This time I am going to write something about choosing the snooker cue case for your ronnie o sullivan snooker cue. By now you probably have been out there looking for that cue of your dreams. Hopefully you have been implementing my advice here and looking also from the internet. You should have a good opinion on your gamestyle before you start looking for a cue. I made some bad decisions when I started playing. It was a little over twenty years ago when I watched the snooker world championship the first time. That really had me. I could not spend a day without something related to snooker or even snooker pool cue cases. My parents got worried that I would stay behind in school, since I was only 14 years old then. I had a few friends who I took to the local snooker hall and that is where it started.
We had all been playing pool every now and then but when we learned the snooker rules and when I got hooked because of the WCT we never played pool again. Two of my friends are playing professional snooker today. And of course me. Two other friends are just enjoying snooker as a hobby. Either way they are still obsessed about the game. That is what happens to everyone I have seen. It's like golf, once you are bitten by the bug you can't think of anything else. Snooker cue cases are like golf bags that you always have in your car so you can go and play a round anytime. And when you retire from your dayjob you can aways be found at the local hall. Well that is what happened to me, but snooker turned in to my dayjob. That is what I do every day and every night. My wife is killing me for that but she does know that me playing is what brings home the bacon. Her plastic surgery and her porche have all been bought with my playing and she does not mind that!
Snooker Cue Cases
The first time I bought my own cue was about three months after I started playing. I got myself a crappy cue which cost about $20. That was the worst move I ever made since it was worse than the cues at the hall. It screwed up my game and I might aswell be playing with a broomstick. The tip of that cue was the size of my thumb and made of plastic. Like I said in posts before the snooker cue tip porpably the most important thing in the cue. And you have to buy one that has one made of leather. Don't accept a plastic tip even for a cue that you are carrying around in your cue case all the time just to fill the void space.
When you are looking for cue cases the first thing you should think about is your cue. As written before you have a lot of different cues to choose from. One piece, two piece and three piece. The one piece snooker cue is not something that you like to be carrying around too much. It does fit quite nicely in the back of your car but it can easily bend or get some kind of dents in it. So never do that. If you have a one piece cue, keep it at home or at the hall at a locker. The two piece cues are the most popular cues and most of the cue cases are made for two piece handmade snooker cues. You probably have been looking for one at the local shop already and are eager to make a buying decision. Buy this or buy that? You must be confused as the shopkeeper wants to sell you the more expensive because it's "better", but it does look exactly like the one that is cheaper. You have to learn to make your own decisions since most of the shopkeepers I know out there are just to there to make money. They can really cheat you a lot.
Designer Snooker Cue Cases
Designer snooker cue cases are the most recent thing in snooker. The guys at the hall are getting really fancy about their cases and in my opinion it is just getting a bit ridiculous. The colors and the leather is starting to look a bit fairy to me. I can easily understand a case made out of leather, but if it alligator or kenguru it is over my head. I mean do you really have to kill a endangered animal to store your cues in? I don't think so. I think Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana are the most well known designers that I have seen cases from
Leather Cue Cases
Leather is the most popular material for snooker cue cases right after the traditional wooden cases. When looking for a case you should be looking for something that fits your eye. As I stated before you really should not be looking for a too expensive designer case because you will only be wasting your money. What you want as your first case is just something that will hold on as long as your cue, and preferrably even longer. So you need to be looking for quality insted of appearance. When choosing a long lasting case I advice you to stay away from the leather cases since they have a habit of stretching and tearing over the years.
Wooden Cue Cases
Whole wooden snooker cue cases are the thing you are looking for. They do sometimes cost a little more that the cheapest plastic modelst but they do hold on as long as you are willing to hold on to them. There are a lot of models that can hold any kinds of cues and it is actually very easy to find a wooden case for any cue. When buying you should look at the seams of the inside covering. That makes sense as you would probably do that with anything that you buy: First check it out if it is in a good shape. There is always the refund policy and usually tou are allowed to bring it back to the shop if the quality is poor. But that is just extra trouble and they don't refund you the time spent driving around. That is actually why I prefere the internet shops. They are normally sent to you directly from the warehouse, so no-one has been nibbling with your equipment in the shop. They come in original packaging and if there is anything wrong you can just mail them back and the seller has to pay all the expenses. This may vary between different sellers though. A decent wooden cue case sells anywhere from 30$ to 80$. The best models once again are way beond that. Buy that if you want to.
