some random questions

D

drv4

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey everybody,

I'm new here and to the game of pool, started in my first APA league in the summer and am hooked. I've been watching a ton of Mosconi cup action from the last several years on YouTube and can't wait for it in December. Anyways I've been lurking around this site the last few weeks and have some questions. I know Google is my friend but it seems like there is a vast wealth of knowledge on this board so I'm just gonna ask away.

Have the mosconi rosters been set? Which team should be the favorite this year?

Why are snooker cues so much different than pool cues? Is there an advantage to using a snooker cue when playing 9 ball?

I see people on here talk about B players or C or so forth. Is there a general relationship to APA rankings and this system, I.e. I'm an 8 in APA 9 ball so I'm a B player?

Any must read pool book, kinda like Doyle brunson's Super system for poker?

I like the PhD guy on YouTube and his video encyclopedia of pool shots, very helpful, any other good free YouTube lessons that are must watch?

Are snooker players considered better billiard players than 9 ball shooters, or is that similar to someone saying Big12 football teams are better than big 10 football teams?

Thanks
 
drv4 said:
Hey everybody,

I'm new here and to the game of pool, started in my first APA league in the summer and am hooked. I've been watching a ton of Mosconi cup action from the last several years on YouTube and can't wait for it in December. Anyways I've been lurking around this site the last few weeks and have some questions. I know Google is my friend but it seems like there is a vast wealth of knowledge on this board so I'm just gonna ask away.
Click to expand...

Welcome to AZ. There sure is a lot of information on here. Some good....some bad

Have the mosconi rosters been set? Which team should be the favorite this year?
Click to expand...

The rosters have been set and I think early odds have the Europeans listed as the favorites. It's hard to argue with that since they have had been on the winning side a lot here recently. I don't remember the exact composition of the teams without doing some digging.

Why are snooker cues so much different than pool cues? Is there an advantage to using a snooker cue when playing 9 ball?
Click to expand...

Snooker balls are smaller. Therefore they use smaller cues. Some people like to use very thin shafts while playing pool but for the most part pool players use pool cues and snooker players use snooker cues. Snooker players even use pool cues when playing pool -- usually.

I see people on here talk about B players or C or so forth. Is there a general relationship to APA rankings and this system, I.e. I'm an 8 in APA 9 ball so I'm a B player?
Click to expand...

This may be debatable but to even be considered a legit A, B, or maybe even C player one must reach the highest level in APA. Becoming a 7 in the APA (in eight ball) may be a great personal accomplishment but in the wide world or pool it's really just a starting place.


Any must read pool book, kinda like Doyle brunson's Super system for poker?

I like the PhD guy on YouTube and his video encyclopedia of pool shots, very helpful, any other good free YouTube lessons that are must watch?
Click to expand...

I'll leave this question to others. To me it seems like a lot of the instructional books are very similar. I look forward to reading the recently released Mark Wilson & Don Wardell, M.D. book. It sounds like it's a bit different than all the others.

Here's a thread about that:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=335792&highlight=mark+wilson

Are snooker players considered better billiard players than 9 ball shooters, or is that similar to someone saying Big12 football teams are better than big 10 football teams?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Debatable.

Snooker players are better at snooker and they have better fundamentals for the most part. Pool players are better at pool. Snooker players have had much greater success when it comes to crossing over to pool than vice versa.

Welcome to the forum. Stick around a while.
 
Thanks for all of the answers. I didn't know snooker balls were smaller. Makes sense though as to the cues.

One more question.

I bought a cheap cue (an Action cue) now that I'm starting to play more I'm interested in getting a low deflection cue. I've read a lot about Predator cues, but what are some other options as far as brands?
 
drv4 said:
Hey everybody,

I'm new here and to the game of pool, started in my first APA league in the summer and am hooked. I've been watching a ton of Mosconi cup action from the last several years on YouTube and can't wait for it in December. Anyways I've been lurking around this site the last few weeks and have some questions. I know Google is my friend but it seems like there is a vast wealth of knowledge on this board so I'm just gonna ask away.

Have the mosconi rosters been set? Which team should be the favorite this year?

I hope the Americans bring home the prize. I used to play Snooker, loved the game.

Why are snooker cues so much different than pool cues? Is there an advantage to using a snooker cue when playing 9 ball?

