Opinions...

lewdo26 · Apr 6, 2005

I was thinking about grabbing Bob Henning's "Pro Book", which was mentioned in an earlier thread. I've recently become obsessed with pre-shot routines, what to do when sitting in the chair between innings, common tendencies under competitive pressure, frequent mistakes in facing opponents of varying skill levels, etc. In short, anything that relates to the competitive (as opposed to intellectual knowledge or execution skills) aspect of pool (otherwise known as 'the mental game' --- terminology I despise).

I once thought that my background in chess gave me enough competitive tools that would transfer over to pool tournaments... sweet illusion... I first tried to buy "Pleasure in Small Motions", but the thing is a little too metaphysical for my taste. I still want drills, practical pointers, meat and potatoes...

So I go to the Accustats site and, lo and behold, there is an "Advanced Pro Book" as well. Now that's getting fancy... Has anyone here read the second title? I wasn't able to find a table contents for the "Advanced Pro Book" and now I'm wondering: Is this a sequel or does "Advanced Pro Book" cover everything in "Pro Book" with added stuff to it? I do not care much for the nutrition section or anything that might be closer to motivational speaking. That I can arrange myself. But from the table of contents, it seems like "Pro Book" has some concrete information I can use.

Anyone? Thanks to all AZBers.

Opie · Apr 7, 2005

i just got my "pro book" in the mail yesterday. Haven't started reading it yet, but the table of contents looks pretty good. I'll try to read it pretty quickly and maybe post a review in a week or two. Caution: If you order from Accu-Stats, be patient. It seems like it took FOREVER to come in the mail. I also got a book from them called, "A Mind for Pool" it focuses on the mental and looks good as well.

coolpoolfool · Apr 7, 2005

Opie said:
i just got my "pro book" in the mail yesterday. Haven't started reading it yet, but the table of contents looks pretty good. I'll try to read it pretty quickly and maybe post a review in a week or two. Caution: If you order from Accu-Stats, be patient. It seems like it took FOREVER to come in the mail. I also got a book from them called, "A Mind for Pool" it focuses on the mental and looks good as well.

I'm reading "A Mind for Pool" now and it's an awesome book. It is not something you can digest in one day, though...I usually read a book within a day to a week, and I've been reading on this one for over a month.

randyg · Apr 7, 2005

I reccomend Bob Hennings book. I find Bob's work to very helpful.....SPF-randyg

drivermaker · Apr 7, 2005

randyg said:
I reccomend Bob Hennings book. I find Bob's work to very helpful.....SPF-randyg

Yeh...but wouldn't you agree it isn't a book to read...but a book to DO?
If you want to get better, you can't just read it, you have to pour in the hours to set up the shots and DO them. Work...work...work....

lewdo26 · Apr 7, 2005

drivermaker said:
Yeh...but wouldn't you agree it isn't a book to read...but a book to DO?
If you want to get better, you can't just read it, you have to pour in the hours to set up the shots and DO them. Work...work...work....

Bingo! drivermaker, you're a man after my own heart. I do not want to READ about the 'mental game' like I read a freaking romance novel. I want stuff I can USE, concretely, at the practice table and beyond... And believe me, I'm not shy about practice and hard work.

I still haven't heard from anyone on the "ADVANCED Pro Book", though. The reason for my post was to know whether this second title includes the main contents of the first "Pro Book" and plus. If so, I'll go straight to it rather than buying the "Pro Book" first. Has anyone read the "ADVANCED Pro Book" ? How does it compare to the first title? Thanks a lot.

drivermaker · Apr 7, 2005

lewdo26 said:
Bingo! drivermaker, you're a man after my own heart. I do not want to READ about the 'mental game' like I read a freaking romance novel. I want stuff I can USE, concretely, at the practice table and beyond... And believe me, I'm not shy about practice and hard work.

I still haven't heard from anyone on the "ADVANCED Pro Book", though. The reason for my post was to know whether this second title includes the main contents of the first "Pro Book" and plus. If so, I'll go straight to it rather than buying the "Pro Book" first. Has anyone read the "ADVANCED Pro Book" ? How does it compare to the first title? Thanks a lot.

