Pool queue?
 

I need the brain trust's assistance in buying a pool queue.

I started playing pool several months back. My corner bar has free pool on Sundays. I started playing, and found I like it. Its fun, and it's a good way to meet people. Thing is, the bar's queue sticks are deplorable at best. Most don't even have tips.

I'm thinking the best solution is to just buy my own stick. You know, nothing fancy, but not junk. So, what should I get? I'd like to stay under $100 if that's reasonable.

That's not reasonable. $100 buys only wal mart junk. I(f you're4 only playing in bar leagues, a plain jane cue will work fine. But I would suggest a good USA cue maker who uses Canadian rock maple for shaft material. Stay away from the carbon fiber shaft hoopla until you understand more of the basics of cu3e deflection and english.

If you just want someone to tell you what to buy? Here's a nice cue than no beginner should be afraid of. I've bought from this online supplier, they'll treat you well.

Yes, I'm a pool junkie...hate bar tables, prefer a real pool hall with 9' tables.

https://seyberts.com/collections/mcdermott-cues/products/gs03-pool-cue?variant=41732514906310

I exclusively use the house hardware.

It levels the playing field, just out of courtesy and respect.

In the dives I play in, anyone bringing their own wood is equivalent to a guy driving a Corvette to the drive-in movies. All stick, no balls.

Well, their Chevys are all on blocks. So, yeah.... :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1697931115.jpg

Thank you Capt. Carrera for making Paul's year with your question! He's got the info to be sure

Pawn shop.

That sounds good until you're playing with raw wood because the tip and/or ferrule is gone.

It's nice to be able to blame bad shots on the stick.

Best if you know what you're looking for...also, most Pawn shops have copies of the blue book of cues, know pretty damned well what they have and charge accordingly. The days of people finding a high value cue for pennies on the dollar in a pawn shop are long gone.I did pick up a nice 1980's McDermott for Cindy in a pawn shop for $100, about what it was worth...of course, promptly made is a $130 cue by having a Kamui layered tip installed. Decent player, but she moved on to a Jacoby, another decent USA made cue.

A video on how McDermott's are made...the fancy inlays don't mean much as far as playability goes. So a plain Jane, Merry Widow, or even a sneaky would play well for a beginner and still work well for a beginner wanting to improve up to a C or B level, skill wise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj-jkVcYPpw&ab_channel=McDermottCue

LOL! Why I avoid playing in bars. "Bar rules" equates to no rules, and people generate hard feelings, which can become dangerous. League pool is safer, at least each league has a set of rules. But generally, league pool is more about drinking and socializing. Some leagues more seriously competitive, you need to do research. If you get serious about pool, I'd suggest BCAPL over APA.

LOL! Truth to that...once I'd moved up to my Keith Josey custom I couldn't blame the cue when I dogged it. While I played, I dogged it a lot. :(

Back in the day when I knew everything, I somehow ended up holding the pot, it being the prize of a ferocious 8-Ball Battle at Liquor-Food in Lansing, MI. The neon sign out front was burnt-out except for the words ‘Liquor-Food’ so the name sorta stuck.

Anyways, naturally, a dispute arose amongst the combatants regarding whether or not the object ball was sunk in accordance with the call, ‘no-slop’ having been previously agreed to.

Combatant A ended up spread-eagled on the table, out cold. Combatant B accepted my uncontested offer of the $20 prize were he to allow me an unscathed escape, which I executed perfectly.

An all too common tale...why I avoided playing in bars. Coin-op tables with tattered cloth, dead rails, bucket pockets, balls so filthy they skid a lot, and the danger...

This is what gives pool a bad image...

You forgot the felt with cigarette burn holes worthy of Michigan roads.

**** fire and hold the matches! We have pure brilliance right here.

At this point, I'm looking for a queue that's complete, and not bent like a willow branch. Then again, complete and bent like a willow branch I'm familiar with would work.

Please...they are "cues"...really. Go ahead and buy the cheapest cue & case setup on the Wal-Mart shelf. I get the impression it's not really improving your pool skill that is your goal here.

Are you incapable of making a recommendation in the $100 range?

Pretty much. In my opinion, decent playing cues begin at the $300 range...below that, might as well buy the cheapest cue you can find. Anything around $100 will have been Chinese made with a "guess what kind of wood I am?" shaft, a "genuine leather" tip, and a joint that may or may not have been aligned and installed properly.

But..if you want to buy a $100 cue, there are plenty of people willing to sell you one. Many of them look really cool from a distance because decals are a lot cheaper than inlay work.

I sense you don't feel I've properly acknowledge you're expertise, and seasoned advice. Let me assure you, I have. Thing is, I feel you're failing to realize I must now decide how your advice applies to me.

I find advice from a true expert, given to a pure novice, often needs tempering. For example, if I ask a professional driver with a race-prep GT3 what I need to run an HPDE, they're likely to recommend a Cayman or a Boxster. But honesty, any old car in good repair would suffice.

So if I unintentionally offended you, I apologize. If instead you're just a gruff and grumpy old guy, I still apologize with a "bless your heart" thrown in.

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In that same era when I was invulnerable and went to bars, I went with a buddy named Shelby that was an pool hustler, a fact that was unknown to me. The bar's name was Charlie Brown's and a C&W redneck bar. He started playing some guy using his right hand and let the other guy win occasionally. Finally the stakes got higher and the other guy was reluctant to bet much cash. Shelby said he would play left handed to give his opponent a better chance. So the stakes were higher, and of course Shelby is a natural left handed player, and cleaned up.

