(Part 2) Best products from r/billiards

So I was looking through the kindle options (love having it on the phone) and I tried sorting by "most reviewed".

Today I learned there's a series of mystery romance novels all themed around pool, with names like "Four Play: A Humorous and Romantic Cozy (Cue Ball Mysteries Book 4)" :P ...and I also learned romance readers LOVE to write reviews. Cuz these books have like 800 reviews and the first actual pool instructional has about 80.

Anyway, I wish they'd put the 99 critical shots into kindle, I requested it years ago, but it hasn't happened. But I've read and liked these others:

Byrne's Illustrated Principles - wow, cheap at 9 bucks. One of the basic pool player bibles. Seems like everyone's read this if they've read anything.

See also: Byrne's Treasury of Trick Shots - it's not that this book is super useful as an instructional, especially if you're still learning, but I remember reading it and saying wow to a lot of them and disbelieving some of them. It's surprisingly fun to just look at some of the crazy shots in here. You learn what's possible on a pool table.

Play Your Best Pool - Everything by Phil Capelle is great, and he still posts interesting match analysis to this day on fb.

Precision Pool - great general purpose instructional book, lots of illustrations. Not as complex or busy as other instructional books.

Honorable mention: there's not much good non-fiction in pool, but this is one of the better ones.
Pool Wars
The guy who wrote it is a well-known character in the pool world... not so much as a player, but as someone who ran major events, ref'd them, and went on the road all over the country and was present during some famous moments in pool. For example, he was the ref and racker when Earl Strickland ran 10 (11) racks in a row for a million (not a million) bucks prize. He explains what happened to the pro pool scene that caused it to virtually disappear from ESPN or TV in general. He talks about hustles and big gambling matches he's encountered on the road.

As said really, there is no best as everyone has preferences. I play with Xiguan tips which are a Chinese layered tip, they're pretty soft but I love them, best of all they're seriously cheap, current price is £6.48 for 10 tips on eBay. If you like something a bit harder then Cuesoul tips are also really good, come in different hardnesses and again are really cheap at £10 for 6 tips from Amazon.

I've tried many others such as Elkmaster, Blue Diamond, Kamui and Talisman. Didn't like the first two. Kamui's do play really well but they glaze over so fast so I end up scuffing them multiple times a session and they don't last 5 minutes. Talismans used to be great but they're crap now and always delaminate on me, not sure if they've changed the glue or what but they suck.

As for break cues, any phenolic tip will do the trick. They're kinda tricky to fit where you can't trim them to size easily without a lathe, so I'd suggest getting a professional to do that for you, but with regular leather tips you can fit them yourself.

If you're fitting them yourself btw (which I'd recommend if you're trying a few out, it's always a great skill to learn anyhow as tips don't last forever) then this video will help tremendously. Couple of things though:

I find the removal of the tip and old glue much easier if you rip off the tip, then apply some superglue debonder to a rag and then just rub back and forth over the ferrule where the old glue is until it comes off and you're left with a perfectly clean and flat surface. Then allow it to dry for like 10 minutes and you'll be good to go.

Also, you can trim down the tip flush to the ferrule with one of these tools which is basically a giant pencil sharpener, which you'd use like this. You can trim a tip flush to the ferrule in less than a minute with this thing.

How about a case? I have a JB Rugged case and I haven't found one in the world so far that I like better. You can pick one out that they have in stock, or design your own. They're the bomb.

https://jbcases.com/cases-for-sale-instock/rugged-cases.html?size=49

Cues are so subjective that it would be best to have him pick one out than to surprise him with one. Also, if he hasn't been playing very long, he should probably wait a while before getting a new cue so he can hit with others' cues and get a feel for what he likes and doesn't like.

Edit - some other ideas:
Last4Ever Tip Tool
Aramith Super Pro cue ball
Aramith Measle cue ball
BallSak cue ball case

I bought these clamps first. They work well at one location where the overhead light is ideal for this clamp in that I can just clamp to the shade and still get centered over the table.

I took those clamps to another pool hall and didn't have the same luck. So I also have these clamps now

I'm using hero 4 sessions at 1080 wide and removing lens warp in post.

And I velcro an external battery to the back of the H4S to have enough power to get through.

I hope that helps. And I hope to see your videos online soon.

> I make a lot of mistakes so I tend to really examine my thinking so i can eventually make fewer mistakes.

man just thinking like that makes you better than 50% of people out there lol

as far as books go, in addition to the ones I've listed, I really like Play Your Best 8-Ball, Upscale One-Pocket, and Banking with the Beard.

Winning One-Pocket is amazing, but good luck finding a copy for less than $3-500. I don't even want to talk about how much my copies cost.

Looks cool. I was looking around for a similar solution as well and found a couple below. Yours looks great though!