I can't tell you about that, but maybe you should consider the DVD's. They'll give you a REAL good idea of what you need to be doing because you'll actually see it being performed in addition to setting it up.

lewdo26 · Apr 7, 2005

drivermaker said:
I can't tell you about that, but maybe you should consider the DVD's. They'll give you a REAL good idea of what you need to be doing because you'll actually see it being performed in addition to setting it up.

Thanks for the tip, drivermaker. I'll look into it.

DaveK · Apr 7, 2005

drivermaker said:
I can't tell you about that, but maybe you should consider the DVD's. They'll give you a REAL good idea of what you need to be doing because you'll actually see it being performed in addition to setting it up.

That is a good idea. I can tell you that his shot diagrams and descriptions, while very good, can be a bit difficult to transfer to the table at first. What I mean is, when he shows a shot requiring 1/2 tip of left and 1 tip bottom, and you play it exactly that way, the shot may not work quite as diagrammed depending on several factors. Seeing the shot being played as the author intended will more clearly show the speed, which is the most obvious omission from the book. He tries to tell you, for example "this requires a firm stroke", but what is "firm" ? Seeing the shot first will definately help on many of the shots he diagrams.

Dave, who didn't even know about the ADVANCED book, thanks for thread lewdo26 !

lewdo26 · Apr 7, 2005

DaveK said:
That is a good idea. I can tell you that his shot diagrams and descriptions, while very good, can be a bit difficult to transfer to the table at first. What I mean is, when he shows a shot requiring 1/2 tip of left and 1 tip bottom, and you play it exactly that way, the shot may not work quite as diagrammed depending on several factors. Seeing the shot being played as the author intended will more clearly show the speed, which is the most obvious omission from the book. He tries to tell you, for example "this requires a firm stroke", but what is "firm" ? Seeing the shot first will definately help on many of the shots he diagrams.

Dave, who didn't even know about the ADVANCED book, thanks for thread lewdo26 !

Thanks, Dave. That is the whole thing about instructional materials. Each adds an important dimension. Videos are important due to the reasons you and drivermaker pointed out. Books, I think, are also invaluable in terms of outlines, diagrams, etc. Plus they are portable and can be brought with the student to the poolroom. The ADVANCED book must have been published recently because I couldn't find much on the internet as far as reviews. The first "Pro Book", on the other hand, is all over cyberspace. Take care.

chalkisfree · Apr 7, 2005

This may be off-subject, but from what I read in your first post in the thread, you might benefit from a breathing technique. Sounds silly, but it helped my game immensely. I found a book by this martial arts dude, Loren B. Christensen, titled THE MENTAL EDGE. I have a ton of pool books that deal with the mental side of pool, and they go on and on and on. This book is simple to follow and you will have immediate positive results. My two cents are spent

DaveK · Apr 7, 2005

lewdo26 said:
... lo and behold, there is an "Advanced Pro Book" as well. Now that's getting fancy... Has anyone here read the second title? I wasn't able to find a table contents for the "Advanced Pro Book" and now I'm wondering: Is this a sequel or does "Advanced Pro Book" cover everything in "Pro Book" with added stuff to it?

You got me curious, so I went looking. There is some information on the Advanced Pro Book on Bob's website :

http://www.bebobpublishing.com/mainindex.htm

Click on "Pro Book System", you will be rewarded with a few paragraphs on the book.

Dave

lewdo26 · Apr 7, 2005

DaveK said:
You got me curious, so I went looking. There is some information on the Advanced Pro Book on Bob's website :

http://www.bebobpublishing.com/mainindex.htm

Click on "Pro Book System", you will be rewarded with a few paragraphs on the book.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I'm still undecided because the site doesn't offer a detailed table of contents for each book. It seems like a lot of it overlaps.

Then again, indecision might be one of the reasons I'm buying Bob's book in the first place!
Cheers!

Opinions...

lewdo26

Registered User will do

Opie

Stronger than shortstop?

coolpoolfool

Pool lover

randyg

www.randygpool.com

drivermaker

Banned

lewdo26

Registered User will do

drivermaker

Banned

lewdo26

Registered User will do

DaveK

Still crazy after all these years

lewdo26

Registered User will do

chalkisfree

Registered

DaveK

Still crazy after all these years

lewdo26

Registered User will do