Having fun is the key... Dave, sounds like you're on your way. English? Fun to play with, but I do my best to stay away from anything other than stop-follow-draw. It's fun to spin the cue ball, but as you learned, English can cause misses as well...even with a "low deflection" shaft. That's a tip I picked up from my BCA GrandMaster honorary nephew...English is supposed to help your game, not hamper it. He uses it only as needed.

I do think a better tip on that Dufferin should be on your to do list...

On fun...if you're not doing something for a living, it should be fun. I try to follow that self imposed rule...if something I do for fun ever stops being fun, it's time to move on to something else. Only a few gain the skill to make it as a pro in pool. I almost said "lucky few"...but thinking about it, I don't think I'd enjoy that lifestyle much. Travelling all over the globe, living in hotels, eating road food, lack of sleep.
Nope..at my age, I not only like my routine, I need it!

Study the players better than you. Their stance, the bridges they use, the stroke and follow through, shot selection, all of it. You can learn a lot watching better players. Stay down. Whenever I watch two people I don't know play, I can usually predict the winner after each has shot a few by picking the one who follows through and stays in position after the shot. The one who jumps up immediately after shooting is most likely going to lose.

I'll close with a pic. Mika Immomen on his way to winning the recent world 14-1 championship. Perfect stance...one feather in my honorary nephew's cap was in beating Mika at the Reno bar table championships.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1474396877.jpg

Almost seems that both shafts are low defection. Nobody on the table, so setup the cue ball between two diamonds on the table on one end (side and end rail). Aimed at a diamond at the other end and proceeded to move the English two over on the cue ball. No hi/low hits, just at the equator on each side. Both shafts didn't deflect the cue ball much. Maybe an 1/8" off the diamond on each shot, with each shaft. I could the ball curve on the table, but the shots curved back to basically hit the diamond I was aiming for.

What's wrong with a Shark tip? Yeah, no Kamui, but was not going to spend that kind of money for a tip in a cue I wasn't sure about. Anyway, I'll be playing this tip for a while.

Maybe I've been too sold on the Kamui tip. Pool players are as subject to gimmickry and sales pitches as any other group. As long as the shark tip works & you're happy with it, stick with it. Maybe consider Kamui when you need a replacement?

The latest gimmickry in "low deflection" is a Predator Cue called a "Revo". Made in Tiawan, I believe. The Predator line was the first to come out with laminated "low deflection" shafts. Marketing hype or the real deal? Hell, I dunno...there are believers in both camps. Being old school, I stick with solid maple..

Anyway, the "Revo" has a shaft made of carbon fiber that supposedly was mixed with some special kind of pixie dust that only Predator knows about. Seems awfully $pendy to me when a production cue is priced like a well made custom. At $3,500 for a cue and one shaft? I'd more likely be taking to one of the respected custom cue makers.

Here's a sales pitch video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTdflfh4GwU

Then pages of comments by players...some who actually have played with one. I haven't.

Predator Revo shaft full review and deflection test - AzBilliards.com

Your own deflection tests...did you try soft, medium, and hard hits? Again, it's really all about what feels good to you. Lots of emphasis on equipment while it's really more about player talent and experience. You'll find yourself improving over time. One of the pros said that any 12 year old could do what he does...all it takes is 30 years of experience.

For more about deflection than you really want to know....from "Dr. Dave"...a physics prof. in Colorado who uses pool as class material. He approaches the game from a scientific viewpoint.

http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/cue.html#low_squirt