Phil Capelle's new book " Break Shot Patterns"

Dennis - I didn't have a lot of trouble with that shot, but I am left-handed and had no problem with the reach. Speed was touchy, though and on my first try I had to go to the foot rail on the KB shot and spin over for position on the BB. Second try I was a little short and had to go to the other side rail for position. Both times I got a break shot, but not a good one.

I haven't read the examples yet, but what concerns me is that I'm not sure of the usefulness of this end pattern. It looks like he just got left with some balls in difficult positions for an end run and had to make the best of it. I could just throw 4 balls out there and make an end run of it, but that doesn't mean it merits being covered in a book. I hope there is a differentiation between this kind of end game and one that you would want to plan for while you are in "stage 2." Now I know he is using this end game to mention proper angles and that is useful, but I would like to see lists of typical 4 ball patterns you should try to achieve. I'm sure it's in there somewhere... been to busy playing lately to read. :)
 
Just got my copy yesterday...can't put it down...such great material....even had the ambition to break out my play your best straight pool and re work some of my pattern play...thanks for everything mr Capelle!
 
Well,

i haven t have a look at it til now. But the art is just to see the patterns- i will read it for sure in the future, bc i m curious. But all those experienced straight-pool players around here won t find *new stuff*- I am very sure about this. A bit longer ago Dennis posted a link (a pdf file) from collins if i remember correctly. If someone burned in these patterns, he will be fine. Additional the stuff from David Sapolis will open usualy the last eyes.....
The rest is just watching some vids-and playing yourself a lot of straight-pool. The patterns and *secrets* are all available just in this fine pdf and in the videos or postings from Sapolis.

I could imagine, that (how shown above) Capelle tried to get the player to think always to play for the angle.
But in which game you re not going to play *into the angle* of the next shot? Usualy you should always try to do this.

just my 2 cents,

Ingo
 
I've had some time to go through this material, and I still need some more. This is difficult stuff but well worth it.

I will say that there are many end-patterns presented here whose inclusion I'm not sure I understand. Some of the positions are so bad that not much can be learned here except how to watch players making great shots to get out. (I am not immune to this - I get myself into truly absurd positions quite often - I'm just not sure how much value there is in analyzing them. There would be value in analyzing the midracks of those positions to see what went wrong.) The pattern that Dennis mentioned above is a good example. I see no reason to try and replicate what Zuglan did here. He is out of line and just making good shots - we might as well be watching 9-ball!

The only other minor criticism I would have is I think there would have been a lot of value if Mr. Capelle had overdubbed his own voice over the original commentators. Though many of the original narrations are entertaining and instructional, this is a serious study which the author has given us. A case could be made that it deserves new commentating specifically tailored for this compilation, perhaps using some simple editing to pause the action and draw some on-screen lines for the viewer to help explain some of the concepts being presented. While I know that Mr. Capelle's thoughts are included in the presented text, I would have enjoyed listening to his analysis as well.

These are minor issues. This is a tremendous work in scope, ambition, and execution. I can't imagine how long it took the author to comb through thousands of end-patterns and pull out a series which were both instructional and had value as part of a group. There is an insight shown here which has traditionally been lacking in books on pocket billiards, and it's yet another reason why Mr. Capelle owns the genre in my opinion.

I have noticed an immediate improvement in my play as a result of this material. I am once again putting a premium on trying to leave perfect end-racks (has been a long time since I've actively done this). I played yesterday and looked for more opportunities to play balls in the middle of the table in the corner pockets instead of the sides, something shown in this excellent compilation. Additionally I'm trying to get more comfortable with leaving balls very close to each other around the rack area, as they offer excellent opportunities to get very close to your break balls. This is another subject constantly presented in the material, and I am studying it in the hopes that it will eventually sink in to this rather stubborn player.

You couldn't ask for better presentation of the material. The DVD is very smooth and easy to navigate. The book is incredibly detailed and has a nice feature of providing alternate patterns. The lessons presented are wonderfully in-depth analyses of sometimes difficult positions.

This is not simply another book to go in your collection; it might truly be, along with Mr. Capelle's other 14.1 treatise, one of the most important compilations you'll ever own. Take your time with it. I dare say it's impossible your game won't significantly improve as a result of it.

Fantastic job, sir.

