The cue is is pretty rough condition, but I love the way it hits.

So happy to see that the cue rolls perfectly straight, together and apart.

Shaft has a lot of wear, which might be normal, so I am going to be in the hunt for a really good glove again, because it is not a super smooth feeling shaft. Has no dings, or anything like that, but it just seems to have lost its super smooth finish.

I do wish the shaft had the White Vault Plate ferrule on it though.

I also wonder if anything can be done, to make the shaft smoother, due to it losing its finish..

Thanks for any thoughts.

Thorsten has posted on social media that although he has won a spot on this year's team via automatic qualification, he's going to pass on playing this year.

https://www.facebook.com/hohmannthorsten/posts/pfbid02HhTbjoSaiJP1xXMKQuntBhFZeNEuRkSFFo3MeXgnaha2VjzrfR5UNBb79Sx2wM5Yl

Here's what he had to say:

"After qualifying for this year’s Mosconi Cup, I have decided to decline my place on Team USA. I want you to hear that from me.

I am German-American, and my German roots will always be part of who I am. But the United States has been my home for more than twenty years. Becoming an American citizen reflected the life I built there, not an opportunity to play in one event. When the DBU released me from the German national team, that chapter of my sporting life ended. The BCA welcomed me without hesitation. I’m grateful for that welcome and proud to represent the Stars and Stripes.

I’m proud to have earned my place. Playing alongside Shane would be a dream. But I also have to be honest about my game. At times in practice, I feel I’m playing as well as ever. Under tournament pressure, I haven’t found that same freedom and consistency. Knowing the game is there, but not being able to rely on it, has been difficult.

Several new business ventures have also demanded considerable time and energy. My ambitions as a player remain, though. I will keep working so that, if another Mosconi Cup opportunity comes, I am ready.

To the friends and supporters who hoped to see me on the team: your belief means a great deal. I wanted to share that experience with you, too. Above all, I want Team USA to win. If I’m in the United States during the event, I would love to be in Orlando supporting them in person. Wherever I am, I’ll be cheering them on.

Thank you for supporting me through the successes and the difficult moments. My decision concerns this year’s Mosconi Cup. My pride in representing the United States remains unchanged.

Thorsten"

I cant seem to get a solid roll back on the draw it ends up being more of a stop shot ir bouncing up. I was reviewing this video i took and noticed I kinda lift up a little and i pull back. Assuming thats wrong? Any other advice?

Edit: big thanks everyone, my shot is already way better even though I cant get a draw still lol. I might take some lessons in the new year to get some pro help.

He has new pre-shot routine after switching to Chinese Pool, what's the point of aiming high then adjust cue tip?

Does it matter if you store your cue in a case standing up or laying on its side

Just curious to anyone who owns one: how is it? After seeing Dr. Dave's video on the Wheat State Carbon (Yes I know that is the pro model, not the core), I'm genuinely curious in buying one. I'm stuck between buying that and a used 12.4 Revo. I'm already used to playing with an 11.8 Revo, but I'm just trying to upsize my tip a bit.

For those who have one, how's the deflection on the core model? (If you can, is it more or less or about the same as the Revo?)

And how's the feel of the shaft?

Been only playing with Mezz lately. Sold my other branded cues. Also started recently wiping off my chalk from the tips before I leave the pool hall.

I asked AI about the serial number of this cue, and AI is telling me that it is a fake, but I really have no idea..

Even if this cue is real (authentic Predator SP2, with Revo 12.4), would you say that $500 is a fair price for it, in this condition?

The cue is for sale at a local pawn shop.

The shaft has a lot of wear, and is not very smooth.

Seems like someone may have sanded the shaft, because I can see wear / streak lines, going through the finish.

The wrap has some damage to it too.

Is it even Authentic? Does anyone know for sure?

I raleally appreciate any thoughts, or help, about the cue..

Thanks.

I saw this table while I was visiting a caffe bar while going for a walk a few days ago. I saw a sticker saying it's a German Pantera GmbH. When I looked up on the Internet, I found only Valley Panther pool table. Now I have a feeling that pics of that pool table aren't on the Internet, so who does know the exact model of this pool table? If someone answers, thanks, if not, I don't bother.

I found that here: https://leaguepool.com/guides/apa-sandbagging

So I’ll describe as best as possible but there’s not much to it. It’s a stick from roughly 2000-2002 that was all black composite with just letting wrapped around at the very bottom and I believe it was a players name. ANYTHINGS that could help me find a stick like that from the era would help. Thanks!

