tips4you

Do you think that your choice in tips is the right choice or simply politically correct? What I mean by politically correct is, is your choice in tips controlled by the opinion of your peers or some professional player that you know, or is it based on fact? By the end of this article you should be able to answer this question for youself.

## What are the differences in pool cue tips? ##

As you probably already know, you have everything from very soft singlepiece animal skin tips from various types of animals (elk, cow, water buffalo and cape buffalo) to very hard single piece animal skins. There is also the laminated tips ranging anywhere from three to fifteen layers. The laminated tips also range from soft to extremely hard using various animal skins and tannages. The end result is a myriad of confusing choices. I would like to unmuddy the water for you somewhat. All of these variables can impact power, accuracy, and your sight picture.

First let's assume that you already know that the shape or radius of the tip is of utmost importance and must be maintained at all times during gameplay. That very important shape that I just mentioned is the radius of a dime (roughly) or a "0.375" radius. In other words, hold a dime edgewise up to your tip and look over the top... If it does not match the shape or radius of a dime on the top of your tip, you've already got a problem.

When the ball is struck by the tip, the portion of the tip that takes the force is no more than an eighth of an inch offcenter in all directions. This is true regardless of whether you've struck the cue ball a sixteenth off center, or a full tip off center. What this radius does is generate the force, regardless of where it is struck, to the center of the tip and down through the center of your cue. Soft tips create more distortion than harder tips. In otherwords, a larger area of the tip makes contact and wraps around the cue ball in the case of a soft tip.

This may give you more tip confidence, particularily if you're a beginner, because you will miscue less, despite having a sloppy stroke; but, the price you will pay is less power and a whole lot more deflection of the cue ball, because you have moved all of the tip to one side of the cue ball with virtually no penetration. On the other hand, a hard tip will focus the energy in a much smaller area at impact and will give you a higher degree of penetration. When I speak of penetration, I mean the force being directed to the cue ball by virtue of the direction the cue is being swung or pointed and that force penetrates the cue ball in the direction that the shaft or cue is being driven. As an added bonus, a harder tip lasts longer.

## What about miscueing with hard cue tips? ##

The simple fact of the matter is, that the small, glasslike particles of chalk, which cause the friction, are held higher up on the surface on a hard tip so that they will penetrate deeper into the surface of the cueball at impact. A soft tip allows more particles to come into contact because of it's increased tip surface at impact; however, though there be more particles in contact with the cue ball, it does not penetrate the cue ball as deeply and therefore creates less friction per particle. Bottomline: You have the choice of either more particles penetrating less or fewer particles penetrating more... The net total friction is about a trade-off. Whether the tip you choose is one single piece of hide or laminated multipe pieces of hide, the key issue is the more penetration means more accuracy, more power, and tremendously less cue ball deflection and negative effects on your sight picture. As a side note: You've probably noticed, if you've played much, that a tip plays its best just before it has to be changed. This is because it has been pounded enough through constant play to make the tip more dense (harder in all areas).

## What does Meucci Originals do with this information? ##

After testing every tip on the market, and measuring it's resultant power and deflection variation, we have found that a hard tip with even harder outside edges around the circumference will perform the best. Harder outside edges so that the energy is directed into the cue will be focused more towards the center of the shaft, while at the same time keeping the outside walls of the tip from breaking down. There is only two ways to get this result: 1. A hard water buffalo tip. or 2. To compress the tip of your choice as hard as you can, then shape to a dime radius and then pound the outside edges to further harden the circumference and reshape that area to be once again a dime radius.

We take both the latter and former choice at Meucci Originals with the well-known Le Professional tips or hard water buffalo tips. I hope I haven't caused you even more confusion. I think the choice should now be simple: your choice should be made according to knowledge and experience instead of the fashion of the day.

Bob Meucci is the owner of a pool cue manufacturing company. More information (including pricing on tips) can be found at Budget Billiards cue tips page.

Horse racing handicapping is a thoughtful process filled with comparisons. But betting on horses may not be the same thoughtful process. People bet on horses for all kinds of reasons, the least of which are tips. Free tips are usually worth exactly what you pay for them. There are no shortage of tips floating through the air on any given day at any given race track.

As I recently walked through the grandstand and stood by the saddling ring I overheard one person telling how he had gotten a call from a relative in New York with a tip on the race we were about to watch. This seemed interesting since the race was in Florida. The tip turned out to be a stinker and the horse is still probably running.

But while I was craning my head to get my ear closer to the tip giver, I also saw a jockey very cleverly hold up three fingers as he adjusted his chin strap. The gesture was addressed to the couple standing to my left and probably wasn't noticed by anyone but me and them. I had no clear cut picture of how the race would shape up and feeling adventurous, I placed a whole $2 bet on the nose of the 3.

The race was exciting and the 3 mounted a furious come from behind charge down the stretch and did indeed win the race, paying $27 for my measly $2 investment. You are probably thinking, "If only he'd bet a $100!" I have to admit, I thought the same thing, briefly, but life around the track has taught me a few things and one of them is that tips, even tips from jockeys, usually don't pay off.

