Product: The Basics of Billiards (2007)
Rating: 5.0
Exactly what I was looking for!
This video is exactly what I was looking for. I have never played pool before and I was looking to learn the basics of the game, not wanting to do so at my local pool hall and embarrass myself in the process. This video is exactly what it states, a great introduction to the basics of the sport, teaching basic techniques, like how to hold the cue properly, how to break, how to strike a ball, how to control where the ball you hit goes, and other simple but important things that are often overlooked in other pool tutorials, like tools used in the game, what their proper names are, what they do, and why. The DVD also teaches you step by step instructions of how to play both 8 and 9 ball, not only does it go through each rule and practice of play, but also shows you through the use of watching two average pool players in a "reality" game, how and why they execute their next move. I found this section most helpful and unique, because it incorporates everything it just taught you into a real game you get to watch that is slowed down. The players in the video are also not experts, which is great because most how to videos are taught by someone of a superior skill level, here you learn along with the players on camera. This is like a "for dummies" video, and I highly recommend it for novices. I don't get the other review I read here about it being "too basic" the video is called "the basics" so I'm not sure what that person was expecting.