- Steve
 
Steve Lipsky said:
... I have noticed an immediate improvement in my play as a result of this material.

... one of the most important compilations you'll ever own. ...
Click to expand...

Quite the encomium, Steve. My copy is on the way, and your review has significantly added to my eagerness to receive it.
 
I Finally got a chance to sit down and turn a few pages of Phil's new project, and although i am only on the 7th layout so far i am very impressed.

this reminds me of what we do here on AZ when someone has footage for us all to critique and we all discuss patterns.

i have seen all of the footage so far, so that is nothing new. but to have it explained in such a way it has already opened my eyes to a new way of seeing patterns.

I agree with some of you that yes, there is alternate routes that could be played...these so far work really well. and to see them played in game situations is a real treat and you know the pressure was on ! It appears that so far that there are situations of varying difficulties which is real good because it keeps us all on our toes. and i plan on working on every layout til i nail it !


What i have been doing is reading the lead in to the pattern right up to the part where it is notated to the dvd. i then watch the footage and proceed to read the remainder of the exercise where it explains the highlights of the accompanying footage. and i believe this works real well.

I look forward to reading more, and bringing the book with me to the table so i can try to play out some of the scenarios. I firmly believe from what i have seen that this is gonna be a plus to my game !! and i highly recommend to players of all games and skill levels to build these exorcizes into your arsenal.

Great Job Phil !

-Steve
 
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Steve Lipsky said:
I've had some time to go through this material, and I still need some more. This is difficult stuff but well worth it.

I will say that there are many end-patterns presented here whose inclusion I'm not sure I understand. Some of the positions are so bad that not much can be learned here except how to watch players making great shots to get out. (I am not immune to this - I get myself into truly absurd positions quite often - I'm just not sure how much value there is in analyzing them. There would be value in analyzing the midracks of those positions to see what went wrong.) The pattern that Dennis mentioned above is a good example. I see no reason to try and replicate what Zuglan did here. He is out of line and just making good shots - we might as well be watching 9-ball!

The only other minor criticism I would have is I think there would have been a lot of value if Mr. Capelle had overdubbed his own voice over the original commentators. Though many of the original narrations are entertaining and instructional, this is a serious study which the author has given us. A case could be made that it deserves new commentating specifically tailored for this compilation, perhaps using some simple editing to pause the action and draw some on-screen lines for the viewer to help explain some of the concepts being presented. While I know that Mr. Capelle's thoughts are included in the presented text, I would have enjoyed listening to his analysis as well.

These are minor issues. This is a tremendous work in scope, ambition, and execution. I can't imagine how long it took the author to comb through thousands of end-patterns and pull out a series which were both instructional and had value as part of a group. There is an insight shown here which has traditionally been lacking in books on pocket billiards, and it's yet another reason why Mr. Capelle owns the genre in my opinion.

I have noticed an immediate improvement in my play as a result of this material. I am once again putting a premium on trying to leave perfect end-racks (has been a long time since I've actively done this). I played yesterday and looked for more opportunities to play balls in the middle of the table in the corner pockets instead of the sides, something shown in this excellent compilation. Additionally I'm trying to get more comfortable with leaving balls very close to each other around the rack area, as they offer excellent opportunities to get very close to your break balls. This is another subject constantly presented in the material, and I am studying it in the hopes that it will eventually sink in to this rather stubborn player.

You couldn't ask for better presentation of the material. The DVD is very smooth and easy to navigate. The book is incredibly detailed and has a nice feature of providing alternate patterns. The lessons presented are wonderfully in-depth analyses of sometimes difficult positions.

This is not simply another book to go in your collection; it might truly be, along with Mr. Capelle's other 14.1 treatise, one of the most important compilations you'll ever own. Take your time with it. I dare say it's impossible your game won't significantly improve as a result of it.

Fantastic job, sir.

- Steve
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Surveyor Steve: So nice to hear from you on this book. I hesitated to say much because of my obvious inabilities and was hoping to hear from someone who might have a better appreciation of this work.

I, too, was rather flabbergasted by the first "end pattern" by Zuglan. Only because it did not look anything one would aspire to, and perhaps it was not even the best available pattern on the table. I scanned the book and put it and the videos on my ipad and I can now read a few pages then go to the video, back and forth. I have quite a bit more to look at. When I take some of the patterns to the table with me, there will undoubtedly be plenty of things to practice.