Not that I can think of.

I see people on here talk about B players or C or so forth. Is there a general relationship to APA rankings and this system, I.e. I'm an 8 in APA 9 ball so I'm a B player?

Like the other guy said.

Any must read pool book, kinda like Doyle Brunson's Super system for poker?

Byrne had a couple good books, Henning's Pro Book was good for pattern play, Ray Martin's 99 Critical Shots, Me & Joe Tucker wrote one on the Break Shot, the Beard wrote a good book on banking & Robin wrote a good book on One-Pocket.

I like the PhD guy on YouTube and his video encyclopedia of pool shots, very helpful, any other good free YouTube lessons that are must watch?

Lots & Lots of them. Just about any video can make a contribution if you pick the meat away from the bones.

Are snooker players considered better billiard players than 9 ball shooters, or is that similar to someone saying Big12 football teams are better than big 10 football teams?

IMHO, percentages show Pool players play great on Pool Tables & the Snooker players are tops on a Snooker Table. Allison Fisher may be the exception.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Please see the above inserts
 
drv4 said:
Thanks for all of the answers. I didn't know snooker balls were smaller. Makes sense though as to the cues.

One more question.

I bought a cheap cue (an Action cue) now that I'm starting to play more I'm interested in getting a low deflection cue. I've read a lot about Predator cues, but what are some other options as far as brands?
Click to expand...

There are quite a few low deflection shafts out there now, almost every manufacturer seems to make one. OB, Predator, Tiger, McDermott just to name a few. If you are just starting out, save the money instead of buying a low deflection shaft and get a couple hours of instruction. You'll see more of an impact in your play and ability to grow faster if you're practicing good fundamentals instead of just feeling more secure about putting extra english on the cue ball. Just one man's opinion. :thumbup:
 
One very useful source of information is Dr. Dave's site:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/

If you plan to try to get through it all at once, better block off at least a couple of weeks. :D

I understand that Max Eberle's DVDs are very good for fundamentals.

Any of the Phil Cappelle books are also excellent references.
 
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I think this is a pretty good book:
Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know

Byrne has a number of fairly good books.

Another good one:
The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards Paperback
by David G. Alciatore
 
jbob said:
I think this is a pretty good book:
Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know

Byrne has a number of fairly good books.

Another good one:
The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards Paperback
by David G. Alciatore
Click to expand...

I still treasure my dog-eared copies of Byrne's books...they have EVERYTHING you could possible ever need to know to build a good foundation and beyond. Even his three cushion sections are nuggets of gold for your pool game. :thumbup:
 
Hey, welcome... looks like most of the questions were answered.

Mosconi Cup rosters -

USA:
Earl Strickland
Dennis Hatch
Shane Van Boening
Johnny Archer
Rodney Morris

Europe:
Ralf Souquet
Darren Appleton
Mika Immonen
Niels Feijen
Karl Boyes

Relating APA rank to alphabet rank:
The alphabet ranks vary a bit in different areas, they're not set in stone anywhere.
But roughly speaking:

APA 1-6: C player or lower
APA 7: Would consider at least a B- player. In 8 ball this is the highest rank
so in theory there's no limit to how good a 7 can be. I'd say most of them are B players.
APA 8,9: Solid B or higher. These ranks only available in 9 ball.
Not many players continue with the APA once they reach "A" speed or higher.
I'd say most of these are strong B players and a few low A players.

Must read book: 99 Critical Shots by Ray Martin.
It's like 11 dollars and I see used ones selling for pennies. Just trust me and buy it :)

Snooker vs. pool in general: Snooker demands better fundamentals and straighter shooting,
but less cue ball movement (or at least less fancy cue ball movement).
I believe one player ...maybe darren appleton?... said that snooker doesn't require as much knowledge,
but I may be taking it out of context. I get the sense in snooker you're not doing
a ton of kicking, banking, railfirst shots, combos, etc. whereas all those things
come up in pool pretty often.

I can't honestly say it's just 2 different flavors of the same thing. I think snooker is flat out harder
than pool. My recording running pool balls is 43 and my record running snooker balls is 4 :p
The distance and tiny rounded-corner pockets make even the simplest shot require lots of focus
and a very straight stroke.