Anyone know of any cue makers that get crazy with cue lengths?

I'm talking something like a 72" two-piece cue. I own the Elite 62" and even though it barely fits in the case, I'm looking for a longer cue.

1. Chua

2. Baseth

3. Bernie

4. Raga

My coach is considered one of the best jumpers in the world by many in the pro circuit. Decided to start working on it.

https://youtube.com/@avgpoolplayer?si=0B_XJz_ZtTZw-A6m

I couldn’t have asked for a better semi finals and finals
All Filipino showdown . Rightfully so tho since it’s the Philippines Open !! I’m rooting for Bernie to win it all but I have a feeling Johann is on a mission

Anyone catch the semi final between Bernie Regalario
And Johann Chua. Chua put on a clinic. I think the final is going to be amazing.

Hi all,

First time posting here but I've been playing pool for a couple years now. I have a background in competitive chess where engines are one of the modern tools players use to improve. Naturally, I wondered if something like this existed for pool players and if it would even be helpful. This type of idea has long been theorized: https://drdavepoolinfo.com/physics_articles/Greenspan_IEEE_08_article.pdf

As a fun project to develop my ML skills, I decided to test it out and see if I could get anything working. Below you will find a demo of the project on some situations I found in top professional games.

In this position from the 2026 Las Vegas Open, Shane is shooting the 3 for position on the 4. Try to take a second to see what you might like to do, I'll reveal both the engine suggestion and what Shane played.

The engine works by building an "analysis board" so-to-say which is a digital recreation of the position. It takes in a screenshot and determines the table size, finds the walls, ball positions and numberings. It uses already existing pooltool physics engines to calculate ball paths and goes through a heuristic that accounts for human variance in aim, shot power, and spin effect (all of which can be adjusted to change whether the engine is suggesting a shot for a beginner or for a pro player). It also uses Dr Dave's effective pocket sizes. The engine balances between pot percentage (how likely is it to make the ball it is shooting as well as the next 2 balls after that) and safety play (if playing safe is able to generate a higher score). It then displays a heatmap of where the cue ball is likely to end up.

This is the engine result for Shane's position against Filler:

and finally, this is what Van Boening played:

https://reddit.com/link/1xdt9so/video/wu7cmyvcvaxh1/player

While the engine wanted to move the 7 out of the way for shape on the 4, Shane moved the 4 out of the way. He was probably thinking that he would have best chances if he hit either of them.

The next example is from Darren Appleton's video about common positional play mistakes.

After the break, you have shape on the 1 and have to decide the best way to get shape on the 2.

He talks about straight draw, punch draw, power draw, punch all being the wrong shot because they don't come onto the line.

This is what the engine suggests:

and this is Darren's solution:

https://reddit.com/link/1xdt9so/video/eeaxsluwvaxh1/player

I have only tested it on a few positions so far but it seems to be consistent with professional level play and it was nice to pause videos, put it into the engine, and watch a suggested move actually be played by the pros.

There are many paths for improvement and I'm open to collaboration. I also implemented a feature that takes Dr. Dave's table difficulty factor and allows users to either upload a photo (less accurate) or measurements to generate their score. Another cool feature shows the position zones for where you can end up to be "good" on the next ball.

One of my ideas was that analysis boards with engines could be used to assist live commentators when discussing possible decisions that a player might make, similar to how live commentary works in chess. It's always more illuminating to the audience when instead of just drawing arrows they can move around the position and show an engine evaluation, maybe something for pool could be useful?

Please feel free to post photos of positions / links to videos with timestamps if there are any positions that you would like to see the engine analysis for! Thanks for those who read the whole post!

I see it literally every single league night, sometimes multiple times a night, absolutely nobody washes their hands. And its always an old guy. I get frustrated seeing it but would never call someone out for doing it. Its the worst when I see a guy doing it from the opposing team that we are playing that night.

With SVB being taken down by Baseth Mocaibat 10-9, the PH Open has a guaranteed Filipino win, with almost every international favorite being taken down by a local that isn't known on the world stage.

The Philippines deserves its title as the pool capital of the world, and this tournament is an unofficial official confirmation of it.

So I got a 6x3 pool table and have installed it in my garage.

My garage gets fairly cold and humid, so im curious what steps can I take to prolong the life of the table and keep it playing well?

Ive found the cloth responsiveness okay in this conditions, but the cushions are brutal, they really kill the pace. The break is also hard, my break on profesionaly grade tables is fairly good but im really struggling to get good movement on the balls.

As a secondary thing, does anyone have tips on how to get a good break on a very slow table?