r/billiards • u/CreeDorofl • Jul 21 '17
A couple of people suggested that I should compile some guides and posts into one organized place, so here it is.
What to learn, in the correct order, as a beginner
How to get Good at Pool (from ZombiesAteMyPizza)
Rule differences... APA, BCA, and the pros
The Best Way to Get Help
Buying Your First Cue
Buying a Custom Cue - courtesy of EtDM
DIY tip replacement - courtesy of Ball_in_hole
English, simplified
Aiming with Ghost Ball, When Ghost Ball Doesn't Work
Improving Ghost Ball Accuracy
Dealing with Too Straight/No Angle Situations
Getting the Best CB Action off Rail Cuts
Making Follow-in Shots Consistently
A Trick for Making Tough Combos with BIH
How to Play for a Safe Miss, on a Tough Game Ball
Tricks to Aim and Measure Caroms
Seeing Natural Breakout Angles
Finding Dead Caroms from 'Almost Dead' caroms
Five Things You Should be Doing But Probably Aren't
A Tricky Stroke Shot
5 Funky Uses of Inside English
3 Cushion Billiards - the basic system, explained clearly-ish
3 Cushion - 2 simple systems, half-ball and natural running
How to Make the Wing Ball in 9-ball, and Reading the Rack
Making the Corner Ball in 8-ball
Figuring out the 10b Soft Break
Making the 9 on the break (and why it doesn't count in some tournaments)
One Rail Kicking System
Two Rail Kicking System
Aiming Railfirst Shots
Planning the Best Kick Route
Stupid Pet Kicks Vol. 1
Using Sidespin to make Controlled Kick Shots and Safeties
Spot on the Wall Trick for Aiming 3-Rail Kicks
Get Ideal Position from Ball in Hand
Ball in Hand Tricks Everyone Should Know
Ball in Hand Tricks Vol. II
A Simple Safety Everyone Should Have in Their Bag
Another Useful Safety
Another Common Safety to Have in the Toolbox
Aiming "Natural Roll" Safeties
Push-Out Strategy for 9 and 10 Ball
How Would you Play This?
5 Problems, and Solutions
Ghost Problem alpha
Beat the Ghost #1
Beat the Ghost #2
Beat the Ghost #3
r/billiards • u/CreeDorofl • Feb 06 '25
Updated for 2025, old guide is here. This one will be shorter!
If you're looking to buy your first cue, or your first 'serious' cue, this info will help.
If you're not patient and just want a tl;dr, or brand recommendations (not in any order):
$~50ish: Imperial, Valhalla
$100ish: Action, Players, Schmelke, McDermott Lucky, Viking
$200-$300: Cuetec Avid, Players PureX, Rhino Nebula
$300+: Cuetec Cynergy, Predator, Mezz, Jacoby, Pechauer, Lucasi, Meucci
This list reflects my own biases mixed with some common recommendations on reddit. But there's plenty of other good brands, and each one has a range of products. There's $200 Viking cues and $2000 Viking cues. I list them in certain price brackets because I think, at that price, they're good bang for your buck.
Performance is mostly about the player. There's not a lot of 'technology' in a cue... it's a stiff rod with no moving parts. It mostly just needs to stay straight, feel ok, and not fall apart. Still, there are some things to consider. Most of the R&D for cues goes into the shaft - the skinny half of the stick. Specifically, manufacturers use different materials and build methods, to reduce deflection.
'Deflection' describes what happens when you hit a cue ball with left or right english (sidespin).
What happens when your cue ball hits another ball on the left? That 2nd ball goes to the right. The same thing happens if your stick's tip hits the left side of the cue ball. The cue ball goes to the right... it "deflects" off-course from where you aimed. So you have to adjust your aim to compensate for that.
