Help with tip and chalk for UK 8 ball

[dom979]

I recently started getting into playing pool again while at university, and after buying my own cue and joining the local team, i thought joining a forum to see what ideas/thoughts people shared about the game, so here I am.

When i first bought my cue it came with a tip that got damaged in transport, so i ordered some Elks off ebay, I must have gone through about 10 tips before i found one that felt nice and was to my liking. As i play quite a lot (20-30 hour a week) the tip wore down over quite quickly, and then needed replacing. At this point i only had a few Elk tips left, i fitted them all and none of them where to my liking. So I found another forum post on here that recommended ADR147 supersoft tips for pool, so I ordered some and i'm currently waiting for them to arrive.

Another semi issue in my game at the moment is getting lots of kicks. I have a feeling it's down to my chalk and leaving chalk marks on the white that rub off on the object ball. I've been using triangle chalk since I started playing, but I've notice I leave very big chalk marks on the white ball after playing every shot (probably twice as big as everyone else at my club), hence i was wondering if this is down to the chalk i'm using or my method of application/ applying too much/ shape of my tip?

[Booters]

I seem to wear down pressed tips very quickly, I like to have them quite thin to begin with so they don't last long, I use laminated tips now, not everyone's cup of tea but they hold their shape and last a lot longer, I'm currently using Phoenix mediums for but I bought a few soft to try.
As far as the kicks are concerned it may be because the cue ball is smaller the chances of a bad contact is much higher....I think, are you using pro cup balls? They are much more consistent than standard balls

[dom979]

I seem to wear down pressed tips very quickly, I like to have them quite thin to begin with so they don't last long, I use laminated tips now, not everyone's cup of tea but they hold their shape and last a lot longer, I'm currently using Phoenix mediums for but I bought a few soft to try.
As far as the kicks are concerned it may be because the cue ball is smaller the chances of a bad contact is much higher....I think, are you using pro cup balls? They are much more consistent than standard balls

The balls i play with depends who else is there, if i'm just practicing the own lets me use the match balls as i don't hammer them around. Where as if i'm actually playing someone we end up using the (decent quality) ordinary balls.

Also do you have any preference on the chalk you use?

[Booters]

The balls i play with depends who else is there, if i'm just practicing the own lets me use the match balls as i don't hammer them around. Where as if i'm actually playing someone we end up using the (decent quality) ordinary balls.

Also do you have any preference on the chalk you use?

I use masters as it holds better on the laminated tips, I think it's finer powder than the triangle chalk. I think the balls make a huge difference, I now use the pro cups all the time, I want to get my own set as the club I play at has great tables but I don't think the balls get looked after all that well

[markz]

Depending where I'm playing and what balls I'm using I sometimes leave chalk on the cue ball in snooker. If I see this I will try and give the white a clean. Quick clean with damp paper towel then a buff up with a cue cloth. I put it down to the build up of dirt or grease on cue ball, usually it's fine after a clean.

[tomperty]

I've recently started playing pool again over the last few years and I too am at university. I was very into it at a young age (<10 years old) and the talent has luckily stayed with me. Over the last few years I've tried a range of tips with pool, mostly laminated ones, trying to find one that suits me. I've become skilled at cue maintenance too such as refinishing, re-tipping, ferrule shine etc.

Regarding tips:

I have tried Elkmaster, Talisman medium, Kamui Black medium and I'm currently on ADR147 black medium. I can honestly say I don't have a very strong preference for any particular one. They have all performed well when correctly installed just as I'd expect from any product sold to me. I'm not completely certain why this is - It could be due to the smaller table/easier potting on a pool table compared to snooker, that I haven't built up a mental focus on tip brand or the fact that I haven't stuck with a certain tip brand for a long time! With each tip, after a week of playing, I have been able to play my whole range of shots comfortably. I have focused on my cue action from the start meaning I can play big spin shots across the table should I like and I've managed to perform them with all of these tips.

The main thing I have noticed is the consistency that laminated tips have compared to Elkmasters. When someone asks me to retip their cue I'll use an Elk as many people look no further or don't know of any other, and I completely agree with what you say here - they're inconsistent. On the flipside though, every laminated tip I've used has performed very well. After a couple of hours of play and a final trim and reshape you shouldn't need much more maintenance for the foreseeable future. I'd recommend picking a laminated tip that has a good reputation (ADRs certainly tick this box) and sticking with it forever so you know what you'll get every time and you wont have to worry about tips anymore.

