The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game (Other)

 (60 customer reviews)

Normally, I wouldn't take the time to write a review, however, I owe a lot to Ray Martin and his book --- it dramatically changed my pool game and fostered my love for the game.The other night I was playing eight-ball and was in a virtually impossible position to make a shot. Using a little imagination and three principles I learned a long time ago from the 99 Critical Shots, I was able to make a really slick shot, instead of playing a safety.However, this is NOT a book of trick shots. It is a book of fundamental principles, many of which I doubt you can learn on your own (at least, I couldn't have). In fact, the book does an excellent job of emphasizing that pool is not about trick shots, but about controlling your position.As a side note, about ten years ago I was playing straight pool in Elizabeth, NJ. I had discovered the 99 Critical Shots three or four years earlier. There was a guy who was watching me play pool for a half-hour, until his table was...Read more

If you are looking for a good book for beginners, this isn't it. This book is all about making a good pool player better. It assumes a basic knowledge of pool has already been established. If you're a beginner, check out Ewa Mataya Laurance's "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pool & Billiards." It's a great straight-forward book to get you started right. But if you're already a pretty good pool player and want to add some great shots to your game, I highly recommend "The 99 Critical Shots in Pool."The book is not without it's drawbacks. This is a 220 page book. Of that, 50 pages are devoted to The Official Rules and Glossary of Terms. An additional 25 pages skim the basics of shooting form, etc. That leaves only 145 pages for the meat of the book, the 99 critical shots. Of the 99 shots, 22 are devoted to break shots for straight pool. If, like me, you play only 8-ball and 9-ball, then this book should be called "The 77 Critical Shots in Pool" because you'll never use the...Read more

I got this book as a rookie. I started practicing about 5 days a week and thought I should get a book. This was a good book for practicing a few shots. And the things that the author explained were true, but if you really want to improve your game, you should seriously consider "Byrne's New Standard Book of POOL and BILLIARDS". Now that's a book that deserves the title of "everything you need to know to learn and master the game"! A guy at the local pool hall recommended it to me. I ended up buying both books. I don't even use the 99 Critical Shots book anymore. I mean, it's still a good book, and if I had a table in the basement and just wanted to practice a few shots on some Saturday afternoon, I would totally refer to this book. Otherwise, Byrne's book has been my guide and has helped improve my game far more than these 99 Critical Shots.