If your friends don't dance then they're no friends of mine.

Okay, okay, not really. Sorry.

Today two good things happened at the pool hall.  1) I got to hit with a Samsara cue 2) I came up with a new little game for myself.

1) After talking with the hall for a minute, he said he did have two Samsara BarCues left from the original lot of about 15.  So, I hit with one for a while.  Now, the joint was wood-wood with a piloted hole and it didn't meet flush, which I thought was strange.  The tip was very soft and probably the reason for why the "ping" was so deadened sounding.  I could barely hear the thing.  House-cues are louder than this thing.  The shaft it came with wasn't to my liking at all.  I guess that's a "straight" taper - but it reminded me more of a 3-cushion shaft than a pool shaft.  Although it didn't deflect any more than my current cue, it didn't deflect much less than mine either, and for $500 I want something a little straighter.  So... while I really like the design of the Samsara cues, I won't be putting out any money for one of them.  I'll stick to their break-tips though.  Now, I just want to hit with a Schon and compare it to the Carolina, and I'll be ready to make a decision.

2) I was hitting some shots from Byrnes Book of 350 Shots wherein he demonstrated a good safety shot that required "stun-through" action on the cue ball.  So, I started working on that shot.  Then I started working on other safety shots.  Then, I came up with this safety dance:  Throw all 9 (or 10) balls on the table, and then toss out the CB.  Shoot the balls in rotation - but each shot you are trying to get a strong safety out of it.  Freeze the CB and/or hide the OB.  Each time you get at least 65% of the OB blocked, take it off the table (unless it's a really easy kick to MAKE - like if you block the shot, but the OB is in the jaws, that doesn't count).  Go through the rack that way and see how many shots it takes to get through. 

So, you have a goal, you have a score, which means this is a measurable skill drill. Yay!  You could make it more interesting by making a rule on the number of rails used or only half-ball hits or only thinning the OB, etc.  Lots of ways to play safe; which is why I'm calling this in my practice log the "Safety Dance". (hence the title of this entry)

Caroline vs Samsara

So, I've been toying with the idea of getting a new cue.  I like my Lucasi, but I'm for sure going to replace the shaft.  Well, for the cost of a new shaft plus a little more I can get a new cue - and if I go custom, I can get a damn nice cue.

Today I hit with a Carolina Custom sneaky pete and while I don't like the look of a sneaky pete, the cue hit pretty darn well.  The standard shaft had less deflection than my current Lucasi too.  The butt felt good and solid and the ping was very audible - it sounded like a real cue.  They even have one in the wood colors I want: Cocobolo. :)

Now, Samsara Custom has a line of what they call "BarCue"; meaning they aren't decked out in elephant ivory and hand-laid inlays, etc.  Which is just fine for me, I don't care about that stuff, and honestly, I hate the idea of paying for it.  They, too, have a Cocobolo cue in this for around the price I was hoping to stay under/around.

Tomorrow, if I remember, I'll ask about them because I'm pretty sure there's a Samsara custom in one of the cases.  They have a unique design pattern on their true customs which I remember seeing on an end-cap the other day.  Their designs are actually some of my favorite, as far as curb-appeal goes, but I can't spend the $2,000-4,000 for one of those.

Has anyone reading this ever played with either?

Predator Z2 and/or Schon?

I've recently just had a small 10 day vacation from work and during those days I only played pool a few times.  The most recent day was just Saturday evening.  As it turned out, it was a very good night to go.

Although we didn't get our usual table, I was able to meet another player and get a number of excellent tips regarding break styles and stroke-tips in general.  In my opinion, the most important part of the night was being able to try a new cue and a new shaft.

Gene is a serious student of the game, as he confessed to me: when he's not playing, he's watching pool - if he's not watching, he's thinking about pool.  He plays every day, anywhere from 4-7 hours, at a number of halls, playing a number of games, including 9-ball, 10-ball, 14.1, one-pocket, snooker and 3-cushion.  He had a variety of cues in his case, but was playing with his Schon attached to a Predator Z2 shaft.  He let me hit a few balls with it, after a brief discussion on how harder tips are most likely to further exposure stroking flaws (a pure stroke is required to apply best english).

First off, the Predator Z2 is a 11.75mm diameter shaft - a full mm thinner than my traditional shaft; which I have to say is a HUGE difference.  At first it looked odd, but after just a few hits, I immediately saw the benefit: PRECISE application of english.  If you're used to thinking in terms of applying spin in a multiple of tip-widths, a smaller tip will expand your range.  With my current shaft, I generally think in terms of 1, 1.5 and 2 tips for 'a bit', 'average' and 'extreme' amounts of english; using that shaft, I can more exactly apply anywhere (on the half-tip scale) from 0 to 3 tips of english anywhere in the 4 quadrants of the ball.  I also noticed a pretty sizable decrease in deflection.

Now, I had been thinking about trying an OB-1 shaft somehow, but after seeing the benefits of the thinner shaft, I might be looking for an OB-2 shaft.  As it turns out Gene has one; but he doesn't like the tip on it, so he's getting rid of it.  He likes the harder tips; for me, so far, I like the soft/medium tips - but am more open to a harder tip now than before.  I hope to run into him again and if so, I will ask to try his OB-2 shaft. I expect I will, since we frequently compete for 'the good table' at the weekend pool hall.

Now, here's the real question:  Can I justify spending more on a new shaft (considerably more) than I paid for the entire cue?  A new Z2 shaft that will fit my cue (uni-loc joint) is $300.  Thanks to a deal I got on my cue, I paid right around half of that for my Lucasi E-7.  OTOH, the OB-2 shaft that fits my cue is almost $70 cheaper, according to their respective websites.

Also, I had been wanting to try out the Schon cues as a great next step for me.  The problem is that I'm not sure *why* I want to upgrade, other than I like buying things.  I would suggest to myself that getting a shaft is a) cheaper and b) a better choice because it's applicable to the next cue.  However, since almost no "serious" cue maker uses the Uni-Loc joint, any shaft I buy will have to stay with the Lucasi.  Which, does mean that when it's time to sell it, I can get more for the combo.  *sigh*  The other thing is, I really, really like the look of this cue.  It's silly, but I do.  And I can't possibly justify spending $1400 on a cue made from elephant ivory - then having to put another $300 shaft on it.  I have no dreams of touring and I don't have the cash-flow for such frivolities, so... I think I've talked myself into just a new shaft this year.

Although, if something comes through the local hall that has a nice dark/smokey look to it that hits like a Southwest, I might seriously consider working something out. heh.