Customer Reviews

Upscale One-Pocket

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One Pocket is the toughest game in pool. It combines the strategy of chess, the nerves of a gunslinger, and the boredom of watching paint dry.

Koehler does a great job of clearly covering topicslike rack analysis, srategy, and especially banking. In fact, his 1,2,3 and more rail banking charts alone are worth the price of the book.

If you want to learn about one pocket, then this is th ebest place to start. No pretension, clear explainations, and a sense of humor. Get it!

Save your time and money and instead read Winning One Pocket by Eddie Robin and the companion book Shots Moves and Strategies (also by Robin). Both books are out of print and expensive, but in this case you get exactly what you pay for. My biggest problem with Upscale One Pocket is that it does not present enough examples of responding to the break or provide enough moves and strategies to beat even B players. The book has few decent illustrations, which really makes it difficult to learn any shots, and in many other ways it just doesnt get it done. Concepts such as playing the score, the value of taking intentional scratches, skill level in choice of shot etc are all given minimal treatment. After reading this book my one- pocket game did not improve and it did not inspire me to get on a table and practice any particular shots. The two previously mentioned Eddie Robin's books improved my game two balls and I am still learning from them.

This book provides a very complete description of all aspects of the game of one-pocket. This game has been a favorite of mine for years, but I was amazed at how much I learned by reading this book. I have read it twice since I received it recently and I'm going back for thirds. You won't regret adding this to your pool and billiards library.

This is a great book to gain knowledge specifically about One Pocket. Although it doesn't make you an expert it will certainly move your game past the level of a casual player.

I would suggest supplementing the book with "Play your best Straight Pool" by Philip Capelle because it covers in detail the 'how to's of finesse pool.

There is no other book available that goes into such detail about the beak shot in One Pocket. And, there is no other book in the world that thoroughly examines multiple rail bank shots as this book does. On top of that, I enjoyed the strategy examples, it is unbelievable the number of moves a player can make with any given set of circumstances. Excellent value for the money.

Title -- Learn the easy way

In order to win at One-Pocket you need both physical skill and knowledge. The knowledge part is much more important in One-Pocket than in any other pool game. I know of no better (and cheaper) place to get this knowledge than from Koehler's book UPSCALE ONE-POCKET. Learning One-Pocket "on-the-job" can be very expensive. Take the easy way, buy the book.

D is for Disappointing. There are few one-pocket books out there on the market, and the title of this one enticed me to order it. There was little useful one-pocket theory, examples, diagrams, or stories. Marketing and selling this book to people is a joke or worse. I took one look at the book and returned it. The whole format of the book looks anything but upscale. It looks cheap, like something you could publish on your home computer.

It generally takes years for a pool player to make the transition from Nine Ball to ONE-POCKET. With the help of this book I was able to make the transition in a matter weeks. The critical things in One Pocket are the break shot and multiple rail banks. On these subjects Koehler does an excellent job. His chapter on Strategy is also extremely good. For anyone that has an interest in One Pocket, I highly recommend this book.