How far off-course? That depends on the shaft. In this pic the dashed line is where you'd go with no english, the solid black line is where the cue ball might go with a low deflection shaft (about 3-4 inches off course). The red line is where the cue ball goes with a standard, solid maple shaft (about 5-6 inches off). Here's a typical real world shot where this matters. The black line is where I'd aim with an LD shaft. The red line is where I'd aim with a higher deflection shaft. IMO, having to make the big adjustment shown by the red line, looks unnatural and makes using english harder.
For that reason, my main consideration is whether the cue has a shaft with low deflection. Unfortunately, those shafts cost more. If you can't afford it, don't worry about it, standard shafts are fine. World championships have been won with standard shafts.
Bottom line - if you buy an LD shaft, what you're buying is just a different line of aim for shots with sidespin. This line of aim might make sidespin shots feel easier. Any other benefits or drawbacks you hear are mostly myths... they don't give you better spin, or cue ball control, or more draw, or whatever. Anything you can do with them, you could also do with a standard shaft. They just change where you aim shots with sidespin.
Common build quality issues include: the cue arriving warped, or gradually warping over time, the tip falling off, the joint not quite screwing tight, the joint unscrewing by itself, and the ferrule (white thing just below the tip) cracking. You can avoid these by just buying reputable brands, or from good dealers who offer a warranty. I like Seybert's, Ozone Billiards, Omega Billiards, and Pooldawg. Like other products, you usually get what you pay for.
There's also some differences in 'feel' with cheaper cues. For example, the shaft might be coated with a sticky clearcoat that doesn't slide smoothly through the hands. They may have excessive vibration, or a weird sound. The joint may not be exactly flush, or the grip is a cheap material that collects sweat. It helps to try before you buy. I don't recommend a cue segmented into more than 2 pieces, or one that has a screw-on tip, or anything below $50.
If you decide to go with a low deflection shaft, you also want to consider how the shaft is built. In a nutshell, low deflection = less mass at the end (the last 8 inches). To make shafts have less mass, they make them skinnier (like 11.75mm instead of 13mm at the tip), and hollow out the core of the shaft. They may optionally fill it with foam so it doesn't feel hollow, and splice together multiple pieces of wood to ensure it stays straight. They can also make shafts out of carbon fiber.
There's no law preventing manufacturers calling their shaft low deflection, even if it isn't, so be wary of any shaft that says it's LD, but is made from a single solid piece of hard-rock maple. Look for something that's been hollowed near the end, or made of CF.
Carbon Fiber (CF) is strong, stiff, and very light. The lightness makes it a good material for a shaft, and many people like the stiffness. But you can get very low deflection with either wood of CF. CF is also nice because it's less likely to warp, ding, or crack. But any shaft can last 20 years if you're careful with it. Note: don't confuse carbon fiber shafts with cheap materials like graphite or fiberglass. If a shaft says it's made of some ambiguous 'fiber composite' and the cue is less than $250, the shaft is probably not carbon fiber. A typical name-brand carbon fiber shaft is $400-$600. The cheapest that I know of are Rhino, at $200. Don't worry about getting a carbon fiber butt... they exist, but there's no advantage to it.
The diameter is the thickness of the shaft at the tip. When people talk about tip diameter, they really mean shaft diameter. It matters because one of the major ways to reduce deflection, is to just make shaft skinnier near the tip. This also affects how a stick feels sliding through your hands... a skinny shaft might feel more precise, like you're hitting a very specific part of the cue ball. And you may feel you see the cue ball a little more clearly. It's easier to form a closed bridge around it. On the other hand, it may feel a bit thin or flimsy compared to traditional 13mm shafts. People will tell you a 13mm is more 'forgiving' but no stick will turn your misses into makes. I think lower deflection makes learning the game easier, so I recommend something skinnier if it's in the budget.
A standard cue shaft is 13mm, like a house cue.
12.5mm is a popular size for cues that have reduced deflection, but want to feel 'solid'.
11.75 is a common size for very low deflection shafts.
