whats the best book

[Roadking]

Aint looking to brag, but.... this is an email I received this morning from someone I havent seen in a few years. His dad used to own the Chicago Billiard Cafe.

Hey Freddy,

Long time no see. Hope you're in good health and still playing often.

I got a story for you: I've been living in the Netherlands for about 7 months now--I am studying at one of the universities in an exchange program. A few months ago, in the middle of winter, I was looking for something to do. I saw a posting on the door of the only poolhall for 20 miles, it was for a bank/one-pocket tournament. I was shocked that there would be a tournament like this in my small town in the middle of the Netherlands! Well, I hadn't played in 5 or 6 years, but I thought "what the ****", I'm from Chicago, I should be able to hold my own. It turns out I was pretty out of stroke, but I still managed to make it to the final 8. Anyhow, while I was there, word got around that I was from Chicago, and it turns out you have a large fan base in the Netherlands. I became an instant celebrity when they found out that I was a friend and old-time student of yours. A team of players from The Hague (there room is named the Hague 5) told me that they treat your book (Banking with the Beard) as a bible, and that they have weekly training sessions based upon it. The were starving for stories about you, and some of the other legends I was too young to fully appreciate back in the day.

I thought it was really cool that your persona has expanded so far, and I wanted to let you know about it. I don't know if you have ever been to the Netherlands, but I bet these guys would help pay your way if you were to give a lesson or two. I'm going to check on this for you. When I go and play in this Derby style tournament in a couple of months. All the guys I met will be there for the 10,000 euro guaranteed prize fund.

Good Luck and Good Health,
Kyle Van Den Bosch


University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Class of 2014

It depends on what you are looking for. FYI, here's a quote from the book review resource page:

from PoolMaster (on Amazon.com):

"The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards" by David G. Alciatore
best all-round book with best illustrations and web resources

"Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know" by Robert Byrne
comprehensive set of examples of every type of shot

"The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game" by Ray Martin
99 of the best examples of types of shots

"Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards" by Robert Byrne
great all-around intro book

"Pleasures of Small Motions: Mastering the Mental Game of Pocket Billiards" by Bob Fancher
great coverage of the mental side of the game

"Play Your Best Pool" by Philip B. Capelle
good all-around book for beginners

"Mike Massey's World of Trick Shots" by Mike Massey
best book dealing with trick shots, by the master

from dr_dave:

I would add the following to this list:

""The Eight Ball Bible" by R. Givens
best book dealing with 8-ball strategy, especially bar-box 8-ball

"Banking with the Beard" by Freddy Bentivegna
best book dealing with kick and bank shot aiming systems

"Pool & Billiards for Dummies" by N. Leider
excellent all-around introductory book


I haven't read Mark's book yet; although, I plan to read it soon. I would assume that it also belongs on the lists above.

IMO, there is no one "best" book. Any serious pool player should have a large collection of books (and videos) in their pool library. There are many things to learn from all of them.

Regards,
Dave

Like I said the 3 Best! =)
That I've read. And about the only one I haven't is Marks.yet

 

[purpdrag]

I have several. My two favorites (and most helpful) are "Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards" and "Play Your Best Pool" by Phil Cappelle. I usually don't carry them with me when I play. Read first. Then play. Repeat.

 

[Mkbtank]

Pleasures of small motions is fantastic IMO for the mental game, and the beards books are great for learning banks. Sounds like I need to add mark's book to my library.

 

[Pse217]

Golf is not a game of perfect. Very relevant to pool