The biggest compliment I can pay to any instructional aid for pool is this: The day after watching Disc I of the Video Encyclopedia of Pool Shots (Basic Shot Making and Position Play) I found myself using things I learned from it in every game of pool I played, and I played better and won more because of it.
That brings me to my only serious complaint about VEPS: it’s misnamed. This is no mere collection of pool shots; it’s a comprehensive instructional course on how to shoot. Each “shot” is actually a helpful shooting technique that can be applied to many shots and many situations that come up in real play.
The techniques range from very basic (stop shots, straight draw shots, etc.) to intermediate and advanced (“hook” follow, complex combo/caroms, etc.), each demonstrated, described and illustrated in such clear and accurate ways that anybody can understand them and, most importantly, learn how to execute them and when. Dr. Dave is probably the most knowledgeable technical expert on pool today and this series delivers his knowledge in practical, useful form to players of all experience and skill levels. If you thought that the “science” of pool was only for geeks, VEPS will change your mind in a hurry.
At $30 per disc, VEPS is a huge bargain. You get not only lots of useful techniques (160 crammed into 87 minutes on Disc I alone), but also related references to Dr. Dave’s extensive library of literally hundreds of free on-line videos, articles, illustrations and graphics at his now-famous Colorado State University website (http://billiards.colostate.edu/). Whenever a technique on VEPS can be illustrated or expanded on by one of Dr. Dave’s online resources (this is true of many of them), a helpful reference is given so that you can look it up.
The techniques on Disc I are often (though not always) things that students of the game have heard of and even used to some degree, but presented in such a clear and helpful way that it’s often as if they’re brand new. I knew about most of the techniques on VEPS before, but I didn’t know many of them or realize how really useful and powerful they are until VEPS opened my eyes.
The techniques on Disc I are organized by type (cut shots, stun shots, follow shots, draw shots, CB direction control, CB speed control, avoiding a scratch, combination shots, carom shots and billiard shots) and numbered for easy reference. Many of them are “GEMS” – techniques that are so useful that they deserve special attention. I agree that the techniques chosen for this distinction deserve it, and think it’s a testament to the value of VEPS that more than 1/3 of the 160 techniques presented on Disc I earn it.
I disagree with those who have complained that Dr. Dave’s delivery is monotonous – I think that no-frills, no-nonsense approach is appropriate and even necessary in order to present the huge amount of densely packed information in this serious reference work. I’ll be returning to review many of these techniques over and over, and I’d rather not have to hear too much “personality” each time.
I have only one suggestion for improving VEPS, and that’s the same one that others have mentioned. For a reference work so full of information that users will want to return to repeatedly, it’s essential to have a quick and easy way to get to the individual techniques. I suggest that timestamps for each numbered shot be added to the printed index to make it easier to find them on the video.
Here’s the second highest compliment I can pay to VEPS: I wish I'd produced it. Judging by Disc I it will be the most comprehensive, authoritative, accessible and generally useful instructional publication for pool to date (and probably for a long time to come), and the standard against which every other such publication will be measured.
If Discs II through V are anything like this first one, then I can’t wait to shell out my 150 hard-earned bucks for the series, and I highly recommend that anybody interested in making the most of their game or in giving the pool players in their lives a gift they’ll appreciate for years to come, do the same.
pj
chgo
GET IT here: http://www.dr-dave-billiards.com/veps/
That brings me to my only serious complaint about VEPS: it’s misnamed. This is no mere collection of pool shots; it’s a comprehensive instructional course on how to shoot. Each “shot” is actually a helpful shooting technique that can be applied to many shots and many situations that come up in real play.
The techniques range from very basic (stop shots, straight draw shots, etc.) to intermediate and advanced (“hook” follow, complex combo/caroms, etc.), each demonstrated, described and illustrated in such clear and accurate ways that anybody can understand them and, most importantly, learn how to execute them and when. Dr. Dave is probably the most knowledgeable technical expert on pool today and this series delivers his knowledge in practical, useful form to players of all experience and skill levels. If you thought that the “science” of pool was only for geeks, VEPS will change your mind in a hurry.
At $30 per disc, VEPS is a huge bargain. You get not only lots of useful techniques (160 crammed into 87 minutes on Disc I alone), but also related references to Dr. Dave’s extensive library of literally hundreds of free on-line videos, articles, illustrations and graphics at his now-famous Colorado State University website (http://billiards.colostate.edu/). Whenever a technique on VEPS can be illustrated or expanded on by one of Dr. Dave’s online resources (this is true of many of them), a helpful reference is given so that you can look it up.
The techniques on Disc I are often (though not always) things that students of the game have heard of and even used to some degree, but presented in such a clear and helpful way that it’s often as if they’re brand new. I knew about most of the techniques on VEPS before, but I didn’t know many of them or realize how really useful and powerful they are until VEPS opened my eyes.
The techniques on Disc I are organized by type (cut shots, stun shots, follow shots, draw shots, CB direction control, CB speed control, avoiding a scratch, combination shots, carom shots and billiard shots) and numbered for easy reference. Many of them are “GEMS” – techniques that are so useful that they deserve special attention. I agree that the techniques chosen for this distinction deserve it, and think it’s a testament to the value of VEPS that more than 1/3 of the 160 techniques presented on Disc I earn it.
I disagree with those who have complained that Dr. Dave’s delivery is monotonous – I think that no-frills, no-nonsense approach is appropriate and even necessary in order to present the huge amount of densely packed information in this serious reference work. I’ll be returning to review many of these techniques over and over, and I’d rather not have to hear too much “personality” each time.
I have only one suggestion for improving VEPS, and that’s the same one that others have mentioned. For a reference work so full of information that users will want to return to repeatedly, it’s essential to have a quick and easy way to get to the individual techniques. I suggest that timestamps for each numbered shot be added to the printed index to make it easier to find them on the video.
Here’s the second highest compliment I can pay to VEPS: I wish I'd produced it. Judging by Disc I it will be the most comprehensive, authoritative, accessible and generally useful instructional publication for pool to date (and probably for a long time to come), and the standard against which every other such publication will be measured.
If Discs II through V are anything like this first one, then I can’t wait to shell out my 150 hard-earned bucks for the series, and I highly recommend that anybody interested in making the most of their game or in giving the pool players in their lives a gift they’ll appreciate for years to come, do the same.
pj
chgo
GET IT here: http://www.dr-dave-billiards.com/veps/
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