Mark Wilson's New Book

[dmgwalsh]

On FB search for "play great pool"

I do not see any requests right now Krupa.

I added Joey A manually.

I will have another friend of mine try to join and see how it goes

I might have to tweak the permissions but I will report back here later but for now the group definitely exists on FB as a closed group membership has to be OK'd by an admin

This will be a place to talk about actual pool and pool development, I look forward to it

Dana: I just requested to join.

I have been doing those set up and stance exercises. I have been doing them 75 times a day. I have tape on the floor in my basement next to the pool table. It has been about a week without because I did nothing at Derby.

Then I would do the other exercises 15 times. they were at the end of chapter 6, I think and involved hitting the ball with eyes shut and looking at back hand.

My stroke has straightened out somewhat and I am making them a little better. John Schmidt and my buddy Bill Maropulos remarked on the difference in my stroking and shot making.

I do not think I am ready to go on to the other chapters yet. I want to keep on working on these drills until I am very comfortable and very effective with the new stroke.

 

[slide13]

Thanks! That's pretty long, which is what I was hoping for. It's an expensive book and when I first saw the price I was a little surprised, but after reading the comments it sounds well worth it. Looks like it was probably a very expensive book to produce in low volumes.

 

[Cdryden]

Dana: I just requested to join.

I have been doing those set up and stance exercises. I have been doing them 75 times a day. I have tape on the floor in my basement next to the pool table. It has been about a week without because I did nothing at Derby.

Then I would do the other exercises 15 times. they were at the end of chapter 6, I think and involved hitting the ball with eyes shut and looking at back hand.

My stroke has straightened out somewhat and I am making them a little better. John Schmidt and my buddy Bill Maropulos remarked on the difference in my stroking and shot making.

I do not think I am ready to go on to the other chapters yet. I want to keep on working on these drills until I am very comfortable and very effective with the new stroke.

That is key. It is easy to take the basics for granted, but if you have the discipline to tell yourself that and to continue working on it until you feel that you are truly ready to move on than you will get the most out of this book.

Edit: the first 3 chapters are also something you should go back to several times a year to keep your stoke in great shape, a sort of stroke maintenance.

 

[crappiecrazy]

Play Great Pool

I just sent a request to join the group on FB. I bought the book at the DDC. I got Jerry Briesath's DVDs for Christmas after reading some post by Mike the Beginner. I was in Louisville today and stopped by Bankshot Billards to the try the "stance". It felt very awkward just as Mark said it would in the book. I did not put the tape on the floor. Thought they might call the "nut wagon" on me. I am planning on working on Chapters 3/4/5 very thoroughly. On the way home from Louisville (driving 45 mph for 3 hours in the rain and sleet) I was hoping for a group to discuss Play Great Pool. Checked in on AZB when I got home and what did I see. I think the FB group will help me a lot. I need all the help I can get! Thanks to the guys that set it up!


I am a 59 year old "beginner".

 

[victorl]

Count me in, I think the FB group is a wonderful idea. Looking forward to some good discussion with fellow students of the game.

Cheers,
Victor

 

[prewarhero]

Thanks, I just may join Facebook for this. I have the book, will do the tape on the floor and the stance drill as soon as my new table is in- about 2 weeks.

 

[SFC9ball]

Just Joined the group in face book.

Well I just joined the group on face book:grin:

Back in NOV. I bought the book then in JAN. I took a lesson with Mark and I was shooting real consistant until about two weeks ago. There were a lot of factors in why I started to decline in my shooting, but the biggest one was it got so easy to shoot the ball in that I got lazy and my fundamentals had went to crap.

I realized I was in a slump and imediately knew what was wrong and what I needed to do to correct it. I played some 8 ball last night with my wife and focused on what I was doing and in no time I was back to shooting good again.

The tape on the floor is one of the best traing tools for a stance, my wife and son laughed at me when I put it on the floor. But it is hard to argue with the results.

