Play Your Best Straight Pool [Paperback]

Philip B. Capelle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Play Your Best Straight Pool is the most comprehensive course on the game ever published. This 416 page book provides the reader with 355 illustrations that makes it easy to learn the game's shots and strategies. Playing pinpoint position is the heart of straight pool. The book contains 72 diagrams devoted to controlling the cue ball. A big chapter on pattern play will show you how to read the table and plan your runs. To achieve high runs you must be able to play break shots effectively. Over 50 illustrations cover virtually every break shot that you'll ever encounter. A special chapter illustrates all of the concepts of position play and patterns as it takes you shot by shot through a 28-ball run. Chapters on strategy and safety play will help you to take control of the table. Several strategies and practice routines which isolate specific skills will help you to develop a complete game. Finally, you will be provided with a game plan that will help you break your all-time high run record.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Phil Capelle is the world's best and most prolific billiard instructional writer. His three books on pool total 1200 pages, with several more in various stages of development. He has been voted the top billiard instructional writer by the readers of Pool & Billiard Magazine the last two years. His column has appeared in every issue of the magazine since May, 1996.

In June of 1996, his Play Your Best Pool was voted one of the three best instructional books ever by Billiards Digest only 6 months after it was published! His books have been widely praised by world class players, major pool publications, numerous industry experts and, most importantly, readers like yourself whose games have benefited from his teachings.

Mr. Capelle has been continuously involved in the sport as a player, teacher and student since 1969. He is one of the original members of the BCA Certified Instructors, having joined the program in 1993. In 1995, Mr. Capelle founded Billiards Press with the singular goal of providing serious students of the game with the finest instruction possible.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Billiards Pr (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964920425
• ISBN-13: 978-0964920422
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I became a golfer one summer day in 1960 when I was 12, and have been a big fan of the game ever since. I first remember seeing Jack Nicklaus play in person in 1963 at the Palm Springs Classic. I've watched the final round of all but three majors since 1960, and I own nearly every issue of Golf Digest and Golf Magazine dating back to mid 1962

I graduated from UC Berkeley in 1970 with a major in business and an unofficial minor in pocket billiards. I enjoyed a 15 year long career in finance during which I was the editor of a stock market newsletter, a stockbroker, a financial analyst, and a columnist for the Orange County Business Journal. My first book, Investing in Growth, was published in 1992. In 1995 I left the financial services industry and founded Billiards Press. I've since written eight instructional books on pool and a column for Pool & Billiard Magazine since May, 1996.

In 2001 Golf Digest conducted an essay contest on who is the greatest golfer, Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. My entry planted the seeds for a number of projects on golf, and for my blog, capelleongolf.com. My first golf book, Tiger vs. Jack, has just been published. I look forward to writing about my two passions, golf and pool, in the years ahead.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Straight Pool - sure to improve your game!, February 28, 2001

By 

Scott J. Rohleder (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Play Your Best Straight Pool (Paperback)

By way of background, let me start out by saying that I'm an "A" player, and I've read them all through the years - Byrne, Martin, Fels, Koehler, Harris, etc. I learned the game with a copy of Ray Martin's 99 Critical Shots and a lot of practice, later turned to Byrne's excellent texts (keep them coming as far as I'm concerned), satisfied my scientific curiousity with Koehler's Scientific Principles of Pool and Billiards, added Walt Harris' Billiard Atlas series, and filled in with other books and videos found along the way - some good, most of them repetitive, some even just plain wrong.

Just when I thought I was done, a few years ago Phil Capelle writes Play Your Best Pool, a great and very thorough book, although maybe lacking in some of the finer, more advanced points. Then came A Mind for Pool, a pretty good read into the mental aspects of the game. So when his latest book, Play Your Best Straight Pool came out, I just had to buy it. I was not disappointed.

This book covers EVERY aspect of the great game of straight pool - entire chapters are devoted to break shots (primary and secondary), position play, recurring patterns, key ball concepts, safety play, etc. I remember learning the basic concepts of straight pool from Fel's Mastering Pool - this book expounds on those concepts in great detail. The numerous diagrams are drawn expertly and to scale, and the information seems like it will never end. Even though I read the book cover to cover, it is really meant to be taken in sections and studied, or even to use the sections as reference material from time to time. Since there is a lot of advanced information here, Mr. Capelle has gone through the trouble of indicating the sections that are especially relevant for beginners, so they do not have to wade through all the material to find points of interest. While a good player can run a few racks of straight pool on talent alone, this book simplifies the game and offers insight into how the pros regularly run 100 or 150 balls and up. Anyone reading this book will increase their balls per inning average and will most assuredly beat their current high run.

I have only one complaint, and it was not serious enough to lower my rating. In my version, all of the fractions used in the text (Œ ball, œ diamond, etc.) were printed incorrectly - for example, œ showed up as `fi (or something like that). Luckily, the mistakes were consistent throughout the text (must have been an error during typesetting) and were easy to decipher. Perhaps this problem has already been corrected, as I'm sure my copy came from the first run.

Bottom line - if you want to play better straight pool, buy this book!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best pool book purchase I've ever made, January 4, 2002

By 

Scott Choy (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Play Your Best Straight Pool (Paperback)

First off, this is by far the best, most comprehensive straight pool book that I've ever read. Much like his previous "Play Your Best Pool", Cappelle does an excellent job of breaking down all aspects of straight pool (position play, break shots, strategy, defense, etc). And much like "Play Your Best Pool", I'd bet that players of all levels (from intro to advanced) will be able to gain insight and knowledge from this book. With that said, though, I'd recommend not reading the book cover-to-cover. It should rather be used as a guide - read the chapters that apply to you as a player.

Like many, when I first began playing pool, I started off with 8 ball and eventually moved to 9 ball. After a couple years, I began playing some of the other games (straight pool, 1 pocket, billiards, etc) and now love straight pool the most. More than any other game, it requires a player to master all aspects of pool, such as position play, shotmaking, defense, and above all, knowledge. As such, in my opinion, anyone with an interest in straight pool who reads this book can't help but improve their game. I'd recommend purchasing some Accu-Stat straight pool tapes in addition to this book. You'll then be able to see some of the principles in practice. Hope this helps!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on a great game, March 12, 2002

By 

"mcdoog_99" (Blackstone, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Play Your Best Straight Pool (Paperback)

"An entire book could be written on the virtues of this wonderful but neglected game," the author writes in his first work, Play Your Best Pool. Well here is the entire book. Straight Pool was the third pool game I learned how to play (after 8 and 9 ball), and it always appealed to me, partly because fewer people play it these days (due to the other two games), and partly due to its emphasis on all-around skill and it's "reserved" character, compared to the explosiveness of nine-ball. Here, Capelle covers everything one would need to know about 14.1: position play, break shots, sequence, safety, strategy, you name it. A must-have for anyone enamored of Straight Pool. The only other book I've found to cover 14.1 with such thoroughness would be Fels' Advanced Pool; other books treat it along with other pool games (not necessarily rendering their books worthless by any means). I'm not always able to play on a regular basis, so I probably won't run a hundred anytime soon...but that doesn't mean I'll stop enjoying playing pool, especially playing it Straight.