Snooker cue cases come in all kinds of colors and shapes. Some of the models have ridiculous prints on them and I am not sure I would be comfortable carrying a flag around me. Just like in everything else you should do what pleases you. You should also keep an eye out for the hinges of the case. In some models they have used really inexpensive hinges because all the people are looking for in snooker cue cases are the colors and the materials. The hinges are the one part after the lock that keeps your case in one piece. It does not matter how high quality the materials used to make the box are, if the hinges break off you need to get new ones. I had some models where I had to replace the hinges in a few weeks after buying the snooker cue case. This is quite discomforting since the hinges can cost as much as a new case. If you bought a cheap case in the first place I mean. Luckily the online snooker shops sell hinges aswell, and you don't need to be a carpenter to be able to replace them. Leveling a snooker table is a different thing but replacing the hinges to your case is a walk in the park.
The soft cases I have seen around are not that good and in my opinion you should not carry your cues in a soft case. It endangeres the cue as it can easily be bent. If you have a four piece cue it is not that easily bent so maybe you could carry it around in a soft snooker cue case but in my opinion why risk it. A hard or semi-hard case is as easy to carry around and costs just a fraction more. By the way I would not use a pool cue case to carry my snooker cue extensions around. There are some quality brands such as Peradon which makes a decent quality of cases and I would definitely consider them as one of the options. Some aluminium cases and have also arrived the markets and just like the carbon it is a good way to go because of its durability. 3/4 jointed cue cases are the most common so if you have a three or four piece cue you should have no problem in finding a case for your needs.
Snooker games are the best there are and the equipment should always be the best there is. Don't go out there and get just something and waste your money. That way you could borrow the eqauipment and never really learn how to benefit from them. Shooting some snooker pool might be just a hobby for you but for me I can't really get enough from it and as I have derived it to a profession, I am not getting enough of it. I have been asked quite a lot to start snooker coaching but for now I am just sticking with playing and writing this blog. Maybe in a few years who knows. In my opinion you should think about getting a used snooker table to play with at home so you don't have to spend so much time outside the house. It is getting frustrating with me and my wife since I do have a table of my own, but am so accustomed to playing at the hall that I can't consentrate if there is no audience. There is so much about snooker cue cases that I could write about but for now this will do.
What Kind of Snooker Cues Are There
As I wrote on the previous post there are all kinds of different snooker cues out there and you basically need to tack through the ones that don't suite you or just are of poor quality. I will help you in spotting out the ones that lack the quality or just don't have a good vibe to them. But first let me recap the basics on choosing your snooker cue.
Like stated on the post that I wrote for the beginner snookerists Choosing Your First Snooker Cue there are a lot of factors that you need to keep in mind when surfing the web for a new snooker cue. This one is going to be yours and you need to spend some money on it. Don't just throw away the cash and make a stupid decision. I am here to help you choose the right cue for you.
Firstly you should write down the measurements that you learned on the previous post. I didn't tell you exactly how you can be sure wether you need to have a lighter or a heavier cue, or wether you should do like I have done and gotten a slightly longer cue for my height, or go with a shorter one. Well the basic rules for situations like this is the basic rule that I stated for choosing your cue. You must learn your game. When you know all the things that you do around the table you will know what to expect from your cue. If you have to be reaching for the spider-rest all the time, you might want to concider getting a slightly longer cue. If you feel that you are always backing down from the table or holding half way through your cue you might want to like a shorter cue. Like I said, don't go with the feeling that you have at the moment of puchase. That is when you usually make the wrong decisions. Be very precise of what you are looking fore, write it down and search it. You won't be disappointed that is guaranteed.
Snooker Cue Types
When it comes to choosing your very first cue there are other factors related than just taking one that is the correct lenght and weight. There are two piece and three piece models and they come made from different types of wood or even synthetic materials. These are all preferences and tend to start to like a different material from time to time and this is all natural. Mostly the material affects they way that the cue feels to your hand. If it is made from a vert soft wood like softwood which is actually originating from trees like pine and fir, you will feel the cue to be very soft. This won't make much of a difference in the manner that the cue plays but it will make a difference in it's durability. Since pine and fir are soft they will play quite nicely and like I said there is not much of a difference to the feel of the impact, there is a slight, but usually you can not feel it if you aren't experienced or have extremely soft hand like I do.
The softer woods tend to have some problems when it comes to durability. I don't mean that you can break a snooker cue by just playing it, this should not be possible, but over time the humidity and air can get to the wood even through the finish. This will make the cue bend a little, and if you see that your cue is curved like a bow then you should definitely go and get yourself a new one. A curved snooker cue will ruin your game. If not immediately then in the long run. I have seen so many players who waited out on getting a new snooker cue to replace their curverd cues and they developed so bad errors in their techniques that they basically could never reach the same level again.