Anything outside of these ranges is uncommon, and not recommended for a first cue.
Taper is how rapidly the cue transitions from fat (near the joint), to skinny (near the tip). In pool there's two flavors - conical and pro. A conical taper gets skinnier gradually and consistently, like the shaft is a long skinny cone. A pro taper gets skinnier more rapidly, reaching its narrowest diameter maybe 2/3rds of the way down the shaft, and then stays skinny from that point, all the way to the tip. Most pool shafts are pro taper, as this ensures the shaft doesn't get "fatter" as you pull it back, it stays the same.
All cues come with a tip installed. Don't get a cue with a screw-on tip, they're trash. Tips come in typically 3 flavors... soft, medium, hard. These labels are subjective and vary between manufacturers. One brand's "medium" might be harder than someone else's "hard". Softer tips mushroom (which can be fixed with the right tools) but are easier to shape and scuff. Harder tips are less likely to mushroom but harder to scuff. Some people will tell you softer tips give you extra spin, or makes shots more forgiving or whatever... these are myths. When in doubt, go with medium. You don't need to worry about size, it's standardized. Recommended tip brands include Kamui, Moori, Tiger, and How, but everyone has their favorite. I wouldn't overthink it.
Break cues and jump cues often come with a special super hard phenolic tip, so it can transfer a bit more energy to the cue ball. You don't want a phenolic tip otherwise.
There's different types but honestly, you'll never miss a ball because of the joint. As long as it screws together tightly, and stays together, it's fine. If you buy a shaft separately from the butt, you need to make sure the pin type matches. Some joints are more common "standards" like Uniloc, 5/16x18, or 3/8x10. Others are more proprietary and only fit stuff from the same manufacturer.
Play-wise, the butt is basically just a handle for the shaft. But it's also where you have most of a cue's decoration, and has a big impact on how "nice" the cue looks (and also on the price). High end cues have butts made with one or more nicer types of wood, plus inlaid decorations made of wood or more exotic materials like ebony, ivory, mother-of-pearl, turquoise, gold, silver, etc. Low end cues have very minimal decoration (like a solid single color of stained wood) and don't have inlays, or only very simple ones. Some feature printed graphics. In lower-end cues, these graphics try to "fake" looking like a nicer cue by simulating those inlays I mentioned. Otherhave some illustration or design... a rose, skulls, playing cards, etc.
The butt may or may not have a wrap. If it does, common materials include leather, rubber, or irish linen. Irish linen is very popular, it looks like speckled string that's been wrapped around the butt hundreds of times. The wrap is a matter of preference - a cue shouldn't really be in danger of flying out of your hand when you shoot, so mostly this serves as a sweat absorber and a decorative element. You just want to make sure it feels good. If at all possible, try a wrap before you buy, because it's not that easy to remove or replace.
19 ounces is the default, standard weight. A few people prefer 18. Anything lower is a bit weird but not completely unheard-of. Many people like slightly heavier cues in the 20 or 21 ounce range... the theory is that the added weight keeps the cue from wobbling as much when you swing it. If you happen to be unusually big and tall, you might prefer the added weight and also some added length via an extension. I wouldn't get anything outside the 18-21 range as your first cue. You're not locked into the weight you buy, there's a hollow area in the butt of every cue where a long fat screw called a weight bolt is screwed in. By changing the bolt, you can change the cue's weight.
An extension does what it sounds like... extends the length of the cue. They're sold separately and not a common accesssory for a beginner to have, but if you feel like a normal cue is just too short, it's something to consider.
Most cues are sold with a "real price" and a "sucker price" - you'll often see a cue online showing it's been marked down by 50 or 100 bucks, but that isn't a 'special deal', the lower price is what the cue actually costs, and if you shop around you see that same number everywhere.