There are many nice bits of knowledge and pieces of patterns that repeat themselves. I will read and watch and study and listen to those wiser in the ways of 14.1 like yourself. Thanks again. :)
 
Tom Kollins diagrams

Ratta said:
Here my friend:

Post Number 3

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=235841&highlight=pattern

the pdf-file from kollins,

I sent these diagrams to Dennis a few years back. The originals were indeed from Tom Kollins; they were a hand-out he printed for students in his "School for Straight Pool" which he conducted at the Velvet Rail in Lansing Michigan during the late 1970's. I was one of those students who participated in the first sessions he offered.
I have always felt if one can recognize, or create by moving balls, any of these end game lay-outs, it will make connections to a BB a bit more repeatable. They are not difficult to execute once formed and/or recognized. Tom was excellent at ball-to-ball billiards and stressed that skill to his students. Creating patterns as you go through a rack is a useful skill, and if looking for the opportunity, it is amazing how often it is possible to accomplish.
Tom was a first rate teacher, a terrific player, and a great guy to boot.
Click to expand...
 
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rikdee said:
Ratta said:
Here my friend:

Post Number 3

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=235841&highlight=pattern

the pdf-file from kollins,

I sent these diagrams to Dennis a few years back. The originals were indeed from Tom Kollins; they were a hand-out he printed for students in his "School for Straight Pool" which he conducted at the Velvet Rail in Lansing Michigan during the late 1970's. I was one of those students who participated in the first sessions he offered.
I have always felt if one can recognize, or create by moving balls, any of these end game lay-outs, it will make connections to a BB a bit more repeatable. They are not difficult to execute once formed and/or recognized. Tom was excellent at ball-to-ball billiards and stressed that skill to his students. Creating patterns as you go through a rack is a useful skill, and if looking for the opportunity, it is amazing how often it is possible to accomplish.
Tom was a first rate teacher, a terrific player, and a great guy to boot.
Click to expand...

Yes, Rick. That was a great aid you shared with us. I made copies for Bobby Hunter who used it for a seminar he taught. He remembered learning from Tom Kollins at the seminars Tom taught when Bobby was a young man. He said Kollins and the books by Johnny Holiday were the only things around teaching straight pool back in the day.
Click to expand...
 
dmgwalsh said:
rikdee said:
Yes, Rick. That was a great aid you shared with us. I made copies for Bobby Hunter who used it for a seminar he taught. He remembered learning from Tom Kollins at the seminars Tom taught when Bobby was a young man. He said Kollins and the books by Johnny Holiday were the only things around teaching straight pool back in the day.
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Dennis,

Funny you should mention Johnny Holiday. I have all his works, purchased back in the day. I also have two three-page hand written letters from him responding to questions I had written him about his teaching diagrams. I still have the letters in my file. I might also add to your book references above, The Game of Billiards by Clive Cottingham originally printed in 1964. It was the first instructional book I ever bought. Although it does include sections on billiards, when he discusses pool, it is in the context of 14.1. I learned a lot of fundamentals from that work, including billiards.

Rick
Click to expand...
 
so many great words written on the subject, thanks everyone! Mr Lipsky is beyond perfection with his review.
I received my ordered copy yesterday, but won't dare to dive into it until I run another 30:embarrassed2:
 
It seems to me it would be very informative to be able to discuss some of the layouts or concepts in this book like we do with safety situations or a "how would you run this?" type discussion. For instance, Capelle will same something on a layout like, "and of course the 7 isn't a good key ball candidate." Well, I look at the 7 and think it's a decent key ball, and about as good as any other possible key balls on the table!

How can this be accomplished without the possibility of taking sales out of Phil Capelle's pocket?
 
Hi 14-1 fellows,

just to make clear: i just wrote my thoughts in my posting. Here was for sure no offense towards Phil s book. As i shown up, i didn t read it already.
But from what i read til now- it gave me also the feedback i expected.
Steve Lipsky brought it to the point in my opinion when he wrote that the book made him to rethink again to act more carefully-to pay again more attention.

I just wrote my opinion, that if you watched the videos from world class players, you usualy can learn tons of those stuff- Especiall if you watched the Rempe videos and furthermore the commentated videos from John Schmidt. Those are gold worth. The *tip* about to *not cross the lines* and play into your angle is always around-in any type of billiards. But not too many taking enough care of it. This really can make a huge difference.
Also to watch and learn from David Sapolis stuff is a great help (end-patterns, triangles etc. ).

i ordered the book of course,too-because i m curious.

