How To Maintain Your Cue Tip

Aside from protecting your cue from humidity, the other caution you must take is caring for your cue tip. Since the tip is active in every one of your shots, it is of utmost importance to have a good tip at all times. The cue tip is also very important to keep clean. It’s cleanliness will affect backspin, accuracy, touch, smoothness of stroke, and precision of each and every shot that you take. When the pool cue is not in use, it should be maintained by by protecting the cue’s tip from any foreign dings, scrapes, gouges, or anything else that may otherwise be of potential danger. Finally, you must remember that the tip itself should always be covered when not in play.

The spin/speed ratio on the cue ball depends primarily on the actual tip-ball contact point. You seldom want to hit the ball right in the middle, you don’t want to miscue, and you want to have precise control of the spin. Therefore, a rounded tip is better than a flat tip. You shape the tip with a tip scuffer, a file, a piece of 400-600 sandpaper, and other similar abrasive tools. Most players like their tips rounded.

In the case of well-rounded tips, miscues occur when the tip slides on the surface of the ball. Along with other reasons, this happens when the tip doesn’t hold chalk. The tip doesn’t hold chalk when it is packed down from hitting the cue ball and the surface is slick. If you tap the tip to give the surface some texture, it will hold the chalk better. You can buy special tools to tap the tip, or you can use a rasp, or a coarse file, or coarse sandpaper glued to a wood backing can be rolled over the tip surface. Scuffing with sandpaper also works, but it wears the tip away too fast. For maximal tip life, tap more, scuff less.

Tips can also mushroom, meaning that the leather bulges at the sides so that the tip is wider than the ferrule. Most pool players prefer to remove this bulge. The best way is to use a lathe, but there are other methods too. Fine sandpaper (600 grit or finer) can be used, but some care should be taken not to scratch the ferrule. Cutting tools designed especially for this purpose are available, and pocket knives and razor blades can also be used, but utmost care should be taken to avoid ferrule damage. After the mushroom bulge has been removed, the edge of the tip can be polished by wetting the sides and rubbing the leather edge firmly against the cloth on the top of a cushion or against a leather pad.

It is also important to maintain not only the tip, but also the ferrule. Over time, chalk, dirt, and other foriegn substances can build up on the ferrule and will embed on your pool cue like a tar substance. Cleaning the ferrule and tip of your pool cue regularly, by simply wiping it down (ensuring that you fully dry it off) can help to prevent this buildup from occuring. This will make for a smoother, cleaner, and better playing shaft, which can only serve to improve your game, and extend the pool cue’s life span.

How To Use A Mechanical Bridge When Playing Pool

First, let’s start by explaining what a mechanical bridge is. Many times there are shots that cannot be reached no matter how much you lean across the table! That’s where a bridge comes in handy. The mechanical bridge, also called rake, crutch or rest, is an accessory of the billiard sports table and consists of a stick with a bridge head mounted at its end to support the shaft of the cue stick replacing the hand bridge during shots difficult to reach. The stick or handle of the mechanical bridge is very similar in shape to the cue stick. The bridge head has notches or grooves, usually at various heights, in which the cue shaft can rest. The contour of the bridge head should be smooth in order not to mar the cue shaft or rip the threads of the table-cloth when being used.

Many amateurs are hesitant to use the bridge mainly because they don’t know the proper way to do so. Going through the following steps will take away that worry and help your game in the long run. Taking care not to hit any surrounding balls, carefully place the bridge on the table approximately 5 inches away from the cue ball. Now place the cue in the slot (usually 3 or 4 available) that will allow you to strike the cue ball as level as possible and at the location you desire.

Once you have found the slot you would like to use, place the bridge flat on the table if you can and hold it down with one hand. Now, grasp your cue toward the end, leaving the tip to be supported by the bridge. Strike the cue ball with a straight, even stroke and immediately lift the bridge off the table. You have now completed a successful bridge shot. As with the rest of the game, this will take some time to get used to. Parctice different shots and angels and become comfortable using the bridge. It will be an important part of your game as you develop.

Many aficionados and most professionals employ the bridge whenever the intended shot so requires. Some players, especially current or former snooker players, use a screw-on cue butt extension instead of or in addition to the mechanical bridge. It is suggested that once you have the basic game down pat, that you begin to experiment with additional equipment such as this. The sooner you become familiar with it, the more proficient you will become and you will progress as a player. Practice with the mechanical bridge until you feel you are comfortable enough to apply it to your every-day game playing. You will learn that the time spent on practicing with the techniques and angles will not have been time wasted, but will aid your game immensely.

How To Be Consistent At Pool

Consistency is the art of being able to perform at will, in a harmonious connection with our thoughts and actions. Confidence is a prerequisite for consistency. Confidence is nothing more than having faith in our abilities. Faith that we can and will achieve a certain task or goal.

