Awesome New Pool Cues Edition (9/11/12)

I've gotta tell you, the Eight Ball Mafia line continues to impress.  What could be better than plastering a giant skull on a pool cue?  How about three giant skulls?  Want more?  How does monster flames shooting out of the back of the skulls sound?

Throw in an Irish linen wrap, a stainless steel collar and a 10 layer boar skin tip and you've got a serious player for under 100 bucks.  Not too shabby.
 

The Outlaw series has always been one of my favorite lines of pool cues, but they've really outdone themselves with the new Thunder series.

As with all Outlaw cues, the OL33 features torch branded designs, a stacked leather wrap, a AAA rated hard rock maple shaft, but the difference here is the inlays.  All the Thunder series Outlaw cues feature recon turquoise inlays in both the forearm and the sleeve and ooh baby do they look sweet. 

If you're looking for a pool cue made specifically for women, Athena is the way to go.  If you're not familiar with the line, Athena cues feature thinner tapers, thinner (12.5mm) shafts and 10" screw in extensions.  All of these were designed with a more petite player in mind.

Of the new Athena designs, this one is, as the young kids say, the bee's knees.  As part of the new design, the ATH35 has butterflies hot foil stamped into the forearm and sleeve.  Pictures really don't do it justice, as they are really quite stunning.
 

I do love Joss cues.  They're such nice playing cues and ACA Hall of Fame cue maker Dan Janes really knows how to design a beautiful pool cue.

In the case of the new JOS44, it's all about maple and ebony.  The forearm features curly maple along with traditional ebony points and pearlite diamond inlays.  The sleeve is straight ebony with two sets of double silver rings and more inlaid pearlite.  If you like classic designs, you'll seriously dig this pool cue.

The first step to taking pool lessons is to acknowledge that it’s time for pool lessons. There comes a point in your game when all the books, videos, and practice alone are just not enough. No matter how resourceful you are, there’s only so far your game will go without a little bit of coaching. No amount of reading can replace having an experienced player observe you and share their knowledge.

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a town that offers free clinics or instruction, jump on it! That’s a great place to begin. More often than not, those instructors also teach privately and you can get a good feel for their teaching style.

When searching for the right pool instructor, here are some basic things to take into consideration. Decide which are the most important for you ...keep reading