You might be familiar with Tiger Products, because of their great laminated cue tips like the Sniper and Everest tips.  You may not know that they make pool cues, too and they are VERY popular.

The first thing you should know about the Tiger pool cue is the unique shaft design.  They call it the Tiger X-Shaft Ultra. The shaft is a laminated shaft, but different than other laminated shafts on the market. It is called the X-Shaft, because there are 4 quadrants laminated around a center square core.  See picture below...

Illustration of Tiger X-Shaft Design

One of the unique aspects of this design is the orientation of the grain in the 4 quadrants of the radial peices.  The grain is all facing outward in an "X" pattern, hence the name.  This is supposed to be the reason for the consistent play, radially.

I would love to hear some opinions from anyone that has used this shaft.  I'm torn between transitioning to this shaft or a Z-shaft from Predator.

Here is a short video about the Tiger X-Shaft...

I found a short video of the Tiger Products shop.  check it out below...

One of the things that I noticed in the video was the application of a "layered leather wrap".   I've seen the Tiger Pool Cue with that wrap and it looks really nice.  If anyone has tried one, in person, let me know what your impression was of that wrap, please.  I'd love to get some feedback.

One last video about Tiger pool cues.  This video shows some of the cues available on the market today, including their
Tiger Icebreaker Jump Break Pool Cue Stick.  The cues are not overly fancy, but I like them.  I tend to like simple cues with traditional designs.  These cues look nice for the price-point.   Check out the video and the cues on this page and let me know what you think.

Here are a few of the cues from the video...


Tiger Icebreaker Jump Break Pool Cue Stick


Tiger Limited Edition Shawn Putnam Signature Series (SHP1)


Tiger Limited Edition Shawn Putnam Signature Series (SHP2)


Tiger Professional TPC2 - Cocobolo with Stack Leather Wrap Pool Cue


Tiger SP Professional Cues Ebony and Purple Heart

One of the things that really surprised me was the number of high-level players that play with these cues. According to Tiger, they only sponsor 5 players. Therefore, I would assume that these players use a Tiger pool cue, because they prefer it. Check out this impressive list of players:
Troy Frank, Larry Nevel, Ernesto Dominguez, Brandon Ashcraft, Tiffany Nelson, Corey Duel, Dave Hemmah, Efren Reyes, George SanSouci, James Baraks, Megan Minerich, Ikumi Ushiroda, Melissa Herndon, Melissa Morris, Alison Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter, Kelly Fisher, Tony Crosby, Max Eberle, Mazin Shooni, Rodolpho Luat, Tang Hoa, Stefano Pelinga, Shawn Putnam, Jeff Abernathy, Panela Treadway, Danny Harriman, Mike Massey, Corey Harper, Neil Fujiwara, Nick Nikolaidis, Jose Parica, Edwin Montal, Buddy Hall, Thorsten Hohmann, Josh Brothers, Jamison Neu, Jim Wych, Jeff White, Joey Korsiak, Robb Saez, Dennis Orcullo, Ismael "Morro" Paez, Kim Davenport, Chris Szuter, Michael Tosado, Louis Ulrich, Tina Pawloski, Jimmy Mendoza, Okinawa Slim, Karen Corr, Kim Shaw, Francisco Bustamante, Paul Gerni & many more.

That is an impressive list.

It is unclear to me if these players all use a Tiger pool cue or if they use a Tiger "product" of some sort. That being said, you should definitely consider these nice cues if you're in the market for a new cue or shaft.

Cheers,
Skippy

In this video, Ralf Souquet opens up his cue case and reveals all of his secret pool gadgets and the other necessities of a traveling billiards-superstar.

Ralf Souquet (aka "The Kaiser") is a truely legendary player from Germany. He has been playing competitive pool for over 2 decades at a very high level. He has an amazing tournament record including over 250 wins including many European titles and US titles in an array of pool disciplines. He has world championships in 9ball, 8ball and 10ball. He is a US Open 9 Ball Champion and a US Open 14.1 champion. Bottom-line, if there is a big tournament, don't ever count out Ralf, he is a true champion.

OK...Let's find out what a world-travelling professional pool-playing superstar keeps in his pool cue bag of tricks...

Ralf has been playing with a Joss cue for some time and is working out an endorsement deal with them (at the time of this video). He uses a Predator 314 2nd generation shaft with his cue. His Joss cue is a one-of-a-kind, but here are some other Joss designs...



Joss JOS62 Bloodwood, Figured Maple and Holly Diamonds Pool Cue Stick




Joss JOS61 Bloodwood, Ebony and Holly Pool Cue Stick




Joss JOS07 - Holly Inlays Pool Cue Stick

These are just a few examples of Joss' work. I've always liked their cues. IMO, they are a high-quality cue for the money.

Ralf was carrying a Predator Air Jump cue like this one...



Predator Air Jump Cue

Let's keep looking, because Ralf's case is jam-packed with gadgets and supplies. Here are some of them with links, so you can stock your case, just like THE KAISER...



A Towel to wipe his hands and/or cue




A bunch of Moori Tips




A Cue Cube to shape his tip.




