The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards

by David G. Alciatore

Master one of the world’s most popular games with the help of a mechanical engineering professor who has a passion for pool. More than 80 principles of the game, presented with 250-plus precisely scaled illustrations and photographs, offer players of all levels a thorough overview of the fundamentals of 8-ball and 9-ball, including grip and stance, basic shots, position play and strategy, bank and kick shots, and advanced techniques such as carom and jump shots. Organized for quick study, this must-have guide features extensive cross-references and is supplemented with video clips, interesting mathematical formulas, and other resources also available at www.engr.colostate.edu/pool.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, How To

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2004

Reviews

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author David G. Alciatore is nuts about pool - and I love it.

Yes - 5 out of 5 star rating for a book about pool!

Of course, this doesn't compare to timeless creative works of art like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Dune, so on and so forth, who would also render 5 stars.... but considering the target audience, content delivery, and the entire point of the book.. yep, this 100% deserves the max rating for its category.

There is a super fun and extremely well done visual training aid that Alciatore created that I just absolutely love. He basically took a rack of pool balls, and labeled each one with a core discussion point he was going to write about - brilliant.

I say again, the man is a maniac. He wrong over 80 pages on ENGLISH. And it was actually super well done and the highest quality of work. I am beyond amazed.

This is maybe book #5 now I believe I've read about pool, and by far blows everything to the left of this out of the water by a long shot. If you are only going to read one book on pool - this is it.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the book, watch the videos, and practice the concepts as you add then to your game. The absolute and definitive way to improve and win at pool. I have been watching Dr. Dave's videos and reading his opinions online for many years and it has won me lots of games and some fun money. I am so happy I finally got the book and finished it. It filled in quite a few little doubts I had. I can't wait to get to a table and knock 'em down.

[David Spears · Rating 5 out of 5]

great explanation of the pool games

If you don't have it , you need to read this book even if you are not going to play another game. It will most likely make you desirous of playing.

[Fady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book

[Aaron Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As close to a bible of pool knowledge as one is likely to find

Dr Dave’s books and videos on his youtube channel are an invalueable resource for anyone at any level of pool knowledge… from absolute beginners to seasoned pros.

[Hien Le · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative and technical book. Liked the fact that it didn't waste space with "mental game" filler that most books use to reach a page quota. Only complaint is the small pages often means diagrams are cluttered and require flipping pages.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand the game of pool, I cannot imagine a better book. Step by step, no filler, all laid out in ordered detail. I do not know if my game will improve, as we all know that takes practice, but I certainly understand the game and its potential much better.

[Slickmez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to get you into the sport - it covers basic to advanced technics. I had no idea pool was so complex... It is probably why I am crap! Hopefully that will change with what I have leant from this book. Highly Recommended.

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, and the pictures make visualising a bit easier. This is a good book to reference as needed.