Now keep in mind, when I say essentials, I mean essentials for a no good banger hack like me.  This list could be different for players who prefer to spend thousands of dollars on their cues and snub their noses at us casual league type players, but if you’re a regular schmuck like me, you’ve gotta have this stuff.

Also, keep in mind that any time you click the links and buy something, you are adding to the “get PCN guy out of his mom’s basement” fund (since I get a kickback when I refer sales).

I don’t care what people say, in my mind there is only one chalk to use, and that’s Master chalk.  It holds better than Silver Cup and I still don’t buy into there being any significant difference between Master and Blue Diamond (since they’re both made by Tweeten and Tweeten won’t say there’s a difference between the two).  Whatever the case, if you’re spending more than five bucks for a box of chalk, you’re getting rooked.


The one thing I’m a snob about is tips.  Even though I’m not a very good player, I can say that playing with a Moori tip makes a difference.  They last longer, they give me more control (or at least it seems that way)… this is starting to sound like a write-up for penis pills.  Anyway, I use a Moori Slow and you should too.

If you have a table at home, don’t be a cheapass and buy the best.  In my experience, Simonis lasts longer, rolls truer and is just plain and simple worth the extra dough.  I’ve got Simonis 760 on my tabe which is pretty damn fast, but I hate playing on carpet.

There’s a lot of training stuff out there, but the only one that really gets the job done in my opinion is the Jim Rempe training ball.  Its logical, its easy to use and it it actually teaches you about English and ball control.  Totally worth the 20ish bucks you’re gonna spend on it.

Again, this one is only for the folks who have a table at home.  Trust me when I tell you that you need to buy some good balls for your table.  When I first got my table, I used some shitty balls and the result was burn marks all over my Simonis cloth.  I got the Super Aramith Pro Value Pack for a couple of reasons.  First, it kills a few birds since it has the Rempe ball, the measles ball and some ball cleaner.  Plus, the balls are high quality, which made a difference on my table with burn marks.  Or, you can be a cheapass and get a crappy ball set which will nicely decorate your cloth with lots and lots of little white dots.

I’ll add more to this list later.