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
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Truth be told what ever your level of playing, what ever the level of skill you are at eventually you will find what works specifically for you…not you and the pros not you and someone else but you and you only and the only way to find these things out is to get out there and shoot shoot shoot and shoot some more untill you are so tired that you just go to bed…there are many great cues out there but there is only one cue that each individual player likes upon weight , length, design, style, material, and qualities, if you are a feel player you will like a very different cue from that of a mechanical player ..even though both players have players in the same categories you will find each person has their little tendencies or trends that they like or dont like its what makes them feel good when they shoot that counts called the feel good factor if you feel good shooting and the cue feels good to you then your feel good factor is up and your performance may be to but in the mean time people need to look more at what makes them feel good about thier cues and what they like that hellps their feel good factors…..cause i gaurantee what the pros use and what you use are two different thngs for one and for two a pro may like something very different from what you like and shoot with. Its all polotics and differences in opinion that really put a big perception to the public out there and thats what makes sales if people would spend more time finding what they like and what works for them they can get to that same level of play as well.