Most underrated cue game instructional materials?

brophog said:
You can buy the paperback book at amazon or as one of the many electronic versions.

I can't say the "cheat sheets" aren't useful, but the big problem with learning position this way is that it is teaching you by rote examples. The book isolates various types of positional shots on both a half table and full table and shows you the speed and spin to make the cue ball take a particular route. You can certainly learn that way but it takes longer without developing a foundational understanding for why you're combining that speed and spin. As such, a good accompaniment to that would be something like Mike Page's (FargoBilliards) excellent two part video series on cue ball control on youtube.
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This isn't a tool to learn the basics of stroke fundamentals. It is to take your position game and improve it from basic to excellent. You should already have an understanding of spin, but if you don't, you will after Practicing all the shots. It also gives good drills to obtain systematic speed control.

It is a tool specifically about speed and position control. If you have stroke faults, you will want to utilize other resources such as an instructor.

I never this info talked about though, and it is an excellent resource, especially for $10.

I have the e-book, and instead of printing the pages, I load it onto my laptop and go page to page on there. Too many sheets to print. If you need a paper copy, I would just buy the full book.

I don't think any average player could dedicate focused practice time to his resource and not become a much better player.
 
Basic principles of pool by dr dave....this book is imho the most important pool book i own on pool..i believe it is the foundation for every person who is learning to play the game....

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Maybe not best instructional material but more an aid. Pocket reducers. For $35.00 you have something that forces you to concentrate more, slow down, and aim better. Dollar for dollar I personally dont know anything that can improve your game any better.
 
Shot Pad for taking notes

I personally think the Shot Pad, which is a small notepad for pocket billiards is a great, cheap tool. It fits into any case. www.shotpad.com

ShotPad-Pages-inside.gif
 
Uh, Dr. Dave? His Visual Encyclopedia companion sets (Pool Shots & Pool Practice, with Tom Ross and Bob Jewett, respectively), at 10 DVDs total, are still the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of basic-to-advanced practical techniques and practices. Every pool library should include the Visual Encyclopedias.

pj
chgo
 
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cueandcushion said:
Maybe not best instructional material but more an aid. Pocket reducers. For $35.00 you have something that forces you to concentrate more, slow down, and aim better. Dollar for dollar I personally dont know anything that can improve your game any better.
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hmm, I respectfully disagree, I think tight pockets are overrated as training tools.
I do agree you will concentrate and slow down, and that's a good thing.

But I don't think they improve your aim. You do need more accuracy on tight equipment... but just because you need it, doesn't mean you automatically get it, no matter how many balls you sink. Sort of like how needing more money and getting rich are not the same thing :)

The only thing that can improve accuracy IMO is stroke training, finding the flaws and fixing them. Tight pockets won't fix your stroke, you probably need at to videotape it or get an instructor to do that.

Oh... most underrated instruction material:
- Dr. Dave's stuff
- George Fels - How Would You Play This?
 
As far as underrated instructional books go I have one that I never seen anyone mention that was written by a guy I've never heard anything about, but it seems to be chock full of good information and various shots, safeties, and drills that have helped me out a lot, and that I keep going back to. It's literally called "The Best Damn Pool Instruction Book, Period" by a guy named Ronald L. Schneider. The title is pretty terrible and cheesy and I bought it on a whim at Barnes and Noble one time, but I still think it has a lot of valuable information in it.
 
CreeDo said:
hmm, I respectfully disagree, I think tight pockets are overrated as training tools...
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I totally agree with CreeDo on this one. First off, just watch your shot go into the pocket and ask yourself if that shot went in the *middle* of the pocket. That's all you need to improve your aim.

On a side note, I hate pockets that are too tight because they take away too much of the positional play aspect of the game. Sometimes you need to pound a ball to get shape. Sometimes you need to cheat the pocket to get shape. I don't want to be deprived of these methods or deprived of practicing these methods or deprived of watching the pros use these methods.

So yes, tight pockets are highly over-rated in my opinion. I'd say standard Diamond tables can be a little on the easy side. Maybe reducing them by an 1/8" or 1/4" would be a good size for a challenging table that's not ridiculously challenging. When people talk about 4" pockets, makes me think it's a wasted table.

Fatz
 
fathomblue said:
Anyone ever tried any of these? The website does look interesting.

Are there any actual books or is it all "e-book" stuff that you need to print out? Just curious.

Several different resources on there.
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I actually have several of Allen's books and find them highly useful...I really like Advanced Cue Ball Control and Safety Toolbox . I bought both in Ebook format and have them loaded on my Ipad which makes practicing easier.

I wish more books came in ebook format....


Rick
 
StraightPoolIU said:
As far as underrated instructional books go I have one that I never seen anyone mention that was written by a guy I've never heard anything about, but it seems to be chock full of good information and various shots, safeties, and drills that have helped me out a lot, and that I keep going back to. It's literally called "The Best Damn Pool Instruction Book, Period" by a guy named Ronald L. Schneider. The title is pretty terrible and cheesy and I bought it on a whim at Barnes and Noble one time, but I still think it has a lot of valuable information in it.
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I agree. I have his book/cd. Ron plays well too. He's a good guy. Kicks like a mule. Played him local tournament..he thrashed me.
 
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