Practice or Books Which is Best?
- Thread starter billiardshot
- Start date
If you are limited to books or self practice without an excellent instructor then Mark Wilson's book "Play Great Pool" COUPLED with weekly video taping of your practice sessions- as you follow along with the book- literally page by page - and constant review of your video tapes and reference back to the book will yield the best results in the least time period in my opinion and experience- don't forget internet viewing of pro matches to understand pool game strategy during competition.
It depends on how you learn. Some people are visual and have to see others do it. Some have to read it in order to grasp it, and others have to have discussions about it with someone. Most people are a combination of all three but usually favor one over the others.
For learning the conceptualization skills, I believe the answer is either to study the play of the pros at length or to read books or watch the best instructional videos.
Practice and lessons must supplement this, but once you have a comprehensive foundation for your shot conceptualization skills and solid stroke fundamentals, practice will be the key to the kingdom.
Practice and lessons must supplement this, but once you have a comprehensive foundation for your shot conceptualization skills and solid stroke fundamentals, practice will be the key to the kingdom.
Both of course and watching YouTube videos of course.
I am running a Seniors Pool Program and I'm seeing how some folks who are new to the game are taking to it.
It's a little at a time thing because they are trying to figure out how to make a ball. After that you can start working on other things
but a slow approach toward building the skills needed to play is a good thing. I have one fella that's come a long way in a few lessons and I
haven't given him a ton of stuff at one time. I try to give him what he can use to build for the next session and keep it like that.
Also, you have to make the lessons affordable to keep students interested.
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Guy Manges
Registered
Your so wright, but it takes all... Guy
Most people can find a street in their hometown by driving around however if you ask about some obscure street it could take a long time to find, if you have a map it is way easier to find, that's what SOME books will do for you, the Phil Capelle books are very detailed and can help you know WHAT to practice and HOW, you can always keep driving around and in time you will find your street or you can buy the book and get the map, remember though reading the book won't help if you don't work on the things you have read, that part is up to you and my guess is where most people fail, I love to practice, it helps me with every match I play in, you need both.
I had that same book (circa 1967)
Books give you the geometry for shots you might not have considered (3-rail, 5-rail, Z-shots, ...} or did not know were available.
Someone who won't read is worse that someone who can't
Here is a thought. If you practice a lot, but are doing the wrong things, then you are only ingraining bad fundamentals. There are countless players out there that don't ready pool books, don't get lessons, and don't study the pros, and probably don't get any better. At least with reading a book, you can learn about good fundamentals so when you do get the chance at a table, you can try to enact them. Personally, neither is better. They both need to be used to be a good player. I am including lessons, instructional videos, etc in as well.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
I played/practiced every chance I got. Never had a mentor or played with good players. I did watch good players, but they were not big on sharing. Every once in a while I was tossed a suggestion. When I went to college, I discovered a whole shelf of books on billiards in the university library. These books educated my self-taught game.
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Yep, people are different and learn differently. And one other aspect - people are different at different stages of life. Years (decades) ago I flipped through the 99 shots of pool a few times and after playing 10 years with no other specific reading I was pretty sporty. After 14 years off (and a bit older) I started reading more and I improved to my best play ever in a very short period of time. The point was - decades ago I didn't want to read, I wanted to play but eventually I got to a point I needed to read. My son is the same way. When he was playing league he would come over and I would show him books and he just wanted to play.
The best way to learn is to just take pointers from the loud drunk guy banging balls around at Joe’s corner tavern and treat them like gospel. It’s those guys that have taught me the importance of a tight grip and that playing safe is sissy pool. Without their help I would never be the successful 26-year APA 4 that I am today.
RT Ford
Well-known member
Books can be an important tool to learn the fundamentals. I learned the fundamentals of golf by reading a book by Ben Hogan. Then, after a few years of practice, I got to be a pretty good golfer. I learned pool without any books whatsoever, and after many years of practice, I got to be a pretty good pool player. So what I'm saying is, books aren't absolutely necessary in sports, but studying books by competent instructors can help speed a person along to get where he's going, but only dedicated practice will make him proficient once he gets there.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Both. Knowing lets your practice become more efficient.
Also if you're in a season of obsession with the game, reading about pool before bed can help you have good dreams and you might just wake up in the night with a solution to a pool problem. Best to keep a journal for night time revelations.
