Play Your Best Pool: Secrets to Winning Eight Ball & Nine Ball for All Players

I bought this book about 4 months ago, when i was just getting into the game, and today my game has jumped in leaps and bounds, whether its cue ball control, strategy, english, spin, you name it, i can do it, and beat the best of them, and i can honestly say, this book is what has made the difference. I have no one to teach me, no one to show me how to play a shot, but whenever i have a problem i go back to this book and i learn something new everytime, i have read it about 10 times over. I highly recommend this book, to beginners and experienced players, read it and watch the quantum leap in your game. Phil Capelle is a master teacher.

The only bad thing about this book is that my league handicap went up by two balls before I even finished reading it! I own over 20 books and 30 videos; it's like Cappelle has read them all and condensed the information into one easy to comprehend and understandable book. IT'S GREAT! Maybe not for a beginner, but I can't imagine a better book on the subject. He covers all the bases: basics, shots, stragety, position, banks, kicks, theory, mental, drills, practical shots and practice tips. There are many good books; but this is perhaps the best and most well rounded overall one book I've been fortunate to read. I have only four comments: 1. It really improved my game physically and mentally 2. If I could keep only one book, about pool, this would be it! 3. I wish I had written it. 4. THANKS, Phil Cappelle

I have been playing pool seriously for a long time (nearly ten years). I have read tons of books and watched many hours of videos. Play your best pool is the most comprehensive single instructional resource I have encountered. I bought it early in my career and it has helped my game tremdously ever since. This book is a classic along with Robert Byrnes Standard Book of Pool and Billiards. If you were to only buy one book I recommend Play Your Best Pool although Byrnes book is a masterpiece as well. The lessons and tips are laid out in an easy to understand way and there are loads of diagrams to help you along the way. Everything is covered in this book. After reading you will have in depth knowledge of 1: Fundamentals (stance, alignment, grip proper bridging) 2: Stroking- 1 and 2 are the most important things in the game. Master them and everything else will follow.3: Proper aiming (what kind of cue ball/object ball contact causes balls to fall, a sample aiming method) 4: English (how to apply english, different kinds and mixtures of spin, the affects of enlish on your aim, cue ball and object ball) 5: Position play and pattern play (recurrent patterns, how to plan your racks and how to use position zones and position strategies maximize your percentages) 6: Safety play (various safeties as well as general safety theory and strategies) the method to measure safety zones is both extremely simple and highly useful. 7: The break shot (where to aim at the rack, how to generate power and where to position the cue ball) 8: Eight and nine ball specific strategies 9: Effective practice routines and drills 10: Competitive play This book is essential for any pool player and would make an excellent gift for an aspiring player. The earlier in your career you are exposed to the knowledge contained here the better. It is ten times easier to learn good habits then to break bad ones. I belive a very high level of play can be achieved by practicing the skills and applying the knowledge contained in this book. If you are a casual/recreational player or a fairly serious player who only wants to gain alot of skill (rather than making the huge sacrifices of time and money it takes to truly master this game), then this is the only book you will ever need. The material is presented in a manner that is fun to read and accessible to most 8th graders and up. The game of pool will no longer intimidate but rather inspire. Take this book as your companion and have fun along your journey. In this game you never know what will happen next!

This book covers every aspect of playing pool. I have read the entire book, many points i knew and many i did not. he gave a lot of scenarios on eight and nine ball and the reasoning on why to choose certain shots over others. If i could find any fault it would be having too many scenarios, but that is not bad, just makes for long reading. i particulary enjoyed the practice sessions, these are very informative and are improving my skill, especialy staightening out my stroke. it can be used later as a reference when trying to resolve new problems in your game. the book is well organized and it is easy to go back into the book to find a specific point. i highly recommend this book.

This book is THE book to have if you really do want to play your best pool! It functions on many different levels. I first read it straight through, and picked up a ton of information. Like I realized that I was hold in the cue wrong! Can you believe it! I had my hand inside the line and could not swing my arm in a true pendulum motion. Mind you I have been playing for many years and have been known to run a rack or two of nine ball. I learned a bunch on actual principle of getting "shape". Stuff I thought I knew, or vaguely knew or had a concept of. But Mr. Capelle breaks it down to its most simple and clear forms. Now I know exactly how I want to come into a shape zone with the highest probability of success. Just those two pieces of information have changed the way I look at and play the game. The other really cool thing about the book is the massive, detailed table of contents with complete chapter breakdowns. This thing is a great reference tool. Say you want to know about English? Boom, chapter 4. You want to know about specific types of English, say Inside English? Boom chapter 4, page 91. Basic pattern play of eight ball, Chapter 6 page 206. Kick shots in 9ball, Chapter 7 page 317. Anything you need to know you can find in seconds. There are like 500 individual bits of information laid out just in the chapter index alone! If there was a PhD in billiards, this would be the textbook for the class. Don't believe me; just look who endorses the book, four world champions! Buy it, you'll get better.