question about playing pool (1 Viewer)

[EricW]

i've always wondered this when watching The Color Of Money. Tom Cruise's breaks always end up with his stick touching the table so much it bends ALOT. is this bad pool ettiquete? wouldn't it scratch the felt?

 

[Marshall Alsup]

Not sure about the ettiquete, but I've watched quite a bit of pro pool on tv and they all do that. I dont see why those pool cues dont snap somtimes!

 

[Keith Mickunas]

In tournaments and on most good tables they use Simonis cloth. Its very durable and has a tight weave. It is difficult to damage it.

I've never actually seen this myself, I'll keep an eye on it from now on. It could be to get maximum energy transferred to the cue ball they have to complete the follow through to the point they impact the table. Many serious players, and I think every pro, uses a special break cue. These are typically lighter than normal cues and have a wider shaft. I'd imagined that this allows them to bend more without breaking or warping than a normal cue.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

I've seen special shafts that can bend pretty easily. You wouldn't want to use them for anything other than breaking.

 

[Denward]

I think they do it to get maximum velocity while applying reverse English so that the cue ball comes back to the middle of the table.

 

[Clinton McClure]

It is done for most of the above reasons. Maximum velocity, max energy transfer and follow-through for a power break. When you contact the cueball, your shaft bends ever-so-slightly. Naturally, the harder you contact the ball, the more the shaft will bend. The action of the shaft snapping back straight helps to propel the ball. (This same argument can be applied to wooden bats bending and springing back straight to help propel a baseball.) For the most power, you want a solid hit with good follow through. This is the best way to achieve it. The side effect is: before your follow-through is complete, your cuetip (and sometimes ferrule if you are shooting very low on the ball)has already made contact with the table and caused your shaft to bend. There is no pool ettiquete which frowns upon this style of breaking. This is the way I have been breaking for years and have actually cracked the butt of one stick and shattered the shaft of another. My break cue is heavier (21oz Dufferin) than my shooter cue (19oz Meucci). I also have a 20oz McDermott (sp) which I use sometimes and a Robin Bell signature edition "Frog" jump cue which I think is about 13-14oz and is 6" shorter than my other cues. When you step into a lot of pool halls, you may notice a lighter area of felt (like a light green/blue or white mark) starting around the headstring of the table and running a few inches down the table towards the opposite end. That's where the cue tips have rubbed the felt while breaking.

 

[Carl Miller]

Clinton, do you have any recommendations for a 20oz cue in the $300 range? I bought a McDermott cue (The Gentry) about 6 months ago which was suppossed to be an upgrade for me from an old Palmer cue and I've just never gotten comfortable with it. I don't know if it's the wood to wood joint giving it a different feel I can't used to or what...

 

[Clinton McClure]

Carl, I'm not up on cues as much as I used to be a few years ago. My last cue purchase (the Meucci) was about 5 years ago. I paid in the neighborhood of $400 for it and I liked it so much I never bothered looking at new cues. It's a very nimble feeling cue with a good tip. I forgot what width tip I had put on, but it was smaller than most. I can get a more accurate shot this way and it makes playing snooker a bit easier also. I'm not familiar with too many different brands but I do hear Viking makes a very well built cue.

As for the McDermott feeling different, I agree that it doesn't feel like other cues. My first guess why would be the wood-wood joint with and cork-lined screw. It seems to give it a feel of shooting with a hard styrofoam stick. If you can get used to it, it's ok, but that's why I don't use mine much...I simply don't like the feel of it.

 

[Brian Perry]

With all due respect to Clinton, I think it's bad etiquette to excessively rub the felt with the cuetip. I've seen many places with signs forbidding masse shots. I just think it's wrong to potentially damage the surface--I know I'd hate it if I owned the table. Plus, from my experience, I like to have a high follow through on the break so the cue ball runs through the rack.

(Of course, this pertains more to casual pool than national tournaments.)

 

[Carl Miller]

Thanks Clinton! I just can't get used to the feel of the McDermott cue, especially on long shots. It must be the wood to wood joints. I think I'm going to take a look at Meucci ( heard all good things about their cues ) and maybe Viking too.

Brian, in the pool hall where I play, this practice is absolutely forbidden except on the front two tables where the owner and his pals always play. They re-felt those two tables frequently.