Billiards Articles

Just like any game, there are a number of billiard accessories to help a player in maximizing one’s potential in the game. Billiard gloves, variously known as pool gloves or cue gloves, are one such accessory that is treated as a pool player’s best friend in the game.

Why? They reduce friction and can make your stroke more consistently carried out. These specialized 3-fingered gloves make the pool cue shaft slide more smoothly and accurately in your bridge hands than if there were no gloves worn. Hence, you have the promise of reduced friction. It is this reduction in friction that allows your stroke to have better consistency and accuracy.

And just like any sporting accessory, billiard gloves can be personalized to a player’s taste and budget. There are left-handed and right-handed gloves. They come in different materials with each brand promising better control and smoother action over the others. And, of course, they come in different prices. There are pool gloves that retail for as low as $5 a pair. And good ones are at a reasonable $10 to $15 a pair. Among the brands that come to mind include Sir Joseph, Minnesota billiard gloves among others.

You’d recognize a pool glove quite easily. It looks like an ordinary glove but it covers only 3 fingers: the thumb, index and middle fingers. It is made of a fabric material with silky frictionless qualities. The glove usually comes with leather or leatherette patch at the palm that reinforces your grip over the table cloth.

Most pool gloves are elastic enough to be a one-size-fits-all variety while the more expensive ones are reversible to fit both left and right handed players. Velcro straps are often used to hold the glove firmly on your wrist for greater stability.

Design and materials used for pool gloves do vary among brands. The more commonly used materials are Spandex and Lycra for strong snug grip while allowing excellent traction for the cue stick. Gloves of this material won’t be a one-size-fits-all type but comes in various sizes from extra small to extra large.

With time, a billiard player can develop a preference for one glove material or brand over the rest. There are no hard and fast rules on which pool glove is the best in terms of material or design. Price is indicative only of durability and built quality.

But as in most things where the personal subjective preference takes precedence, a pool player will have his preference on pool gloves regardless of price point. Some professional players don’t even use one, preferring instead to have a more intimate feel of the cue stick and the table than any promise of better performance a pool glove makes. They obviously prefer to rely on their skill than having a friend assist them on the pool table.

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