Capelle - A Mind For Pool

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DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ok, fellow posters, i just ordered Capelle's book on A Mind For Pool. hopefully should have it by tomorrow.

i need help with the mental game. cant get to the next level if i keep worrying over a shot, worrying to not miss, worrying i will miss position, worrying i will miss a shot i've practiced 10,000 times, etc, etc.

any of you posters have and/or read this book?
thoughts? opinions? worthwhile?

DCP
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, fellow posters, i just ordered Capelle's book on A Mind For Pool. hopefully should have it by tomorrow.

i need help with the mental game. cant get to the next level if i keep worrying over a shot, worrying to not miss, worrying i will miss position, worrying i will miss a shot i've practiced 10,000 times, etc, etc.

any of you posters have and/or read this book?
thoughts? opinions? worthwhile?

DCP
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Should have asked before you ordered it...now you're just stuck with reading and figuring it out on your own. Let us know if it helps...it's only YOUR opinion that matters in the end.
 
Personally, I would have gone with Pleasures of Small Motion... simply because the author, Bob Fancher, is a psychologist. Let us know what you think of the Capelle book.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, fellow posters, i just ordered Capelle's book on A Mind For Pool. hopefully should have it by tomorrow.

i need help with the mental game. cant get to the next level if i keep worrying over a shot, worrying to not miss, worrying i will miss position, worrying i will miss a shot i've practiced 10,000 times, etc, etc.

any of you posters have and/or read this book?
thoughts? opinions? worthwhile?

DCP
Click to expand...


I have the book, and do feel it is worth reading. But I do plan on ordering pleasures of small motions very soon. I also read several books dealing with the mental side of golf (back when I was playing alot) and found different things that helped me so I dont think things have to be only about pool to help.
 
I have it... and have read a good portion of it when I first got it. Haven't picked it up since. A reference book, it's not.

IMO, its too much. My God... how much can you say and think about the mental game. There's more little quips and advice than a reasonably intelligent person can use!!

Instead... I'm keeping it simple.

To play good/excellent pool, you need to play with confidence.

To play with confidence you must establish a solid base of skills and knowledge.

Knowledge of the game is gained by reading, taking lessons and/or learning from friends who share their knowledge.

Skill is gained by hitting balls... with the knowledge that you've gained from above.

To build your confidence even higher, play tougher opponents and/or play in higher pressure situations (money games, regional tournaments, nat'l tournaments, ets.).

Work your way up the ladder. You'll reach a level when you're no longer concerned about "the mental game".

YMMV. ;)
 
DCP... Try not to be a worry wart! A lot of it comes down to a repeatable stroke & shape or position play. How many times have you seen a Pro bang a ball in one after the other? You say to yourself: Hell.... I can do that & YES you can... if you have a repeatable stroke & get a great position for the next shot. :cool:
 
<<But to be honest with you, I cannot remember one damn thing I read out of that book.>>

Ditto brother!!
 
whitewolf said:
I read the book cover to cover, word for word, and liked it. My wife hated it (she is a psychologist).
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I'd be very interested in knowing what your wife thinks about Pleasures of Small Motions. As a psychologist, has she ever heard of Bob Fancher?
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, fellow posters, i just ordered Capelle's book on A Mind For Pool. hopefully should have it by tomorrow.
any of you posters have and/or read this book?
thoughts? opinions? worthwhile?
DCP
Click to expand...

respectively - Yes, No, Yes, No. You're probably better off reading The Art of War, or even War & Peace :p Capelle's full of philosophical crap, like,
"block out all noises around you, you must learn (Luke)... Improve, your game will...<Next Page>Now that you've mastered that aspect, let's move on to psyching out your opponent". It's not quite that bad, but he will entertain you with thousands of quotes from different dead people, some of whom you may have heard of. Pretty sure The Complete Works of Plato was more beneficial...

Bob Fanchers book, on the other hand, is an EXCELLENT READ! HIGHLY recommend it. A Clinical Pyschiatrist (PhD) and Pool enthusiast, Bob will teach you how to "re-program" certain aspects of your game. But you need to have your stroke developed and settled before reading it.
 
VonRhett said:
respectively - Yes, No, Yes, No. You're probably better off reading The Art of War, or even War & Peace :p Capelle's full of philosophical crap, like,
"block out all noises around you, you must learn (Luke)... Improve, your game will...<Next Page>Now that you've mastered that aspect, let's move on to psyching out your opponent". It's not quite that bad, but he will entertain you with thousands of quotes from different dead people, some of whom you may have heard of. Pretty sure The Complete Works of Plato was more beneficial...

Bob Fanchers book, on the other hand, is an EXCELLENT READ! HIGHLY recommend it. A Clinical Pyschiatrist (PhD) and Pool enthusiast, Bob will teach you how to "re-program" certain aspects of your game. But you need to have your stroke developed and settled before reading it.
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I havent read Bob's book but my understanding was that he wasn't much of a poolplayer and has since given up the game. It sounded to me like the book was intended for players like himself who couldnt play very well but wanted to find some pleasure in their soso play. Correct me if I am wrong.

Wayne
 
wayne said:
I havent read Bob's book but my understanding was that he wasn't much of a poolplayer and has since given up the game. It sounded to me like the book was intended for players like himself who couldnt play very well but wanted to find some pleasure in their soso play. Correct me if I am wrong. Wayne
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I can't comment on Bob's game. But having read his book, I don't think it would help a weak player - probably confuse them more than anything else. My opinion is that his book will help a relatively strong player make the transition from making a certain shot 90% of the time, to making it 100% (or as close to 100% as anyone is). To no surprise, it does come down to practice, but he presents very specific mental exercises to conduct while you're practicing.