Regarding chalk and kicks:

I found the standard green triangle chalk to be too hard for use with laminated tips and I feel like you may have to move to a softer chalk like Master as Booters mentioned above me. Saying that though, I currently use master chalk on my medium ADR black tip and it doesn't actually give an even coating so I may have to look elsewhere still. It's not affecting my play but it's not an easy though knowing your tip isn't consistently covered.

While chalk can affect kicks a lot I think it will mainly be down to the condition of the balls that you're playing with and whether they've been polished recently or not. The pro cup balls are definitely better that others though as I'm sure you know they're expensive. I've played with some boulders in my time and it's awful. Tip shape will not affect your kick likelihood but the amount of chalk will, I think one swipe of chalk for each shot should be enough.

[Booters]

I've recently started playing pool again over the last few years and I too am at university. I was very into it at a young age (<10 years old) and the talent has luckily stayed with me. Over the last few years I've tried a range of tips with pool, mostly laminated ones, trying to find one that suits me. I've become skilled at cue maintenance too such as refinishing, re-tipping, ferrule shine etc.

Regarding tips:

I have tried Elkmaster, Talisman medium, Kamui Black medium and I'm currently on ADR147 black medium. I can honestly say I don't have a very strong preference for any particular one. They have all performed well when correctly installed just as I'd expect from any product sold to me. I'm not completely certain why this is - It could be due to the smaller table/easier potting on a pool table compared to snooker, that I haven't built up a mental focus on tip brand or the fact that I haven't stuck with a certain tip brand for a long time! With each tip, after a week of playing, I have been able to play my whole range of shots comfortably. I have focused on my cue action from the start meaning I can play big spin shots across the table should I like and I've managed to perform them with all of these tips.

The main thing I have noticed is the consistency that laminated tips have compared to Elkmasters. When someone asks me to retip their cue I'll use an Elk as many people look no further or don't know of any other, and I completely agree with what you say here - they're inconsistent. On the flipside though, every laminated tip I've used has performed very well. After a couple of hours of play and a final trim and reshape you shouldn't need much more maintenance for the foreseeable future. I'd recommend picking a laminated tip that has a good reputation (ADRs certainly tick this box) and sticking with it forever so you know what you'll get every time and you wont have to worry about tips anymore.

Regarding chalk and kicks:

I found the standard green triangle chalk to be too hard for use with laminated tips and I feel like you may have to move to a softer chalk like Master as Booters mentioned above me. Saying that though, I currently use master chalk on my medium ADR black tip and it doesn't actually give an even coating so I may have to look elsewhere still. It's not affecting my play but it's not an easy though knowing your tip isn't consistently covered.

While chalk can affect kicks a lot I think it will mainly be down to the condition of the balls that you're playing with and whether they've been polished recently or not. The pro cup balls are definitely better that others though as I'm sure you know they're expensive. I've played with some boulders in my time and it's awful. Tip shape will not affect your kick likelihood but the amount of chalk will, I think one swipe of chalk for each shot should be enough.

I was playing someone the other day that was using blue chalk, not sure of the brand but cue ball was absolutely covered in it and they used a pretty big tip too which made matters worse.

I'm convinced the smaller cue ball can cause a lot of the poor contacts, as the middle of each ball isn't being struck, that's why topspin doesn't work as well than it does with snooker balls

[tomperty]

I was playing someone the other day that was using blue chalk, not sure of the brand but cue ball was absolutely covered in it and they used a pretty big tip too which made matters worse.

I'm convinced the smaller cue ball can cause a lot of the poor contacts, as the middle of each ball isn't being struck, that's why topspin doesn't work as well than it does with snooker balls

I do find the physics of the game really interesting. I agree with what you say about the different ball sizes. The cue ball is pushed into the bed slightly with each contact meaning vertical forces are coming into play a lot. You can see it all the time on the break when the balls frequently leave the bed of the table. I've noticed if a person has cued the ball hard and his cue isn't moving parallel to the bed then it almost always flies off of the table. I suspect this is because he's causing the ball to bounce and make contact above the centreline.

