performance(especially the power)

In general a good snooker cue should be : solid, well balanced, made of very hard wood ,have an over-all conal shape(from butt to tip)as this reduces deflection by absorbing the vibration properly.
A good ferrule and tip also enhance the quality.(i use sniper multi layer tips)
In snooker Some cue makers are consistent and use the same type of ash for all their shafts but other cue makers are not at all.
In pool Laminated shafts such as the predator Z2 are really usefull as they decrease deflection and allow you to play side shots without having to compensate.
With experience you can hold any cue from it's bottom with one hand and hit it around the forearm area with your other hand wrist and judje it's power and deflection by noticng it's vibration pattern.

[Inoffthered]

Infra red and radar sync would be a plus

[jrc750]

I am a cue collector ,and have around 70 Pool cues and 10 snooker cues.
.........With experience you can hold any cue from it's bottom with one hand and hit it around the forearm area with your other hand wrist and judge it's power and deflection by noticing it's vibration pattern.

Have you any pics of your collection for us to see ? always of interest to us
Iv'e seen people do this to cues before and was wondering how they can tell much about it ??

[sanman]

the shaft is the most important thing I believe. splices are just decorative. I am personally fussy if the ccue isnt straight. A good tip and nice balance would make the cue feel perfect.