A Brad Scuffer, which is another way to scuff his cue tip.




A Q Wiz to clean and polish his cue shaft. This little gadget works great. I agree with Ralf when he says it is one of his favorite items.




This Cue Dude cue holder looks ingenious! I'm planning on trying one of these. I've seen many versions of cue holders, a lot of them home-made, but this one is very compact and more gentle on your cue...compared to the ones that I have seen.



Ralf carries the Justa Bridge, which is, maybe, the best bridge design I've seen so far. It slips on the end of your break cue or a house cue. It's well worth the little extra money over the cheaper bridges or a house bridge.



He also carries a Moosehead type bridge for a little bit of convenience over the Justa Bridge.

Ralf also carries Blue Diamond chalk, which seems to be popular with many of the pro pool players. He carries, yet-another, tip shaper/burnisher and some lucky charms...it seems to work for him. You'll see he carries some other supplies, too, like pain relievers, etc. That is a good idea.

Anyhow...here is the video interview from insidepool...I hope it helps you.

Cheers,
Skippy

In this video, future Pro Player, Landon Shuffet, reveals what he keeps in his cue case.

Landon Shuffet is an up-and-coming young player.  He has a lot of talent and experience for someone his age.  I think he was 14 at the time of this video.  Listening to him, you might not realize that he is that young.  For his age, he is very knowledgable and tournament tested.  He is one of the future super-stars in the contigency of U.S. players.

So let's find out what secret weapons Landon has hidden in that beautiful Jack Justis Case of his....

Landon has a rather odd combination of butts and shafts.  He is playing with a Predator Butt and an OB-2 Shaft. He says that he had played with an
OB-1 Cue Shaft
for a few years and loved it a lot, but the new OB-2 shaft is even better, definetly an upgrade in his opinion. He plays with a
Moori tip (Medium Hardness)
.


That is the same tip that I have used in the past and liked very much. It is a pigskin tip with 11 layers of lamination. They are very popular tips.
His setup is the same for his break cue. He has the Predator BK2 Break cue (butt only) and he uses an OB shaft designed for break cues. He likes the feel of the OB shaft for breaking compared to the Predator shaft.



Predator BK2 - Break Cue with No Wrap

Landon carries a jump cue made by Steve Lomax who makes the Bunjee jump cues. Landon swears by these jump cues and thinks they are the best jump cue out there.



Bunjee Jump Cue - Ebony

One of the coolest pool gadgets to come out in recent history is the pool cue extensions. Landon carries one that is called the Cue Reach and I like it a lot, too, because they allow you to shoot "reach" shots much more naturally...without stretching and losing accuracy. Worth the small cost IMHO.



Cue Reach Pool Cue Extension

Everything else is sort of basic stuff...


a towel



Ultra Glide Hand Talc




Smooth Slide Burnishing paper similar to Nicks Edge shown here

...and a tip tool.
All of this stuff is held in a custom made Jack Justis case that is beautiful. Jack makes great cases that are very functional, too. Landon is a lucky guy to have that case.
Here is the video with Landon...thanks to InsidePoolMag.com for providing the interview.

Cheers,
Skippy

In the video below, professional player and pool playing legend, Johnny Archer, reveals what he keeps inside his pool case.

Johnny Archer, aka "The Scorpion", is one of the most successful professional players of the last couple of decades. He is about the same age as me, so I have enjoyed watching him play many matches over the years. He has won just about every major title and has amassed a long list of victories over the last 20+ years of competitive pool. He is a great player and an invaluable asset to the sport of pool IMO, so when he reveals what's in his cue case, I want to sit-up and pay attention.

So just what does he carry....

Obviously, Johnny has some Scorpion Cues in his case, after-all, he helped design them.  You should watch the video to get some more insight into Johnny's opinion about these cues. He carries 3 cues in his bag along with several extra shafts. Let's break-down his cue selection. I'll give you some more details about these cues, just in case you are interested in finding one.
First is his main playing cue. He is playing with the JA-03 model of Scorpion cue. Johnny mentions that he likes to play with a Triangle brand tip on his cue. Here are some links to this exact model of cue and the specs for it.



Scorpion JA03 - Johnny Archer Signature Pool Cue Stick

The specs...

Similar to the Cuetec shafts, the Scorpion cue shafts are coated with fiberglass to protect the cue. Johnny seems to play well with those shafts, so I guess that speaks for itself.
His second cue was a Scorpion Break cue. Here are some links to this cue if your interested along with the specs for this cue.



Scorpion Break Pool Cue Stick

Here are the specs for this cue...
Tip: 13mm Proprietary Extra Hard Leather Tip
Ferrule: Stainless Steel breaker ferrule
Shaft: Black 29" Hard rock maple with fiberglass power bonded to it. 12 - 14" pro taper
Collar: Black Composite
Joint: Black Composite
Pin: 3/8 x 14 stainless steel
Forearm: Solid black forearm
Rings: Exclusive Power Rings
Wrap: Exclusive Power Rings
Sleeve: Black
Plate: None
Bumper: Black rubber
He also had a Scorpion jump cue in his case, which he seemed to like. He mentioned that he worked with the manufacturer to develop the jump cues. Johnny is a great jumper, so I would give them a try. Here is the information on that cue...



