Snooker and Pool Table Blog

If you’re getting into the game of Snooker you’ve eventually want to purchase your own Snooker cue. While the cues on offer at the Snooker clubs are fine for beginners, they do get used by all manner of players from experienced to beginner, so can be damaged or misshapen. Plus if you’re looking to improve your Snooker play you’ll need to keep using the same cue and build up a working knowledge of how it reacts, how it handles and what it can do. If you keep using a different cue every week you’ll never manage any consistency in your game.
When it comes to choosing a cue however you don’t need to go for the most expensive one on the market. Sometimes a cheaper cue can be best suited to you; it just depends on what you’re looking for and what feels best for your own game.
The main thing is that once you have your cue you should practise with all of the time and not swap to a different cue for different games.
When Stephen Hendry was in his prime he used a very cheap, basic cue that he’d kept with him since boyhood. His secret was consistency with the cue.
Some players even lose their form when they change a tip on their cue. It’s that important that you consistently use the same equipment and form a bond with your cue.
When choosing the cue that’s right for you, consider the following:

A larger tip is more suited for a beginner, smaller tips are for professionals
Choose a tip with the right firmness, you don’t want one that is either too soft or too hard
To protect your cue you can add a ferrule to the end
If you plan on travelling with your cue you should purchase a two-piece cue, otherwise a single piece cue would suffice
Try out different lengths of Snooker cues, choose the one that feels right, that is weighted right

With the Snooker World Championship just around the corner, the game’s most gifted player is facing the possibility of a ban due to his antics at last month’s China Open. Ronnie O’Sullivan, considered by many to be the greatest Snooker player of all time and the most natural player to ever pick up a Snooker cue, was caught out making lurid remarks during a press conference in China.
The boss of World Snooker, Sir Rodney Walker, has criticised O’Sullivan heavily for his antics and is currently considering a punishment. Considering the Rocket’s unstable mental attitude and the constant threats throughout his career that he may quit the sport, banning O’Sullivan could prove to be the final straw that sees him walk away from the game.
Mark Selby was the runner-up in last year’s World Snooker Championship; he believes that while Ronnie would be a big loss to the game, the sport would survive without him.
I think it’s wrong what Ronnie said but I’m sure World Snooker will deal with it in the right manner and come out with the right decision. Obviously he has issues, they would have to confront Ronnie and see how he feels about it and I’m sure World Snooker would come up with the right decision.
The game does need Ronnie, it would be a loss without him, but I still think it will cope without him.
Selby hopes to go one better in this year’s championship and considers himself to be in excellent form. He has already won this year’s Welsh Open and the Masters; now he’s set his sights on becoming the Snooker World Champion.