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Red Dot & Black Dot Cue Ball Performance Differences

Bob Meucci, maker of the well-known Meucci line of pool cues, has manufactured pool cue shafts known as Red Dots and Black Dots. The performance of these pool cue shafts is measured in the performance they transfer to the cue ball. In the Meucci line, the Black Dot was developed after the Red Dot. Black Dot shafts have a number of advantages over Red Dots and perhaps -- as Meucci claims -- all other shafts.

Red Dots Are Premium, Low-Deflection Shafts
- Meucci is a premium brand. Meucci Red Dot shafts are a traditional, high-quality, solid-maple construction designed for low cue ball deflection. If a pool cue strikes a cue ball off-center, there is a tendency for the ball to "squirt" to the opposite side it was struck, which is called deflection. The spring in Red Dot shafts helps the cue tip grip the cue ball, rather than deflect or squirt it, which is also called a miscue. Leather cue tip shape and texture minimize this problem, too, but they are limited by the quality of the cue shaft they're attached to.
Black Dot Shafts
- Meucci developed the Black Dot shaft not necessarily to improve upon the performance of Red Dot cue shafts but to improve consistency from cue to cue. The Black Dot is also a low-deflection design. If you play with each, you may find you like the Red Dot shafts better than the Black Dots. Red Dots are likely to have a little more spring. Black Dot shafts are made from an engineered wood product, so they don't vary from shaft to shaft like traditional designs such as the Red Dot.
Deflection, Power and Accuracy
- Cue ball performance from any single Red Dot to Black Dot shaft will depend in part on how you're playing. For example, if you tend to strike the ball through the center of its mass, the difference may be negligible or at least subjective. If you strike the ball off-center, putting "english" on the ball, or top or bottom spin to cause the cue ball to follow or draw after a shot, you may find some of the Red Dot cue shafts superior, depending on personal taste and how hard or lightly you strike the ball. Power, accuracy, deflection and playing style are correlated.
Interchangeability
- Imagine playing in the finals of a big tournament. You have a very powerful break, and as you strike the cue ball your tip pops off, forcing you to switch cue shafts in the middle of your game. This is the situation where the Black Dot has a clear advantage. Meucci tests its cues and claims Black Dot tips have less variation from shaft to shaft than any other cue made. So, unlike any other cue, changing shafts mid-game or mid-tournament isn't that big of a deal, though it might be disastrous with another brand or a Red Dot. The texture might be a little different from tip to tip, but the shaft itself, if it's a Black Dot, should play like any other Black Dot would on your cue stick.

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