Guides6 minute read
Choosing a cue
Tip, weight, length and balance — and why the house cue you already like beats the expensive one you do not.
The numbers
- Snooker tip
- 9 – 10 mm. Smaller ball, finer contact.
- Pool tip
- 12 – 13 mm. Larger, heavier balls want more tip.
- Weight
- 17 – 19 oz is the usual range for both games.
- Length
- 57 – 58 in standard. Taller players sometimes go longer.
- Shaft
- Ash shows a grain you can sight along; maple is plain.
- Joint
- One piece plays best; three-quarter or centre-jointed travels.
Do not buy one yet
The honest advice, and the opposite of what most guides say. A cue you have not learned on is no better than a good house cue, and until you can tell the difference between cues you have no way of choosing. Our house cues are good ones, and people say so in reviews: “good quality cues too” is a direct quote.
The moment to buy is when you notice you keep reaching for the same one off the rack, and can feel when somebody else has taken it. That is your specification, discovered rather than guessed.
What actually matters
Weight, before anything else
A cue should feel like it wants to swing itself. Too light and you have to force it, which is where jerky strokes come from; too heavy and you cannot control the finish. Most people land between 17 and 19 ounces, and the difference between 17½ and 18½ is genuinely noticeable once you have played a while.
Tip size, and matching it to the game
A snooker ball is 52.5 mm and an American pool ball is larger and heavier. A 9.5 mm snooker tip on a pool table works, but it is doing a job it was not shaped for, which is why our pool tables have pool cues on the rack.
Balance
Rest the cue across one finger and find where it balances. Too far forward and it feels nose-heavy through the stroke. Where you want it is personal, which is another reason to try a lot of house cues before spending anything.
Straightness
Roll it on the table. A cue that lifts at the tip as it rolls is warped and no amount of technique will fix it. This is the one test worth doing on every cue you pick up, including a house cue at the start of an hour.
What not to spend money on first
- An expensive cue before an expensive tip. A good tip on a mid-range cue beats a worn tip on an excellent one, every time.
- Anything sold on the appearance of the timber. The splices and the veneer are the part you are paying for and the part that does nothing.
- A case, before a cue. Although once you own a cue, a hard case is the single best thing you can buy for it — see looking after it.
Trying before buying
Play with other people’s. Anybody in a club room will hand you their cue for a frame if you ask, and four or five of those will teach you more about what you want than any amount of reading — including this.