The medium hard woods like mahogany are the ones that are usually used at the snookerhalls. This is where everything is medium. The lenght, weight and the material are very mediocre because the owners don't usually want to spend a fortune on the accesories since the beginners don't know the difference, and all the professionals and the advanced players have their own equipment. A medium wood snooker cue is just that. Medium.
The hard wood snooker cues are usually the ones that are durable and have a tigh feeling. They are usually made from trees like the oaks, beech, maples and cherry. I myself have had a few of each one of these and I definitely prefer a harder wood cue. Why is that? Well I am a power player by heart like I stated before. I also have an unnaturally soft touch to my game and that is why I use a heavier cue. With this combination of a harder wood and a heavier cue the last thing that I want with my current playing is to have a soft cue. That would lose me all the control that I have during the impact with the ball, because the soft wood in the cue would dull out any feeling that I could get from the tip. For a lighter cue the softer wood could be a good choice since there is less mass to absorb the impact. But as I need a heavier snooker cue because of my playing style I need to go with the harder woods.
Now after the wooden cues had been around for a long time somebody had the idea of making a snooker cue out of different materials. This was not all bad but like in everything synthetic you tend to lose the natural touch to the game. I will not go in to the carbon fiber cues that they make nowdays because I simply don't have too much experience on those. I have tested them but they never really convinced me. But I am not against progression and if you think that they are what you should buy then you should go that way.
What I will have to write a few sentences about is those hybrid cues. They really might have a very promising future. There are cues that have a graphite shell over a wooden interior. This might be a good idea for someone looking for a soft wood snooker cue but is troubled with the idea that it is not as durable as the harder cues. The graphite shell gives the cue durability but most importantly it keeps it firm. With a lighter wood on the inside you can still have a feel on the impact but also keep your hits together. The hybrid cues are evolving very fast right now and I don't think that it would be a bad decision to by a hybrid for your first own cue.
Hybrids have what you call warp resistance. That makes the cue less likely to bend over time. Now besides theones which have the graphite on the outside, there are also cues that have graphite on the inside and wood on the outside. That way you can get the beatiful looks of the good quality woods and still have the durability and warp resistance of the graphite shaft going through the cue.
One, Two, or Three Piece Snooker Cue
Besides just choosing the correct weight, lenght and material there is also the piece thing to consider. Now no-one told that choosing a perfect snooker cue for you would be easy and there are many factors involved. Having the right amount of pieces is one of them. First lets look at some of the basics involved in the two piece cues.
Most of the cues that are out there are made of two pieces. These are the ones that you usually see that can be quicly assembled and deassebled and put away in their snooker cue cases. There are many types of locking mechanisms for the two pieces of the cue to get connected and some of them are the so called quick-lock and the screw. Personally I prefere the traditional screwable cues because it gives you the impression of a much sturdier shaft. The two piece is the traditional that is for sure but what are the advantages and disadvantages. Well nothing much. Two piece is what you shoud go with in my opinion but there is not a single thing that I could say that would be credible and would somehow prove that it is the better choice. This is a matter of preference as well.
The three piece snooker cues are a bit newer than the two piece. At first there was the one piece, then the two piece and now the three piece. Those one piece cues you still see at the snooker halls because they are the ones that are least expensive out of the three, and they are not needed to be carried around so they do not need to fit in a trunk or a cue case. Three piece cues are not evenly divided in to three pieces. The cue has a long part which is about two thirds of the entire shaft leght. So it is actually the shaft, tip and the butt. These cues are meant for players who are playing both snooker and pool, and want to easily carry around equipment for both and don't want to buy two different cues. As it turns out these players have different tips for their cues. Ones that are smaller and more accurate to be used when playing snooker, and ones that are larger and shorter for playing pool. I really can not recommend this for anyone since the three piece cues are usually more expencive than buying two different cues, and tend to be of lower quality.
How Much do Snooker Cues cost
As from anything from golf clubs to tennis raquettes the price range varies a lot. The manufactures want to make their products available for everyon and that is why they produce these low budget models and then they have their flagship products to keep up the company image. The low budget line is what it sounds like. It is low budget. If you have read this far from the beginning and did not just jump all the way down you should have noticed that there are a lot of factors in choosing your snooker cue correctly. And I do take this very seriously. If you do buy a 20$ snooker cue then you are reading the wrong pages and should be searching the internet for childerns toys.
