Pool cues are subtlety different depending where you play your pool. The tip size for example, it is 9 millimetres in the UK and 12 or 13 in the US. Other differences between pool cues come in the shafts. English pool cues have a small taper from tip to the butt while American pool cues often have straight shafts with no taper until halfway down the shaft. This is to accommodate the different styles of playing the game. English pool players address the ball by drawing the cue over the thumb and first finger, whilst pool players in the US like to wrap their forefinger around the shaft forming a ring around it so having the same diameter near the tip makes it more comfortable to play. There are also some subtle distinctions in the cues used by the two games. English pool cues are made from heavy grained ash and American players prefer the whiter maple. There is no playing difference between the 2 types of timber, it is just a matter of preference. The handle or butt are decorated differently, the American pool cues often to be decorated with fabric on the handle and English pool cues usually decorated with splices of different coloured wood. Again it makes no difference to the playing quality, just a matter of style.A very old form of billiards originating in Europe is called Caramboule, use shorter fatter cues because the carom balls are huge in comparison to the balls used in the US and UK. The balls are 2 7/16 in size being bigger even than the American game which uses two and a quarter inch diameter balls and the English game which use a mere two inch size balls.There have been some notable pool cue makers down the years, perhaps the most famous of which is probably, Balabushka, who is thought of as one of the best cuemakers that ever lived. He came to the US from Russia and set up shop in New York and the movie the colour of money made the Balabushka cue famous. There are few of them left now and collectors will pay thousands of dollars for an original, A Balabushkacue went for over $40,000 at auction. Even today, Balabushka replica cues fetch a premium price, over $400 depending on the model, now they may not improve your game, but at least you will look the part. The tip is made of animal hide, even elk and water buffalo are popular, but basically leather and there are different levels of hardness of the tips, depending on taste and frankly the differences are only noticeable by the playing professionals, the rest of us mere mortals would probably never notice the difference. Just make sure the tip is well chalked before playing to give the cue tip the best chance of a good contact with the cue ball. There are chalks that match the colour of your cloth so the pool table cloth does not show the chalk marks so much. As well as the traditional blue you can get yellow, brown and burgundy to match whatever cloth you have.A popular pool cue type is the jump and break cue which is basically a cue with 2 different shafts, one used for smashing the balls with on break off and the other is a more sensitive shaft used for normal play. The cue you should choose obviously depends on the version of the game you play. Just get one that is straight and has a good tip on it which is the most important part of the cue, the rest is basically decoration and preference for which wood type you prefer. A reasonable cue should cost about $50, more than that is due to the woods used and whether it is hand made or not.
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Pool cues are subtlety different depending where you play your pool. The tip size for example, it is 9 millimetres in the UK and 12 or 13 in the US. Other differences between pool cues come in the shafts. English pool cues have a small taper from tip to the butt while American pool cues often have straight shafts with no taper until halfway down the shaft. This is to accommodate the different styles of playing the game. English pool players address the ball by drawing the cue over the thumb and ...
Steve frequently has a game of 8 ball and is passionate about the game More info on a Pool Cue
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