Yes and no.

Deflection imo is one of the most difficult things for aspiring players to get use to or overcome. All aspiring players will get to a point in their game where they know they should use side spin to gain good position on their next shot. (My students learn this in their very first lesson). Problems may begin here because the player may have previously missed while trying to use side spin and quite often been told that they shouldn’t be using side spin and then they start to shy away from using the sidespin in fear of missing. This phenomenon is quite common and is one of the leading causes for players to plateau out at a certain level.

Low deflection cues can make it easier to overcome this hurdle but even with them you will still have to an educated mind and good technique while using side spin.

On the other hand you may take the path of embracing cue ball deflection, also referred to as cue ball squirt. If you take this path it is neither correct nor incorrect, it is just a different path. When embracing cue ball deflection you will can gain some feel and inner confidence by making what seems like abnormal aiming adjustments.

Example

If you are cutting an object ball left to right with say a 10 degree angle and applying right hand side spin with a firm stroke, you will have to initially aim the object ball for a much fuller hit than you would think, maybe aim it dead straight or as if it were a 5 degree cut shot because the cue ball is going to forced slightly to the left before it gets to the object ball.

Imo taking that leap of faith, welcoming it and observing it can be very beneficial to an aspiring player. It can add a good amount of feel, confidence and knowledge to a player’s game. After experiencing both sides of the coin the player can then choose which kind of shaft they prefer to play with.

With that said, I also believe low deflection cues make our game slightly easier because the amount we as players have to compensate is less than it is with a shaft that causes more cue ball deflection. This can be very helpful when you’re not playing 40 hours a week.

Some other things to consider when it comes to cue ball deflection are the speed of the shot, the distance of the shot, table conditions, the length of your bridge and the technique you’re using to apply the side spin.