Fred Agnir
04-04-2003, 10:13 AM
After hearing much raving about the Predator BK at its first arrival at the Derby City Classic a couple of years ago, I had wanted to get one to see if there was any hope whatsoever in helping my pathetic break.
My break is similar to others who have reported here of of accidental unwanted spin left on the cueball. On firmer shots, my tip tends to arc right to left. Depending on the time of day and how much breaking I've done, it gets better (or I time the arc better). That is, I'm usually breaking better at the end of the tournament. Someone please give me a good way to harness the end of the tournament results and
put it at the beginning.
Anyway, on to the Predator BK. Did it make my break into something on the order of a professional? Not even close. My break was as weak as ever. However, what I got out of the Predator BK was consistency. I am always hitting to the right of the head ball a little, with a lot of right-hand spin leftover. Normally, with my other cues, I'll have a little right-hand, but because of squirt, I hit the left side of the head ball or the right side of the head ball depending on where I broke from. So with the BK, the adjustment was one way. And, the adjustment was consistent. I'll have to keep working on this, but since the adjustment makes some sort of sense, I've got a starting point. Maybe I need to get the StrokeTrainer http://www.stroketrainer.com to get the stroke straight. Of course, I'll break my fingers trying to get me break stroke straight hitting that aluminum plate.
But on to what the stick did not intend. The BK has a 314 shaft on it. I've shot with these shafts before, but only onesie twosie shot. And the test shots were always with english. Afterall, isn't that what the Predator is geared towards? Well, because I was lazy, after breaking the balls, I'd shoot them in with the Predator. Is there a difference? And what is the difference? For putzes like me who can't hit the ball in the center (how I've gotten this far with my game, I'll never know), certain shots are always a lower percentage. Particularly, firm center shots like these:
Power draw:
START(
%A_8X1%PN6U7%Up8Z2%V`6X2%W]8W9%XP8V2%YE2U4%Z^1W9%[X8M5%\E1U2
%eB5b2
)END
and jacked up stop shot:
START(
%AX5P1%BY7U5%PD7W8%Ur4C9%VY6O4%[V7P8%\E9W2%eB5b2
)END
I'm normally 50% on making these shots, but to my amazement, I was hitting these in the heart. It should be no surprise that I normally miss these given my break shot problems.
Now, say what you will about new cue syndrome. This isn't it. This stick sounds and feels awful when I hit normal shots. It's entirely too butt heavy for regular shooting. The butt is too thin for my taste. The wrap is so tight, it feels fake. But I can't deny that the strength in it so far is not on the english shots, but the centerball shots, for those of us who simply can't hit the center of the cueball. For those of you who can hit the center, it might not be a noticeable difference.
How will it work under the gun? I decided to play in a tournament last night at a pool hall that I've never done well. The tables are tight "don't even think about touching the cushion" Olhausens with too-much-bounce cushions. The winner of these tournaments is always the best shotmaker. Tactics and runout pattern skills are diminished because the tables just take away so many shots. That's why I normally don't play because all of my skill if I have any is focused on runout patterns in 8-ball. Last night's results: no contest. I blew away the field, made up mostly of SL-6's and SL-7's. The Schuler never got out of the bag. It was all Predator BK. I'm not saying I made every shot, but the tight tables had less effect on me than anyone else there by far. It was almost like playing on normal tables. It was almost surreal. I'm simply not that good of a shotmaker, though I'm certainly far from bad.
Where doesn't the shaft work? Well, so far, the subtle soft and/or long english shots I'm a little lost. Not too lost. Lost in that I have to fight my natural tendency to adjust for squirt, and often it's an afterthought. I almost scratch a couple times on this:
START(
%A\3F5%BD7N2%P]8O1%U\8H9%V]4M9%[P1Y7%\]3D1%eA7a2%_]0D5%`\9F2
%a\7G7
)END
The subtle inside-english follow. I hit too full in the face, catching the point (or worse). If I were to continue with these shafts, it would be quite a commitment.