I had jb cases add the ballholder in my lid. Also there is one for sale on Amazon as well.

The Aramith Super Pro Cup TV Cue Ball is a very good cue ball. If you don't like the "measles", you can get the non-TV version. There are also cue ball carrying cases that clip onto your cue case.

Before I started buying individual balls though, I'd weigh your cue ball and a few object balls to make sure the cue ball is actually heavier.

There are cleaners you can purchase on Amazon that will clean it. Can't think of the name but comes in a little white bottle with a purple label.

Here are a few cleaners I found with a simple search:

https://www.amazon.com/Cue-Silk-Ferrule-Cleaner-Bottle/dp/B07JYW73LP/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=cue+cleaner&qid=1558014101&s=gateway&sr=8-4

​

https://www.amazon.com/Cue-Clean-Original-Snooker-Cleaner/dp/B0032FZUGY/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=cue+cleaner&qid=1558014128&s=gateway&sr=8-5

​

https://www.amazon.com/Undo-the-Blue-Shaft-Cleaner/dp/B01M1BWT1C/ref=sr_1_32?keywords=cue+cleaner&qid=1558014128&s=gateway&sr=8-32

​

https://www.amazon.com/Cuetec-Hi-Tech-Cue-Conditioner-1-1/dp/B00065CK52/ref=sr_1_35?keywords=cue+cleaner&qid=1558014128&s=gateway&sr=8-35

​

https://www.amazon.com/Cue-Silk-Miracle-Cleaner-Restorer/dp/B07KGN68N9/ref=sr_1_38?keywords=cue+cleaner&qid=1558014128&s=gateway&sr=8-38

​

As for sandpaper, do not and I can't stress this enough, do not use sandpaper on your shaft. Go to your local pro-shop or cue guy and have him do a cleaning on your shaft every 6 month or once a year and have him clean it all up and shape your tip for you. Shouldn't cost more than $10 and you'll know you're not damaging your cue.

Looks very nice, I will be building one eventually.

For now I am just using this on the cue ball after each session:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007LERQU0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I figure if I clean all the balls once a week they won't get too dirty.

Third this opinion- find a cheap table on craigslist (less than $400 tops) and rent a uhaul/grab a friend with a pickup truck.

Beats the construction costs of a sun room (which I would personally do, as a custom Pool Room sounds awesome).

Alternatively, here is a cheap table on amazon that probably wouldn't suck compared to not having a table: https://www.amazon.com/Hathaway-Fairmont-Portable-Families-Folding/dp/B015AHRE9C?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_3397171_1&pf_rd_p=38583c84-912a-5460-a9d3-35858c78a9bf&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=3397171&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=4TT0PAXG82632TT59GRQ&pf_rd_r=4TT0PAXG82632TT59GRQ&pf_rd_p=38583c84-912a-5460-a9d3-35858c78a9bf

It's a good book. The Inner Game of Tennis is better.

I second u/GreenGiantt 's recommendation of Predator. I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMVNFZG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 a while back and really love it.

For those looking to skip the process of creating your own leather carrying case, my friend actually makes a cue ball case called a Ballsak that is also weatherproof.

This is what I use. It is cheap, stays out of the way and holds the chalk pretty well. I shoot right handed and keep it attached to the front right pocket of my pants.
It works great for square chalk but I had to modify it a little because I use [Predetor] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMVNFZG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) chalk. I used the chalk holder part of this and glued a small washer to the bottom.

I second this, especially if you find you're rushing your later shots.

Stand up, chalk up, and take a trip around the table. Look at the way everything's laid out, and give yourself a chance to relax before you shoot. Unless you're taking a really long time between each shot, nobody should give you any grief.

If you're looking for some great reads about this, check out Zen in the Art of Archery and The Inner Game of Tennis. I've also heard good things about the Pleasures of Small Motions, but I've yet to read it myself.

>this weird coating

Yes, it's called soap.

I use this stuff - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aramith-Billiard-Pool-Cleaner-Polish/dp/B007LERQU0

Out of interest, has anybody ever tried making a ball cleaner out of a rock tumbler or vibrating bowl like this: https://www.sandblasters.co.uk/250mm-vibratory-tumbler-parts-cleaner--polisher-20kg-capacity-model-10-sp-b-79-p.asp

I've already been down the orbital polisher in a bucket route and one of the idiotic bar staff at my local club burned it out after a few weeks

Since he thinks its mostly mental, has he offered any insight? If you play league, perhaps take a break from teams and play as individual, so you take the pressure off.

Here are some books covering the mental aspect of the game.
https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Pool-Master-Mental-Game/dp/0964920417

https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314

https://www.amazon.com/Aramith-AR1060-Ball-Cleaner/dp/B007LERQU0