House pool cues are great for casual players and beginners. Even for the average player, these cues are pleasing for a Saturday night at the pool table, sharing a drink with friends.
They, though, are not meant for competitive tournaments.
Getting a pool cue set is often the best choice if you also have a home of pool lovers who are majorly beginners trying to find their footing.
While you might not be as particular about features as you would be when getting a personal cue to improve play, there are still some important things to consider.
Is your pool table in a tight space? This influences the length of pool cues to buy. Who will be using them? If they are for kids, you will know what weights and sizes to buy.
You should consider how straight they are, cost, construction, durability, and tips regardless of who will be using them and where they will be used.
Considering the above, we have compiled a list of the five best house pool cue sets. Some are one-piece cues, while others are two-piece cues. There is also something special for women and children alike.
Here are the 5 Best House Pool Cues:
- Viper Commercial One-Piece Canadian Maple Pool Cue – Best Overall
- Set Of Four 58” House Bar Pool Cue Sticks
- GSE Games and Sports Expert 58” Two-Piece Canadian Maple Pool Cue –Best House Cue for Female players
- East Eagle Pool Cue Sticks – Best For Children and Tight Spaces
- Players One-Piece Pool Cue Sticks
1. Viper Commercial One-Piece Canadian Maple Pool Cue
Made from Canadian Maple wood, this Viper Commercial one-piece pool cue is one of the best one-piece house pool cues today. It comes with a 13mm Le Pro glue-on leather tip that solidly grips the cue ball and ensures a beginner avoids miscues.
It is made from maple hardwood which contributes to its durability and is ideal for high-volume use.
It is a simple brown and cream design that makes it fit for almost any home.
It comes without a wrap but is finely coated with varnish and offers a good, firm grip.
It is available in different sizes. It has a 57-inch cue for regular play and 36-inch and 48-inch cues ideal for tight spaces and small hands.
So, if you have too little room to move around your pool table, either of the shorter cues will work.
This cue stick is available in different weights, from 18 to 21 ounces.
Although 19-ounce cues are often recommended, you can decide which weight best suits you.
A friend ordered three of these for his bar, and two came straight and nice.
The third had some defects and wasn’t as straight, but the warranty got them another. While it does not come as a set, you can order for more than one cue at a time.
The 57-inch cue weighs about 1.13 pounds, while the shorter cues weigh less. These sticks will eventually warp if you’re careless, but you would enjoy every bit of them before they get there as you would be getting more bang for the buck.
You should consider this if you are on the lookout for an inexpensive mid-line pool cue.
Recommended read: Best Pool Cues for Home Use
2. Set Of Four 58” House Bar Pool Cue Sticks
Getting four pieces of two-piece pool cues for less than $100 is a steal! Each is 58” long and comes with a 13mm leather cue tip, hardwood shaft, and a 5/16 x 18 joint.
While they might all have the same length, they come in varying weights.
They are not weight-adjustable. You could get four cues in 18oz, 19oz, 20oz, and 21oz or two cues with different lengths and two with the same lengths. The only downside is that the weights are not printed on them.
Each cue in this house pool cues set comes with a different color. So, if you have a home of pool lovers, each person can identify theirs.
I got a set to try this out, and two came warped straight out of the box, one of which was not straight, but the seller quickly changed them. The replacements were just fine.
The wraps were soft and very comfortable to hold.
After about six months of sparse use, the linen wraps they came with eventually started peeling off, but we got enough value for each, which cost about $20. Not bad, right?
They each come with a Le Pro medium to hard tip that offers excellent spin. Its shaft is smooth, without friction, while its ferrules are strong.
The joints are solid and did not come loose though we checked to see if they needed extra tightening. They are very easy to carry around, and you will never mix them up with others since they come in unique and attractive colors.
Recommended read: Pool Cues Under $50
3. GSE Games and Sports Expert 58” Two-Piece Canadian Maple Pool Cue
It is only described as “for women” because it’s pink. If you are a guy and you love pink, no one will stop you from buying or using it.
This cute two-piece cue is made from AAA-grade Canadian hardwood maple and has a butt made from Australian hardwood. It doesn’t warp easily because it has many layers of high gloss metallic paint finish.
It comes with a 12mm multi-layered leather cue tip that grips the cue ball fine but might be too small for beginners to use.
It employs a stainless steel quick-release joint technology. In the pack, you will find a joint protector. It also has stainless steel butt caps with a rubber bumper.
It is available as a 58-inch stick and is weight-adjustable between 18 – 21 oz.
One professional pool player known as The Hawk and an instructor at Daytonajay Billiards LLC, Hawks Pool School, describes this cue stick as an “intermediate” and “great performing cue for the money.”
