Pool Cue News and Review

I’m sure you’ve all seen it before. It gets more TV time than any pro pool player and for the past few years has been by far the most popular cue ball on the market. Even so, I figured I’d share my $.02 on the ubiquitous Aramith Pro Cup (aka Measles) Ball.

So, why spend 30 bucks on a cue ball you might ask. There’s really only one reason: feedback. When you play with a regular cue ball and use English, you get very little visual feedback. Sure, you can see the general trajectory of the ball, but you can’t see any spin. The measles ball shows you how much spin you’ve intentionally or unintentionally put on the ball. It also happens to be an Aramith ball, so you’re getting the highest quality cue ball on the market.

That being said, if you’re really cheap, you don’t need to spend that kind of scratch on a cue ball. You could buy a standard Aramith cue ball and go ghetto style on it, coloring in big red dots on the ball. This will give you the same feedback, but the real feedback you get will be from all the other pool players who see your homemade ball and call you a cheap tool until you submit and get a real measles ball.

In all seriousness though, if you want to get better at playing pool, you really should pick one up.

So I finally got myself a new tip tool last week and all I can say is that my Atrox tool has been supplanted. I dug the Atrox because it was pretty versatile, but the problem was the thing was so damn bulky. The Atrox was fine for a while, but ultimately I had to trade her in for something with a little less junk in the trunk.

Honestly, the Atrox is so damn bulky that more often than not, I left the thing at home and just used my Tip Pik and a Cue Cube. But now thanks to my new My new favorite tool, Cuetec Bowtie 3-in-1 tool, I can leave all that crap at home.

The tool is really everything you need. It’s got a shaper on one side, a scuffer on the other and when you open it up, you’ll find a nice little “aerator” (fancy talk for poking holes in your tip). The best part about it though… no more puncture wounds in my leg. Ever since I lost the cap for my Tip Pik, I’ve just been gouging the hell out of my thigh. In all seriousness, if you play regularly, you should really crack open your wallet and drop a Jackson to get one of these.

 The Original Tip Pik

I don’t care who you are, whether you’re just starting out or if you’ve been playing for years, every pool player simply must have a Tip Pik in their bag. There are a ton of tip scuffers out there, but the Tip Pik is in my opinion the single most important tool for any pool player.  The whole idea behind it is that you puncture little holes in your tip which leads to better chalk retention.  Some people will give it a little twist, but I’ve never found it necessary to do so.

The Tip Pik comes in a few flavors, including the Tip Pik Shadow where the needles are inverted and the Tip Pik Shadow Chalker which doubles as a pocket chalker.  You can usually find any of these tools for around 15 bucks.  The only downside to them is if you jab yourself with the needles, it doesn’t feel too good.  The needles can also wreak havoc on your pants pockets if you leave it open.

Wondering about the whole pool cue tip thing? Here’s what you need to know. Tips come with different densities. Tip density effects mushrooming. Get a soft cue tip like an Elk Master and you’ll be shaping the thing all the time. Get a hard tip like a Water Buffalo and you won’t need to shape it much, but its a bitch to scuff.

From what I can tell, the big advantage to a soft tip over a hard tip is control. If you use a soft tip, you should be able to get more english on the ball. If you’re a duffer like me though, you’ll probably want to go with a nice medium tip that will give you equal levels of control and durability. My Predator shaft has a Tiger Everest tip, which seems to work just fine.

As for different animal skins, I have no idea. Leather, pigskin, boar (wait… isn’t that just fancy talk for wild pig?), buffalo. There seems to be a tip for every tasty critter, but damned if I can tell the difference between playing with a leather tip or a pig tip. Just for you, my one and only loyal reader, I ganked the tip densities from Terry Macioge’s book “How To Tip A Pool Cue“:

Soft (Density = 60-65)
Elk Master - 60.1
Royal Oak - 66.5
Blue Knights - 61.2
Silver King - 60.3
Chandivert Eureka - 64.4
Porper Ram - 64.1
Stratos - 65.8
Tiger Laminated - 65.3
Moori - 63.8
Talisman - 64.3

Medium (Density = 66-75)
Tiger Sniper - 66.9
Chandivert Super Royal - 75.8
Porper Ram - 75.1
Tsunami - 75.8
Tiger Everest - 75.1
Tiger Laminated - 74.5
Moori - 74.2
Talisman - 73.9

Medium Hard (Density = 76-80)
Le Pro - 78.2
Triumph - 76.9
Chandivert Champion - 74.2
Chandivert Crown - 77.1
Chandivert Comprime - 78.7
Tiger Dynamite - 77.2
Wild Boar - 77.8
Talisman Pro - 77.0
Porper Majestic - 77.4

Hard (Density = 81-85)
Sumo - 82.0
Triangle - 81.4
Tsunami - 82.4
Stratos - 81.1
Tiger Laminated - 81.0
Stingray - 83.5
Chandivert Rocky - 82.1
Moori - 82.7
Talisman - 81.4

Extra Hard (Density = 86+)
Talisman - 86.1
Stratos - 87.3
Tiger Jump/Break - 99

The Moosehead Bridge

 If you’re looking for a versatile bridge, there are only two I would recommend.  One is the amazing Justa Bridge, but at around 30 bucks, its a bit more than most people (myself included) would like to spend.  The other is the Moosehead Bridge.  The original model for this was the Spinali bridge, but the Moosehead sells for a fraction of the price of the Spinali.

So what makes this a “must have” product you ask?  Simply put, its all about the angles.  The Moosehead gives you up to nine different angles, making it much more versatile than most traditional bridges.  Its legal in pretty much every league and best of all, it typically sells for under 3 bucks.

The Moosehead isn’t without its faults.  The biggest gripe I have with this bridge is that the plastic isn’t lined, so it could potentially scratch your shaft.  The Justa Bridge is lined, giving your cue much more protection, but again, 30 bucks for a bridge is a bit tough to stomach.

Moosehead Bridge - $1.95 at PoolDawg