LD shafts: it's correct to say that spending money on lessons will get you better, faster, than buying a new shaft.
At the same time, I use this type of shaft and recommend it. In fact if I could go back in time and change
just one thing from when I started playing, it might be to start out with an LD shaft from day one.

I can explain why but don't want to bore you or turn this into some debate between LD lovers and LD haters.
If you can afford both the lesson and the shaft, do both.

Re: brands, most of the world uses either Predator or OB. They're the first two major guys to make them.
And they're still the most popular. I'm sure other manufacturers have figured out how to do it well, I just
haven't personally tried them. I very slightly prefer OB to predator. You can easily try both for free I think,
every pool hall I've been to has like 20 dudes with these shafts and maybe one of them will let you try it.
 
drv4 said:
I bought a cheap cue (an Action cue) now that I'm starting to play more I'm interested in getting a low deflection cue. I've read a lot about Predator cues, but what are some other options as far as brands?
Click to expand...

When I first took up pool my earliest "serious" cue was a Predator. It shot accurately AND put a lot of spin on the ball. (I'm not sure weather LD and lots of spin go hand in hand or if that's two unrelated qualities.) But anyway, I bought a cheap Pechauer just to try it out. It shot accurately too. But it did not apply as much spin to the cue ball. Although it was accidental, it was the best move I ever made. Playing with a cue that did not juice the cue ball "for me" forced me to improve my stroke and it resulted in my having finer control over the cue ball. But again, I'm not sure that LD and lots of spin are directly related qualities in a cue.

Another note. Be aware that every *individual* cue is different. Two pieces of the same species of wood can be very different. That first Predator I had, shot lights out as far as accuracy. The rings popped and I got a free exchange for the same model, same weight. The new Predator didn't have the same magic. That was my first serious cue and I just thought they would all shoot that good. If I knew then what I know now, I would have kept it even with the popped rings.

When you buy new cues, hang on to your old ones if you can. Once you are *SURE* you have finished your initial learning curve and experimentation phase, and you know what you like, then sell off what you don't want to keep.

As for books, Phil Capelle's "Play Your Best Pool" and Ray Martin's "99 Critical Shots" are two great books for beginners and books that are useful to refer back to also.

Fatz
 
drv4 said:
Hey everybody,

"I'm new here and to the game of pool, started in my first APA league in the summer and am hooked."

"I see people on here talk about B players or C or so forth. Is there a general relationship to APA rankings and this system, I.e. I'm an 8 in APA 9 ball so I'm a B player?"

Thanks
Click to expand...

No one has asked so I will. You have just started playing pool "serriously" and are already an 8 in the APA 9 ball league. So how long have you been playing cue sports? How long have you been playing in the league?

If you just started playing this year, WOW...
 
Pete said:
No one has asked so I will. You have just started playing pool "serriously" and are already an 8 in the APA 9 ball league. So how long have you been playing cue sports? How long have you been playing in the league?

If you just started playing this year, WOW...
Click to expand...

Agreed. :eek:

I agree with everyone re 99 Critical Shots. Great book. Think I'll go and re-read it again, soon.

Welcome to the forum
 
Pete said:
No one has asked so I will. You have just started playing pool "serriously" and are already an 8 in the APA 9 ball league. So how long have you been playing cue sports? How long have you been playing in the league?

If you just started playing this year, WOW...
Click to expand...

There seems to be a lot of those here lately on AZ. New players that are already playing run out pool.

Meanwhile, in the real world...
 
Thanks for all of the answers, def will check out a few of the suggested reads.

I'm def not ranked an 8 in APA 9 ball. I'm in my second session and a 5 in both 8 and 9. I've been doing some simple shot making drills and its def helped because I wasn't very consistent my first session.
 
Pete said:
No one has asked so I will. You have just started playing pool "serriously" and are already an 8 in the APA 9 ball league. So how long have you been playing cue sports? How long have you been playing in the league?

If you just started playing this year, WOW...
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing, I missed the i.e. before that comment, like you did :smile:
 
Pete said:
I reread your original post, there you stated you are an 8 already. Was that a typo and if so what are you then???
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Sheezuz Crises guys! He didn't say he was an 8. He said, "I.e. I'm an 8 in APA 9 ball so I'm a B player?" He was speaking rhetorically. He gave an example.
 
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