The price range on snooker cues goes all the way up to several thousands of dollars. That is a lot but I happen to own a few of those and you can really feel the quality. As you play for money and your income is related to how well you play, you might want to invest a little to your equipment. But if you are out there to just beat the life out of your friends at snooker, then you should consider keeping the price around 200$. Two hundred dollars is basically what you need to use to get very good snooker cue. The ones that come cheaper are not that good, but they still beat the ones that cost less. And if you go above 200$ the quality does not improve like the price does. That is why the best ones cost around 2000-3000$ and a regular pub player would not know the difference to the 200$ models.
The last thing to keep in mind when buying a snooker cue is that if you did buy one that shows up to be the wrong kind for you, don't keep playing with it. You need to sell it and get a new one as fast as possible. Playing with the wrong snooker cue can ruin your game for life.
Like stated on the post that I wrote for the beginner snookerists Choosing Your First Snooker Cue there are a lot of factors that you need to keep in mind when surfing the web for a new snooker cue. This one is going to be yours and you need to spend some money on it. Don't just throw away the cash and make a stupid decision. I am here to help you choose the right cue for you.
Firstly you should write down the measurements that you learned on the previous post. I didn't tell you exactly how you can be sure wether you need to have a lighter or a heavier cue, or wether you should do like I have done and gotten a slightly longer cue for my height, or go with a shorter one. Well the basic rules for situations like this is the basic rule that I stated for choosing your cue. You must learn your game. When you know all the things that you do around the table you will know what to expect from your cue. If you have to be reaching for the spider-rest all the time, you might want to concider getting a slightly longer cue. If you feel that you are always backing down from the table or holding half way through your cue you might want to like a shorter cue. Like I said, don't go with the feeling that you have at the moment of puchase. That is when you usually make the wrong decisions. Be very precise of what you are looking fore, write it down and search it. You won't be disappointed that is guaranteed.
Snooker Cue Types
When it comes to choosing your very first cue there are other factors related than just taking one that is the correct lenght and weight. There are two piece and three piece models and they come made from different types of wood or even synthetic materials. These are all preferences and tend to start to like a different material from time to time and this is all natural. Mostly the material affects they way that the cue feels to your hand. If it is made from a vert soft wood like softwood which is actually originating from trees like pine and fir, you will feel the cue to be very soft. This won't make much of a difference in the manner that the cue plays but it will make a difference in it's durability. Since pine and fir are soft they will play quite nicely and like I said there is not much of a difference to the feel of the impact, there is a slight, but usually you can not feel it if you aren't experienced or have extremely soft hand like I do.
The softer woods tend to have some problems when it comes to durability. I don't mean that you can break a snooker cue by just playing it, this should not be possible, but over time the humidity and air can get to the wood even through the finish. This will make the cue bend a little, and if you see that your cue is curved like a bow then you should definitely go and get yourself a new one. A curved snooker cue will ruin your game. If not immediately then in the long run. I have seen so many players who waited out on getting a new snooker cue to replace their curverd cues and they developed so bad errors in their techniques that they basically could never reach the same level again.
The medium hard woods like mahogany are the ones that are usually used at the snookerhalls. This is where everything is medium. The lenght, weight and the material are very mediocre because the owners don't usually want to spend a fortune on the accesories since the beginners don't know the difference, and all the professionals and the advanced players have their own equipment. A medium wood snooker cue is just that. Medium.
The hard wood snooker cues are usually the ones that are durable and have a tigh feeling. They are usually made from trees like the oaks, beech, maples and cherry. I myself have had a few of each one of these and I definitely prefer a harder wood cue. Why is that? Well I am a power player by heart like I stated before. I also have an unnaturally soft touch to my game and that is why I use a heavier cue. With this combination of a harder wood and a heavier cue the last thing that I want with my current playing is to have a soft cue. That would lose me all the control that I have during the impact with the ball, because the soft wood in the cue would dull out any feeling that I could get from the tip. For a lighter cue the softer wood could be a good choice since there is less mass to absorb the impact. But as I need a heavier snooker cue because of my playing style I need to go with the harder woods.
Now after the wooden cues had been around for a long time somebody had the idea of making a snooker cue out of different materials. This was not all bad but like in everything synthetic you tend to lose the natural touch to the game. I will not go in to the carbon fiber cues that they make nowdays because I simply don't have too much experience on those. I have tested them but they never really convinced me. But I am not against progression and if you think that they are what you should buy then you should go that way.
What I will have to write a few sentences about is those hybrid cues. They really might have a very promising future. There are cues that have a graphite shell over a wooden interior. This might be a good idea for someone looking for a soft wood snooker cue but is troubled with the idea that it is not as durable as the harder cues. The graphite shell gives the cue durability but most importantly it keeps it firm. With a lighter wood on the inside you can still have a feel on the impact but also keep your hits together. The hybrid cues are evolving very fast right now and I don't think that it would be a bad decision to by a hybrid for your first own cue.
