Good Pool Books?

A

All Flack

New member
Hey everyone at AZ,
As a newcomer to the forums I thought I would start off by simply saying hello. I am also curious to know if there are any really good in-depth pool books. I have two, one is '99 Critical Shots in Pool' by Ray Martin, which I have found to be useful but on the same note somewhat basic in a sense / not very in-depth? And the other book 'Pool & Billiards for Dummies' by Nicholas Leider, this book is also O.K. But it is too basic. What I'm looking for is like in-depth strategy (safety's, one pocket, ect.), positional play, drills, and the finer less mentioned topics in pool. As they say, knowledge is power and I'm starving for it. So if you guys know of any good worth while reads please let me know! Thanks.

TL;DR: What are some good very in-depth pool books?
 
The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards taught me more than any other instructional book. It has well diagrammed images, accurate physics analysis, and expert advice from Dr. Dave.

Besides that, the novel Running the Table (written by a Sports Illustrated sports writer) is an incredible story about the road hustling days of Kid Delicious. So good, a major film studio was going to produce a movie on it, starring Jack Black as Delicious, but it has since been shelved until someone else buys the rights.

Hope this helps.
 
The books by Robert Byrne come to mind immediately, then Phil Capelle. Then it kinda depends where your interests are, 8 ball, 9 ball, One Pocket, Straight Pool, etc.
 
Welcome. I think one of the best books to help out your pool game is "The Inner Game of Golf." Believe it or not, this will help alot!

Welcome to the forum,

Justin
 
All Flack said:
Hey everyone at AZ,
As a newcomer to the forums I thought I would start off by simply saying hello. I am also curious to know if there are any really good in-depth pool books. I have two, one is '99 Critical Shots in Pool' by Ray Martin, which I have found to be useful but on the same note somewhat basic in a sense / not very in-depth? And the other book 'Pool & Billiards for Dummies' by Nicholas Leider, this book is also O.K. But it is too basic. What I'm looking for is like in-depth strategy (safety's, one pocket, ect.), positional play, drills, and the finer less mentioned topics in pool. As they say, knowledge is power and I'm starving for it. So if you guys know of any good worth while reads please let me know! Thanks.

TL;DR: What are some good very in-depth pool books?
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If you are willing to stare at a screen -- I prefer paper myself -- you could try http://billiards.colostate.edu/ and http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/BD_articles.html

Besides Byrne's "New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards", he has published two books of his columns, "Advanced Technique ... " and "Wonderful World ...". He also has a book that covers 350 different shots: "Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots."

I think there is no one book that covers all of what you want. For one pocket the best is hard to find: Eddie Robin's two books. Well, maybe not hard to find but expensive. Givens has a book on 8 ball that has a very good section on safeties. Jack Koehler has interesting books on the science of pool and one pocket. His science is more descriptive than analytic, which is fine unless you want to get into the equations.
 
I have two out there...

I have two bank pool books out there that have been very well received by the pool community. Banking With The Beard and The GosPool of Bank Pool. They are both in-depth treatises designed to bring one's level up to championship speed.

Beard

They are both available on my website.
 
SkyscraperChris said:
The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards taught me more than any other instructional book. It has well diagrammed images, accurate physics analysis, and expert advice from Dr. Dave.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forums!

I'm just a lowly "C" player, but that gives me an aspiring student's viewpoint on the subject. While I certainly haven't read all the books, Dr. Dave's book is by far the most informative book that I've seen. Just about everything that is known about what happens when cue strikes whitey is there, and in a very easy to grasp format.

Since you already have "99 Critical Shots" (a must have IMHO), you might want to check out Robert Byrne's "Complete Book of Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know". The more shots you learn, the better you will play.

If you really want in depth info, go to the two websites that Mr. Jewett mentions. "Holy Cow!" describes them quite well.
 
SkyscraperChris said:
The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards taught me more than any other instructional book. It has well diagrammed images, accurate physics analysis, and expert advice from Dr. Dave.

Besides that, the novel Running the Table (written by a Sports Illustrated sports writer) is an incredible story about the road hustling days of Kid Delicious. So good, a major film studio was going to produce a movie on it, starring Jack Black as Delicious, but it has since been shelved until someone else buys the rights.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Running the Table is not a novel. Novels are fiction, this book is not.
 
Robert Byrne's books are awesome...it will take you a year to digest half of it, even the 3 cushion stuff is very useful in your pool game. Great stuff, it's pretty much all there. IMHO you don't need anything else in print (although Ray Martin's book is pretty sweet, too).
 
SkyscraperChris said:
It may be based on the real life of Kid Delicious, but that doesn't make it non-fiction. It is not a biography or autobiography. It is a novel.
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You'd better look it up, it's nonfiction. You won't find it in any fiction section of any store or library.
 
freddy the beard said:
I have two bank pool books out there that have been very well received by the pool community. Banking With The Beard and The GosPool of Bank Pool. They are both in-depth treatises designed to bring one's level up to championship speed.

Beard

They are both available on my website.
Click to expand...

Banking With The Beard is an outstanding book. Mr. Bentigivna has developed some great systems. Buy his books.

Dave <--- a totally satified customer and much better banker after spending time with Freddys systems
 
Been out most of the day.
For 8 ball and 9 ball: Phil Capelle's Play Your best Pool, also has books for just 8 ball and 9 ball, specifically.
I don't play 8 ball so those are my only recommendations for that game.
Straight Pool: Play Your Best Straight Pool by Phil Capelle, also his excellent book/DVD combination, Break Shot Patterns. The Straight Pool Bible by Arthur "Babe" Cranfield and Laurence S. Moy.
One Pocket: Upscale One Pocket by Jack Koehler, and Winning One Pocket and Shots, Moves, and Strategies edited by Eddie Robin.
I agree about The Inner Game of Tennis. Some people like The Pleasures of Small Motions about the mental side of the game but I didn't like it, personally.
There are a lot of good DVDs, Jim Rempe's How to Run a Rack in Straight Pool and How to Run 100 Balls in Straight Pool. Bill Incardona's One Pocket Instructional and Scott Frost's Power One Pocket.
Probably a whole lot more I don't remember at the moment.
 
SkyscraperChris said:
It may be based on the real life of Kid Delicious, but that doesn't make it non-fiction. It is not a biography or autobiography. It is a novel.
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Not according to The Library of Congress, I originally posted the link but it already timed out. Listed as Biography.
 
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Slh said:
Robert Byrne's new standard book of pool and billiards.
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:smile:

I used to call this my Bible. I have a hard back cover copy.

It's old like me....


I used to take it to pool league in the early 1980's and when someone asked what to do,

I'd get the book out and say "it's in the book."
 
Forgot to add, if you like One Pocket, the DVD match between Danny Deliberto and Ronnie Allen is a classic. The woofing alone is worth the price and seeing the moves these guys make is priceless. Available through Accu-Stats.
 
Anything written by Robert Byrne or Phil Cappelle is a wise purchase. "Mastering Pool" by George Fels is among the finest books ever written on pool. I also recommend The Science of Pocket Billiards by Jack Koehler.

Another gem is Jerry Briesath's DVD called "A Pool Lesson," in which America's most respected instructor shares his vast knowledge of the game, the stroke and practice techniques.
 
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