Can anyone recommend a book on 8 ball strategy?

S

stonefish

Registered
Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a book which looks specifically at 8 ball (at a reasonably high level). In particular strategy discussions around when to play safe/attack, patterns, strategy etc. I'm not really looking for a book which discusses technique.

Thanks in advance :smile:
 
cueenvy

cueenvy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Phil Capelle's Play Your Best 8 ball. Loaded with strategy...goes to a pretty high level. I hear the Eight Ball Bible is good, but I never read it.
 
W

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
The eight ball bible is good, but has a lot of content specifically for bar box / mudball shots. I think Capelle's is better all around..

b
 
J

jburkm002

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Don't know of any books. There are tons of Youtube videos. Watch SVB playing some 8 ball. It's helpful because you can pick how you would shoot them. Then try to understand why one of the best chose the pattern he took. However, they are on another level with their perfect position and crap. LOL
 
K

KMRUNOUT

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'd recommend Cappelle's PYB8B as well. Great book.

Also good are George Fels book, I think it is something like A Smarter Way to Learn Pool.

I flipped through Larry Schwartz's book and it looked good, but I didn't really read it.

In a nutshell, you have to learn really only a few basic principles that will help across the board:

1) Learn to view your balls as tools, with a specific function. This ball lets me get shape on that tough to reach ball...this ball lets me break out that problem...this ball blocks his runout while I deal with this issue over here...etc. EVERY ball has a function. Determine that before you start blindly firing off balls.

2) Consider 8 ball to be a race to the runout. Each turn you take has a cost, which is that now the other guy gets a turn to do something. To be a winning 8 ball player, you need to maximize the value of each move you make, each turn. If you're playing safe, its better if you can play safe and also tie up the other guys ball. Stuff like that. Simply hiding the cue ball from the other guy is a pretty weak move in 8 ball. It *might* get you ball in hand, but it might not. It might just result in a worse situation than the one you're in. So consider that you have a limited number of turns to stack the odds in your favor the most you can. You are trying to get to the wide open table before the other guy.

3) Think of 8 ball games as having 2 phases. The "move" phase, and the runnout phase. In phase 1, you are trying to prepare the table for a runout that gives you a super high chance of success. If you have problem balls, you're probably not ready to run out unless you are a super strong player with amazing cueball control. If your opponent beats you to the runout, you're supposed to lose. Once the table is open for you, now you go to phase 2...runout! Sometimes you screw up the runout and have to go back to phase 1.

4) Don't forget you can use the other guys balls to play safe. When the cueball is frozen to another ball, or gives a look only at an unmakable ball, that can be super effective in 8 ball.

Keep these ideas in mind and you can play some strong 8 ball.

KMRUNOUT

PS. STUDY this rack between Bustamante and Reyes. Listen to what Billy Incardona says. I've learned more about 8 ball from this 1 rack of pool than anything else!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsCLcuLXlEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GqrF3xS2qA
 
Last edited:
PocketPooler

PocketPooler

...............
Silver Member
cueenvy said:
Phil Capelle's Play Your Best 8 ball. Loaded with strategy...goes to a pretty high level. I hear the Eight Ball Bible is good, but I never read it.
Click to expand...

Couldnt agree more about Capelle. Everything ive read from him is good.
 
justadub

justadub

Rattling corners nightly
Silver Member
I haven't read any 8-ball specific books, but I have other books by Capelle and they are great. I don't think you can go wrong with his stuff, and I'd like to read that 8-ball book myself.
 
jeffj2h

jeffj2h

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
KM,

Wow, that might be the best 8 ball rack I've ever seen. Usually I don't like watching pros play 8 ball. They are so good they can manufacture runouts every time and safeties are rare. But this rack showed the type of strategic battle I see in league every week.

And Billy's commentary is great, as always.

Jeff
 
jeffj2h

jeffj2h

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I like both Givens "bible" and Phil's "play your best". Something I really like about Givens is he gets to the point. Phil will say in 300 words what would have been clearer said in 30.

I'd suggest reading Givens first, to get a clear understanding of strategy, then look at Phils book.
 
B

BobTfromIL

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That was a awesome rack of 8 ball, but I would say that most 8 ball players I have played against would never shoot some of the shots they did or even think about doing some of the things they did.
 
Poolplaya9

Poolplaya9

Tellin' it like it is...
Silver Member
KMRUNOUT said:
I'd recommend Cappelle's PYB8B as well. Great book.

Also good are George Fels book, I think it is something like A Smarter Way to Learn Pool.

I flipped through Larry Schwartz's book and it looked good, but I didn't really read it.

In a nutshell, you have to learn really only a few basic principles that will help across the board:

1) Learn to view your balls as tools, with a specific function. This ball lets me get shape on that tough to reach ball...this ball lets me break out that problem...this ball blocks his runout while I deal with this issue over here...etc. EVERY ball has a function. Determine that before you start blindly firing off balls.