Hybrids have what you call warp resistance. That makes the cue less likely to bend over time. Now besides theones which have the graphite on the outside, there are also cues that have graphite on the inside and wood on the outside. That way you can get the beatiful looks of the good quality woods and still have the durability and warp resistance of the graphite shaft going through the cue.
One, Two, or Three Piece Snooker Cue
Besides just choosing the correct weight, lenght and material there is also the piece thing to consider. Now no-one told that choosing a perfect snooker cue for you would be easy and there are many factors involved. Having the right amount of pieces is one of them. First lets look at some of the basics involved in the two piece cues.
Most of the cues that are out there are made of two pieces. These are the ones that you usually see that can be quicly assembled and deassebled and put away in their snooker cue cases. There are many types of locking mechanisms for the two pieces of the cue to get connected and some of them are the so called quick-lock and the screw. Personally I prefere the traditional screwable cues because it gives you the impression of a much sturdier shaft. The two piece is the traditional that is for sure but what are the advantages and disadvantages. Well nothing much. Two piece is what you shoud go with in my opinion but there is not a single thing that I could say that would be credible and would somehow prove that it is the better choice. This is a matter of preference as well.
The three piece snooker cues are a bit newer than the two piece. At first there was the one piece, then the two piece and now the three piece. Those one piece cues you still see at the snooker halls because they are the ones that are least expensive out of the three, and they are not needed to be carried around so they do not need to fit in a trunk or a cue case. Three piece cues are not evenly divided in to three pieces. The cue has a long part which is about two thirds of the entire shaft leght. So it is actually the shaft, tip and the butt. These cues are meant for players who are playing both snooker and pool, and want to easily carry around equipment for both and don't want to buy two different cues. As it turns out these players have different tips for their cues. Ones that are smaller and more accurate to be used when playing snooker, and ones that are larger and shorter for playing pool. I really can not recommend this for anyone since the three piece cues are usually more expencive than buying two different cues, and tend to be of lower quality.
How Much do Snooker Cues cost
As from anything from golf clubs to tennis raquettes the price range varies a lot. The manufactures want to make their products available for everyon and that is why they produce these low budget models and then they have their flagship products to keep up the company image. The low budget line is what it sounds like. It is low budget. If you have read this far from the beginning and did not just jump all the way down you should have noticed that there are a lot of factors in choosing your snooker cue correctly. And I do take this very seriously. If you do buy a 20$ snooker cue then you are reading the wrong pages and should be searching the internet for childerns toys.
The price range on snooker cues goes all the way up to several thousands of dollars. That is a lot but I happen to own a few of those and you can really feel the quality. As you play for money and your income is related to how well you play, you might want to invest a little to your equipment. But if you are out there to just beat the life out of your friends at snooker, then you should consider keeping the price around 200$. Two hundred dollars is basically what you need to use to get very good snooker cue. The ones that come cheaper are not that good, but they still beat the ones that cost less. And if you go above 200$ the quality does not improve like the price does. That is why the best ones cost around 2000-3000$ and a regular pub player would not know the difference to the 200$ models.
The last thing to keep in mind when buying a snooker cue is that if you did buy one that shows up to be the wrong kind for you, don't keep playing with it. You need to sell it and get a new one as fast as possible. Playing with the wrong snooker cue can ruin your game for life.
Choosing Your First Snooker Cue
How To Choose A Snooker Cue?
When you come to the point of your snooker career that you want to buy your own snooker cue there are some things to consider. You don't want to spend all your money on a cue that you grow out of after a few months of intensive playing. Like in any other sports in snooker there are equipment which can be easily used and equipment that can produce amazing results. The ones that are easy to use are usually the ones that don't let you manipulate the spins as much or are no quite that accurate. Anyway they produce quite solid hits constantly even when the skill level is low. Then there are the ones that are the so called professional cues. These are hard to hit but they allow for better spin control and balance. If you choose a cue that does not correspond to your skill level you need to buy a new one either because it is too difficult to play, or it is as moldable as it could be.
When you are buying your own cue it may seem at first that it is not all that necessary. Since you can always have the cue from where you go play. But as you realise soon it is quite mandatory if you are serious about your game. As I said before there are different classes of cues, and the ones at the snookerhalls are not that great but they are usually chosen for the lower class players. This is because these cues are actually little bit less pricy and it is more comfortable for the owner to let anyone play with these kind of cues.
