Better yet, spend your money on a professional who knows how to share their insights, knowledge, and wisdom from years competing at the highest level.
I've taken lessons from Dallas West, Ray Martin, and "Steve "Cookie Monster" Cook. There wasn't a single handout, a projector, a laser, or doughnut on the table between the all of them. But what they taught and shared with me was some of the best knowledge I've gained in 50 years of playing pool.
Lou Figueroa
I totally concur with Lou. I've taken 3 lessons in my life. The first was with Max Eberle. That was almost 20 years ago. The second was with Jimmy Reid (Maybe 15 years ago). This lesson was exceptional. He gave me more information than I could digest but the experience improved my game 2 balls, minimum. The last was with Mike Sigel when he was the house pro in Maryland years back. Just the experience of playing with him in person, watching and listening to how he played, made decisions, used English, etc was a great experience.
I'm sure there are a lot of good instructors out there who don't play at a professional level, but "some" are generally short sighted in their methodology or approach to instruction, and their experience is limited, unfortunately, by their natural ability. People don't like to hear this about pool - and some of these instructors won't agree, but there is such a thing as natural talent in pool. We all can't be pro pool players, golfers, or baseball players.
There is a guy where I play who started less than a year ago. I saw him a week ago and he's running a rack of 9 balls very consistently. I mean, he looks really good on the table. He has a natural stroke and great eye. All self-taught. He's a good guy from a rough area of St Louis who loves to play pool when he's not working. He uses some cheapo carbon fiber cues (no, not REVO LOL) that he likes because he can keep them in his car, LOL, and he has gotten decent pretty quickly. It's neat to see.
If you love playing pool and can learn from someone who has world class ability, experience, insight, and knowledge - why would you pass that up? And what the heck is a few hundred bucks to do so? Can a golfer get a lesson from Tiger Woods for a few hundred?
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