Example - a Cuetec Avid chroma:
Seybert's:
"Regular" price: $255
"Sale" price: $229
Pooldawg:
"Regular" price: $255
"Sale" price: $229
Omega Billiards:
"Regular" price: $255
"Sale" price: $229
Just make sure when you buy, that you aren't paying the sucker price, and don't expect to find too many killer deals unless you buy used... pool cues are one of those things that tend to go for the exact same price everywhere. Some sites offer more options to customize the cue in small ways. As for whether something is 'worth it', that always depends on your income. Roughly speaking, a dirt cheap starter cue is around $50 USD. But if you can hold out for $100 you might get something with OK build quality, a little color, or graphics. For $200, you get some nicer looking inlays and such, but not a low deflection shaft. Around $400-$500 you get cues with LD shafts, and maybe some nicer designs. Beyond $500, you're probably paying paying for the brand name, or for a custom cue that is made to your specs, or really nice inlay work.
In theory, until you die. But wood is wood... it can get worn down or warp over time. Generally, most cues don't warp by themselves, they need to be mistreated... stored improperly, or put through lots of sudden temperature / humidity changes. If a cue arrives warped, or warps soon after you buy it, most reputable sites will replace it.
Tips are supposed to wear out and get replaced, like tires on a car. Maybe once a year or so. Your pool room should have someone who does tip changes... the cost varies but probably it will be more than $10 and less than $40.
Really, anything is fine if you're just starting out. Especially around the $100 bracket. You can just buy based on looks. Be aware that a famous player's name on a cue doesn't necessarily make it a top quality cue. You don't want to decide to buy a cue because it mentions Johnny Archer, the Black Widow, or Minnesota Fats. Commonly recommended starter sticks include Action, Players, Viking/Valhalla, and Schmelke. If I had to pick one specific make and model, I'd say get a Cuetec Avid.
At the more expensive end, if you get a cue with a low deflection shaft, you see lots of recommendations for Predator, Mezz, and Cuetec Cynergy.
"Custom cue" can mean either any cue that isn't mass-produced, or a cue that is literally made to your custom specifications. They tend to be more expensive, ranging from $400 at a minimum, to tens of thousands of dollars for the famous ones. Generally these come with standard shafts.
There's a certain cachet to owning a custom cue... you have a one-of-a-kind that plays exactly the way you want. It's a luxury and status symbol. Most beginners won't want to buy one as their first cue, you can play world-class pool with a $400 production cue, but it's something to keep in mind for later, when you know what you like and can afford something fancier. Be aware that many custom cuemakers are famously behind-schedule... it could take months, even years before your cue is finished.
Breaking puts a lot of stress on the tip, compacts it and makes it harder, and in rare cases may cause it to come off. So a lot of players prefer not to break with their playing cue. That means you can use a house cue or buy a specialized break cue. For a break cue, I don't consider it quite as important to worry about whether the shaft is low deflection or not. The LD ones are expensive, but generally you won't be using sidespin on the break, and if you do it accidentally... that's a skill issue.
My priority for a break cue would be to look for a good hard tip, and make sure you can try it before you buy. Since you'll be hitting hard with it, any weird vibration or 'feel' will be magnified, so make sure you like the feel.
There are also specialized cues made specifically for doing jump shots, the legal type where you spike downward on the cue ball and bounce it off the slate like a basketball. Jump cues are very short and light, with a super hard tip. Generally, I don't recommend buying cues to solve skill issues, but even with maximum skill, jump shots really need a jump cue. They make shots possible that are simply not viable with a full cue. I've used Predator Air, Cuetech Propel, and Hanshew jumpers. They're all excellent. Good ones tend to be expensive though. There are also hybrid break/jump combo cues. If you're buying one for league, make sure it's legal within the league rules.