Although used to playing with high-end equipment, he was impressed with the playability of this cheap house pool cue.
The joint is stainless, the pin is thick, and the balancing is spot-on.
Its tip, though, is rigid and does not hold chalk well. If you cannot bear this, you might have to change its glue-on tip to something softer.
This is not only one of the best house pool cues but offers excellent value for money. Its bright pink color will set you apart and make you stand out.
Recommended read: High-Performance Pool Cues
4. East Eagle 36” Pool Cue Sticks – For Children and Tight Spaces
These 36” East Eagle cue sticks are the perfect, inexpensive fit if you need house pool cues for children. They allow for better weight distribution and are easier to handle for kids.
They are also great for playing in tight spaces and for better jump shots. If you have a small room for your pool table, walls will not be much of an obstacle with these shorty cues.
These shorty cues come as a set of 2.
Although lightweight, as straight as it can be at that length, and pretty accurate, you will need to change its cue tips to enjoy these fully.
If you have extra cue tips at home, purchasing these won’t give you any additional costs.
Note that the tips are tough and are not leather tips. They are 13mm tips which are wide enough to make landing a shot easier for beginners.
They come in a pretty simple and refined design, black and cream, with a lovely glossy finish.
They made it to this list of best house pool cues set for being cheap, great for children learning to play, and easy to maneuver in tight spaces.
5. Players One-Piece Pool Cue Sticks
These 4 or 8 cue sets of Players one-piece pool cue sticks were specifically made for residential and commercial use.
So, they work just great as house cues or ‘bar’ cues.
Each is 58” long and is made from North American hard rock maple with true four-prong construction to improve durability and playability.
It also has a high fiber ferrule that promises not to crack. Its premium elk master tip comes pre-shaped and scuffed.
The entire stick has a high gloss finish that prevents fading and warping.
Depending on how many cues you need, you can decide to get a set of four or a set of eight. The set of four arrives with one 18oz, one 19oz, one 20oz, and one 21oz pool cue.
The set of eight comes with two of each. Unlike the previous set of four mentioned on this list, the weights are printed on these cues for easy identification.
They all came perfectly straight, and that was a welcome surprise. As with many one-piece cues, they came with a conical taper and a 13mm glue-on medium leather tip.
These sticks are effortlessly the best house pool cue set on this list. Although they are slightly higher priced than other sets here, they offer great value for money. Every stick came straight and did not warp.
They have a nice finish and play well. These make them an excellent choice for a gift.
Why Bother With A House Cue?
For you, a house cue is good for practice, but a personal cue improves consistency. No two house cues are the same. No matter how tiny their differences are, they will all play differently from each other.
But, if you have a pool table at home and want to make sure that your guests have sound cues to play with, you need good house pool cue sets that can cater to several people at once.
They often feature a maple shaft like many on our list of best house pool cues set. This ensures that your guests have a fulfilling playing experience.
While some house cues may hit better than a personal cue, the main benefit you get using your cue is consistency.
Buying a decent cue is an investment. Hence, playing with an inexpensive house cue until you get the hang of the game helps you invest wisely. You discover what you appreciate in cues and gather some skills while at it. This, in turn, influences your choice of a pool cue when you are ready.
Recommended read: How Many Pool Cues Do You Really Need?
1-Piece vs. 2-Piece House Cue
Whether to buy a one-piece or two-piece pool cue often is a matter of personal choice. When shooting pool, consistency is key. Shooting with the same cue each time helps you attain this as you get to focus on your stance, stroke, routine, and aim more.
Two-piece cues offer portability and you can upgrade them later to low-deflection shafts.
If you leave your home to play at a pool hall or a bar, a two-piece cue stick is easy to carry around as it is lighter and whippier.
It also helps to reduce squirt if it comes with a low-deflection shaft.
One-piece cues are often high-deflection cues that are thick, stiff, and heavy. If you use this, you usually have to make up for the extra squirt of the cue ball with skill.
But for beginners, it is a great cue to start with because it makes landing shots easier.
Also, while most two-piece cues come with a Pro Taper, one-piece cues often come with a conical taper.
With the Pro Taper, from the joint, the shaft is tapered down until about 12- to 14-inches from the tip, at which point the diameter will stay constant from there to the ferrule.
For the conical taper, the diameter of the cue decreases all the way to the ferrule.
Before you buy a cue, try out as many options as possible to decide what is best for you.
Conclusion
House pool cue sets are generally affordable. If you don’t want multiple people using your more expensive personal cues, these house cues are the way to go.
At worst, all you will have to do is replace a few tips with extras you have at home there. We hope this list helps you make an informed choice.