This is the mind set that a serious player must learn. This is how Sun Tzu would teach table billiards. It is the Philosophy of War as it applies to the Philosophy of Pool. The words of the famous and ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu have been read, studied, and applied by millions of students of warfare and those who compare their livelihood to be a similar life and death competition. Many advisers to the movers and shakers of the world have made their fortunes by converting his words for the applications in sports, business and politics. This 2500 year old treatise on how to wage war has a direct application to the tactics and strategies used in table billiards. Your viewpoint of how you to play will shift and adjust from "on the table" to "above the table" viewpoint. "This book is available in US (amazon.com) and Europe (*.uk, *.fr, *.de, *.es, *.it)." Also see the author's Billiards Blog on the Billiard Gods web site.
Here is the story about this book. During those early couple of decades when I got bitten by the Pool Passion Bug, the idea of winning the game by purposely dogging a shot or two was considered cowardly and the shooter was a yellow-bellied weakling, deserving of sneers and insults. Nowadays, a well-played safety is applauded by railbirds, and feared by those who can't kick or jump the cue ball. I watched many games where the sure-to-lose player, seemingly by accident, prevented the obvious-to-win player from winning. (Well, I was a little slow to learn some things, but eventually, I realized what was happening.) Defensive shooting skills are as important to winning as offensive shooting skills. I started applying this radical idea of defensive shooting to my own game - and suddenly I was winning a lot more matches - even against better players. What an eye-opener this was. And yes, occasionally I get accused of cowardice. I don't care - I won, they lost. This book is the accumulation of over ten years of study and analysis of defensive and safety shooting options. The phrase, "Knowledge is Power" sums up the contents of this book and I want to pass on these hard-learned lessons to you. These are the advanced defensive strategies and tactical tools used by professionals and road players. Just reading this material will improve your winning percentage by 10%. Yes - you do need to practice the cue ball and object ball positioning skills in the book, but just knowing the how, when, and why to play the safety will make winning a more common experience in your life. Basically, the contents of this book teach you how to trick and trap your opponent into helping you win. Winning is so much easier when you can identify your opponent's weaknesses and use them against him. There is even ways to use your opponent's strengths against him. (Who would have thought that?) You will learn about basic safety types, how to analyze opponents, use simple tricks and traps to prevent your opponent from winning, and the necessary precision exercises (which will also help your offensive game). It will be more fun to win more games
This book provides a combination of fundamental information and hands-on exercises.The Knowledge section provides functional information, details, and guidelines.The Skills section includes various drills and exercises to improve your physical ball control skills.
Test & Fine-Tune Your AIMING SYSTEMS with these Fixed Layouts These Half-Table Carom Billiards layouts offer an excellent variety of table setups that show up in game after game. For Full-Table layouts, see the book "Carom Billiards: MORE Riddles & Puzzles." The layouts are designed to allow experimentation to try various cue ball speeds, spins, and angles. This provides significant personal competitive benefits: "Intellectual training" - Evaluate the layouts and consider how many pathway options are available. Make sketches of paths and cue ball speeds & spins for the practice table. This increases your analytic and tactical skills. "Skills confirmation" - As you attempt each path, your experimentation helps to determine whether it is viable (within your skills) or useless (too difficult or fantastic). This comparison between mental imagery and physical attempts helps determine the width and breadth of your abilities. "Skills advancement" - If a path looks promising, but execution fails, work with various speeds/spins to discover what works. Several consecutive successes will add this to your personal library of competencies. TABLE SETUP Use donuts (paper reinforcement rings) to mark positions for the carom balls. These are available at any office supply store. Place the first cue ball on the "A" ball position, the second cue ball on the "B" position, and the Red Ball on the dark ball position. PLAYING RULES Depending on your game preferences, use the appropriate scoring rules: 3-Cushion Straight Rail Balkline One Cushion For specific details, search on the World Wide Web for "carom billiards rules." TABLE OPTIONS Every table layout provides four (4) different ways to score points: CB1 > Red > CB2 CB1 > CB2 > Red CB2 > Red > CB1 CB2 > CB1 > Red HOW TO STUDY Start with armchair analysis. Look at each table layout and consider possible playing options. Imagine shooting your ideas, concentrating on the appropriate speed and spin. Make sketches and notes, as needed. Alternately, take this book to your practice table, put the donuts down, and (without shooting anything), mentally figure out how many different ways you can play the shot. Make notes of your ideas. If this is a printed book, use a pencil and sketch out pathways. Make sketches, and when you get to the practice table, give them a shot. At the practice table, apply the paper reinforcement rings for the three ball positions. Think through the shot before you get down and stroke the cue ball. When shots get close, experiment with different speeds/spins and angles until you can consistently score (3 of 4 attempts). This is how you become a tougher and more dangerous player. CHALLENGES (for fun & profit) For a change of pace, consider setting up a friendly competition among your buddies. Mutually select several of these layouts. Place the donuts on the table. Use a round-robin format. Everyone shoots an agreed number of times (1, 3, or 5) per setup. Winner gets the pot, and another round begins. +++++++++++ NOTES: - Ball positions are not random. They are calculated to fall within a wide variety of common pathways. - There are no hints or tips. Experimentation is encouraged. - Test newly learned systems with these layouts. - Test your abilities to predict the future. +++++++++ FYI - there are two "Riddles & Puzzles" books: "- Carom Billiards: Some Riddles & Puzzles (half-table layouts)" "- Carom Billiards: MORE Riddles & Puzzles (full-table layouts)"
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