Pleasures of Small Motions: Mastering The Mental Game Of Pocket Billiards

by Bob Fancher, Robert T. Fancher

A psychotherapist and pool columnist breaks new ground by applying good science to the mental game of billiards and gives invaluable insight on competitive play.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[John Sperling]

If you're looking for a technical manual on pool, this is not your book. If, however, you want to become a better pool player and increase your enjoyment of the game, then you should read this book. What makes Fancher's book unique is that the lessons apply to pool and in a broader sense to life itself, and I think the insights into the mind, self, emotions, confidence, concentration, and competition contained within can be applied to any meaningful endeavor.

[Patrick Baumann]

The best book you can get on the "mental" side of pool.

[Brandi D'Angelo]

Although this book is geared towards pool players, anyone playing a sport or just navigating life will find this useful. It's all about mentally mastering the game, whether that's pool or life.

The best advice I gleaned was the old adage, practice, practice, practice. By practicing, we turn the conscious into the unconscious; our bodies take over and do the hard work without us fretting about it in the midst of competition or stress.

It is important to find other facets to enjoy such as comaraderie, mentorship, distraction from life.

Author Bob Fancher contradicts lots of popular advice, one being "don't think about it" (it being various things like the score, your competitor, etc.) Instead, he advises *do* think about it. Think about it and then focus on your remedy, whether that's enjoying the game, revving yourself up, or calming yourself down.

If you find yourself with an impossible to reach goal, then switch goals. It's all about being realistic.

[Texzen]

Discovering what matters

We know it as much as mental game as a physical one. It is also as much a physical one. Without a shot routine, you can’t execute your shots. But once you can, what’s next?

That is the domain of this book. We all have three dimensions to our play - body, mind, and emotion. This book deals with mind and emotion, reminding us to enjoy playing the game and to notice where our cognitive abilities help and also how they can get in the way when our ego has to win to be valid.

This is a challenging read. It challenges us to examine why and how we play. If you want to execute a stun shot well, read a different book. If you are curious about what makes you human or a strong player read this one.

[Ken Bour]

Through his understanding of science, Bob obliterates commonly understood pool hall "wisdom" concerning the game of pocket billiards emphasizing the crucial mental objectives (e.g., pleasure vs. winning) and psychological dimensions of play (e.g., emotions, competition). There is so much meat provided in terms of application (e.g., rhythmic repetition) that it will require multiple reads to have ingrained it all...

[Aidan Aliu]

I agreed with the introduction, but after that very little else. He assumes as inherent to human nature important traits that I do not share. While all Americans are humans, not all humans are Americans.

[Guy]

A look at playing pool from the psychological side and a reminder to enjoy what you do.
I liked this and I can see myself coming back to it again in the future.

[Mason Prey]

A must read for all my followers

[Noah Everett]

I really dig this book. Would recommend it even if you don’t play pool. I can save my trip to the sport psychologist now… and regular psychologist for that matter

[Zachariah N]

it was good

[Jonas Martinsson]

Det första kapitlet på futtiga 9 sidor innehöll en oerhört intressant diskussion om motivation till spelande. Detta är applicerbart till alla sysselsättningar/besattheter jag ägnat mig åt: biljard, badminton, flipper, poker, golf, schack, brädspel, etc. Att hitta glädjen i sysselsättningen, inte förbättring eller tävlingsmomentet är nyckeln till en hållbar sysselsättning.

Boken fortsätter med många insiktfulla diskussioner som egentligen går tvärt emot gängse populärkulturell sportspykologi. Nu vill jag läsa om boken!

[John Biddle]

This is my second reading of Pleasures of Small Motions and I liked it every bit as much as the first time. Bob Fancher brings wisdom along with a deep understanding of pyschology to elp readers understand the mental side of the game of pool.

He covers motivation, the conscious vs unconscious mind, concentration, rythm, emotion, confidence and competition and does do differently, and I think correctly, than every other person talking about the mental game I am familiar with.

It's a short powerhouse book, and if you play pool, or any other sport for that matter, you will find great value in these pages. The oly other book on this topic I rate this highly is The Inner Game of Tennis, by Tim Galwey.

Highly recommended, a solid 5 stars

[Andrew Kane]

got a bit scientific for what i was looking for, but a decent read.

[Carl]

Good read...