Pool Player's Edge

by Gerry Kanov

Overview

Great pool players know that competing successfully in tournament competition requires more than technical shotmaking skills. You also need to be able to execute them under pressure, read the table, anticipate your opponents' shots, and maintain your focus throughout the match. This advanced insight into the game is what Pool Player's Edge is all about.

First, you'll learn the high-level skills and top-shelf shots:

-Stop, stun, and drag shots

-Frozen ball shots

-Banks and kicks

-Combinations and caroms

-Jump shots and curve ballsSecond, you'll learn how to incorporate these skills and shots into your overall table strategy (mapping the table), which gives you a superior plan of attack in every game you play. Consistently setting yourself up for the next shot by thinking ahead several shots becomes much easier—and more important—as you improve.

Finally, you'll learn winning tactics for 8-Ball and 9-Ball. The book's three-dimensional diagrams showing ball position, cue placement, and shot execution will help you grasp the intricacies of the two games. You'll make smarter strategic decisions, be more confident, and perform your best consistently in competition.

In addition, Pool Player's Edge features advanced mental focusing techniques for developing toughness under pressure. And the troubleshooting section is a great reference for even the best players.

Authors Kanov and Stauch are veteran professional players and highly regarded teachers. Take advantage of their pro-level advice and you will soon be controlling the cue ball as never before and running the table much more frequently. And your opponents will soon learn that you have the pool player's edge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780736099523
Publisher:	Human Kinetics Publishers
Publication date:	11/24/2010
Series:	2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	329,853
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

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Gerry "The Ghost" Kanov and Shari "The Shark" Stauch combine an unprecedented wealth of professional pool experience and talent to create this book. Both are staff members of Pool & Billiard Magazine, the top publication for the sport. They have played and worked with virtually every top professional pool player and instructor in the world.

Kanov has been playing professional and amateur pool since 1968. He has dozens of local and national top-three finishes and championships, including two national team championships as a player or coach. He is an instructional editor and technical advisor for Pool & Billiard Magazine and writes the "Ghost" column.

Kanov also is a touring professional on the Camel Pro Billiard series and a coach for several top players. He also has a screen credit: He portrayed a referee in the motion picture The Color of Money. Kanov lives in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Stauch has been on the Women's Pro Billiard Tour since 1980. She has been consistently ranked in the top 32 and is a former Illinois and Wisconsin state 9-Ball champion. She is the owner and executive editor of Pool & Billiard Magazine and has performed dozens of exhibitions for a variety of clients, such as ESPN, ESPN2, and Gordon's Gin and Vodka.

Stauch is the founding president of the Billiard Education Foundation, which conducts youth billiard national championships and provides scholarships. She serves as the treasurer on the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) board of directors and as the public relations director of the World Confederation of Billiard Sports, an international federation that succeeded in getting pool recognized as an official Olympic sport for the 2000 Games. Stauch was also involved with The Color of Money, serving as a consultant. She lives in Summerville, South Carolina.

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Table of Contents

Part 1. Becoming a Player
Chapter 1. The Essentials
Chapter 2. Perfecting Your Aim
Chapter 3. Top-Shelf Shots
Chapter 4. Mapping the Table
Chapter 5. Mastering the Mind Game

Part 2. Expert 8-Ball
Chapter 6. 8-Ball Openers
Chapter 7. Mid-Game Strategy
Chapter 8. End Game Excellence

Part 3. Top-Notch 9-Ball
Chapter 9. 9-Ball Openers
Chapter 10. Winning Moves
Chapter 11. Table-Closing Tactics

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

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"For anyone serious about pool, Shari and Gerry have created the ultimate reference. Pool Player's Edge will teach you advanced techniques and tactics that will help you outplay and out-think your opponents."

Loree Jon Jones
Professional pool player
8-Time World Champion and BCA 2002 Hall of Fame inductee

"I highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready to take their game to the next level. Not only are Shari and Gerry knowledgeable about the game itself, but they also do a great job explaining it to the reader. It's definitively a winner."

Ewa Mataya Laurance
Professional pool player
Multiple world and U.S. tournament champion and president of the Women's Pro Billiard Tour

"Stauch's and Kanov's combined 50-plus years of experience playing, teaching, and writing about the sport allow them to offer advanced insights you just won't find in other pool instruction books. Pool Player's Edge will help any player take their personal game to the next level."

Harold Simonsen
Pool & Billiard Magazine publisher

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