P.S. I caught my son in the stance a few days later, now it is all he uses:grin-square:

 

[crappiecrazy]

Well I just joined the group on face book:grin:

Back in NOV. I bought the book then in JAN. I took a lesson with Mark and I was shooting real consistant until about two weeks ago. There were a lot of factors in why I started to decline in my shooting, but the biggest one was it got so easy to shoot the ball in that I got lazy and my fundamentals had went to crap.

I realized I was in a slump and imediately knew what was wrong and what I needed to do to correct it. I played some 8 ball last night with my wife and focused on what I was doing and in no time I was back to shooting good again.

The tape on the floor is one of the best traing tools for a stance, my wife and son laughed at me when I put it on the floor. But it is hard to argue with the results.

P.S. I caught my son in the stance a few days later, now it is all he uses:grin-square:

I am a member of the group also. Good to hear that other members have "taking lessons" from Mark. I am sure this will help me and others. Right now, I am practicing the stance on the kitchen table. Can't wait till my wife gets home and see the tape on the floor.

 

[SFC9ball]

I am a member of the group also. Good to hear that other members have "taking lessons" from Mark. I am sure this will help me and others. Right now, I am practicing the stance on the kitchen table. Can't wait till my wife gets home and see the tape on the floor.

Here is a little tip for you to help with your stroke as well. Take piece of cloth about 12 inch wide and 30 inches long (towel will work too) lay it out on your table draw a straight line in it with a sharpie, use a hole reinforcment and put it on the line about 14 inches from the bottom of the cloth, now put a cueball on the hole reinforcement. If your cueball has no circle or dot on it use your sharpie put a dot on it, then draw a straight line on it under the dot. Line up the line on the cue ball with the line on the cloth so that the dot on the cue ball is about 1 tip of english high. Put a couple big books at the end of the cloth to stop the cue ball. Now make sure you shot line on the cloth and the one on the floor are in line.
Now when you practice getting in you stance you can also practice your stroke as well.

You can practice hitting the cue ball and see if you are hitting that 1MM sweet spot.
You can mark your hand position so it is the same everytime, then mark your tip position at the finish position. Now you have a checks and balance on your stroke.

If you tip is short of the spot you didn't follow through to the finish position. (Most likely)
if your tip goes past it then you dropped you elbow. (Most likely) if your hand is correctly place. This is a quick down and dirty description.

 

[TSW]

I received my copy of the book yesterday and so far have only been able to leaf through it. I was hesitant to spend $70 on a book sight unseen and with positive, but vague, reviews. Before I bought it I wish someone had said what specifically makes this book different, so here is my take:

Mark starts with the premise that the primary difference between pros and amateurs is consistency of stroke. Then he goes into greater detail than I have ever seen on the biomechanics of proper fundamentals. Most instructional books include a chapter on fundamentals; Mark gives you half a textbook.

The opening premise makes a lot of sense to me. I'm eager to start applying the techniques to my own game.

 

[slide13]

I received my copy yesterday too and have also just started glancing through it. Just from a quick look I can already say that I'm quite happy I made this purchase. It's an expensive book but it looks to have a lot of really good detailed info and starts at the very beginning with building a good stroke. Building a consistent stroke is the thing I want to focus on more than anything so i was very happy to see so much devoted to that.

I'm going to get myself a pool notebook that I can start taking some notes in and keeping track of my practice sessions. It seems if you treat this book as a textbook and devote the time to studying and practicing you'll be well on your way to seeing lots of improvement. I just wish I had a home table to I could practice more regularly!

 

[nine_ball6970]

Is aiming included in this book?

 

[SeanChamp]

Is aiming included in this book?

Probably not within the context you are asking. Its' not a system book if that's what you meant. Well, not a aiming system book. It is however the single best pool instructional item I have ever purchased. That's out of maybe 5 or 6 books and 4 or so DVD's.

 

[pogmothoin]

Is aiming included in this book?

He does show you how to build your stance and stroke so you're in the proper alignment with the shot line. Once you master that aiming takes care of itself, you just need to adjust for whatever you choose to do with the cue ball. But the line of the shot will be right in front of you.

I've only been playing seriously a little more than a year. What he teaches in this book has been a tremendous help for me and improved my ability to make shots. I still have a lot of other aspects of my game to work on. But what he teaches in the first six chapters alone will be the foundation upon which I will build.

