9-Ball
Topic: Help for a newbie?

Hi all,

I've recently got myself a beautiful Brunswick Sorento, and I'm trying to make sure I have the best kit - my game is bad enough I need all the help I can get

I have a Predator 4k2 cue, which I'm happy with, but I'm struggling with the tip. It came with a LePro I assume, but it was way to hard and just had too many miscues. then I tried an Elkmaster tip. This was softer than I'm used to but did at least give plenty of spin. The problem is that it's soft so not consistent for delicate shots in that you don't always get the same reaction from the cue. Plus, it's high maintenance. Last night it came off, and as I was thinking about changing anyway, I just ordered a Moori medium. Hopefully that will be better. (I did want to try a medium Talisman but the only UK provider I could find didn't have a valid security cert online). Anyway, any thoughts? I guess it's a matter of personal preference with tips?

What do you guys use for breaking? I got two decentish(about £50 apparently) cues with the table, so I use one with a Talisman WB hard tip. It's pretty good, though I've not found the secret of using full power and drawing the ball back yet. Is a "normal" cue like this OK for breaking?

I'm also trying to figure out the best way to keep the cloth clean. Straight away I have a few white dots from where I break and a few other places!

Any tips would be appreciated!

You'll find a Moori Medium is reasonably hard too but slightly less so than the LPro. I used all those and the Elkmaster (which I agree is way too soft for this game) and eventually settled on the Moori Soft. If I were to try anything else it would be something slightly harder but softer than a Moori Medium. Apparently a Tiger Sniper would fit this description but I've yet to try one.

Check out this thread:

http://www.pro9.co.uk/html/viewtopic.php?forum=1&topic=347

On 2006-12-12 13:58 , Riggers Wrote:

Thanks. Hopefully the Moori Medium will be OK then as using a soft tip did seem odd to me. Re the Moori, I notice it comes looking quite square - do you prefer to shape it a bit to make it more curved?

Personally I do yes but I guess it's just down to personal preference. There is a widely used piece of equipment you may have come across called the Ultimate Tip tool. This comes with 2 built in shapers - each that will give you a different amount of 'dome'. Using a tool like this rather than a file just ensures you get a uniformed result. I use the one that gives the most dome effect.

An elk is only soft in the early stages. When i change my tip i just hit a few balls hard for 10 minutes to make it a bit harder. There isn't a shot in the game that can't be played with this tip. The only difference is you need to change them a bit more often, but i play everyday and change the tip every 10-12 months.

Hey leanmachine , welcome to the site

Ok first, you've made a good choice by going for a Brunswick table

now on the rest of your ?s , here we go with some advice and many others will be able to post other bits of advice, etc and so always keep an open mind to different suggestions

1. on the cue tip for your Predator 4K2, elkmaster is the worst possible cue tip that you can put onto such a good cue stick, believe me I know, I started using elkmasters and very quickly began to hate them with a passion, LePro are a widely used standard cue tip on most cue sticks when bought new

On your selection of a Moori, you have made a good choice, but I would recommend selecting a medium cue tip, as this will give you an even balance of being able to put whatever spin you need on the cueball, and slo the balance of getting a solid hit and a little bit more natural cue power, but not much more

2. On the ? of a break cue, I don't think that it specificaly matters if you got a standard 2 piece cue with a really hard tip, or a Jump/Break cue with a pheonolic tip/ferrule, but I would recommend looking for a better breaking tip than the Talismans as they have a habit of splitting across the layers and so you're not going to get muse use out of it , the best breaking cue tips I know of are Sniper or Moori Hard, but I think that Moori have an extra hard tip, but maybe someomen else here and correct me on that either way

3. On cleaning your table, first, it sounds very much like the cloth isn't a great quality, in fact if there are white dots from where you have played regular and break shots from, it's probably the speedball cloth that BCE have and it's not a good cloth to have.

