Pool Wars [Paperback]

Jay Helfert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

On the road to Hell and back with the world's greatest money players. This is a non fiction account of the life of a money player who crisscrossed the nation looking for pool games. Sometimes alone and at times teamed up with other players; he won, lost and sometimes had to escape from gambling action everywhere he could find it. No names have been changed to protect the innocent. This is the real deal about real people who gambled at pool for a living. Not for the squeamish.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I Couldn't put it down. Read it from cover to cover the moment I got it in my hands." --Matt Keiokan

"The best pool book ever! The Hustler has nothing on this story." --James McDonald

"Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!" --JR Calvert

From the Publisher

The first no nonsense, tell all book ever published in this sport. These are real stories about real people who are legends in the pool world. Some might be alarmed by the candor of the author, but most will consider themselves enlightened and entertained. The good, the bad and the ugly is depicted here with nothing left out. Fasten your seat belt for wild ride!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Poolroom Publishing; First Edition edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615270646
• ISBN-13: 978-0615270647
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #762,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A lifetime spent in the billiard arena, as a player, promoter, tournament director, room owner, television commentator and writer/journalist. I've met and played them all from Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi to modern day champions like Steve Mizerak, Earl Strickland and Jeanette Lee (the Black Widow).

My book is an anecdotal history of my life as a player, gambler and backer of pool players in tournaments and in back room action. I hold nothing back in describing the colorful and often dangerous life of a pool hustler. NO names have been changed to protect the innocent here. It's all spelled out in black and white, to the chagrin of the offending parties. There are no "pool" books like Pool Wars, an eye opening account of life on the road, and the pitfalls of that life style.

You're certain to enjoy it, as have many others. Most frequent comment I receive is, "I couldn't put it down! I read it straight through in two days." All I have to say is enjoy the ride! More to come later if I can gather my thoughts one more time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is real pool..., May 27, 2009

By 

Michael McCafferty "Fast Mikie" (http://www.MichaelMcCafferty.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pool Wars (Paperback)

What a pleasure it is to be first to review this excellent story of the game of pool. It ain't pretty, but it's real. The author Jay Helfert lived through it all, in the early years as a hustler-on-the-road, later as a pool room owner, and now as a pool tournament organizer, his 40+ years with the game, and his extraordinary experiences and story-telling style make him uniquely qualified to write this book.

Here's one of my favorite lines from the book:

"I was sitting on a pile of money, a new Caddy, and a new girlfriend. So I did what came naturally, I went on the road."

Don't we all wish we were in that situation!

There was a lot more book left after that line, so you can only imagine where it goes from there.

Big money games, small money games, bloody fights, guns, knives... This book has it all.

Jay Helfert tells it like it is, and the stories name some of the biggest names in pool.

The bonus is that it's all true!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good history, poor story telling, June 14, 2011

By 

Michael C. Bishop (kc,mo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pool Wars (Kindle Edition)

Having just finished reading "Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler" and "McGoorty: A Pool Room Hustler", this book was a big let down. This is a decent book with a lot of history on pool. Jay tells some good stories from the past, but I didn't really care for the writing style. Both of those other books are much more enjoyable. I think I would have enjoyed hearing Jay tell his stories individually, but the entire collection at once was just too much. Personally, it just felt like there was too much bragging and look what I accomplished. Almost every single situation in the book was about how great Jay is and how it always works out for him. I know there are stories about when he lost this or that, but damn if it doesn't seem like he is the luckiest man alive after reading this. Constantly in the right place at the right time, winning every battle (even the craps table in Vegas). I'm sure the stories are true, but I personally would like to hear more of the flip side of the coin.

I would still recommend this book if you enjoy reading about the history of pool when it was at its peak in popularity, but if you want to read about people that you can actually relate to in some way then I would recommend either of the other books I mentioned earlier.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pool Wars - Book- Great purchase, February 26, 2010

By 

Peter L. Civardi (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pool Wars (Paperback)

Very pleased with my purchase. Author inscribed the book, as requested. It was a gift for a friend. Quick shipment. Everything went perfectly.