I am truly impressed and amazed by this 12-year old’s list of accomplishments that it gives me hope that the sport is alive and well. Coached and motivated by his father, takes lessons from a billiard author and instructor and is sponsored by one of the biggest names in the industry, this young man is destined to be on a short list of the nation’s top players. Charlie Marshall Jr.’s accomplishments: First and currently the only junior player sponsored by Predator® Products, W

I promised a friend, Ron Kirk, a few years ago that I would try to write a story about Pool, especially about our Pool Hall hangout in Glens Falls, New York, known by several names: Charlie’s, Jake’s, or its legal name, The Empire Billiard Lounge. Now, before I start the story, I feel I must write on why I have been hesitant. I lack a proper education. Yes, I have two years of college in Glens Falls and two more in Florida, but I never graduated from high school and cheated o

Just yesterday, I started rummaging through some old documents that I pulled out of storage while cleaning house, and ran across a single printout that contained a heading and eleven sentences underneath it that I made as a reminder for my own game way back in 1999, a year before my first ever trip to Asia to compete in the huge Tokyo 9-Ball event. What a great tournament that was… I think it’s a pretty cool sheet of paper with some sound tips, and I’ve decided to share it wi

Pool is a game of ups and downs. Most pool players experience a slump at some time or another. Slumps occur when you play below your expected ability for a prolonged period of time. Most pool players do not know why they are playing bad, so they tend to look for solutions in all the wrong places. Sometimes this causes the player’s performance to drop even more. Often, the player falls deeper and deeper into despair. Pool players are often unable to break free from the chains

The game is 9-ball here. In Diagram 1, the cue ball is frozen to the 8-ball and their line of centers are aimed to miss to the right hand corner of the pocket. The 9-ball is on the same end of the table. How would you make the 8-ball and also get position for the 9-ball? Diagram 3 reveals that the answer is by using direction-induced throw. Remember that throw is counter-intuitive. Contact the cue ball on the right side of the line of centers of the cue ball and the 8-ball a