The trouble with tips is that they are usually only about one horse and there are other horses in the race. As good as the horse may appear to the trainer, exercise rider, jockey, groom, stable cat or wherever the tip comes from, that is still only information about one runner. You need to know about all the runners. My tip is to stick with a good system and only bet a tip when you are looking for some adventure in life, though, let's face it, using a good system and making a profit from horse racing is quite an adventure in itself.

Another tip is not to make any large bets on tips. Consider the motive of the person who is giving the tip and where he or she got the information. For instance, suppose you have a horse that is going to be the favorite in a race and you want to bet on it and make some money, but the problem is that the odds are going to be quite low so your investment won't pay very well. What is the best way to get the odds up on your horse? You guessed it, start circulating tips about the other horses in the race.

I've been around horse racing most of my life and have met some fine people on the backstretch. Most people who are involved in horse racing like most people you meet anywhere are decent hardworking folks, but just as in any area in life there are a few characters who try to get an edge. The same can be true of Wall Street or any other place where money changes hands.

So take every tip with a grain of salt and bet lightly. It may be worth $2 just for the adventure and the fun of telling the story, like my $27 winner and the three fingers.

The most consistent horse racing systems have to have the basics and a handicapper must understand the basics. I have been around horse racing for 50 years including as an owner. Without the basics the rest is not going to do any good. If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to True handicapping and get the truth.

Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. He comes from a horse race handicapping family and as he puts it, "Horse Racing is in my blood." To see all Bill's horse racing material go to Bill's handicapping store.

To gamble is to risk but there are options to help cut back the risk.

Set your limit

First and foremost important is to remember, gambling is for fun! Do not gamble if you cannot afford to lose. Have a specific amount set aside for gambling and stick to it. Don't borrow money to gamble and don't ever go past your set limit.

Take Frequent breaks.

Don't attempt to play at a casino if you are under stress, depressed or troubled in any way. All distractions can cause you to lose your concentration and obviously result in losses you may not incur otherwise. Bright lights and loud noises are created to the casinos benefit. If you are gambling online, ensure that you are not going to be distracted and if you are, stop play until another time.

Slots Tips

Tip #1. Always play the max coin amount on progressive slots. It is best to play max regardless of whether the slot is progressive or not but how painful would it be to hit a jackpot on less than max bet?

Tip #2. Know the payout schedule before sitting down at a slot machine. Just like in poker, knowledge of the odds and payouts is crucial to developing a good strategy.

Tip #3. If you are not having luck at a particular machine, then move on to another one. Don't play it all night, hoping for it to finally pay off.

Tip #4. Always ensure your bet registers in the machine prior to pulling the bar or hitting spin, you will not be given the max coin winnings if the machine doesn't record a max coin bet being placed.

Tip #5. Never leave your machine until you are done playing. There is no worse feeling that someone taking the machine you were playing at because you went for a drink or to use the restroom. Make sure you take care of personal business prior to choosing your slot. There are waitresses for drinks.

Blackjack Tips

Tip #1 The most obvious is to ensure you know the rules of blackjack. It is always a good idea to have a strategy when you play blackjack. All winning systems are based on a basic strategy which consists of statistically speaking, there exists only one best action a player can take for each of the possible hands he can receive versus each possible upcard the dealer may have.

Tip #2 Learn about the house rules of each casino, the better the house rules, the more money you can expect to win in the long run. And yes, house rules do vary between casinos.

Tip #3 Learn the proper way to use your bankroll. There are statistically proven methods to keep control of your balance and the amount of bet you should place based on your total bankroll.

Tip #4Never drink alcohol when you are playing and always leave the game once you start to feel fatigued. You may start to make mistakes that you won't even notice.

Poker Tips

Tip #1 The best tip for poker playing is to read up on the game play, the variants of the game and ensure you know the rules of the game.

Tip #2 When you first start, it is a good idea to sit out and watch the other players prior to starting your game. Watch how they bet and how much they bet.

Tip #3 As you advance as a player, learn how to bluff. You must know the game well and bluff only when you feel secure that the other players will not call your bluff.

Tip #4 It is also a good idea to try to play against less skillfull opponents. Obviously, you will have a better chance at the game if you have more knowledge and experience.

Tip #5 Most important is what many of us have heard before, "Know when to hold 'em and when to fold "em". Mistakes are made quite often in poker when players want to stick it out with hands that have no value. That is a guaranteed loss. And stick with the no alcohol while playing rule.

Video Poker Tips

Tip #1 Just as with poker, you must know the game of video poker. There is a wide variant of video poker games, with each having a different set of winning card combinations. It is a good idea to pay attention to whether or not a machine uses one 52-deck of cards or more than one. The more cards there are, the less likely the player will win.

Tip #2 There is no such thing as a loose or tight video poker machine. They do not operate on reels like a slot machine, each card has an equal chance of showing up on any hand.

Tip #3 Always play the maximum number of credits allowed on progressive video poker, if you hit a royal flush, you will want that jackpot.

Tip #4 Until you are a master player, play at the lowest coin denomination amount possible. This will give you more cash to play on and learn as you go.

Tip #5 It can be very helpful to play a handheld video poker game (like you can get at any store with board games), this will also give you experience and a good knowledge of how the games will play.

The most important of all with all games- HAVE FUN!

Source: http://www.cash2c.com