Scorpion Jump Pool Cue Stick

The specs for the Scorpion jump cue...
Tip: Proprietary super-hard leather jump tip
Ferrule: Brass
Shaft: 13-14" pro taper
Collar: Stainless Steel
Pin: 3/8 x 14 stainless steel
Forearm: Solid black forearm with blue and gold scorpion logo
Wrap: Black Veltec
Sleeve: Black
Bumper: Black rubber

Other than the insight into his cues, he doesn't reveal to many secret weapons on his bag of tricks. If you ever seen him play, you know that he uses a lot of powder, so he had that. Oddly enough, he had a ton of chalk in his case...apparently, he likes to swipe the chalk cubes off of tables, so watch your chalk around him
I wish he would have mentioned who made his cue case. If you know, comment below, I'm sure others would be interested.
It looks like he's a bit of a minimalist, like myself, when it comes to his supplies in his case (unless he's holding-out on us). I never carry too many gadgets in my case, either.
Anyhow...here is the video...Thanks to InsidePool for making this interview available.

BTW, if you like Johnny's cues...you can get 20% Off Scorpion Pool Cues


Cheers,
Skippy

Picking a pool cue can be quite intimidating, because of the vast selection of cues out there.  Ironically, for the average, casual, pool player, finding a good cue might be difficult, depending on where you live.  There is a lot of junk out there at the low end of the market for cues.

I know, because I've bought them and learned the hard way.

I played pool from when I was 5 years old until I went to college with cues that were TERRIBLE!!  The cues I used were yard-sale specials with screw-on tips or slide-on tips (EEEK)...one of them was a five-piece cue that my Dad bought for me at a FURNITURE STORE for God's sake (after I begged him to, of course).  It was in a cool little carrying case and had carved designs all over it.  It looked similar to this cue....

Stay away from cues like this if you want to play good pool.

I'm not trying to affend anyone that has a cue like this.   Just know that there are much better cues out there for the same amount of money as this one or just a tad more (I saw this one selling for $39).

I found a video that does a good job of explaining what to look for when searching for a good pool cue (the video is at the bottom of this post).  I tend to agree with everything in the video.  Here are some highlights of things to look for and things to avoid in a billiard cue.

AVOID

• screw on tips
• push on tips
• brass joints (note: There are good custom cues that use brass, but they are rare.  It would be easier to assume all brass jointed cues are bad, until you learn more about what to look for)
• cheap cues will, often, have a lacquer finish on the shaft of the cue
• cues with more than one joint, unless they are a quality jump/break cue
• budweiser cues
• crooked cues
• cues sold at any big-box store like wal-mart, k-mart and sporting goods stores

DO LOOK FOR

• a quality/brand name pool cue and/or shaft (see my suggestions below)
• a good quality ferrule...this is the short piece of material that the tip attaches to
• look for a wrap or grip section of the cue that is to your liking and of high quality...if there is a wrap, a nice Irish linnen or leather is a sign of high-quality.  Some cues don't have a wrap and this is ok if it fits your preference.  Some cheaper cues have very low-quality wraps.  I had a $6 cue that picked up at a yard sale.  It had a wrap that felt like it was made from nylon line.  I didn't know any better.
• look for quality craftsmanship of the inlays, joints and ferrule.   If you run your fingers over the transitions of the inlays, butt cap, ferrule, joint, etc., you shouldn't feel a transition from one piece to the other.  It should be perfectly smooth.
• look for straightness of the cue.  Even high-quality cues can warp if abused, so don't ever assume.
• look for a good quality tip.  The tip should not be spongey, in my opinion.  They should be a good quality leather tip.  If you push on the tip with your fingernail, it shouldn't feel soft or compressible.
• if possible, hit some balls with the cue and see how you like it.

Those are some suggestions that will help to keep you from getting ripped-off when shopping for a cue.  In general it is a good idea to stick with name brand cues.  There are a couple of different quality/value tiers to choose from IMO.  Everyone may not agree on this assessment, but it is a starting point.  Please, comment if you feel I'm off-base here...

Low-end production cues (a decent choice to start out with and will be solid cue to start with)

• Player Cues, Cuetec Cues, Mali Cues, Scorpion Cues, Stealth Cues, Helmstetter Cues

Quality high-volume production cues (a solid production cue that can last a lifetime of playing and look good, too...at an affordable price)

• Meucci Cues, Viking Cues, McDermott Cues, Lucasi Cues

Higher-end/lower-volume production cues (I might get some flack for these, but I think that these cues PERFORM better than other production cues and can compete with high-end custom cues)

• Schon Cues, J. Pechauer Cues, Predator Cues, Joss Cues

There are many great custom cue makers out there that make cues that rival or surpass even the best production cues on the market.  Browse through this site to find out more about them.

Anyhow...here is the video.  It is a good starting point with solid advice.

I hope this information was helpful. If I can be of any help with your cue search, let me know.

Cheers,
Skippy