In Training

After we ordered the table from Connelly, I went downtown to the local bookstore the next day and bought the only three books they had on pool or billiards:

Steve Mizerak's Complete Book of Pool by Steve Mizerak with Michael E. Panozzo, copyright 1990, ISBN 0-8092-4255-9
Steve Mizerak's Play Better Pool by Steve Mizerak with Michael E. Panozzo, copyright 1996, ISBN 0-8092-3427-0
Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billiards by Robert Byrne, copyright 1987, ISBN 0-15-614972-9

I read these books in the order listed. Each one taught me something new. The first one, Mizerak's Complete, contains a great and interesting history of billiards. Plus, I learned some fundamentals that I had no inkling of before.

The second Mizerak book had some helpful information in the beginning, but later on it became confusing because the photographs were all out of whack. The chapter on Straight Pool had photos of Eight Ball in it and the chapter on Eight Ball had photos of Nine Ball in it. The book had potential, but the sloppy layout (not the author's fault!) left me disappointed.

The Byrne book is the superior teaching book of the three I've listed. It has taught me a great deal. Our table came with the video version of this book, and I recommend it. Pool instruction videos are even better if you have a television and VCR in your pool room so that you can pause or replay the shots as you practice them.

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