2) Consider 8 ball to be a race to the runout. Each turn you take has a cost, which is that now the other guy gets a turn to do something. To be a winning 8 ball player, you need to maximize the value of each move you make, each turn. If you're playing safe, its better if you can play safe and also tie up the other guys ball. Stuff like that. Simply hiding the cue ball from the other guy is a pretty weak move in 8 ball. It *might* get you ball in hand, but it might not. It might just result in a worse situation than the one you're in. So consider that you have a limited number of turns to stack the odds in your favor the most you can. You are trying to get to the wide open table before the other guy.

3) Think of 8 ball games as having 2 phases. The "move" phase, and the runnout phase. In phase 1, you are trying to prepare the table for a runout that gives you a super high chance of success. If you have problem balls, you're probably not ready to run out unless you are a super strong player with amazing cueball control. If your opponent beats you to the runout, you're supposed to lose. Once the table is open for you, now you go to phase 2...runout! Sometimes you screw up the runout and have to go back to phase 1.

4) Don't forget you can use the other guys balls to play safe. When the cueball is frozen to another ball, or gives a look only at an unmakable ball, that can be super effective in 8 ball.

Keep these ideas in mind and you can play some strong 8 ball.

KMRUNOUT

PS. STUDY this rack between Bustamante and Reyes. Listen to what Billy Incardona says. I've learned more about 8 ball from this 1 rack of pool than anything else!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsCLcuLXlEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GqrF3xS2qA
Click to expand...

This is one of the best concise strategy write ups I have ever seen. Obviously one could go into a ton more detail and fill a book or even encyclopedia, but strictly in terms of a very concise strategy lesson this is about as good as it can get. Too bad I can't give you a green rep yet.
 
R

RichSchultz

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
KMRUNOUT said:
I'd recommend Cappelle's PYB8B as well. Great book.

Also good are George Fels book, I think it is something like A Smarter Way to Learn Pool.

I flipped through Larry Schwartz's book and it looked good, but I didn't really read it.

In a nutshell, you have to learn really only a few basic principles that will help across the board:

1) Learn to view your balls as tools, with a specific function. This ball lets me get shape on that tough to reach ball...this ball lets me break out that problem...this ball blocks his runout while I deal with this issue over here...etc. EVERY ball has a function. Determine that before you start blindly firing off balls.

2) Consider 8 ball to be a race to the runout. Each turn you take has a cost, which is that now the other guy gets a turn to do something. To be a winning 8 ball player, you need to maximize the value of each move you make, each turn. If you're playing safe, its better if you can play safe and also tie up the other guys ball. Stuff like that. Simply hiding the cue ball from the other guy is a pretty weak move in 8 ball. It *might* get you ball in hand, but it might not. It might just result in a worse situation than the one you're in. So consider that you have a limited number of turns to stack the odds in your favor the most you can. You are trying to get to the wide open table before the other guy.

3) Think of 8 ball games as having 2 phases. The "move" phase, and the runnout phase. In phase 1, you are trying to prepare the table for a runout that gives you a super high chance of success. If you have problem balls, you're probably not ready to run out unless you are a super strong player with amazing cueball control. If your opponent beats you to the runout, you're supposed to lose. Once the table is open for you, now you go to phase 2...runout! Sometimes you screw up the runout and have to go back to phase 1.

4) Don't forget you can use the other guys balls to play safe. When the cueball is frozen to another ball, or gives a look only at an unmakable ball, that can be super effective in 8 ball.

Keep these ideas in mind and you can play some strong 8 ball.

KMRUNOUT

PS. STUDY this rack between Bustamante and Reyes. Listen to what Billy Incardona says. I've learned more about 8 ball from this 1 rack of pool than anything else!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsCLcuLXlEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GqrF3xS2qA
Click to expand...
Hey KM,

How do we adapt the learning from these videos to APA style rules? Busty made a ball and got to choose. What changes if he had to play what he made?
 
F

flyrv9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
FYI Phil Capelle also has another book titled "Play Your Best Pool" that covers both 8 ball and 9 ball. Good comprehensive book.
 
K

KMRUNOUT

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
jeffj2h said:
KM,

Wow, that might be the best 8 ball rack I've ever seen. Usually I don't like watching pros play 8 ball. They are so good they can manufacture runouts every time and safeties are rare. But this rack showed the type of strategic battle I see in league every week.

And Billy's commentary is great, as always.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Yeah this match was a real eye opener for me years ago when I first found it. I have the VHS tape and I've literally watched this match 100 times lol. Billy was in the zone that whole tourney, really dissecting the game and clearly explaining how to look at it.

That rack in particular was just awesome. For what its worth, that match also has some great break and runs, and lots of them. Busty's break was really working, and he was just pummeling the rack and getting out. Efren actually breaks pretty strong himself.

Glad you liked it!

KMRUNOUT
 
K

KMRUNOUT

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Poolplaya9 said:
This is one of the best concise strategy write ups I have ever seen. Obviously one could go into a ton more detail and fill a book or even encyclopedia, but strictly in terms of a very concise strategy lesson this is about as good as it can get. Too bad I can't give you a green rep yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much! I hope it helps you and others. Maybe I should write a book too lol.

KMRUNOUT
 
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