Capelle's book, on the other hand, will have you turning pages looking for any substance, until you're at the back cover saying, "where's the beef?" :p
 
the best advice i ever got on the mental side of pool was from one of our "ask the pro's".

it was after a charity ring game tourney in DC, i broke and ran out to the 10 ball, and dogged it. this would have put me onto the next table. so afterwards, i was setting up the shot, shooting it and missing it..........so our ask the pro comes up to me and says "just make the fu&$ing ball". and wallah, i just didn't think and made the ball.

so, DCP, my advice to you is "just make the fu&*ing balls"

VAP
 
"The Inner Game of Tennis" should also help. But I can see how some people would think of it as a little pull-my-leg-why-don't-you superstitious. In fact, there is little I read in the "Inner Game of Tennis" that isn't on "The Pro Book" and "The Advanced Pro Book". Bob Henning addresses all these issues related to chattering with yourself when you're down on the shot. When in fact you should just be making the freaking ball...

I haven't read "Pleasures in Small Motions" or "Mind for Pool" yet, but given the reviews, I think I'll grab the first and check. Just about anything that doesn't give you a concrete, specific, mental EXERCISE that you can practice and improve on, is bound to be bullshit. As an earlier poster has said, read Plato or Krishnamurti instead, if that's the case.
 
lewdo26 said:
Just about anything that doesn't give you a concrete, specific, mental EXERCISE that you can practice and improve on, is bound to be bullshit.
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I dont think everything that has to do with the mental side of competing would have to have an exercise to improve. There are different aspects of the mental side of the game that need to be addressed, for some more than others.

One side would deal with focus and concentration at the table. Dealing with this I would agree that something concrete that could be practiced would be most helpful.

But another side of the game that some people have trouble dealing with is more passive. Like how you react after a bad shot, or dealing with your opponent getting a good roll.

When someone hits a bad shot there is typically one of two ways they will handle it. Some people will beat themselves up over the bad stroke and let it affect them for several games, sometimes even for the rest of the night. A better way to deal with it is to understand that we made a mistake that we normally wouldnt make, and instead of thinking about something we cant change we should concentrate on our next chance at the table.

I have seen people that when their opponent misses an easy out, but gets a good roll and leaves them a tough shot they complain about their opponent getting lucky. When in fact if they were just happy that the other guy didnt get out and let them have another chance at the table they would be in a better mindset to do something with the opportunity that they have.

The last two examples arent really something that needs an excersise to practice. You just have to choose how you are going to think and deal with things. We CAN choose how we think, but many people let their emotions choose for them.

Woody
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, fellow posters, i just ordered Capelle's book on A Mind For Pool. hopefully should have it by tomorrow.

i need help with the mental game. cant get to the next level if i keep worrying over a shot, worrying to not miss, worrying i will miss position, worrying i will miss a shot i've practiced 10,000 times, etc, etc.

any of you posters have and/or read this book?
thoughts? opinions? worthwhile?

DCP
Click to expand...


mental game is fine and dandy, and important in pool. but you still have to execute well to pocket a ball. practice = pocketing better = not worrying about pocketing = allowing you to focus on other aspects of the game = confidence(mental game).

....and i don't think it starts with the mental game at all,,,it starts with pure pocketing skills. mental game doesn't help if you flat out aim crooked.
 
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whitewolf said:
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I read the book cover to cover, word for word, and liked it. My wife hated it (she is a psychologist).

But to be honest with you, I cannot remember one damn thing I read out of that book. This means that it did not make a very big impression on me.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,There are some really wise posters here, who are also experienced, unlike Capelle!
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i happen to agree with you. nothing against capelle, who i don't know, nor have i read his book. but you are expressing a reaction that is probably quite common with books of this nature. these sports help books lead people to think it's all they need, when they're better off spending all their time improving physical skills.

besides, how does one teach the zen of sport through a book when sport is so visceral. that's like,,,the dumbest thing i can think of.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, fellow posters, i just ordered Capelle's book on A Mind For Pool. hopefully should have it by tomorrow.

i need help with the mental game. cant get to the next level if i keep worrying over a shot, worrying to not miss, worrying i will miss position, worrying i will miss a shot i've practiced 10,000 times, etc, etc.

any of you posters have and/or read this book?
thoughts? opinions? worthwhile?

DCP
Click to expand...


Phil Capelle writes well and seems like a sensible guy. *The subject
matter of the book is more-or-less everything pool related *except*
physical skills, game strategy, and equipment. *So in addition to the
usual things we think of as mental aspects of the game, *he discusses, for
example, matching up when gambling, common tournament formats, styles of
leagues and league teams, rating players, and so forth. *There are both
well chosen quotes and little gems of wisdom called "Capelle's Laws for
Pool" disbursed liberally throughout the book. *
He gives, IMO, lots of wise advice. *

So while overall I think it's pretty good, I have to say also that most
intelligent, sensible players who have been around the game for a while
will find themselves nodding their heads in agreement frequently, but will
not find too much in the way of new insights. * *

I run with a couple psychologists, and I know from talking to them there
are *studies about things that might be relevant [to the mental aspect of
the game]. *There's one I remember
about choking in sports (performed using putting in golf). *There are I
believe journals of sports psychology. *If someone would take a close look
at what's been done and translate it to pool, that would be interesting.
Capelle has not done that.


mike page
fargo
 
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