Choosing The Correct Snooker Cue
Choosing the peradon snooker cue is actually very important. You are propably used to play with the ones that your local snooker hall has but when you choose to buy your own there is always a little excitement involved and you should not rush the decision. When you are listening to the salesmen they usually have somewhat sense of what they are selling you but they really don't know your game. So the first thing you should do is to study your game and learn what kind of a player you are.
Buying your own cue is possibly the most important choice you have to make when you are trying to play a serious game. With those beginner cues that the snookerhalls have there is not just that much of room to grow as a player. Even though for some people those cues are all they will ever need even if they play a lot more than others – they just dont evolve like the more talented ones. The most advantage that you get out from buying your own cue is that from that moment on you will be playing with the same cue all the time. This gets you accustomed for that particular powerglide snooker cue and you start to master that particular cue. When you master it your game starts to improve and you start feeling the balls at the tips of your fingers! Up to this moment you have been playing with a different stick every time. That is the reason why you propably have had those off-days when the game is just not working. On the other days you seem to rule the table – this is what it will feel like when you buy your own snooker pool cue, every day! - but the next day you feel like you just started playing.
It might not sound like a good investment to put over a 100$. But trust me it is. If you plan on playing for more than a few years which everyon usually does. No one who is planning on buying their own best snooker cue, plan to play just this year and stop playing the next. If you choose to invest only 20$ for your new riley snooker cue then that is what you will get. A twenty dollar stick that is as good as anything that you can pick up from the forest. I don't mean to insult any of the manufactures that make these sticks, but as I started playing I bought a few of those cheap sticks and they just dont hold their form with a power player like me and definitely don't give enough control over the game.
There might be a few decent twenty buck ronnie o sullivansnooker cues out there but I surely have not found any of them. If you have, then feel free to drop a comment! I personally have been playing for several years and do play at a level that most of the readers only dream of achieving. I don't like to sound like I am bragging but that is the way it just is. There are always a lot of beginners who think that they can go everywhere with their game, but when they have an experienced player agaist them they seem to fall of the table.
If you somehow found yourself in to this page looking for poolcues then you are reading for nothing and might as well stop right now because I am a snooker player and I really don't even know the rules over poolcues. These games are different and you should make no mistake about it.
Choosing The Correct Lenght For Your Snooker Cue
Here are some basic tips on choosing the correct cue for your body type. Most of the guys playing snooker that I know usually choose their cue lenght to be about 5” below their own shoulder level. Maybe even 6 inches. My own personal cue is a bit longer than this one but this is just for me because of my limbs tend to be a bit shorter than usual. With a slightly longer cue I can reach those long shots a bit easyer. I am also a bit on the short side so I have trouble reaching over the table without causing disapproval in the other players. So my own stick is actually just 3-4” below my shoulder height but this is just perfect for me. For some players this is way too long and you can feel like you lose the control on the tip of the stephen hendry snooker cue. It becomes shaky and you tend to hit some unperfect shots. The contact just does not feel right. As for minimum lenght for the snooker cue there is a 910mm limit. That is millimeters and for the metrically challenged that is roughly three feet. This is very short and could not propably even reach the belly button of most of the players, but there has to be some kind of rule on the minimum length and this is it. For the poolcues I don't know.
Choosing The Correct Weight For Your Snooker Cue Tips
There is absolutely no mandatory weight for the snooker cues but as on the lenght there are different kind of preferences that players seem to develop. You might notice at some point that your cue seems too light and therefore does not feel like you completely control the shots. It might start to feel a bit shaky and wobbly. These are also the first things that you notice when you start loosing your game, so you should really consult some of the better players first to have a look if your shots are just getting worse or that its your snooker cue that just is not the perfect weight. You can help your game at this point by getting a heavyer cue but this is like trying to cure a disease by treating the symptoms. You will eventually sooner or later drop down to the same hole that you were in before you decided to go with the heavier stick. So keep in mind that you should not try to save your game by buying a new cue.
There are also times when your cue might start to feel too heavy. I emphasize that all what I am writing is from 20 years of personal experience and that someone might have other kind of preferences but this is just from what I have seen during my career. When your cue is too heavy you might notice that you tend to hit the ball too hard. Or even too slow. This happens because you cant feel the impact like you should. Like I said before you should feel the balls on your fingertips with the correct snooker cue!
The most usual cue weight that I have come in contact with is about 430-500g. That is the weight that they will usually recommend you when you are going to buy one. This will usually feel good at the stores since this is the weight that they have at the snookerhalls. That is the weight that you are used to playing with and that is why it feels natural in your hands. You should really concider the fact that if you are buying a snooker cue of your own you should not go with feel. Since you are always accustomed with the one that you are playing with right now, you should instead go with the specs.