I know that about 99% of the guys here will agree that when you get new cloth on your table, have it fitted with Simmonis 760, the reason why I say the 760 and not the 860, is because the 760, is a little more hard wearing cloth and will last you that little bit longer

On Keeping your table clean, there 5 things that you must do, to keep your table playing as good as you would want it too

Rule 1. Buy a dust cover that will cover your table, when it isn't being used and always keep it covered untill you're getting ready to play

Rule 2. Make sure that you brush the table everyday and buy the proper brushes from a good supplier and if you can, also buy the 'Chalk Off' spray cloth cleaner, as it is the best way to clean your table and also, it is used in many tournaments, like the Derby City Classic and the US Open

Rule 3. NEVER vacume your table because when you do this, it loosens the filling material used to join the slates underneathe the cloth and if plaster paris is used for that, then you'll have little lumps of plaster paris sitting under the cloth and will therefore cause shots to very wrong once a ball hits one of those lumps

Rule 4. Always clean the ball set after, you have played for however long as this will help keep some of the other dirt, etc, out of the cloth and also save your cloth from wearing just that little bit more

Rule 5. If you have a 3 way light shade over your table, use Energy Saving Bulbs, as they will give a brighter light than regular bulbs and also last longer and less electricity to run them and so, this will help you to save a little money in the long run on electricity costs and lighting

I hope that ths helps and feel free to PM me if you need anymore advice

Willie

Short and sweet Willie!

For a break cue tip you should try a Water Buffalo.

LMAO @ cuesack lol, tell me about it, my fingers are knackard from typing that lot lol

Willie

For a playing tip i would highly recommend a tiger sniper and for a break tip i have moved on from the water buffalo tips that riggers talks about to the tiger jump/break tip, these seem about the best and i have tried a lot of different options.


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On 2006-12-12 16:01 , PC Wrote:

I highly recommend Sniper tips as well. I have tried slow, medium and quick moori and hated all of them! Tiger Everest tips are great tips too.

On 2006-12-12 14:08 , Riggers Wrote:

Thanks, I may have to get myself one of those shaping toys

On 2006-12-12 14:09 , 412-414 Wrote:

I know what you mean, but even when I tapped with a hammer I couldn't get consistence. One day I'd like it, but then the next day I wouldn't. Also, after a misscue or really hard shot the tip got slightly out of shape.

Thanks Willie! Very helpful.

Re the cue tip, I have ordered a Moori medium (I typed soft by mistake in my post) so I'm hoping I like that one.

Re cleaning your table, it's interesting what you say. The cloth is American green colour and supposed to be decent. I did notice on TV the other day on a close-up shot that the table they used had exactly the same small marks on the table. Maybe they kinda wash out, I'm not sure. Anyhow, I'll keep note of the cloths you mention when I get my first re-cloth. Re hoovering, I read somewhere that some people reckon this is better than brushing because brushing can kinda force chalk under the cloth. I had this problem with my 6 foot snooker table when I was a lad - the thing you see in clubs where you get chaulk build-ups by the pockets. It took years though and I didn't cover the table as I do now.

I should clean my balls more often though! I actually got a set of Aramith Stone last week (I have a pro set too). They look fantastic and I like the way they play. Also, they hold chaulk etc less than the others.

As it happens I have hanging halogen lights, but only because I didn't know if they electrian could find a beam behind the plasterboard so I got something light!

Once again, thanks for the advice

Spencer

On 2006-12-12 18:19 , craig Wrote:

I think I read that Effren Reyes uses Tiger layered tips so they work for him!

Hey Spencer , no worries buddy , I just hope that all the info that us lot have posted, is of some help or another

Willie

And where do you get all this excellent equipment from? Mail order? Online order? From which companies?

Big newbie smile ; )

From the Pro9 Shop of course (well hopefully) when it opens in the new year.

Big hint Dave...

The Pro Shop is coming along nicely thanks for asking!

I just registered as the 500th member... do I get anything special for it? Also any discount to BPPPA events for ex-leeds rileys staff?!


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I don't have to make the shot again, I made it just now...