Play Your Best Eight Ball

Some people just know how to explain more difficult and less obvious concepts in an easy to understand way. Phil Capelle is such a person. After buying his first book, Play Your Best Pool, I was so impressed with the author's writing style that I bought a second book, Play Your Best Eight Ball. While it's not cheap you certainly do get a lot for your money; 456 pages with loads of well-done line drawing illustrations. I love the way Capelle takes you through the game of 8-ball. He writes about things other authors miss, like the difference in table size and how it affects the game. Very interesting stuff. Phil also writes 20 pages on the rules of the game. Especially good are the differences in 8-ball rules of five of the larger pool leagues; BCA, APA, TAP, VNEA, and ACS. Let's not forget bar rules. Capelle covers some of them also. Who else does this? Is this book for neophyes? Well, in my opinion, there are books better suited for someone just learning the game, but there is such an enormous amount of useful information in this book that even a newcomer to the game could understand. There is no index in this book but it does have an eleven page table of contents in the front and a nice glossary in the back. I just love the "completeness" of this book and heartily recommend it. Phil Capelle covers the game of 8-ball like no other.

I have many of Capelle's books and like the all but this one REALLY is a must have if you are more than just a 'ball banger'. Get this book !

Most of us learn to play pocket billiards with America's most popular game, 8-Ball. Of course, there are many different variations of how the game is played; such as, using "slop" to continue playing, calling your pocket before you can make your next shot, calling the pocket for only the 8-Ball, etc. No matter which variation you play, this book covers it; and, in such a way that you feel Phil Capelle is right there with you, shot after shot, to help coach you on recognizing the layout of how your rack spread out after the break, what best strategy to use in either running out the rack, or playing "safe" to "hook" your opponent; and, most importantly, how to run the rack so you're not stuck at the last ball before shooting the 8-Ball to win (which so many players seem to find themselves doing game after game). What's really interesting is how Phil Capelle explains and then demonstrates with great illustrations how to run out a rack so that you have good position to shoot the 8-Ball and win the game; that's the real mastery of this book!If you really want to up your game, and shock your friends at how good you play 8-Ball, then get this book, study it like your life depended on it, practice it with an obsession, and reap the rewards!

My rankings of the pool books I’ve read: #1Play Your Best Pool (Capelle) #2 The 99 Critical Shots in Pool (Martin) #3 Pocket Billiards (Mosconi) #4 Precision Pool (Kanov) #5 Play Your Best Eight Ball ( Capelle) #6 Simply Pool (Hardisty) #7 Basic Pool (Cranfield) #8 Pool and Billiards (Byrne) #9 Pool & Billiards for Dummies (Leider)

My husband has played pool most of his life. This book has helped him play better. There aren’t any fancy tricks but more the like exercises and explanations how to play better.

Probably about 95% of people that play 8 Ball do not understand how to play the game. This book will show you. What the book does is change you way you think as you play the game....and that's powerful. If you're a league player...buy this book. If play serious 8 ball....buy this book. I buy 10-15 books a year and will only leave reviews on 1 or 2 of those books....this is one of them.Another worthy mention is the 8 Ball Bible. Might not go into quite the depth as Phil's book, but a good read and worth the money as well.

Same

It was in very good condition and arrived quickly too. It is not for a beginner or even a medium skilled player.

Very well written, easy to understand, with illustrated pool table diagrams, and explained in detail, covering the entire gamut of 8 ball from beginning to advanced shots and strategies. Author obviously has great depth of knowledge and experience in 8 ball.Studying this book has changed my way of thinking about 8 ball, and has certainly advanced my abilities in both the mental and physical game.

Capelle's Bücher sind ein Muss. Ein Buch für das lebenslange Lernen im Poolspiel.Es reflektiert einen immer wieder, wenn man seine Fehlerquellen bemerkt.