I had just received a new beer, and Shelby said, we have to GTFO now! So I left my beer, threw some cash down to pay for the beer, and we left in a hurry before the sucker guy could gather his friends to kick his butt. I had ridden in his car, so I was happy to get out of the place unhurt.

Gimme three steps, give me three steps mister, give me three steps towards the door!

(Yes, I know gambling isn't what the song was about, but this situation seems to fit).

Yep, I'm definitely a COB...Crusty old bastid. But that has little to do with selecting a cue. Once I figured out that you're really more interested in the social aspect of the bar scene, with pool being only a minor part of that, my advice to go to Wal-Mart was sincere. Just pick a cue that looks good to you, buy a cheap case that keeps the butt and the shaft separate, and go have fun. Nothing wrong with that....

Curious how you arrived at that conclusion.

Anyway, maybe you can get decent advise at a pool/billiards specialty store. Maybe somebody at DICK'S can assist you, since our resident refuses to work with your budget. I don't believe everything under $300 is the same.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/SearchDisplay?searchTerm=maple%20pool%20cue&storeI d=15108&catalogId=12301&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResu ltsPage=true&fromPage=Search&searchSource=Q&pageVi ew=&beginIndex=0&DSGsearchType=Keyword&pageSize=48 &selectedStore=1049

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/s/stores

I did the work...my first suggestion of the McDermott was of what I consider a decent entry level playing cue...one that a beginner would be able to use even as skills increase...skills like learning about deflection, english, cue ball shape (which really is the game), etc. A cheap $100 cue is unlikely able to do these skills well...especially with it's standard tip. That McDermott was equipped with a decent tip.

(edit) Clicked on that link from Dick's. Miserak (Named after the late great Steve Miserak) and Viper...both cheaply made Chinese cues, as I described earlier. No better, no worse, than what you'll find at Wal-Mart. The $104 Viper might have a decent shaft...might not. I bought a similar one some years back as a cue I thought I'd leave in my car trunk. Had a good tip installed. It had a huge deflection, but I'd learned to compensate.
Hated it's nylon wrap. When the shaft warped from trunk carry, I tossed it.

Wow, a billiard thread with more than three hits. (OK, Paul is still responsible for a third of 'em, but what - ever.)

Am I in a Stephen King novel? Is my new universe an alternate to reality?

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After a couple posts, I Believe PWD understands perfectly. I've got a long way to go until I'm even average. Until then, I can buy a stick, use my finger, or go someplace where people will be irritated with the old lady figuring out how to play.

LOL! Okay, I'm probably done here. Guess I got a bit riled when those knowing little about the game posted.

There's an old phrase in pool related to cues. "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian". If you pay attention, you'll find that the skilled Indian has an awfully straight and well made arrow.

Right now, I'd guess you're still struggling with aiming, right? Here's a quick 3 minutes basic aiming trick...and remember that the balls are round. Sounds obvious, right? This means that the contact point you want is smaller than the period on a printed page. There's a lot of BS on youtube how to play pool posts. This guy is good... Another is known as "Dr. Dave", a recently retired mechanical engineering professor...although he gets into the more advanced stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7F-2rnkkgY&ab_channel=Sharivari

Study better players...note how they use stance, head position, grip, how they bridge the cue for various shots. It costs nothing to pay attention.

Call it a cue and don't mention the Chevy and I think pwd will warm up.

Thank you for the link. My aim isn't consistent. Ill make three or four in a row, then miss several easy shots. What's important is that I can tell I'm getting better

I was a bit of a pool shark in HS and college...I'd stroll in, grab a cue off the PH rack, roll it on the felt to make sure it was true, then get busy living...

:D

I never played pool until we moved to South Carolina. There were a lot of pool halls and in those days, you needed to have your head on a swivel.

One long gone place in Aiken, the Sugar Shack (I know) had the best jukebox on the planet and no shortage of stories...

My grandfather hustled pool and craps in the 20's. I asked him how much he made and he said "around $3,000 a year." He taught me, my brother, and our three cousins how to play at their vacation house in the Russian River with a table he bought a big time club in SF, where they lived. I probably peaked at age 15-16, but loved the game, always 8-ball. I made a mental note that he was 80 years old and would beat me unless I sunk the 8 in 2-3 turns.

There was a picture hanging on the wall of that room of dogs playing poker.

We played on Friday and Saturday nights at the local watering hole here on the island.

In the 70's it was called "The Glass Bar". Later it became "Moe's" and now is just called "Traders".

Sometimes my buddies & their band would be playing there - and on those nights attendance was mandatory. :)

What else is there to do except shoot pool?

So we did a lot of it.

We used to go downtown to the billiard hall and shoot snooker & 9 ball on those big azz snooker tables.....so when we played on the "regular" tables we were damn good!

Yet there was always someone better so you learned to get in and get out while the gettin' was good!

I always used the house cues. Like Paul said....roll e'm on the table and if they're relatively straight you get busy livin'.......

For the record I was at best below average.

Remember the quarters on the table? I put one on and mirth ensued.

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Pool Queue... The only one I'd want is that really expensive one. ;)

"Balabushka"

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