Most players are working to bring consistency to their game. After all, if they could perform the way they are capable of performing, and do this every time, they would win more games, raise their league average and win more tournaments. If you are an inconsistent player, you are having problems in your fundamentals. An inconsistent player does not hit the cue ball the same way every time. And once you miss-hit the cue ball, your mind begins to play tricks on you. You start to think you are having mental problem, something is wrong with you, and then you begin to get down on yourself. You go into a slump. You have no confidence. Your stroke is unsure and tentative and things can only get worse. You begin to change your stance, your grip, your style of play.

If you hit the same shot the exact same way every time, you will become a consistent player. If you can trust yourself to turn in a fine performance, you will win more games, more tournaments, and raise your league average. In addition, you will enjoy this game. Consistency is worth working for. And it takes a professional approach to the fundamentals in order to achieve consistency in your game.

First of all, you need a good grip. Grip is directly related to a good stance. You cannot have a good grip with a poor stance. Remember, the true measurement of a good grip and stance is in the quality of hit. The grip and stance must work for you.

Your stance must put you in position to see the angle of the shot. If you have having a hard time seeing the shot, it can be corrected in your stance. It must be well balanced. If someone pushes you while you are in your stance, you should not fall over. For right-handers, your right shoulder needs to be in a direct line with your target.

Once your mind is diverted from the fundamental approach to shooting balls, you will have problems. It all comes down to the one shot in front of you. Nothing more than the shot you are facing. And in order to succeed with that shot, your eyes must be coming right out of your stance. You see the shot, and you shoot the shot and the ball goes in. Keep doing this until you run out of shots.

How A Cue Stick Is Made

The most essential piece of equipment for the game of pool is the cue stick, or simply the cue. It is a tapered stick typically 58 inches long and ranging between 18 and 21 ounces. They are primarily made of wood, but occasionally covered with other materials such as graphite or fiberglass. The length and weight can be altered to create a custom cue for the professional player.

There are three different types of cue sticks. One type is the one piece cue. These are generally for the casual player and often stocked in pool halls. They have a uniform taper and standard length and weight. Another type is the two piece cue. This is usually divided in the middle and screwed together. The two piece cue makes for easy transport and storage in a case. The third type is also a two piece cue, but the joint is not in the middle, but further down on the butt, about 1/3 from the end.

There are different parts or pieces to a cue stick, all of which you should become familiar with. The shaft is the smaller, tapered end of the cue, and the butt is the wider, heavier end. When using a two piece cue, the pieces are attached at a joint which is made up of a screw coming from the butt that is screwed into the shaft. The joints can be made from an array of materials from plastic, wood or aluminum to bone or antlers for more expensive sticks. It serves the same purpose, to join the tow pieces together.

On the shaft, you will find the ferrule and the tip. The ferrule is the piece of white plastic immediately below the tip. It can be made of different materials. Most commonly it is plastic for the casual player and brass for the more experienced player. The tips come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and can be custom rounded to suit your needs. Tips are primarily made of leather and are available in different hardness grades.

The butt of the cue is where you will find your weight. Whether you play with an 18 oz. cue or a 21 oz. cue, the weight is all in the butt. The cue butt is often the area that is most ornate. Many sticks have carvings, leather grips and various other inlaid objects that appeal to the eye. They add nothing to your game but a sense of pride when you pull out your dazzling cue and start a game.

Lastly, and often the most overlooked piece of a pool cue is the bumper. This is a round rubber piece attached to the butt. It offers protection when you place your cue down and also reduced the vibrations that travel through the cue on impact. On pricier cues, the bumper is made of leather.

Choose a cue that is comfortable to play with, not for it’s looks. You want quality, not a show piece.

How To Use Backspin

Let’s start by saying any shot that is not performed by a straight on centered approach will be difficult to master, not to mention hard to control. A shot that is made by aiming at any point other than the center of the cue, will cause the cue ball to be projected with a spin on it. Using backspin on your shot causes the cue ball to draw away from the object ball and return towards you upon contact with the object ball. It is normally done by hitting the cue ball below center. This is a difficult shot to master because hitting the cue ball below center normally creates a “miscue” specially for beginner players. Many players will “jump” the ball until they master this technique.

The distance the cue ball has to travel before impact with the object ball is a major consideration when using backspin. Another factor is the type of cloth on the table. Smoother cloths will have less friction thus allowing the cue ball more momentum to draw back as opposed to a rougher type of cloth were friction will hinder the momentum of the cue ball a lot more. Most higher priced tables are constructed with a smoother cloth, thus enabling players to apply backspin and English efficiently.

As the distance between the object ball and the cue ball increases, you will need to put more backspin on the cue ball As stated above, the cloth on the table surface may cause friction and reduce the speed of the balls and in turn, reduce the backspin. This is where the difficulty of the back spin comes into play. Many players find it very difficult to draw the cue ball at longer distances mostly because there is not enough back spin on the cue ball.

Backspin is a great tool to master when learning your techniques as a newer player. You will find this technique advantageous in many situations and it will increase your over-all game. The primary use of backspin is to avoid scratching when normally the cue would follow through on a shot. Placing backspin on the ball will allow you to make the shot and remain in control of the game. It will allow you to “set up” your next shot with a better leave than if you were to make a follow through shot. Many players apply backspin to their shots to create a good lay of the ball in preparation for their next shot.