Customer Reviews

Play Your Best Straight Pool

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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 (¼ ball, ½ diamond, etc.) were printed incorrectly - for example, ½ 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!

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!

"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.

i am a above average pool player, this book covers everything. if your looking to excell at pool get this book better than any video you could watch. excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What more can I say. I would find it hard to believe that any book covering any form of pool would be more beneficial to you than this one.

It doesn't start from the beginner's level but if you can sink a ball while using english, bank balls in and make a combination shot, you are ready to learn what this book can teach you.

"PLAY YOUR BEST STRAIGHT POOL"
By Phil Capelle

It's Real Love Baby
A Book Review by Elliot S. Eisenberg


Four adjectives characterize Phil Capelle's book
"Play Your Best Straight Pool." First, it's encyclopedic
in scope. Second, it's scholarly in presentation. Third, it's
articulate in style. And, finally, it's superlative in contribution
to pool/billiards education.

Right from the opening frame of this straight pool treatise
Mr. Capelle leaves his competitors frozen on the end rail without having disturbed a single ball in the pack. Stated alternatively, the Table of Contents of this book is voluminous, comprehensive, and erudite. Even without carefully reviewing each of the nine pages in the contents section the reader is given a glimpse of the type of detail
the author employs. My first thought in reading it was that
it was like an encyclopedia. No stone left unturned... somewhere between the Duane's Series of Ophthalmology and Brittanica...an accurate foreshadowing
of the surgically precise 394 pages that follow. While many fine straight pool texts on the market help to educate all levels of players none of them fracture the game to its component parts to the level of "Play Your Best Straight Pool." The topic specificity is so high and so discriminating all 14.1 players will be thoroughly addicted by Chapter 1. By the time I read the subsection `Bending with Draw' and `Bumping Balls with Spin' I was in need of an immediate fix. STAT. Two hours of nothing but straight pool at `Hard Times...No other instruction text in the field has demonstrated this level of comprehensiveness.

In order for a book to be considered scholarly it should meet the burden of bringing the hidden to the revealed. Capelle's text aptly passes muster in this regard. In most cases, with the exception of a few naturally gifted elite players, straight pool knowledge is the gradual cumulation of years of practice and experience. With luck, a beacon such as "Play Your Best Straight Pool" arrives and a bright light transforms the journeyman into a player. A specific example in Capelle's text is his discussion of jumping the cue ball into the rack. In a chapter entitled "Break Shots"
the author discusses a dreaded phenomenon where the player has a potential break shot but unfortunately leaves the cueball in a position that is almost straight in. This would result in a situation where there is an insufficient angle of cue ball defection after impact. The net effect is a lack of the necessary force to scatter the triangulated balls and continue the run. In other words the cut angle is too shallow. The author's solution to the dilemma is to send the cueball airborne by executing a jump shot. The flying cueball then descends on the nearby rack and its weight and velocity are an impetus to scatter the balls. This concept is clearly not obvious. Even a moderately skillful straight pool player, one who is capable of stringing a number of racks together, may not envision a jump shot as a solution to dispersing clustered balls. Furthermore, as a corollary to this principle Capelle amplifies the idea in another section of the text where he advocates a semi-jump shot with force follow to break a difficult cluster. In both scenarios the reader is illuminated with sophisticated knowledge not evident by casual observation.


The book is clearly presented, well formatted, and fits together in a distinct but connected sequence. Exemplifying this articulate style is a seven page mini-dissertation on `Manufacturing Break Shots' - a subsection from the chapter
labeled "Pattern Play." First, Capelle introduces the reader to the concept. Then he defines the goal and necessity of maneuvering critical balls into strategic positions to maintain runs. Next, with the use of precise and scaled drawings (consistent throughout the book) he takes the pool enthusiast on a step by step tour teaching the creation of break shots. Finally, he masterfully ends the short discourse with advanced techniques employing spin, draw, bank shots, and visualization.

On a somewhat personal note my goal in reading "Play Your Best Straight Pool" was to facilitate coming out of retirement. I hadn't played 14.1 Continuous in over a decade. For over ten years I didn't even walk into a pool hall. There was a significant hiatus in my billiard career. As a result a burning question remained in my mind. Will the game come back like riding a bicycle or will I be struggling to
make every ball? After I read the section of `Manufacturing Break Shots' I couldn't think of anything else. Brushing my teeth in the morning I was pushing out the 15 ball into the classic `Mosconi break.' At noon I nudged the 2 ball into position for a break shot behind the rack. Going to sleep I kissed and banked the 5 ball into position alongside the triangle. Day and Night Straight Pool. In practice it went the same way. Phil's book actualized my goal and made it reality. This was love, baby. Real love.

A quotation from the often cited 1961 immortal film masterpiece `The Hustler' is relevant. The protagonist, Fast Eddie Felson--a straight pool player--cavalierly enters a billiard room. Addressing the cashier behind the counter he says "No bar?" Sternly, in a reprimanding tone, the cashier replies "No bar, no pinball machines, no bowling alley, just pool...nothing else. This is Ames, Mister." The observant viewer gleans an epiphany from these lines. No other games of value exist. Nothing else matters. Phil Capelle intimately understands those lines and with his labor of love "Play Your Best Straight Pool" he has given pool a lasting contribution by dissecting the greatest of games.

This book is the finest in its genre and one can only hope
Capelle will bless us with a sequel.

I've looked everywhere for books or video's that would provide instruction on the proper way to play Straight Pool. There were dozens of players that offered dozens of home-spun versions of the game, but until now, I have been spinning my wheels. This is the best and most comprehensive book that I have ever seen on ANY game of pool. I'm well aquainted with Mr. Capelles previous publications, but none of them even come close to this one. I think the knowledge that a Player gains in Straight Pool is vital to his/her overall growth & skill potential. This book gives more and better information than many Instructors provide. It's worth every penny!

I have skimmed all of the book, have read parts of it carefully, and will continue to consult different chapters from time to time. I seldom play straight pool but practice it quite often. This book showed me some things I didn't know and pointed out some things I knew but hadn't paid enough attention to. It's detailed and thorough. I may not reach my lifetime goal of running 100 balls but this book will put at least a few balls on my occasional high run. It's a good book to read just before going out to hit balls.

This reference guide for pool will show you every possible shot you may have to take. Your game will greatly improve with the tips in this book.

If you want to improve your game, no matter what you play, this book will
greatly help you. This is the difinitive book on straight pool. It leads you through every possible situation you could run accross and shows you how to deal with it. The book can be used as a reference for
any pool game. This book belongs in any serious pool player's library.