a cue very similar to this except the base of the points are touching and the wrap is snake-skin. custom made by my good friend Ted Harris.

I've been a teaching pro off and on for many years and this is what I tell my students when they come to me with this question.

It really doesn't matter who made the stick as your stroke and tempo will change as your stroke evolves. The things that do matter are tip size, tip type and weight. These should be 12 mm, hard, and around 19 oz. and make changes from there.

Also leagues (either apa or in house) are always good opportunities for beginning players. League players are usually friendly and ready to help and usually don't mind you taking a few strokes with a cue.

same here.

There r only 2 brands Predator or Mezz cues Predator for playing Mess for breaking and jumping http://www.youtube.com/user/onlycash

i think literally the first thing i bought myself after moving to st.louis and winning at poker a lot was a 19.5oz jacoby cue. it cost a pretty penny and i have no idea if i paid too much but after hours of shooting with tons of cues at a slightly shady but highly recommended shop near st.louis on the word of a friend of the owner, i chose this bad boy...and i couldn't have been/be happier.



i still have it/use it and love it. i've played with cues from cue snobs over the years and there are *very* few that i'd choose over this one.

this is one of 2 purchases (for material/utilitarian things) in my life that i feel that i look back on and truly relish. the other was a north face summit series shell from 2003 that still looks as good today as when i bought it and is still just as waterproof and i use it for everyday and skiing.

i really love this cue though :-).

EDIT: btw, i truly suck at pool though lol

Ludo Dielis Violet from Longoni

Not for pool though.

I have an old school Schon LTD with Predator 314 shaft.

This. 90% of the value in owning your own cue is knowing that it has a good tip, and that it is rounded and de-glazed properly. I lost a bet once to a guy that said he could beat me with a broomstick that he had glued a tip to. He did beat me. Badly. It had very little impact on his game.

These days I just shoot with a cheapo 2-piece cuetec with fiberglass shaft. By far the best cue in it's price range. Not sure what they're worth now, but got mine for $150 new. You'd have to jump to cues in the $300+ range to find something comparable.

Over the years I've owned (and still own many) cues by Meucci, Falcon, Brunswick, McDermott, and probably a few others. I always go back to the Cuetec. It plays great and predictable, and don't have to worry about babying it. If it falls onto the concrete floor, no big deal.

I've never owned a Predator shaft, I've heard great things about them and they've felt right when I've taken them for test drives. I think that's going to be my next cue. Get a shaft for my pretty Meucci. I just couldn't get used to the whippiness of the Meucci shaft, so it's shelved.

For pool I use a fairly plain Schon with a first-generation Predator shaft. It weighs about 18.5 oz. For breaking I have the one of the original Sledge Hammer jump/break cues that Mike Gulyassey used to make (actually I was told it's the prototype, but of course there's no way to know that). It weighs slightly less, about 18-18.25 oz.

For snooker I use a two-piece cue made by (I think) Trevor White. It originally was a maple cue but I had an ash shaft made for it by a local cue maker. It's got a 10.2mm tip and weighs about 17.5 oz. It's probably the best hitting cue in the world.