Post a reply

Small tip + heavy cue = effective combo?

Postby stroodle

Hi all,

I was using a friends snooker cue to play English pool and noticed how little effort I managed to create the accuracy & required action of the cue ball. Perhaps this was just due to the size and weight difference of the balls in English pool, in conjunction with the specs of cue I was using at the time.

I've noticed the snooker pro's on telly rarely stray away from the standard cue specifications to play snooker so i'm guessing it's not a bad idea to follow suit when choosing a cue for the first time.

However, I can't help thinking that a cue with a smaller tip width, ie 8mm, can make it easier to 'sight' a snooker cue ball with greater accuracy, or similarly 'access' a wider range of shots.

I have also noticed a handful of the worlds best players, namely Ronnie, Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy etc have the ability to create maximum reaction from the cue ball with minimal effort. I have heard it's due to practice on the back of a degree of natural ability. But for someone like myself (who is not the best cueist in the world!) to become more familiar with this invaluable characteristic of cueing, could perhaps be aided by a heavy cue, ie 19oz, with the mass to produce the action with limited power of stroke.


I will appreciate any contributions to this thread that could help me shed light on this topic.

Kind regards,

Stroodle

Re: Small tip + heavy cue = effective combo?

Postby Dan-cat

Certain tips will give you more action on the cue ball yes but.... it's learning the technique rather than any type of cue. I play pool with a house cue often, with big flat chunky tips and I can screw back the length of the table. It's all about the follow through. The best help I had was from Joe Davis bible. He said to 'dig' into the white to describe the necessary follow through action. After reading that I got back to the table and learnt how to play the soft screw shot which transformed my game.

Re: Small tip + heavy cue = effective combo?

Postby stroodle

Thanks for your prompt reply, DAN-CAT. Sounds by your thread like a player, given the time can get used to playing with just about anything.

And yes, I agree that the follow through plays a very important part in striking the ball accurately. This is particularly true for advanced shots when any type of spin is required.

I have ordered a cue with a smaller tip and which is slightly heavier to the one i'm used to playing with and i'm looking forward to experimenting with it. Perhaps this may bring me closer to that so called 'perfect cue'.

ps. Did Stroodle like watching snooker on telly? My cat loves following the white ball lol


Regards,

stroodle

Re: Small tip + heavy cue = effective combo?

Postby Sickpotter

Stroodle you should be careful how small you go with your tip, the smaller the tip the more any deviation off center ball will affect your shot.

Pool you won't notice this effect too much but it's greatly magnified on the larger tables.

In snooker I started with a 16oz 8mm cue but didn't make my first ton until I was forced to borrow a cue with a larger tip (10mm). An awful lot of breaks ended in the 80s/90s with my 8mm tip due to very small deviations off where I intended to strike the cue ball. When I borrowed the 10mm tip cue those slight deviations didn't have that great an effect on my shots and I made my first ton first frame with a borrowed cue.

On pool tables I do like the extra effect I could create with a small tip and my striking accuracy but a small tip in pool is a 10mm. If I decide to enter a 8-9 ball event I'll often grab a house snooker cue 10mm to play with. Most professional pool players use 12-13mm tips. I heard Mark Selby actually used a 8mm tip when he won the world pool championships a while back but he uses a 10mm for snooker (maybe a little smaller but nowhere near as small as what he uses for pool).

IMO you should stick with a tip size between 9-10mm. My preference is a 9.5mm firm tip.

Cue weight is a very personal thing. Because I was given my first snooker cue I had no input on the weight but being a very light cue (16oz) it certainly made me work on my stroke. Once I felt I had the light cue under control I experimented with various weights. I went as high as 23 oz (crazy) but found I struggled with soft touch shots, eventually I settled on cues in the 18-19oz range. Heavy enough to produce the power I wanted with ease but light enough to have some touch. Balance of the cue is key, you don't want a butt heavy cue as your tendency will be to let it drop on the shot often forcing the tip to strike higher.

Best of luck.