99 Critical Shots In Pool tops for 30 years

[Pushout]

Google it and/or find a used book seller who will keep your request on file and notify you when they find it. There are many of them.

Then when you get the first edition send it to Ray for him to sign... but you will want to send him a check! It's the right thing to do. He deserves it.

He posts here but I can't rememer his name. I bought two hard copies, first editions and sent them to him and he didn't require any $$ but it's the right thing to do. Put the book in a box that is ready to ship back to you and then put that box in the box to ship to him. Make it easy for him and make it lucrative for him... he's doing you a service and it's an honor to have anything to do with a great player like him.

I learned to do exactly this when I began collecting autographs years ago! Unfortunately, I never found a hard copy of 99 Critical Shots when I was actively collecting.

 

[Pushout]

I read this either before or after reading George Fels's Mastering Pool. At the time, I found experienced players who had never learned or seen some of the stuff in both books.

 

[Paul Mon]

I too have a very limited permanent pool book collection... These 3 books will never leave my possession:

The 99 Critical Shots in Pool
Banking with the Beard
Pleasures of Small Motions

I have read a lot of pool literature. These three books are the best, and I keep going back to them time and time again.

I have a few book (maybe 15) and the only one that I haven't finished reading is Pleasures of Small Motions. All of the others have been read and re-read. The Eddie Robins books get the most frequent use. I just couldn't get through Pleasures of Small Motions. BTW, just last weekend I re-read Babe Cranfields book. Not one that comes up for review on the forums but I was inspired to practice more 14.1 after reading it again.

 

[Pushout]

I have a few book (maybe 15) and the only one that I haven't finished reading is Pleasures of Small Motions.

I've read it all the way through, but it gives me a headache just thinking about it. People rave about it but I don't see why. Like some cues, it's definitely not for everybody.

 

[bud green]

Great book. I don't think its fair to compare to Byrnes first two books though. Its obviously better for pool players, and obviously makes no attempt to cover three cushion. Byrnes three cushion sections in his first two books are as valuable as anything written for billiards, ever. Nothing in billiard literature will help a new player more than a new three cushion player buying Byrne's books.

I have all of Robins books, great to have but I own the videos he uses to demonstrate a good portion of the shots, and a lot of the other ones are almost trick shots.

Beginners: Byrnes and also Cappelle are excellent. Almost everything before that is crap. Hoppes book, Miz's stuff, Mosconi, etc... are ok but cover 10% that the later books deal with in a better way. Capelles books do have a way of seeming to spend 300 pages to cover stuff that 99% of A players already know, but just can't execute like they want though.

Intermediate to Advanced: Robins' books, Beards' banking books, 99 shots, Hennings stuff is pretty good, Daly's billiard book, Davis snooker book, and a few other 3-C books are good.

 

[JE54]

What does Pleasures of Small Motions cover? Is it a paperback?
What is the best book for learning the diamond system ?

 

[CTYankee]

What does Pleasures of Small Motions cover? Is it a paperback?
What is the best book for learning the diamond system ?

Here is a summary of Pleasures of Small Motions:

Pleasures of Small Motions
Mastering the Mental Game of Pocket Billiards
by Bob Fancher, Ph.D.

Everyone who plays pool knows that it is "mostly mental," but the conventional wisdom about the mental game is about as accurate as the idea that the earth is flat. Until now, no one with any expertise on how the human mind works has bothered to write about pool. In Pleasures of Small Motions, Bob Fancher, a psychotherapist and pool columnist, breaks new ground by applying good science to the mental game of billiards.This book does for pool what Timothy Gallwey's bestselling "The Inner Game" books did for golf and tennis. Fancher explains how the conscious and unconscious mind work together, prescribes drills to help players improve, advises on mastering emotion and developing rhythm, explains the difference between concentration and focus, and gives invaluable insight on competitive play. (6 x 9, 160 pages, illustrations) Bob Fancher's column, "Dr. Bob, Pool Shrink," appears monthly in The American Cueist. He earned his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University and practiced psychotherapy in New York for fourteen years

 

[CaptainHook]

Wish i could find a hard cover 1st edition & printing signed by ray & rooser!!

