The 99 Critical Shots in Pool

by Ray Martin, Rosser Reeves

Thirtieth anniversary edition out in 2007!

World Champion Pool Player Ray "Cool Cat" Martin shares his secrets for playing winner's pool in this classic book, now with a new introduction by the author. Written with co-author Rosser Reeves three decades ago, The 99 Critical Shots in Pool remains one of the most authoritative guides to the game ever written. Over 200 illustrations show the proper form, technique, and approach to shots such

• The Center Ball Cheat-the-Pocket
• The Hook Shot
• The Seven Ball Stop Shot
• The Jump Shot
• The Frozen Kiss Shot
• The Nudge Shot
• The Side Pocket By-Pass Shot

Ray Martin , a Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame inductee, is one of only seven players in the twentieth century to win three or more world 14.1 titles. He co-wrote this book with Rosser Reeves in 1976.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Collections, Reference

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1982

Reviews

[Jeremy]

An interesting book with a lot of examples, though not much detailed explanation around any. The internet has definitely changed how available and improved information around pool is since the book was originally published in 1977.

The book is at its strongest in the beginning when working through fundamentals. I have a feeling the latter half would be quite a bit more useful for somebody playing straight pool—there are a lot of examples dealing with ball clusters that don't generally happen in 8 or 9 ball. Once I actually start digging into straight pool, I'll probably pick this up again as a reference.

One amusing part (for me) is how often the claim is made that a certain shot is "easy" or "simple". If only!

[R.K. Cowles]

3 1/2 stars

[Angela]

Great on fundamentals of the game, and it touches on very basic information about the game that beginners may not know. It's important to have a good stance and grip when shooting. You balance in correlation to your aim are ultimately the deciding factors on whether or not you pocket a ball, and the book touches on such topics. The diagrams are also in order of how you may encounter your shots and whether you need to cut, stop, or draw. A must-read for poolhall junkies.

[Rafael DelCastillo]

Good book to learn more about pocket billiards. Fair illustrations although it is written from a straight pool viewpoint. Most shots though are common. You have to really set up as close as possible to layout. I read it through and now I am going over the shots I want to practice so it’s more of a reference to go over as needed.

[Guy]

Lots of good information but very very non-demonstrative. Not really giving you pointers except to practice, which is a given.

[J.]

An excellent book for beginners and long-time players to refresh on.

[Carl]

Very informative and easy to understand. Great book by a master....

[Tara Schaafsma]

I got a lot of good information from this book. The shots are lined up and explained well. The only complaint I have is that the object ball is supposed to be black, and the other balls grey, but they appeared so close in color in the book I had to look very closely to see which was which if it wasn't obvious.

[Cameron]

A great, no non-sense guide. Start with shot number one, and really work your way through this book, and you will notice the improvement in your game. From your stance, posture, and grip, to jump shots, kisses, and nudges, this book covers it all.

There is a reason this book is still so popular three decades later, because it is the best. The only book on pool you need.

[Slickmez]

A great book on pool; a lot of information on the various scenarios you will encounter and shots needed to keep your run going. The shot he sees amongst the seemingly random ball layouts are amazing. He even tests your shot visualisation at the end of the book. It does have a strong bias for straight pool. Well worth the read (or skim).

[Toni Johnson]

I've been reading this book on and off for years... it's got great information for anyone from beginners to advanced pool players.

[Holly]

Bought this so I could more often beat my soon-to-be-husband in pool so many years ago. Brings back good memories of pre-kids late nights. Ahhhhhhhhh ...

[Ted]

I'm always impressed by people who are bad pool players, because it means they didn't waste their youth in smokey pool halls like I did....

[Dennis C Dubnansky]

hands down the best and easiest to follow instructional pool book Ive ever used/read.

[Sherlock]

Good Book. :)

[Mollie the Cat]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13208079

[Andy Day]

It's just 99 shots, but there's hundreds of applications of the shots to the game.