When the narrator was a kid, he dreamed of becoming a professional pool player. He wanted to buy a cue so he could play in the public pool hall, but since he's decided to become a professional, he has to buy his own equipment. Cues are expensive, and the prices vary wildly. The narrator tells his dad that the cue sticks are like "the katana to the warrior" , meaning that they have a direct effect on the player's performance. The cue sticks cost a lot of money, but they're so good that you can't go wrong with them. He buys a cue that costs only two hundred dollars, which is a bargain compared to the thousands of dollars it would cost to buy the same cue from a hundred different brands.