When you want to buy a snooker cue there are several things you need to look out for. Obviously the price is important. Make sure you get your moneys worth. The quality of the cue is extremely important. As you will probably know, the snooker cues that professionals use cost quite a large amount of money because they are generally of the highest quality.
If you enjoy playing snooker but only play every World snooker championship finals now and then it’s still worth buying a decent cue. If you buy a really cheap cue then it is likely that the quality of the cue will be poor and these cues can snap or break quite easily. If you don’t play very often then you should probably look at paying approximately £20 to £60. For this kind of price you can actually get some really good snooker cues.
The quality of the wood will usually be good. You can get a good rosewood and ash cue for just over £20 and a great Ronnie O’Sullivan style maple cue for nearer the £60 mark. Sometimes however, even though the cue is good quality, the tip that comes with it can be very poor. If when you play a shot your cue makes a lot of noise then it is likely that the tip is not too good. You can have a new tip fitted at your local snooker hall few just a few pound and they will often sand it down for you too. Another option is to buy a new tip and fit it yourself.
If you are playing regularly then you can improve your game simply through buying a better cue. For about £60 to £100 you can get some fantastic cues. If you’re a snooker enthusiast then you can also get signed cues for this kind of price. The class of these cues is normally incredible. There are a variety of woods that these cues are made from and the tips are usually of a very high standard. A solid brass ferrule is normally fitted to make the tip sturdy and often the cues come with a small tip such as 9.5mm. This is great for improving your control over the cue ball.
If you want to become a professional or simply want your game to be as good as possible then you should be looking at spending about £100 to £300. If you choose to buy a snooker cue from this category then it should be top of the range. It may be weight adjustable and many of these cues are made from maple. You can even get cues that come with a pigskin tip! This provides extremely good control of the cue ball. A snooker cue of this standard will generally come with a good quality cue case and sometimes the ferrule is even made out of stainless steel. This makes your cue very strong and also allows you to get good power behind your shots without risking damage to the cue.
In conclusion, if you choose to buy a cheaper snooker cue you should expect it to have one or two faults (mainly look out for the tip as a poor tip is often fitted to reduce costs). If you want a good cue then you have to be willing to pay a bit more for it. It is really worth the extra money as your game will be taken to the next level.