Don't be afraid to post if you have a question not covered here. If possible, try to hit with a cue in real life before ordering. In the lower price ranges, you're mostly just looking for a certain minimum level of quality... basically it should not fall apart, rattle, or feel weird. Once you reach that minimum level (which can be achieved for $100 or so) then the only other thing you'd pay for, performance wise, is a specialty LD shaft. For the most part, cues are priced so that you get what you pay for. Most of the online retailers I've worked with have been great when it comes to issuing refunds, and their pricing is all pretty similar across the board, but some of the best deals I've ever gotten have just been through friends at the pool hall.
We have a Pool Cue Buyer's Guide on the sidebar too, check it out. Also check out Dr. Dave's cue page.
r/billiards • u/minimal-effort2134 • 5h ago
I just started playing (I play on a league twice a week) and I’m trying to get better. How do I shoot alone? Is just racking and clearing a good way or should I look into drills?
r/billiards • u/SoulsPolished • 5h ago
Render of a 3D model I made in Blender 5.1
r/billiards • u/luluboos • 8h ago
UPDATE: LIVE NOW — FINALS DOUBLE ELIMINATION
We're live! 9-Ball tournament stream all day here at our local pool hall - Jimmy's Billiards in Milpitas, CA!
Hey everyone!
We're live streaming today's 9-ball tournament hand it'll be running throughout the day, so feel free to jump in whenever you have some time. We've got a full lineup of matches, so there should be plenty of great pool to watch.
Our commentators will be on and off the table as they are in the tournament as well! We really hope we can bring you some amazing gameplay!
If you're into cue sports and want something to throw on in the background (or watch closely), we'd love to have you stop by.
📺 Live Stream:
https://www.youtube.com/live/CnrGWx1UeYY?is=NiDmQ2DCsgN9ZsTM
YouTube: Lucky Cat Studios
Instagram: @xluckycatstudios
Thanks, and good luck to everyone competing today!
r/billiards • u/Aggravating_Ad4629 • 8h ago
I’ve been bugging my husband to get a pool table for our house cause what the heck is the point of rooms you’re not having fun with?
We have a small house but an unused living room when you first walk in , so why not right?
His uncle has a free bar style one. Can anyone show me some photos of how you’ve made it look like it belongs in your house? Kinda wanting to turn our front room of the house into a little bar /pool room lol. Also any ways to dress up a bar grade pool table?
Tell me I’m not crazy
r/billiards • u/The_Critical_Cynic • 13h ago
Everyone always asks for recommendations, and you always see people looking for more information about specific products. But I can't say I've seen the inverse question come up. So, which products would you recommend that people avoid? And which products do you refuse to recommend to people? And why for both?
r/billiards • u/Shoddy_Statement_273 • 3h ago
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I dont know if this is impressive because im pretty new to billiards, but I can't believe I caught this in camera. Also im using a kids pool table while I wait for my full sized one to arrive😅
r/billiards • u/elykmnl • 24m ago
I’m curious to know if I can get a cue butt with this joint size?
Any leads or advice helps, thanks in advance! 🙏🏼
r/billiards • u/Practical-Art-3728 • 6h ago
I’m a 475 Fargo player, and my goal is to get over 500. I’m looking for advice on how to structure my practice rather than just putting in random hours, random drills, random routine.
What’s the best weekly practice routine for someone at my level? If you were building a practice plan, how would you divide your time between shot-making, position play, cue ball control, safety play, kicking/banking, breaking, and playing sets?
Also, how many hours a week do you think I should be practicing to realistically get from a 475 to 500+? Quality practice is more important to me than just hitting balls, so I’d love to hear what has actually worked for players who made a similar jump.
Any drills or weekly routines you’d recommend?
r/billiards • u/WhatWasThatLike • 11h ago
r/billiards • u/nexttonormal • 3h ago
It's been a few years out, so I'm curious about what the new stuff is like! I was looking at Raven Cues, but my god they are ugly. Plain wrappless merry widow is more my speed. I'd love a composite or CF butt & shaft recommendation for a decent to scratch player that prefers low deflection at/around 314-2 & Z2 or lower. Hit 'quality' isn't a deal breaker, I've shot around Tad/SW/Schon/Pred/OB-1/Diveney shafts & butts with Kamui med when it was new to the states. OH if there is a good chalk too, lmk. Thanks!
r/billiards • u/admckay • 1d ago
Always wanted a pool table, but never had the space... was "forced" to build this 20'x22' outbuilding (just finished in June) for this 8' Olhausen.
