Pool Sticks!

[Wolf undefined]

This is the most offtopic thread on GHF in a long time!  

Soooo I've recently been playing a couple games of pool a night trying to get somewhat decent at the game.  (We have a pool table at our house so I don't need to go anywhere).  However, I found out that all my dad's old cue's are going bad.  First off, the pool sticks started bending/deforming.  They're also all fairly light and I seem to prefer heavy sticks.  It doesn't help that all of these are pretty cheap ($20.00?).  Other than that, I noticed that one of our sticks (which seems to be in perfect condition) just...hits weird.  I'm not sure if the weights not properly distributed or what but everytime I hit with the damn thing the ball flies all over the place.  Also, we've got bad tips, broken tips, scratchy tips, etc. which wouldn't normally be an issue (you can fix tips) but coupled with everything else it's not going to work.  Normally, I rely on Amazon to fix all my problems but as I have no idea what I've been writing this entire post, I figured I'd ask around about what to look for in a stick.  I know I prefer them heavy, what else should I have in mind when buying a good stick (we're talking $100.00+)?  I also could use some advice on where to go to buy pool sticks.  Does wal-mart work or do I need to go somewhere more specific?

Obviously I'll only be here for the summer but I might bring a stick down to College with me for when I go out with friends.
Hopefully I'll find some kind of pool fanatic on this forum

[DonnerGott]

My advice would be to find a pool/billiards forum. Ask there, or just do some reading.

[Drakkmore]

I'm not a super billiards freak or anything, but I did play a lot of pool from my late teens through my early thirties, and I've owned more then a few cue-sticks.
It sounds like your cue-tip on the one straight stick is bad. you might want to look for a smooth unvarnished/unfinished cue stick. The best stick I've ever owned has been a super smooth unvarnished cue. It also weighs 21 ounces. Not the heaviest stick I've owned, but close. You do not have to have a really expensive stick my favorite stick is a Schmelke cue, and it only cost about $65. You also wanna make sure that the table is not warped as they can get that way too. That is unless you are planning on playing on bar tables a lot when you go to college, if that's the case then yeah a warped table to practice on might not be so bad. Some folks like to use a screw on cue0tip, but I don't they can loosen and rattle around on the threads which can cause crappy ball control. I would not go to Walmart/Kmart/Target etc... for a cue stick, not if you can avoid it.
You want a rough cue-tip, and it shouldn't be fairly soft tip (not like a pillow, but it should not be hard like old dry cardboard) so that the tip will hold chalk. The type of chalk you use solely depends upon your shooting style, and preference. Don't forget you'll also need hand chalk if your hands get sweaty.
One thing to remember is you do not have to hit the ball hard. Most times you don't even want to hit the ball hard. Instead you want a nice smooth stroke where your upper arm stays mostly still, but the forearm swings loosely on the elbow. Another thing to remember is that Billiards is a game of geometry.

I also agree that you might want to find some billiards/pools forums, and see what you can find out through them.

[Chazz of Blades]

I like pool, but I not played very much in a few years. I was never that good, but I have a friend who's frustratingly hard to beat. And Drakk, that's awesome. We need to talk pool tips someday so I can go and practice.

[Drakkmore]

Lol
Chazz I haven't played Pool in more then 5 years myself, but I was pretty good in my time. I wouldn't say that I was a great player, or even any better then simply "pretty good". I won more often then I lost, but not by much. It was just a game I enjoyed learning the subtleties of. There are times that I've wanted a billiard table to play around on, I just simply have not the room for one in my current living situation.
I just remember a lot of the things I had to learn when I did play a lot of pool. Any way yeah a conversation or two wouldn't be remiss.