The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards

By David G. Alciatore

Master one of the world’s most popular games with the help of a mechanical engineering professor who has a passion for pool. More than 80 principles of the game, presented with 250-plus precisely scaled illustrations and photographs, offer players of all levels a thorough overview of the fundamentals of 8-ball and 9-ball, including grip and stance, basic shots, position play and strategy, bank and kick shots, and advanced techniques such as carom and jump shots. Organized for quick study, this must-have guide features extensive cross-references and is supplemented with video clips, interesting mathematical formulas, and other resources also available at www.engr.colostate.edu/pool.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Union Square & Co.
• Release date: May 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781454927914

Book preview

Chapter 1

Introduction

Pool, the game of knocking spheres around a table into holes, has created delight for millions of people over many centuries. Pool is great for all ages and can be played year-round. A pool table can be a centerpiece of social activity anywhere—a family room, a bar, or a retirement home. Pool requires physical coordination; but speed, strength, and stamina are not requirements, like in many other sports. Pool can also be mentally challenging where chesslike strategy and planning can have a big impact on your chances for success.

Pool crosses all socioeconomic and national boundaries. From the aristocrats of the past to today’s bar and pool-hall regulars, pool has been and continues to be enjoyed by all. It is a sport with true international appeal, with many followers around the globe. You can find a table practically anywhere, it costs practically nothing to play, and you don’t even need to have your own equipment. I once played at a hole-in-the-wall bar in Boquillas, Mexico. It was a poor community without electricity, but not without a pool table. I could not communicate with the locals via spoken word, but we had a great time. (I think the tequila helped.) I also once played in a pub in Bristol, England. We could communicate with spoken word (barely), but we still had a good time. (I think the warm, thick beers helped.) Who knows, maybe pool can be an integral part of a world-peace solution.

Hopefully, you have already experienced and enjoyed the game. Pool is one game that can truly be enjoyed at all levels of ability. Even someone picking up and stroking a stick for the first time can feel like they know what they are doing and have fun.

Now it is time to start your journey with the book. This first chapter describes the book’s organization and explains how to use the book as a learning and reference tool. It also presents a concise but fairly complete summary of the rules for 8-ball and 9-ball, the two most popular billiard games.

Section 1.01  Pyramid of Progress

Figure 1.1 shows what I call the pool-skills development pyramid, or Pyramid of Progress. The foundation layers of the pyramid (A–D) represent successive levels of competencies required to become a good pool player. There is a natural progression of ability from the bottom layer to the top. The pyramid illustrates the importance of building your level of ability from the bottom up. The inspiration for the pyramid idea comes from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, from the world of psychology. It states that people cannot reach their full potential unless they progressively meet their physiological needs (food, water, air, shelter), safety needs (security, freedom from fear), belonging needs (friends, family, love), and esteem needs (self respect, reputation). If a lower-level need is not met, it is difficult, if not impossible, to satisfy higher-level needs. With the pool pyramid, you cannot reach your maximum competitive ability unless you first develop and master the lower-level fundamentals.

Figure 1.1 Pyramid of Progress

The mortar in Figure 1.1, required to build the pyramid and hold it together, represents the mental focus, discipline, practice, and fun that is required to develop and maintain your pool game (see Principle 1.1). Continual practice, self-analysis, and improvement are required throughout the entire development and maintenance process. Confidence and intuition can come only with a great deal of practice and experience. As pointed out in Principle 1.1, it is also important to enjoy the game and have fun. If you do not have fun with the game, you will not have a desire to improve.

Principle 1.1 Fun, focus, and discipline

The main purpose of pool is to have fun. Beyond having passion for the game, the most important attributes of a good pool player are mental focus and discipline.

•If you don’t have fun, you will be less likely to dedicate energy to improve your game.

•You can play at the top of your game only when you have concentration and focus on fundamentals and on the execution of each shot.

•Intuition and confidence can come only with lots of practice.

The Pyramid of Progress also parallels the organization of the book. Layer A (Fundamentals) is covered in Chapter 2, which presents the important fundamental techniques involved with the cue stick and tip, the grip, the bridge, stance, and stroke. Layer B (Executing Basic Shots) is covered in Chapter 3, which presents the fundamentals of aiming methods, ball paths, shot planning, and pocket selection. Layer C (Position Play and Strategy) is covered in Chapter 4, which presents spin and English, and Chapter 5, which presents speed control, creating angles, defensive play, and safeties. Layer D (Shot Making) is covered in Chapter 6, which presents bank shots, and Chapter 7, which covers advanced techniques including power breaks, combinations, carom shots, throwing, massé shots, and jump shots. The top of the pyramid (Maximum Competitive Ability) represents the ultimate goals of being all that you can be, having confidence, and winning often. This can be achieved only by having a solid foundation, created by the lower

Reviews for The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the best pool book that I have seen thus far. The diagrams are especially helpful and make the text understandable. The author applies the laws of physics to explaining how the balls interact. The topics discussed are important and a lot of time is focused on the critical fundamentals. I am hoping that I will be able to apply the principles described in this book to my pool game.