So, you want to get sponsored and rep for a company, be one of the elites? Yeah, you and every other player. We all want that status and enjoy the perks of getting stuff for free. You want to play and rep for a company and have them give you equipment and pay for expenses. When you get down to it, what do you truly desire? You may ask yourself, "What is a company hoping to get out of sponsoring me?" There is more to being sponsored than being a good player! Companies are look

CSI Commentator Mark White talks about what Pool means to him!

The break is one of the most important shots of the game and I feel that many people just try and power through it. Whether you like a little finesse in your break or simply like to try and hit them as hard as you can, the most important part of the entire shot is controlling the cue ball. Some like a softer break tip and others like a rock-hard tip. Kamui has been an industry leader for years and their innovations have helped the players reach new heights. They have a wide v

Have you ever felt your body get tense during a match? Have you ever felt insecure about a shot? Have you ever missed a key shot you lined up “perfectly” for? Have you ever been annoyed by your opponent? Have you ever felt like you were unstoppable one day and then question whether you belong in a pool hall another day? W elcome to the mental game. The impact our mind has on not only our performance, but our perspective, as well, is astounding. There are so many elements that

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 poorly, 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 cha

For anyone who loves pool it is easy to see (& feel) that 2022 is bursting with momentum, energy, money, talent, & tons of competition! Our 2 years of shutdown, with lots of at home practice (if possible), full of virtual events & watching tons of pool online, has paid off. Matchroom, Predator, The Pro Billiard Series & the WPBA lead the way with full calendars for professionals; however, the biggest shift for the sport of pool is the support of wild card players & juniors.

Acknowledging Our Struggle & Loss, To Move Forward Stronger & Optimistic First and foremost let's acknowledge that all of us (meaning the entire world) have been living through history the last 2 years. A global pandemic with over 373 million cases & 5.6 million deaths, holy cow. It has come with insane challenges to our way of life ... quarantine, shut downs, travel bans, mask mandates, testing, vaccinations, boosters, full hospitals, hoax conspiracies, political division,

By Dominic Esposito aka The Drill Instructor Another fabulous installment from The Drill Instructor this month! You can have the pool game you desire. I will show you how to drill in good habits. Shots will appear in your mind and disappear quickly into the pockets. The Tip Kick System can Make a Tough Kick Shot Simple This month I want to teach you the first part of my Tip Kick System . The shots as diagramed in this article include the kinds of workouts I used to turn pro

Jeanette Lee "The Black Widow" is not only one of the most famous pool players in history, she is one of the most accomplished, decorated, inspirational, strong, funny, kind, down to earth & sexy humans that has ever walked the planet. Along with countless others, I watched Jeanette mesmerized while she competed regularly on ESPN during the 1990's & 2000's with the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA). Not only was she an unbelievable pool player (at one point ho

Personally I can not count how many times I’ve been called a “pool shark” and honestly it’s a term I find endearing 😏 . I think it describes a confident or aggressive competitive player, not necessarily “a hustler”; however, when you type in “Pool Shark” into Google, the following definition pops up - Pool shark : In the billiards sub-culture, a pool shark is usually someone who suckers someone into playing them for money knowing full well, that they are a significantly be

Play Better 8 Ball With These Tips! As an avid pool player & professional I love & play many billiard games. Of course I spend most of my time playing rotation pool (shooting the balls in numerical order) because most professional events these days are 9 ball or 10 ball. I also love playing & competing in straight pool (14.1), bank pool, snooker & occasionally 3 cushion; however, the game of 8 ball will always hold a special place in my heart as the game I played in my chil

Pool Etiquette 101 Any activity where people are competing for money, ranking or pride should carry a certain etiquette with it and billiards is no exception. After playing this game my whole life I’ve seen a lot of annoying & disrespectful behavior; however, I believe most of it came from a lack of knowing that the action is not ideal. I would like to help teach people the basics of pool etiquette to make the pool world a more enjoyable environment for all. Here is Pool Et

The Importance of Decision Making & Pre-Shot Routine After decades of competition I have come to know that solid mental skills & fundamentals are everything when it comes to playing your best pool! When the nerves are high, it means adrenaline is pumping through your system & the possibility of making a mistake increases. The most consistent way to play well under pressure is to strengthen your decision making process & shoot with a pre-shot routine. Personally I worked wi

Top 10 Tips for Competition - Part 2 (6-10) Let’s be honest, playing good pool takes a lot of focus & most pool environments are full of distractions! Loud people, lots of people, empty stands, noises, silence, phones, smells, music, no music and whatever your personal pet peeves are. Maybe it’s the outfit of the opponent next to you that sets you off or the shoes you are wearing. Perhaps you dislike or like your opponent which could make you too eager or not eager enough t

Back in 1990, I watched Nick Varner’s hot seat match with Mike Sigel at the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Varner was down 9-2 and corner hooked against arguably the best player in the world. Instead of giving up or throwing in the towel, Varner staged one of the greatest come-from-behind tournament victories ever witnessed. By now, I am sure that you are aware that there are two games going on inside of every match. There’s the more obvious physical game, which consi

Actress Keri Russell once said, “Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” Over the years, you have probably made enough poor decisions to believe this is true. Why, then, do we associate our playing ability with our physical skill? It’s because our physical abilities are easier to see than our thought processes. The best players in the world are often much more deliberate in the way that they think than amateur players. Professional

The definition of a 5 tool player in baseball is that of a player that excels at all five of the major physical tools: speed, throwing, fielding, hitting for average, and hitting for power. Some of the names that come to mind that are the definition of 5 tool players would be Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr, and currently Mike Trout. The pool world has 5 tool players as well and none personifies that term better than the Lion himself, Alex Pagulayan. A part of the Filipino move

Very few pool players understand that their performance will reach a stalemate after they master many of the mental and physical aspects of the game. This “lack of improvement” occurs because they have not developed the ability to balance both their conscious and subconscious mind. The fact remains that you cannot play pool completely subconsciously. This is a common problem that needs to be addressed—if you can’t clearly define where the problem lies in your mind, how can

Recently one of my students asked, “How can I erase the memory of a missed shot and not let it create self-doubt for the rest of my match? Whenever I play a bad match I immediately start to think about how much that’s affected my chances to win that particular tournament. Negative thoughts start to creep in…it’s hard to rebound from a poor performance.” As a coach, I usually tell my students that thoughts are just thoughts and to treat them as such. When your brain produces