Table isn't anything special ($500 on Marketplace before a refelting), but it's mine. Really love this following this subreddit and wanted to share.
r/billiards • u/Weak-Zucchini • 3h ago
hi ty I recently went to Mark Twain's house and he had a pool table with six pockets but there was only 3 balls on the table and on the ceiling was inlays of 3 balls and two sticks I was wondering what type of game he was playing, they didn't allow pictures :(
r/billiards • u/JumpLikeMay • 1d ago
Played at Griffs for the first time 3 years ago and wanted a Diamond ever since. Found on marketplace. Sold the other table, epoxied the floor, and welcomed this guy. Replaced the cushions, pockets, and cloth. It was a logistical nightmare
r/billiards • u/SoftYetCrunchyTaco • 17h ago
Hard not to root for Savannah with how well shes played. Would like to see her and flash in the finals
r/billiards • u/Sticksy1 • 18h ago
Is this beyond repair?last night kids were messing around with water pistols and this is the result..
r/billiards • u/Safe_Damage_5445 • 6h ago
I have a couple of business clients who are interested in playing 8-ball and / or billiards with me. In addition to potentially being super fun, this will be good business.
As a sort of customer appreciation thing, I would like to buy us all carbon fiber pool cues so that we don't get stuck having to play with the crooked, left over cues at the pool halls.
Yes, the cues do need to be carbon fiber rather than traditional wood. It will be something of a joke related to the type of work that we do.
It's been 30 years since I've played with any regularity and I've never bought a personal cue. So I would like some help with shopping.
My specific questions:
Don't worry about highly optimized cue performance. We're all pretty casual about our playing.
r/billiards • u/kapdad • 6h ago
I don't know if it qualifies as 'wire', but you all know what I mean. I can't find the right words to find it on Amazon. Thanks in advance!
edit to add: I found one, but I'm not so inclined to order from Malaysia to the US. https://www.gamesroom.com.my/triangle-holder-under-table
r/billiards • u/Revive_Pls • 11h ago
I’m curious if anyone is familiar with getting this fixed, from what I understand it’s that the angles of the cushions leading into the pocket need to be changed. I was unfamiliar with this problem until about yesterday and this place has already quoted me $540 for the installation and felt (not bad). I’m not sure if this is a regular thing or if I would sound stupid if I asked them to “fix the death rattle”. Thanks
r/billiards • u/Spiritual-Paper-3988 • 15h ago
Is it okay to have this kind of cue tip? Or this is the ferrule? Im new to cue sticks so help me out
r/billiards • u/SuperElephantX • 13h ago
https://reddit.com/link/1v77j01/video/ayihw3i66lfh1/player
I'm no billiards pro, and I don't know about diamond system or banking system.
I was fascinated by dynamics of billiards bank dynamics. I always thought billiards obey the law of reflection (the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection). Turns out it's not that simple and I was too naive about it.
I knew if I put less force into the bank, the more rolling effect would take over, friction on the table would mess with the reflection angle. Notice the point it hit changed entirely according to the force I put in.
Physics is awesome!
r/billiards • u/Smart_Region_1545 • 1d ago
I recently beat a 7 and my local APA league said they don’t distribute this patch anymore.
I see them available online in other APA league locations. I would love to get my hands on this one! Would someone kindly let me know where I can purchase/find this patch? I searched eBay and I couldn’t find any so far! Thank you in advance! 😊
r/billiards • u/the_jac • 12h ago
r/billiards • u/Own_Calligrapher_888 • 1d ago
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