[Matt_24]

I knew plenty of SUPERB "A" players who used either house cues, or inexpensive cues.

You can find a nice inexpensive cue, just make sure you like the taper of the shaft AND butt. The Tip. And, the weight.

Then just take care of it, play with it all of the time, and you'll get better and better.

There was a time when one of the best (and at times, THE best) players in Richmond never used a cue worth more than maybe $100. He'd laugh when people mentioned spending all of this money on cues. (Of course, I love nice cues....so I GET people wanting beautiful cues - but he ONLY saw the cue as a means to an end. A tool and nothing more)

[Maxx]

Plenty of good used cues at that price point.
Just search the for sale section for “inexpensive cues”.

[7stud]

Originally Posted by garczar

Michael Littman on FB's OBM has some nice Pechauer mw's for 230bux. https://www.facebook.com/commerce/li...are_attachment

I saw those, and I was wondering who Michael Littman is?

[Double-Dave]

Originally Posted by terpdad

Ooh! This is fun!

For under $200, I'd recommend:

Pure X w/ HXT shaft- low deflection shaft + lifetime warranty. Made in China

This.

IMO nothing even comes close for the same price.
You really need to go to $500 ish and get a Mezz to get a significantly better cue then a Pure-X.

[measureman]

I have this one.
Schmelke custom Bocote merry widow
You wont find a better cue new for $230.00
They build them per order and it took about 5 weeks to get mine.
You can spec out how you want.
But stay with the standard 3/8x10 joint.
Take a look
https://www.billiardwarehouse.com/cu...merrywidow.htm

[Kickin' Chicken]

Originally Posted by Double-Dave

This.

IMO nothing even comes close for the same price.
You really need to go to $500 ish and get a Mezz to get a significantly better cue then a Pure-X.

Dave;

With respect, I can't stop thinking about the horsefkking we're all taking (the entire world) from China and so *any* opportunity to buy products made elsewhere is gonna be the way I go every time.

Schmelke, Pechauer, Cues Directly, all winners imo, and all made in USA.

best,
brian kc

[Biloxi Boy]

The problem is that in 6 months to a year, you will no longer be satisfied with a $200 stick. Spend enough now to get you something in the $500 range, choose wisely after actually trying out other folk's cues, and you should wind up with a cue that you will be satisfied to shoot with for the rest of you life.

[gregnice37]

Originally Posted by Kickin' Chicken

Dave;

With respect, I can't stop thinking about the horsefkking we're all taking (the entire world) from China and so *any* opportunity to buy products made elsewhere is gonna be the way I go every time.

Schmelke, Pechauer, Cues Directly, all winners imo, and all made in USA.

best,
brian kc

Mezz is Japan not China lol.

[THam]

I would agree with a lot of people and say
Schmelke
Players
McDermott
Viking

[ChrisinNC]

Originally Posted by Enigma86

Hello everybody. First I'd like to say I'm sorry if this post is in the wrong spot. I looked around and couldn't find anything exactly related to noob questions about cues. I'm 33 and have been playing since I was a kid. Several tables in the family. I never played a league until now where a buddy of mine invited me to play in an APA league.

I haven't played in 5 years but I love the game. Went almost immediately to a 6 and got beat back down to a 5. None of my teammates have their own cue so we've been using house cues that you can't even draw with and tonight it finally cost me two games.

I want to get something that's quality, but I'm still new and not sure how serious I'll get. However, a good pool cue is something I know that I can take care of and use for a long time. Went and talked to a shop today and realized I'm in over my head.

What i think I'd like is a 19 or 19.5oz and leaning towards a 12.75mm tip. I think I'd also like something with a soft/soft medium tip which I know can be changed but it would be a plus if it came that way. I don't know brands what so ever though. Can somebody point me in some kind of direction where I can get quality but not spend a ton? Would like to stay well under 200, though i usually find myself the type to spend the extra 25-50 bucks if it means a pretty good feature or something I see as good value. One that I've wondered about is the players hxt15. Anybody know anything about it?

Thank you very much in advance.

