How do you stop a pool cue from warping?

Keep the cue in a case when you're not playing and store it somewhere dry at room temperature. Avoid damp basements, hot cars, and high-humidity spots, and buy a quality cue that has been properly dried and sealed.

How can you tell if a pool cue is warped?

Sight down it: hold the butt at eye level with the tip angled slightly down, then slowly rotate the cue 360 degrees and watch for bends in the shaft or a tip that moves irregularly. You can also roll the cue across a flat surface and watch for wobble.

Do all pool cues warp eventually?

No. A well-made cue from a reputable brand that uses high-quality, properly sealed wood can stay straight for years if you store it in a case away from heat and moisture. Cheaper cues with rushed drying and sealing are the ones that tend to warp first.

Why Do Pool Cues Warp? (And How to Prevent It)

If you’ve played pool for any length of time, chances are you’ve played with a few warped pool cues. This is especially true if you do the majority of your playing at a pool hall or bar as house cues are notorious for not only being warped, but just in bad shape in general. But what causes a pool cue to warp anyways?

There are many reasons why pool cues warp including excessive exposure to heat and cold, moisture absorption, improper storage, poor cue maintenance, and poor quality wood being used in the construction of the cue itself. However, most warping can be prevented simply by keeping your cue in a case when not in use and stored in a dry, room temperature environment.

What Actually Warps a Cue

Pool cues are made of wood, and like any wood product they expand and contract as temperatures change. Wood is also porous, so it soaks up moisture from the air around it. Those two traits, the swing from heat to cold and the moisture the wood absorbs, are what drive most cue warping.

Why Some Cues Warp and Others Don’t

Good cue makers know wood behaves this way, so they put the shaft through drying and sealing steps to pull moisture out and keep it out. The exact process varies by maker, but it usually means a drying period that removes moisture from the wood, then a sealant to lock it back out. Cheaper cues cut that corner, which is why they tend to go crooked first. If you want to see which makers have a track record for straight, stable cues, our roundup of the best pool cue brands is a good place to start.

How Storage and Care Undo Good Wood

Even the best drying and sealing only goes so far. Lean a well-built cue in a damp basement, leave it in a hot car, or stand it in a corner untouched for months, and the wood will still move. How you store and handle a cue matters as much as how it was made.

How to Prevent Your Cue From Warping

Not all pool cues are built equally. Some makers use better wood than others, and the steps they take to prevent warping differ too. Both the quality of the wood and the care taken to seal it shape how likely a given cue is to warp. For that reason it’s always smart to buy from a reputable company that uses high-quality woods and a real drying and sealing process. Most that do will even back the cue with a warranty against warping.

Moisture is your pool cue’s biggest enemy. Cues are porous, so they will absorb it if you don’t take steps to prevent it, and enough absorbed moisture eventually leads to warping. Never store your cue in a damp basement or anywhere with high humidity. It’s also worth burnishing the shaft from time to time to help close its pores and lock moisture out.

How to Check If Your Cue Is Warped

Checking a cue for warp is simple, and there are two methods worth knowing. The first and most reliable is called sighting. The other is rolling the cue across a flat surface and watching for wobble. Both take about as long as chalking up.

Sighting a pool cue is typically the most accurate way to check for warping. To do so, hold the butt end of the cue at eye level, with the tip of the cue facing away and at a slight downward angle. Slowly rotate the cue 360 degrees as you observe the shaft and especially the tip. If you see any bends in the shaft, or if the tip moves irregularly, you know you’ve got a warped cue.

Rolling Your Cue on a Flat Surface

Alternatively, you can roll your cue across a flat surface and check for wobble. This method isn’t the most reliable, though, because it requires a perfectly flat surface. And while pool tabletops are obviously flat and generally level, small imperfections or variations in the felt can cause your cue to wobble even if the shaft itself is straight.

The best defense against warping is buying a quality cue in the first place. McDermott cues come with a lifetime warranty against warping, which is hard to beat.

Worth checking out: For a reliable starter cue, take a look at the CUESOUL 58-Inch Pool Cue Set on Amazon.

For more on this topic, check out how to play pool, pool table reviews, pool cue reviews, billiard game types, and best cues for beginners.

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