Pool Cue News and Review

Once upon a time, there was a cuemaker named Bob. He was both a cuemaker and a King in the town known as Byhalia. He made custom cues and the kingdom was happy. He was quite proud of his work and as such, gave them the name of Meucci Cues. The cues he made were good. They played nice, they had a good feel to them. His customers rejoiced. Some even thought that his cues were magical and could fix any game, even for a player that had an otherwise incurable case of the yips. Players young and old, rich and poor would all come to Castle Meucci for the chance to purchase one of King Bob’s fabled cues.

Then something happened at Castle Meucci. We know not whether the king became ill, if his apprentices became lax, or if some foul witch placed a hex on the kingdom, but whatever the cause, Bob’s materials turned against him. The fine hard rock maple, once straight and true was now warped and bowed. The inlays of magnificent mother of pearl would invariably pop out. The king could not understand what was happening. He was sure that nothing had changed, yet people no longer came from miles around to acquire his mythical cues.

Bob searched the globe for answers until one day he came to a far off land in the east. This land, referred to as “China” by the royal inquisitors, offered hope. He could not reveal his mystical secrets of the original Meucci cues to these strangers, so instead he commissioned them to build a new line of pool cues. He sat in his throne and proclaimed to his loyal subjects that he found a new artisan in the East, a cuemaker with powers that almost rivaled his own. These cues would be called “Medici Cues”. These cues would be built by master artisans from the land of “China” and be brought back to Castle Meucci. There, Bob would take each cue and apply his own master skills to the cue before presenting them to the kingdom.

After many months, the first shipment of cues from the east arrived. Bob proclaimed triumph as unlike his own creations, the new Medici cues rolled straight and true. They did not possess the mystical Black Dot Shaft that only original Meucci cues have, but secretly the king’s subjects rejoiced, as they never truly believed in the power of the Black Dot.

King Bob may never make a pool cue the way he once did, but thanks to his Far East connection, he can once again offer a quality product to his subjects.

So I finally got my hands on one of the new Lucasi Hybrids and took it for a test drive (eww… bad pun… very tacky). Honestly, I expected this to be nothing more than a new gimmick with a bunch of sizzle and no steak but I stand corrected.

The Lucasi Hybrid cue is pretty damn cool. While I’m not a robot like good old Iron Willie at Predator, I did notice increased control and reduced deflection when playing with this cue. Since all the performance is in the tip and ferrule, this is likely a result of their “zero flex point” ferrule, whatever that is. I’m sure if I asked the manufacturer, I’d get lots of marketing-speak about it, but all that really matters to me is that the cue reduces deflection.

I personally don’t buy into the whole multi-piece shaft construction. If more pieces equaled better performance, Meucci’s black dot shaft would be the best performing shaft with their 35 layers of lamentation. As most of you know, this does not appear to be the case for anyone except Bob’s robot who claims that the black dot is the best.

At any rate, the hybrid shaft has the 8 piece pie design, similar to Predator’s 10 piece pie design.Finally, there’s the wrap, although for this cue it should really be called a grip. If you’re used to playing with a linen wrap, this is going to feel a bit strange. The grip is more like a grip you’d find on a golf club than one you’d find on a pool cue. I’m guessing this is why they called it a hybrid, since I couldn’t find anywhere to plug it in and it doesn’t run on alternative fuel. According to the company, the grip provides more ball control. I personally doubt it, but it sure looks and feels cool.

Bottom line, if you don’t mind the non-traditional look, you can get yourself a nice performance cue for around 200 bucks. Pretty good deal considering the fact that Predator Shafts and OB Shafts are going to run you about the same amount. Clearly there’s more to the cue than just marketing hype.

So here’s the deal. Yes, Predator makes a good cue. Yes, Predator shafts reduce deflection. Its been proven. Its a fact. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, the real question is whether or not it actually matters. For the average D Player, getting a Predator cue or adding a 314 shaft to your existing cue isn’t going to do much to improve your handicap. You’ll tell everyone that it made a difference and you’ll convince yourself that you made a great purchase, but the reality is that the average player won’t be able to tell the difference.

So, have I played with a Predator shaft? You know I have. I drank the Kool-Aid a while back, but that shaft didn’t help my game until I learned proper cue ball control. The whole reason the Predator shaft exists is to reduce the amount you have to correct when you shoot with English. Because there is less cueball deflection, the ball will go straighter even when you’re hitting with English.

If you don’t know how to hit with English, don’t bother buying a 314 shaft. Save your money, spend 30 bucks and get yourself a Rempe Training Ball. Then, once you’ve got the basics of English down, if you have a couple hundred bucks burning a hole in your pocket, go get yourself a 314. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with any of the cues from the 5K series. To me, they’re overpriced. I’d much rather get myself a Joss or Schon and put a 314 on it instead of dropping $700+ on something like the Predator 5K5. Once you get your ball control down, I absolutely recommend getting a 314 shaft. You will notice a difference, but not until you really know how to play.

Buy the Predator 314 Shaft