My own cue that I am playing at the moment weighs a bit over the traditional 430-500g. Mine is 570g but I have seen players that have over 600g cues and for me this is too much, but for them... Well let's say that they were no beginners that is for sure! This is just because despite the fact that I am a power player by heart I do have a really soft touch. When you have soft hands like mine you can easily control the speed at which you hit the ball and follow throught feeling the contact with the ball completely. If your hands are hard and rough there is absolutely no way that you can do this with any snooker cue. But if you are in the middle you should propably go with a cue that is slightly lighter, since it can help you feel the balls at your fingertips! Finding your cue is as hard as finding a cue tip that fits you. Usually after changing your snooker cue tip you tend to be playing bad for a few weeks as it takes that time for the tip to settle in. Always look for a leather tip and never go with the plastic ones. They are a complete waste of your money.
In my opinion you can even shop for your snooker cue online, since you should grow in to the cue and not just buy your cue by the way it feels in your hands. As your first cue you will always notice a few years afterwards that this might not be the perfect cue for you. This is natural because you grow out of it, and you start to develop your own preferences. When years go by you can basically start telling what kind of snooker cue you like because you have years and years of experience from different cues. But as a beginner just make a few notes on how your game plays and use the two previous tips that I gave for choosing the correct lenght and weight and get your own snooker cue so you can get accustomed to it and improve your game!
When you come to the point of your snooker career that you want to buy your own snooker cue there are some things to consider. You don't want to spend all your money on a cue that you grow out of after a few months of intensive playing. Like in any other sports in snooker there are equipment which can be easily used and equipment that can produce amazing results. The ones that are easy to use are usually the ones that don't let you manipulate the spins as much or are no quite that accurate. Anyway they produce quite solid hits constantly even when the skill level is low. Then there are the ones that are the so called professional cues. These are hard to hit but they allow for better spin control and balance. If you choose a cue that does not correspond to your skill level you need to buy a new one either because it is too difficult to play, or it is as moldable as it could be.
When you are buying your own cue it may seem at first that it is not all that necessary. Since you can always have the cue from where you go play. But as you realise soon it is quite mandatory if you are serious about your game. As I said before there are different classes of cues, and the ones at the snookerhalls are not that great but they are usually chosen for the lower class players. This is because these cues are actually little bit less pricy and it is more comfortable for the owner to let anyone play with these kind of cues.
Choosing The Correct Snooker Cue
Choosing the peradon snooker cue is actually very important. You are propably used to play with the ones that your local snooker hall has but when you choose to buy your own there is always a little excitement involved and you should not rush the decision. When you are listening to the salesmen they usually have somewhat sense of what they are selling you but they really don't know your game. So the first thing you should do is to study your game and learn what kind of a player you are.
Buying your own cue is possibly the most important choice you have to make when you are trying to play a serious game. With those beginner cues that the snookerhalls have there is not just that much of room to grow as a player. Even though for some people those cues are all they will ever need even if they play a lot more than others – they just dont evolve like the more talented ones. The most advantage that you get out from buying your own cue is that from that moment on you will be playing with the same cue all the time. This gets you accustomed for that particular powerglide snooker cue and you start to master that particular cue. When you master it your game starts to improve and you start feeling the balls at the tips of your fingers! Up to this moment you have been playing with a different stick every time. That is the reason why you propably have had those off-days when the game is just not working. On the other days you seem to rule the table – this is what it will feel like when you buy your own snooker pool cue, every day! - but the next day you feel like you just started playing.
It might not sound like a good investment to put over a 100$. But trust me it is. If you plan on playing for more than a few years which everyon usually does. No one who is planning on buying their own best snooker cue, plan to play just this year and stop playing the next. If you choose to invest only 20$ for your new riley snooker cue then that is what you will get. A twenty dollar stick that is as good as anything that you can pick up from the forest. I don't mean to insult any of the manufactures that make these sticks, but as I started playing I bought a few of those cheap sticks and they just dont hold their form with a power player like me and definitely don't give enough control over the game.
There might be a few decent twenty buck ronnie o sullivansnooker cues out there but I surely have not found any of them. If you have, then feel free to drop a comment! I personally have been playing for several years and do play at a level that most of the readers only dream of achieving. I don't like to sound like I am bragging but that is the way it just is. There are always a lot of beginners who think that they can go everywhere with their game, but when they have an experienced player agaist them they seem to fall of the table.
