Considering a low-deflection shaft?

I'm sure you know by now that I'm a Predator user and a huge proponent of low deflection shafts. I believe that anyone will improve their game using one, if they allow themselves to improve. By that I mean you must trust that your game will be better if you learn to use the low deflection cue correctly, and not allow yourself to fall into old habits. I think it's common for a player to start to learn to play with a low deflection cue, but then in a pressure situation like a tournament or money game they don't trust the cue to do what it's supposed to do, fall back into old habits, miss the shot, and then blame the cue. Well, no, the cue wasn't the problem. They were the problem.

I'm not going to say everyone in the world needs to switch to a low deflection shaft. Along with my Predator cues, I also own a Madden custom cue, and I can play very well with it also and have no trouble switching cues. I'm not quite as good as I am with my P3, but still play at a comfortable APA 7/9 level.

From a technical perspective, I will say there are a couple of things you need to know. First off, jump shots, masse shots, and swerve shots are more difficult to do with a low deflection cue. I know a cuemaker who swore on his mother's grave that swerve shots were impossible with a low deflection shaft, and that his game would suffer immensely if you took that shot out of his arsenal. I disagree immensely, but if these shots are a large part of your repertoire, you should take that into account. Secondly, if you use the pivot point method to adjust for deflection, low deflection shafts may mess with you more than others at first. The pivot point will be very far back on a low deflection cue, too far to practically bridge from. You must use more of a parallel plane method, which in layman's terms is just your normal, "guess until you get a feel for how much you need to adjust" type method. The kicker is that if you use an effective enough low deflection shaft (like the Z2), then you won't even have to adjust your normal aim much of the time so it makes no difference. It's something to consider though.

Good luck.

Yes. A low deflection shaft will mess up your game at first. It takes time to get used to it. Once you do get used to the new shaft most people see an improvement in their game. The low deflection does improve your english and position play. How long it takes you to get used to it can vary, Personally it took me about 6 hours of shooting to get more or less used to the feel and about a week til I noticed my game getting a little better.

Wish I could be of some help, other then to say or repeat what you said..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I do play with a Predator stick, and this "deflection" theory was the clincher for me. However, I am what I would consider a "B" type player....I would consider myself a 280-290 "hitter and not quite in the Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams area, so my expertise is limited......but as I said, in my mind the construction of this stick/shaft in theory answers the questions that I would have about deflection. I do remember having to adjust my aim a little when initially playing with it......but a old tennis coach thought be a point, when I got serious about the game...I was 36 and had never really played before other then with friends and for fun.......he asked me how serious I was about it, and told him that I want to play tournaments and be ranked by the time I turned 40(amateur)....he told me "You are an old dog and will have to learn new tricks".....I have followed that always in everything new that I try or want to master and I am always looking for better ways to improve my pool game. I read, I watch and take notes.........been awhile since we discussed each other's game, but it seems like you are several several leaps ahead of my game, and what's the worse that would happen to someone as good as you? You'd go right back, to what you were doing before, and get your game back.......fallacy, is that once you change and you lose a couple of matches, how quickly will you go back to your game. I would say, to go for it and see what happens but commit to it until you have your answer one way or the other.....there will be a aim change in my opinion........speaking about learning, have you ever seen Bert Kinister's "Deflection" training tape/DVD? It actually worked for me!

I won't pretend to be any kind of authority germane to the virtues of a Predator shaft versus a Viking cue or whether or not you should use a hard or a soft tip on your shaft. I'm afraid most contemporary pool players have fallen victim to the advertising and promotion schemes of cue makers and their representatives, in that, a brand name cue nor a "special" shaft are going to improve your game any more than wearing a pair of Nike tennis shoes are going to make you a better basketball player.

Before (and I'm not speaking directly to you) I would inquire about any piece of equipment, I would ask myself some more important questions about my status as a pool player. Do I shoot soft or just firm enough so as not to distort the collision between the cue and my object ball? Do I understand draw and follow through? Do I comprehend the importance and physics of two spheres colliding? Can I use the diamond system with some level of competence and confidence? Do I know what a tangent line is? Can I calculate a where I should aim the cue ball off the rail before I hit my object ball for a kick shot? Do I understand the fundamentals of a bank shot?

The list of questions can go on and on but I would expect answers to these questions from an aspiring pool player before we started discussing a what kind of equipment to purchase. For lack of a better analogy, I wouldn't let someone drive my new Porsche without them knowing the rules of the road.

Just a plain looking sneeky pete nobody is scared of it if I took my Longine indian into a room i couldnt get a game for a bottle cap But it does have a few mods

Jacoby Cue

maybe yeah

idk