But no matter what you read or watch you must practice it on the table until it is rote. Work out your own salvation so to speak.
As GI Joe said "Knowing is half the battle." IMO the other half is practicing it until what you know matches up with what you can execute.
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Son-in-Law is also an Engineer!
You read the book.
then you practice what you learned in the book.
I mean you can just play and hope you accidentally learn stuff Or you can read the book and hope you can do it when needed. . or it would seem it would make sense to do both
when a friend gave me the 16 critical shots in pool when I was trying to transition to playing rotation to become a better player I read them. Then I did them daily until my shoulder. i Became a much better player for it. so both.
then you practice what you learned in the book.
I mean you can just play and hope you accidentally learn stuff Or you can read the book and hope you can do it when needed. . or it would seem it would make sense to do both
when a friend gave me the 16 critical shots in pool when I was trying to transition to playing rotation to become a better player I read them. Then I did them daily until my shoulder. i Became a much better player for it. so both.
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The title of this thread is "practice or books - which is best"? Are pool players, especially those who wish to get
better and excel at the sport inherently broke, stupid or both?
Practicing the wrong techniques, fundamentals, or reading little snippets out of a book aren't going to bring it
all together in a short period of time. Practicing wrong techniques are only going to ingrain bad techniques and be hard
to break over time. You have to "unlearn" before you can "relearn."
All authors or pool players focus on different things as well as different ways of doing it. Bob Jewett posted in here and
is a lifelong member of the PBIA. It's pretty much very similar to the PGA of America for golf. Trained instructors that can teach correct fundamentals as well as the more advanced areas along with the thought process of where and how to move the CB around the table to systematically run all the balls needed. It should have been mentioned and suggested.
In golf, the old-time pros like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino and a number of others who came from financially
poor backgrounds did dig it out of the dirt by hitting thousands and thousands of balls before figuring it out to get good enough to end up in the Hall of Fame. But it's not true today. ALL of them start early in life and work with a
PGA teaching pro. The players on tour also have PGA teaching pros to keep them on track so they don't start falling into bad habits.
It baffles me to try figuring out why pool players first look to going on the "cheap" when it comes to improving.
How about "practice, books, video instruction, or professional instructors?" I, like everyone for the most part, went too many years with self-practice and observation with tons of table time. The most productive leaps came from personal
instruction live and at the table with pros who were qualified and could also really play.
And yes, I have tons of books on pool collecting dust in multiple book cases. Been there, done that.
better and excel at the sport inherently broke, stupid or both?
Practicing the wrong techniques, fundamentals, or reading little snippets out of a book aren't going to bring it
all together in a short period of time. Practicing wrong techniques are only going to ingrain bad techniques and be hard
to break over time. You have to "unlearn" before you can "relearn."
All authors or pool players focus on different things as well as different ways of doing it. Bob Jewett posted in here and
is a lifelong member of the PBIA. It's pretty much very similar to the PGA of America for golf. Trained instructors that can teach correct fundamentals as well as the more advanced areas along with the thought process of where and how to move the CB around the table to systematically run all the balls needed. It should have been mentioned and suggested.
In golf, the old-time pros like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino and a number of others who came from financially
poor backgrounds did dig it out of the dirt by hitting thousands and thousands of balls before figuring it out to get good enough to end up in the Hall of Fame. But it's not true today. ALL of them start early in life and work with a
PGA teaching pro. The players on tour also have PGA teaching pros to keep them on track so they don't start falling into bad habits.
It baffles me to try figuring out why pool players first look to going on the "cheap" when it comes to improving.
How about "practice, books, video instruction, or professional instructors?" I, like everyone for the most part, went too many years with self-practice and observation with tons of table time. The most productive leaps came from personal
instruction live and at the table with pros who were qualified and could also really play.
And yes, I have tons of books on pool collecting dust in multiple book cases. Been there, done that.
RT Ford
Well-known member
If he attempts the shot pictured, he'll miss the nine ball altogether. The cartoon ought to show his glasses lying on the rail.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
I'm an engineer and know/worked with many engineers. I've never known a competent engineer who doesn't fervently read on every subject that interests them and every game they play. I'm not even saying good engineers, just the barely competent ones. Generally, the better the engineer, the more they read on many subjects.