The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game (Other)
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Description
World Champion Pool Player Ray "Cool Cat" Martin shares his secrets for playing winner's pool in this classic book, which includes an introduction by the author. Written with co-author Rosser Reeves, The 99 Critical Shots in Pool remains one of the most authoritative guides to the game ever written. Over 200 illustrations show the proper form, technique, and approach to shots such as: • The Center Ball Cheat-the-Pocket • The Hook Shot • The Seven Ball Stop Shot • The Jump Shot • The Frozen Kiss Shot • The Nudge Shot • The Side Pocket By-Pass Shot Ray Martin, a Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame inductee, is one of only seven players in the twentieth century to win three or more world 14.1 titles. He co-wrote this book with Rosser Reeves in 1976. Read more
Publisher : Random House Puzzles & Games; Revised edition (October 5, 1993)
Language : English
Paperback : 220 pages
ISBN-10 : 0812922417
ISBN-13 : 17
Item Weight : 12.8 ounces
Dimensions : 6.5 x 0.65 x 9.2 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #24,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Billiards & Pool #15 in Sports Reference (Books) #26 in Puzzle & Game Reference (Books)
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Top Amazon Reviews
Love the book. Of course, with YouTube there are tons of great videos, but there is something really great about their descriptions and insights in this book. I’m a decent pool player, and have a good deal of experience already but there were many “epiphanies” here, many things I hadn’t considered. I also have begun either taking photos on my phone or just taking the book to the local pool hall to work on the different shots and also at home relax while paging through. The only negative, and it’s really no big deal, is the drawings…they use a solid black ball as object ball (usually the ball you want to sink) and other incidental balls other than the cue ball are “gray” but the book I received (paperback) it is almost impossible to tell the difference. It’s no big deal because the text and arrows, etc. make it pretty clear almost always, just wish they had used further spaced dots for the other balls. Again though, it’s a minor point. The worth it to also read carefully the first few pages, lots of great info there, but it’s hard not to just go to the actual shots. They do point out, several times, that the drawings are not to scale. That the balls are not sized quite right, but you still can use the diamonds to place balls and you get the idea. One irritation, page 76 has an object ball frozen on the cushion of the side pocket with the side pocket corner just a touch over halfway of the ball, where you should hit HARD with draw and compress the cushion so the ball goes in the side pocket. I tried many times today, and not once could I make it, and they say it’s “easy”. Oh well. Would love to hear in other reviews if anyone has made that shot successfully. am very glad I bought this book, it is a treasure trove of useful shots and necessary ones. Excellent points about all kinds of shots. It seems geared to 14.1, straight pool, but not exclusive and the rules for games are a little outdated (as far as I know, eight ball breaks, if the shooter sinks a ball can always still choose either stripes or solids) but they have also some games I never heard of which is kinda cool. If you are serious about pool, I agree with many here that this is a great book.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2023 by James R. Acker
If you're trying to get better at pool this is a must have
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2024 by Zeus Razor
If you love to play pool and can't figure out how to play the angles on the table, this is your book. Even those who are only moderately interested in the game but who would like to ace their friends and relatives by surprising them with their previously hidden pool "chops," this is your book, too. Most people have no idea how to play pool so they bang the balls into each other hoping that something good will happen. If it does, it's pure luck. This book illustrates, with graphics, how to line up shots correctly, how to recognize when you have a good shot or a bad shot, and how to use your cue and the table to look like a pro. The secret to using this book correctly? Practice. Each of the 99 shots is illustrated and you can follow the shot like a recipe for success. Take one or two shots and practice them over and over again according to the instructions and amaze yourself with what you can accomplish. This is perfect for both the experienced pool player and the novice. Pool players will get better and novices will astonish others with their newly-found profession -- Pool Hustler. Enjoy. And good luck.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2013 by Bob Porter
I’ve played pool for over 40 years. Always looking to improve in areas where I’ve had trouble. This book, even though it can be hard to understand at first, is a great tool. Pick a page and practice, practice, practice. It will help you understand shots that you never would have thought about.
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2024 by Smoknjofus
If you are looking for a good book for beginners, this isn't it. This book is all about making a good pool player better. It assumes a basic knowledge of pool has already been established. If you're a beginner, check out Ewa Mataya Laurance's "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pool & Billiards." It's a great straight-forward book to get you started right. But if you're already a pretty good pool player and want to add some great shots to your game, I highly recommend "The 99 Critical Shots in Pool." The book is not without it's drawbacks. This is a 220 page book. Of that, 50 pages are devoted to The Official Rules and Glossary of Terms. An additional 25 pages skim the basics of shooting form, etc. That leaves only 145 pages for the meat of the book, the 99 critical shots. Of the 99 shots, 22 are devoted to break shots for straight pool. If, like me, you play only 8-ball and 9-ball, then this book should be called "The 77 Critical Shots in Pool" because you'll never use the other 22. So, for me, this 220 page book has only 107 useful pages. The format of the shots section is great. Each shot includes a diagram of the whole table layout, a diagram of the cue ball showing exactly where to strike it to impart the draw, follow or English, and a text description of the shot. As others have pointed out, the text refers to a black ball (the object ball) and gray balls (all other balls), yet they are indistinguishable in the diagrams; they both look black. This is an annoyance, but does not keep you from understanding the author's intentions. Between the text description and the lines indicating the ball paths, I was always able to determine which ball was the object ball. If I still had my own pool table, I would have this book sitting right next to it. I'd study a single shot in this book and then practice it until I had mastered it. Then, when I'd mastered that shot, I'd proceed to the next shot and so forth. That would be the most effective way to use the book. Unfortunately, I have to go to a pool hall to practice. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to be seen reading a book about pool at the pool hall. So I have to study several shots and then practice them there from memory. Obviously, there's no substitute for practice. This book shows you WHAT to practice. Having told you that I only found 107 pages (77 shots) useful, you might get the impression that this book's not worth buying. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of those 77 shots, probably at least half were shots that I had either never even considered or had never fully mastered. You only have to add a few new shots to your game to make this book well worth the price. Buy it!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2002 by dlh
Bought the book for less than 1/2 price and its a good book that came quickly
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024 by John Olson
If you play pool this book is a great instructional tool. I have bought and given away 15+ of these over the last 20 years to pool friends.
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2023 by Johnnie
Learned. a lot.
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024 by margaret buffa