If you somehow found yourself in to this page looking for poolcues then you are reading for nothing and might as well stop right now because I am a snooker player and I really don't even know the rules over poolcues. These games are different and you should make no mistake about it.
Choosing The Correct Lenght For Your Snooker Cue
Here are some basic tips on choosing the correct cue for your body type. Most of the guys playing snooker that I know usually choose their cue lenght to be about 5” below their own shoulder level. Maybe even 6 inches. My own personal cue is a bit longer than this one but this is just for me because of my limbs tend to be a bit shorter than usual. With a slightly longer cue I can reach those long shots a bit easyer. I am also a bit on the short side so I have trouble reaching over the table without causing disapproval in the other players. So my own stick is actually just 3-4” below my shoulder height but this is just perfect for me. For some players this is way too long and you can feel like you lose the control on the tip of the stephen hendry snooker cue. It becomes shaky and you tend to hit some unperfect shots. The contact just does not feel right. As for minimum lenght for the snooker cue there is a 910mm limit. That is millimeters and for the metrically challenged that is roughly three feet. This is very short and could not propably even reach the belly button of most of the players, but there has to be some kind of rule on the minimum length and this is it. For the poolcues I don't know.
Choosing The Correct Weight For Your Snooker Cue Tips
There is absolutely no mandatory weight for the snooker cues but as on the lenght there are different kind of preferences that players seem to develop. You might notice at some point that your cue seems too light and therefore does not feel like you completely control the shots. It might start to feel a bit shaky and wobbly. These are also the first things that you notice when you start loosing your game, so you should really consult some of the better players first to have a look if your shots are just getting worse or that its your snooker cue that just is not the perfect weight. You can help your game at this point by getting a heavyer cue but this is like trying to cure a disease by treating the symptoms. You will eventually sooner or later drop down to the same hole that you were in before you decided to go with the heavier stick. So keep in mind that you should not try to save your game by buying a new cue.
There are also times when your cue might start to feel too heavy. I emphasize that all what I am writing is from 20 years of personal experience and that someone might have other kind of preferences but this is just from what I have seen during my career. When your cue is too heavy you might notice that you tend to hit the ball too hard. Or even too slow. This happens because you cant feel the impact like you should. Like I said before you should feel the balls on your fingertips with the correct snooker cue!
The most usual cue weight that I have come in contact with is about 430-500g. That is the weight that they will usually recommend you when you are going to buy one. This will usually feel good at the stores since this is the weight that they have at the snookerhalls. That is the weight that you are used to playing with and that is why it feels natural in your hands. You should really concider the fact that if you are buying a snooker cue of your own you should not go with feel. Since you are always accustomed with the one that you are playing with right now, you should instead go with the specs.
My own cue that I am playing at the moment weighs a bit over the traditional 430-500g. Mine is 570g but I have seen players that have over 600g cues and for me this is too much, but for them... Well let's say that they were no beginners that is for sure! This is just because despite the fact that I am a power player by heart I do have a really soft touch. When you have soft hands like mine you can easily control the speed at which you hit the ball and follow throught feeling the contact with the ball completely. If your hands are hard and rough there is absolutely no way that you can do this with any snooker cue. But if you are in the middle you should propably go with a cue that is slightly lighter, since it can help you feel the balls at your fingertips! Finding your cue is as hard as finding a cue tip that fits you. Usually after changing your snooker cue tip you tend to be playing bad for a few weeks as it takes that time for the tip to settle in. Always look for a leather tip and never go with the plastic ones. They are a complete waste of your money.
In my opinion you can even shop for your snooker cue online, since you should grow in to the cue and not just buy your cue by the way it feels in your hands. As your first cue you will always notice a few years afterwards that this might not be the perfect cue for you. This is natural because you grow out of it, and you start to develop your own preferences. When years go by you can basically start telling what kind of snooker cue you like because you have years and years of experience from different cues. But as a beginner just make a few notes on how your game plays and use the two previous tips that I gave for choosing the correct lenght and weight and get your own snooker cue so you can get accustomed to it and improve your game!
About Me
Hi, I am Peter Bardez and I am a professional snooker player. I have been playing for 20 years and I decided to give something back to the community by starting this blog. At first I am starting with some basic stuff for the snooker beginners, and then move on to the more challenging things. If you have any questions please feel free to drop me an e-mail at peter.bardez@gmail.com or leave a comment on the posts here. I will reply to you directly by email or answer your questions in a future post. I would prefere you to leave a comment on the blog instead of sending me e-mail, since I get literally thousands of e-mails a week and it is hard for me to keep up with them. Most likely you will get your answer faster if you drop a comment on any of the posts.
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