$150 to $250 is a tweener price range that is not going to get you any higher quality than possibly one of the higher end Player's line of cues, which sounds like about what you are looking at. Certainly not a high-tech low deflection shaft in that price range. However, that is likely a good price range to start at if that's all you can comfortably afford.

You'll be lucky if you can recoup 50% of that price when you eventually go to sell it to upgrade to a higher performance cue in the $400+ price range, if you decide to stay at it and if you can afford it.

After reading all the replies to this thread, as someone who has played with both Mezz and Pechauer cues for many years, if you can find an entry level Pechauer on clearance for $200-$250, that would be my recommendation. Great Wisconsin based company with a well earned reputation, that provides awesome customer service if you have any problem.

[Kickin' Chicken]

Originally Posted by gregnice37

Mezz is Japan not China lol.

If you go back and reread what double Dave was responding to and endorsing it was a made in China recommendation.

[gregnice37]

For the OP, here is the link for the Pechauer's that were on sale a couple people mentioned in this thread. They are halfway down after the Lucasi cues.

https://www.seyberts.com/sales

[couldnthinkof01]

Originally Posted by gregnice37

For the OP, here is the link for the Pechauer's that were on sale a couple people mentioned in this thread. They are halfway down after the Lucasi cues.

https://www.seyberts.com/sales

Those last 2 are real nice.

[Enigma86]

Ok I'm going to apologize again as I wanted to use a bunch of quotes to respond to everybody since I've received such an overwhelming amount of help and support. So I'll answer some of the things generically since I can't figure that out (so much for a computer science degree huh? lol).

Yeah I know it's weird I don't have a stick yet or have never really gotten one. I guess I just never figured I needed it. I could get what I needed done with whatever cues we had gotten with our table and set. I rarely lost to anybody I ever played really. They were decent for house cues, much better than the crud I'm having to use right now. Probably 14mm tip and shaped like a silver dollar. I'm not entirely sold as to just how much I'll stay involved or push myself to get better. But I will say getting beat has kinda lit a fire under my ass. I've never had to stomach losses as much as I already have in just the last couple of weeks. lol.

Anyways, thank you so much, I'm in disbelief at how much help I've gotten on here. Thank you all for your replies.

Some things I will add here... Preferences I have at this point in my game is that I know that I do NOT like hard tips, though I don't know exactly how hard "hard" is. I'm sure medium is as firm as I want. One thing that I DID like about the pure-x was that it came with the Kamui soft tip on it which was nice since they say those are a little closer to a soft medium. I agree with sticking with pro taper and standard length. I know I don't like WIDE tips so I figured that 12.75 is a good starting point. I also do know that I like the Irish Linen wrap so I'm going to try to stick with that as well.

Can anybody maybe explain to me more about the quality increases from going from pure-x to going to a schmelke or Mcdermott or the Pechauer? Is it all in the designing or is it actually in the quality and feel of the stick? It seems like if I pop over the 200 dollar mark I can get a cue that isn't sticker and has real inlays I guess? I see maybe down the road if I wanted I could then instead just upgrade the shaft to a LD or something down the road instead of getting an entirely different stick? If that is the case that would be an argument I could get myself behind for paying more upfront because something with lower quality design I wouldn't necessarily be looking to go put a multi hundred dollar shaft on to, I'd want a whole new stick. Does that make sense?

That Pechauer JP-06 is beautiful. I really like that look.

Oh and one more thing. Also looking for a cheap break cue. I don't know much about it. I don't want to break with those garbage house cues and I don't want to break with whatever new stick (or used) stick I get. Whats the deal with weights on those? I know if I go too heavy I can actually hurt myself on speed. I'm a 6'00 190 lbs guy that works out daily and pitches in the 80 mph range so I typically have a solid break speed I would guess. I don't know at what weight my speed would be limited. Any input on that front would be more than appreciated as well. Though I'm definitely looking more to pay the money into the primary stick.

[Biloxi Boy]

Do not overlook the "used" approach.

I think there is a step up in quality around the $400 to $500 level -- better materials, better workmanship or quality control. I have always been impressed with Predator's full splice sneaky petes. (Remember, an LD shaft is standard equipment.) I have not been clocking them, but I suspect you could get one used for $300 (new around $550).