Fred <~~~ thinks it won't help people who can't aim.
My break is similar to others who have reported here of of accidental unwanted spin left on the cueball. On firmer shots, my tip tends to arc right to left. Depending on the time of day and how much breaking I've done, it gets better (or I time the arc better). That is, I'm usually breaking better at the end of the tournament. Someone please give me a good way to harness the end of the tournament results and
put it at the beginning.
Anyway, on to the Predator BK. Did it make my break into something on the order of a professional? Not even close. My break was as weak as ever. However, what I got out of the Predator BK was consistency. I am always hitting to the right of the head ball a little, with a lot of right-hand spin leftover. Normally, with my other cues, I'll have a little right-hand, but because of squirt, I hit the left side of the head ball or the right side of the head ball depending on where I broke from. So with the BK, the adjustment was one way. And, the adjustment was consistent. I'll have to keep working on this, but since the adjustment makes some sort of sense, I've got a starting point. Maybe I need to get the StrokeTrainer http://www.stroketrainer.com to get the stroke straight. Of course, I'll break my fingers trying to get me break stroke straight hitting that aluminum plate.
But on to what the stick did not intend. The BK has a 314 shaft on it. I've shot with these shafts before, but only onesie twosie shot. And the test shots were always with english. Afterall, isn't that what the Predator is geared towards? Well, because I was lazy, after breaking the balls, I'd shoot them in with the Predator. Is there a difference? And what is the difference? For putzes like me who can't hit the ball in the center (how I've gotten this far with my game, I'll never know), certain shots are always a lower percentage. Particularly, firm center shots like these:
Power draw:
START(
%A_8X1%PN6U7%Up8Z2%V`6X2%W]8W9%XP8V2%YE2U4%Z^1W9%[X8M5%\E1U2
%eB5b2
)END
and jacked up stop shot:
START(
%AX5P1%BY7U5%PD7W8%Ur4C9%VY6O4%[V7P8%\E9W2%eB5b2
)END
I'm normally 50% on making these shots, but to my amazement, I was hitting these in the heart. It should be no surprise that I normally miss these given my break shot problems.
Now, say what you will about new cue syndrome. This isn't it. This stick sounds and feels awful when I hit normal shots. It's entirely too butt heavy for regular shooting. The butt is too thin for my taste. The wrap is so tight, it feels fake. But I can't deny that the strength in it so far is not on the english shots, but the centerball shots, for those of us who simply can't hit the center of the cueball. For those of you who can hit the center, it might not be a noticeable difference.
How will it work under the gun? I decided to play in a tournament last night at a pool hall that I've never done well. The tables are tight "don't even think about touching the cushion" Olhausens with too-much-bounce cushions. The winner of these tournaments is always the best shotmaker. Tactics and runout pattern skills are diminished because the tables just take away so many shots. That's why I normally don't play because all of my skill if I have any is focused on runout patterns in 8-ball. Last night's results: no contest. I blew away the field, made up mostly of SL-6's and SL-7's. The Schuler never got out of the bag. It was all Predator BK. I'm not saying I made every shot, but the tight tables had less effect on me than anyone else there by far. It was almost like playing on normal tables. It was almost surreal. I'm simply not that good of a shotmaker, though I'm certainly far from bad.
Where doesn't the shaft work? Well, so far, the subtle soft and/or long english shots I'm a little lost. Not too lost. Lost in that I have to fight my natural tendency to adjust for squirt, and often it's an afterthought. I almost scratch a couple times on this:
START(
%A\3F5%BD7N2%P]8O1%U\8H9%V]4M9%[P1Y7%\]3D1%eA7a2%_]0D5%`\9F2
%a\7G7
)END
The subtle inside-english follow. I hit too full in the face, catching the point (or worse). If I were to continue with these shafts, it would be quite a commitment.
Fred <~~~ thinks it won't help people who can't aim.