 

[TSW]

I've only been playing seriously a little more than a year. What he teaches in this book has been a tremendous help for me and improved my ability to make shots. I still have a lot of other aspects of my game to work on. But what he teaches in the first six chapters alone will be the foundation upon which I will build.

I'm in the other boat. I've been playing seriously for over half my life and have worked hard on fundamentals, but sometimes the stroke just doesn't feel quite right and I'm not sure why. And I have a few minor stroke flaws that are deeply ingrained and hard to fix.

I'm using the orthodox stroke foundation in Chapters 3-6 as a checklist. I can read through it and tick off the boxes. Probably 80-90% of what Mark says I already have incorporated, but for the rest of it I'll realize that what I do is a little different than what he says is orthodox, or it'll be something I haven't thought of in quite that way. So I can isolate those parts and try to bring my stroke closer to orthodoxy. I haven't ingrained it enough yet to see results in match play, but in practice my stroke definitely feels better and more consistent. So I know the results will come. What's more, I have a better framework to revisit when things don't feel quite right. This is how Mark's book can help advanced players too.

 

[pogmothoin]

I'm in the other boat. I've been playing seriously for over half my life and have worked hard on fundamentals, but sometimes the stroke just doesn't feel quite right and I'm not sure why. And I have a few minor stroke flaws that are deeply ingrained and hard to fix.

I'm using the orthodox stroke foundation in Chapters 3-6 as a checklist. I can read through it and tick off the boxes. Probably 80-90% of what Mark says I already have incorporated, but for the rest of it I'll realize that what I do is a little different than what he says is orthodox, or it'll be something I haven't thought of in quite that way. So I can isolate those parts and try to bring my stroke closer to orthodoxy. I haven't ingrained it enough yet to see results in match play, but in practice my stroke definitely feels better and more consistent. So I know the results will come. What's more, I have a better framework to revisit when things don't feel quite right. This is how Mark's book can help advanced players too.

It is a work in progress and seems a little awkward at times because I am not 100% comfortable falling into the shot with the proper mechanics yet. Because of that, when I'm playing a match I'm either thinking too much or I fail to follow my PSR, which causes some problems for me. I think it will just take time, but I know I'm on the right road and I won't give up until I get it right.

In addition I've taken a few lessons with a local pro who has helped my recognize some things that I wouldn't have on my own and it's helped to improve my ability to stay in line with my shots. Good luck with your game.

 

[prewarhero]

Update with book

Read chapters 1-5. Worked a little on stance and bridge. Maybe it moved the needle a little bit if at all. Read the stroke chapter- game changer. I won't give it away for those that haven't bought it yet, there is one thing he suggests that has brought my game to a new level. It completely eliminates any steering and provides for a confident stroke. Not only am I pocketing balls much better but I have a much better cue ball since I am contacting the right precise spot on the OB.
I have been working this book slow because it is not a fast read but this one tip did more for me than many lessons I have bought in the past.

 

[musicmanryann]

I am currently reading Chapter 6. Looking forward to having the same epiphany! Excellent book!

 

[SCCues]

I only wish I could have had this book when I first started playing. I feel like I've wasted years blindly playing and trying to copy others and hoping to become a great player someday. I would be light years ahead of where I am today if I had started playing the right way from the start!

I couldn't agree with you more. The young guys today have books, videos, teachers (coaches in some cases), and they start out doing everything the right way. I've lost a lot of time playing the wrong way, but like the old saying goes "it's never too late" I'm still getting better even if I did get a late start!

 

[Johnnyt]

I believe I was one of the first to buy the book. When I heard who wrote it I knew it would be a professional written book with no fluff, smoking mirrors, snake oil, or aiming systems in it. I wasn't wrong. This book should be in every school, college, and pool players hands that wants to get good at pool. After 60 years of playing I finally have a perfectly straight repeatable stroke that I have with every shot. This book belongs on every pool players bookshelf that wants to get better. You will not only read this book a few times, but you will reference it many times overs the years. Johnnyt