Just wanted to make this clear- after gettin some *strange* questions about my posting. I appreciate every single thread, posting, book or whatever which is helpful to bring straight pool nearer to the whole community.

lg from overseas,
Ingo


I
 
@ Ingo: I love watching videos, and often hear students chat about this and that which they saw in one - but I hope what Capelle accomplishes would be to get players to actually set those situations up and learn by doing, actively that is, as there's only so much (comparatively little) one can learn passively from watching.

I ordered the book, too, and am looking forward to getting my copy. Can never own enough instructional material, love new input, learning and teaching per se.

I'm particularly curious about one of Steve's commentaries, which is that some of the situations may be illustrations of how some great player managed to continue their run despite a suspicious end pattern rather than because of getting perfect in the sense of keeping it simple.

(Reminds me of my own Straight Pool sometimes… :embarrassed2:)

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
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acousticsguru said:
@ Ingo: I love watching videos, and often hear students chat about this and that which they saw in one - but I hope what Capelle accomplishes would be to get players to actually set those situations up and learn by doing, actively that is, as there's only so much (comparatively little) one can learn passively from watching.

I ordered the book, too, and am looking forward to getting my copy. Can never own enough instructional material, love new input, learning and teaching per se.

I'm particularly curious about one of Steve's commentaries, which is that some of the situations may be illustrations of how some great player managed to continue their run despite a suspicious end pattern rather than because of getting perfect in the sense of keeping it simple.

(Reminds me of my own Straight Pool sometimes… :embarrassed2:)

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
Click to expand...

Hi David. Just wanted to clarify - the end patterns I was commenting on weren't situations where a great pattern existed and the player simply missed it. They were examples of leaving 5 rather unconnected balls on the table. While there are some general rules to learn in these situations (playing for large positional zones, etc), I think that at best these examples deserved their own chapter in the book.

It's still a minor complaint. There is really so much to be studied in this compilation.

- Steve
 
Dan White said:
It seems to me it would be very informative to be able to discuss some of the layouts or concepts in this book like we do with safety situations or a "how would you run this?" type discussion. For instance, Capelle will same something on a layout like, "and of course the 7 isn't a good key ball candidate." Well, I look at the 7 and think it's a decent key ball, and about as good as any other possible key balls on the table!

How can this be accomplished without the possibility of taking sales out of Phil Capelle's pocket?
Click to expand...

Dan: that is what I was wondering, too and here is Phil's response:

"It would be great for 14.1 forum members to discuss the patterns as this should strengthen your ability to close well – along with practice, of course! I can see questions and opinions developing on the pros and cons of the pros’ patterns – what they did right, what they could have improved upon, what pattern is better for you and why, and so much more. I also expect that you will learn much from discussing my analysis and lessons – what works for you, what you question, and ideas for further developing key concepts.

I am not worried about too much content being given away because I see the most meaningful participation coming from those who have bought the book. That doesn’t mean others can’t benefit from the discussion, but it would help them if they owned their own copies of the material – like a student owning a textbook for a class. As for posting the diagrams, I will have to think about that. For starters, however, I have posted eight complete patterns on my web site at

http://billiardspress.com/breakshotpatterns.html


I wish that everyone on the AZB 14.1 forum has a great time discussing the close, and that your games improve as a result."

Phil Capelle

With that behind us I suggest we begin by taking one situation at a time starting at the beginning of his examples, and creating a separate thread and exhausting the topic until we are ready for the next one. Since I am a little busy at work right now, I will wait and let someone else post situation number 14 – The BB/KB Double Play – Mike Sigel in a separate thread and then we can begin.
 
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dmgwalsh said:
With that behind us I suggest we begin by taking one situation at a time starting at the beginning of his examples, and creating a separate thread and exhausting the topic until we are ready for the next one. Since I am a little busy at work right now, I will wait and let someone else post situation number 14 – The BB/KB Double Play – Mike Sigel in a separate thread and then we can begin.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a great idea Dennis, and i am glad that Phil approves !!!


I havent had alot of time to do anymore reading, but i would love to chime in on the posts when they are posted !!!


-Steve
 
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