Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SIMPLY, THE BEST BOOK ON POOL, October 4, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game (Other) (Paperback)
Normally, I wouldn't take the time to write a review, however, I owe a lot to Ray Martin and his book --- it dramatically changed my pool game and fostered my love for the game. The other night I was playing eight-ball and was in a virtually impossible position to make a shot. Using a little imagination and three principles I learned a long time ago from the 99 Critical Shots, I was able to make a really slick shot, instead of playing a safety. However, this is NOT a book of trick shots. It is a book of fundamental principles, many of which I doubt you can learn on your own (at least, I couldn't have). In fact, the book does an excellent job of emphasizing that pool is not about trick shots, but about controlling your position. As a side note, about ten years ago I was playing straight pool in Elizabeth, NJ. I had discovered the 99 Critical Shots three or four years earlier. There was a guy who was watching me play pool for a half-hour, until his table was called. Then, he picked up his case and left. Spray-painted across the case was "Ray Martin". Hilarious.
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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You say you're good? This will make you better!, September 8, 2002
This review is from: The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game (Other) (Paperback)
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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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A clear guide to improving your game, July 16, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game (Other) (Paperback)
I just started playing pool and this book has been very helpful. The points the author makes are clear and useful. By studying this book pool becomes a much more familiar game because you recognize the shots in your games from shots in the book. Also, I've found that except for really advanced players, most other players don't know about a vast majority of the shots detailed in the book I don't understand the reviewer who commented that the book contradicts physics. While the ball behavior may not be obvious to a pool novice, every shot I have tried from the book "works". The bottom line is that I bought the book, studied it and improved my game. What more do you want from a pool book?
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