The Pool Cue For The Uninitiated

Pool cues vary depending which country you are in. The tip size for example, it is nine millimetres in the UK and 12 or 13 in the US. There are variations in the cue shafts as well. Cues in the UK gradually decrease in diameter from the butt to the tip while American pool cues often have straight shafts with no taper until halfway down the shaft. This is to accommodate the different styles of playing the game. Whilst aficionados of the game in the UK adopt the "snooker" style of addressing and hitting the cue ball, whilst the American style players like to crook their finger over the cue so having the same diameter near the tip makes it more comfortable to play.

Other differences between the two codes of pool, is the material the cue is made from that is favoured by the 2 types of players. Cue sticks from the UK are made from ash and American players prefer the whiter maple. Ash and maple will feel the same to play with, it is just a matter of preference. The handle or butt are decorated differently, the cues from the States often to have linen wraps around the butt and a cue from the UK usually decorated with more often have spliced butt ends, relying on the wood for decorative effect. The look of the cue won't make you play any better though.

A very old form of billiards originating in Europe is called Caramboule, use shorter fatter cues because the carom balls are huge in comparison to the balls used in the US and UK. The balls are 2 7/16 in size being bigger even than the American game which uses 2 1/4 inch diameter balls and the English pool which use a mere 2 inch size balls.
There have been some notable pool cue makers down the years, perhaps the most famous of which is probably, Balabushka, who produced what are considered the best pool cues ever. An immigrant from Russia and set up shop in New York and supplied cues to the best pool players at the time. There are few of them left now and collectors will pay thousands of dollars for an original, A Balabushkacue went for over $40,000 at auction. Even today, Balabushka replica cues fetch a premium price, over $400 depending on the model, now they may not improve your game, but at least you will look the part.
Cue tips are usually leather and there are different levels of hardness of the tips, depending on taste and frankly the differences are only noticeable by the playing professionals, the rest of us mere mortals would probably never notice the difference. It is essential that the tip can take a lot of chalk for good contact with the cue ball. There are different coloured chalks these days so the pool table cloth does not show the chalk marks so much. For example you can get red coloured chalk for use on red clothed tables and even black chalk for playing on tables covered in a black cloth.
A cue that is being seen more often is the so called jump and break cue where you have a stiff shaft with a large tip for breaking off and another shaft for normal play. It is a good idea and widely used on both sides of the Atlantic.
The cue you should choose obviously depends on the version of the game you play. Just get one that is straight and has a good tip on it which is the most important part of the cue, the type of wood and whether you have a linen wrap etc is not important. A reasonable cue should cost about $50, more than that is due to the woods used and whether it is hand made or not.