[billabong]

I've a mate who swears by his bently H2 tips , but it's a royal pain when he has to find another one.

Have you tried the triangle spruce chalk ? I've used that on laminated tips, and find it ok. .

[DeanH]

I've a mate who swears by his bently H2 tips , but it's a royal pain when he has to find another one.

Have you tried the triangle spruce chalk ? I've used that on laminated tips, and find it ok. .

I got some from ADR in the past.
a nice tip but only in huge 14mm size so the tip "pencil sharpner" thingie comes in handy

[Booters]

I do find the physics of the game really interesting. I agree with what you say about the different ball sizes. The cue ball is pushed into the bed slightly with each contact meaning vertical forces are coming into play a lot. You can see it all the time on the break when the balls frequently leave the bed of the table. I've noticed if a person has cued the ball hard and his cue isn't moving parallel to the bed then it almost always flies off of the table. I suspect this is because he's causing the ball to bounce and make contact above the centreline.

I think I read somewhere that Steve Davis doesn't see uk 8 ball as a legitimate cue sport because of the smaller white, and it does seem silly that we use a smaller white purely for the sake of coin op tables, even in the professional game, in pubs then yes it's understandable but in a proper club a regular sized white should be standard, I guess pool is inconsistent enough as it is though with different rules wherever you go

[barrywhite]

I was playing someone the other day that was using blue chalk, not sure of the brand but cue ball was absolutely covered in it and they used a pretty big tip too which made matters worse.

I'm convinced the smaller cue ball can cause a lot of the poor contacts, as the middle of each ball isn't being struck, that's why topspin doesn't work as well than it does with snooker balls

Yeah, this is a pain. You've got to get down really low and level with the table to impart top spin. Why they persist with the smaller white ball is beyond me. Then you can screw the white ball miles because you're naturally arching down anyway. So most players will favour screw over top for travelling around the table. When they turn up for a game of snooker, I see a lot of players pointing to the bottom of the ball on every shot. I've seen some players who won't even use stun and run through on a pool table. Rank. If the white was bigger, I think they'd develop more shots.

[Catch 22]

I use laminated tips and found the triangle chalk not very good with them . Master was great but it's very messy and gets on the cue ball and hands etc easily .

For me silvercup is the best chalk it goes on laminated tips very well and doesn't tend to stick to the white much and also practically none makes if to my hands .

On a screw shot the silvercup leaves no marks on the cloth either . The master left chalk trails everywhere

[dom979]

Thank you guys for all your responses. Since using my new ADR SS tips I've seen a big improvements in my game, as these tips seem to give a much more consistent feel to the Elks I was using before. It just seems my confidence level has increased and I know exactly where the white is going to stop.

Also I seem to be getting less kicks now, I think it was mainly down to my cue action and not having my cue parallel with the table. Although I still leave massive chalk marks on the white (they're the size of my tip) after every shot, where as the other players at my club seem to leave little to no marks on the white. Could this be down to the grade of sandpaper I shape my tip with not leaving it rough enough for it to take chalk very well? Or maybe the shape of the tip (see image)?

Also Since I've changed my cue action to cue parallel with the table, I struggle to generate as much top spin on certain shots, is there any general advice you could give me for cuing through the ball when playing with top?

[dom979]

I use laminated tips and found the triangle chalk not very good with them . Master was great but it's very messy and gets on the cue ball and hands etc easily .

For me silvercup is the best chalk it goes on laminated tips very well and doesn't tend to stick to the white much and also practically none makes if to my hands .

On a screw shot the silvercup leaves no marks on the cloth either . The master left chalk trails everywhere

I really like leaving chalk trails on the table then wiping them away with my hand after the shot, in my head if I think that if I've left a long chalk trail and the cue ball has gone where i wanted it to, then i am cuing well. Where as if I've played a screw shot and no chalk trail it normally means I kind of played a punch shot.

Despite this I may still give silvercup ago just to see how it plays, I really like the colour of the green triangle chalk, but when i look at pictures of the colour of green silvercup it looks more like royal green than the colour of triangle chalk, is this the case?