I never found a Hard cover copy, but I did have Ray autograph my first edition soft cover, here is a pic of it, and a newer copy holding the page open for the pic of his autograph inside the first edition.

 

[madfox]

Hello guys, you know where I could find "99 critical shots" to download ?

 

[Johnnyt]

Hello guys, you know where I could find "99 critical shots" to download ?

It's $10 on Amazon and worth a hell of a lot more than that if you you find and learn a few of the 99 shots from it. Ask Ray where you can download it. I'm sure he'll tell you where to go. Johnnyt

 

[madfox]

It's $10 on Amazon and worth a hell of a lot more than that if you you find and learn a few of the 99 shots from it. Ask Ray where you can download it. I'm sure he'll tell you where to go. Johnnyt

Thanks Jhonnyt, if you can help me more, I don't know where to ask Ray.

 

[asiasdad]

It's $10 on Amazon and worth a hell of a lot more than that if you you find and learn a few of the 99 shots from it. Ask Ray where you can download it. I'm sure he'll tell you where to go. Johnnyt

:grin-square:

rep to you !

 

[Pushout]

Thanks Jhonnyt, if you can help me more, I don't know where to ask Ray.

He means, methinks, that Ray would be insulted if you asked him about downloading the book for free. And, he would definitely have no problem telling you where to go. The book is still in print and therefore, not in the public domain as a freebe. And I've met Ray.

 

[Johnnyt]

He means, methinks, that Ray would be insulted if you asked him about downloading the book for free. And, he would definitely have no problem telling you where to go. The book is still in print and therefore, not in the public domain as a freebe. And I've met Ray.

I just didn't want to type all that. LOL. Johnnyt

 

[alstl]

While we are on the topic of Ray Martin, here is an entertaining 14.1 match between him and Grady from a few years ago, posted by dmgwalsh.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=83980&highlight=martin

 

[Jigger]

99 Critical Shots is the best single pool instrux book I've found. Have bought maybe 11 copies on Amazon.com and given 10 away to buddies. The used ones in excellent condition may only be $7-8 delivered.

 

[JimS]

Hello guys, you know where I could find "99 critical shots" to download ?

Only a real scumbag would deprive Ray of his income.... imo. Don't even think about it.

 

[madfox]

He means, methinks, that Ray would be insulted if you asked him about downloading the book for free. And, he would definitely have no problem telling you where to go. The book is still in print and therefore, not in the public domain as a freebe. And I've met Ray.

LOl, I never said that I want to download for free :sorry: Just be cause I am all the way down to Romania and I don't want to pay more on postal and custom taxes and to wait 2-3 weeks, it is easier to download like I did with books and video from The Monk.
And I pay for what I want.

I think you made me infamous for nothing, you are too jumpy .

 

[Johnnyt]

LOl, I never said that I want to download for free :sorry: Just be cause I am all the way down to Romania and I don't want to pay more on postal and custom taxes and to wait 2-3 weeks, it is easier to download like I did with books and video from The Monk.
And I pay for what I want.

I think you made me infamous for nothing, you are too jumpy .

Sorry, I guess I did jump on you too fast. There people on here that download free stuff that is copyrighted all the time. As a want to be author it pisses me off. Although I didn't give you a red rep, I'll give you a green every chance I get. Amazon takes 2-3 weeks to send books to Romania? Johnny

 

[madfox]

Sorry, I guess I did jump on you too fast. There people on here that download free stuff that is copyrighted all the time. As a want to be author it pisses me off. Although I didn't give you a red rep, I'll give you a green every chance I get. Amazon takes 2-3 weeks to send books to Romania? Johnny

Thanks for the green !!!
Yes for 8 to 10 $ postal taxes per book. For expres is like 25 $ per book if I want let's say only a 10 $ book. I might consider gather more friends and buy a bunch of them to share the postal taxes.