Customer Reviews

Pleasures of Small Motions: Mastering the Mental Game of Pocket Billiards

5 star:		(5)
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I'd like to congratulate Dr. Fancher for his efforts on breaking up the myths that covered billiards' mental game. With solid scientific arguments, he proves pool's "mental hell" can quite become a "mental orgasm" if you learn to deal with your thoughts properly and if you're able to make the difference between the conscious and unconscious parts of your brain. I find this is an excellent and exhaustive review of the most important mental aspects of the game and I recommend it to every player who would not fear hearing that their mental construction of billiards is totally erratic and that they have to change it from the bottom.

As a medical student, I was pleased with the great section covering the integration of neurologic processes (esp. unconscious ones) to explain motricity, focus and concentration. From what I have learnt about neurology, I find these details exact and the advice given by Dr. Fancher very profitable to any level of pool playing.

If the author (Bob Fancher) happens to read this review: I would like to send you an e-mail for further details about my impressions and what I'd like to do to help spread this new pool philosophy. You can e-mail me at francout@hotmail.com and be assured I will reply as soon as possible. Thank you.

After you hone your basic shotmaking skills, pool is almost entirely a mental game. There are precious few books on the topic of the mental side of pool and billiards (I know of only three), and this is by far the best of them. The author is a sports psychologist (and pool player), and he explodes a lot of the "mental myths" of pool, including undoing some bad advice written by pool pros and wanna-be pros who meant well but didn't know what they were talking about psychologically speaking. The prose is also a nice read, especially for a nonfiction book. I can especially recommend this volume for intermediate players who are having a hard time dealing with league or tournament competition pressure. Fancher may give you some mental tools to quit being a "Count Choke-ula".

PS: If you order this used, be sure you are getting the revised 2002 edition.

It didn't take long after reading this book for me to notice distinct improvements in my competitive game. To me, the most important part was the chapter regarding realistic confidence. Keeping perspective on my own abilities allows me to feel happy when I'm playing up to my own expectations, even if I'm losing -- and as it turns out, I actually end up playing better!

A great book to help you keep your head in the game and your negative emotions in check. HIGHLY recommended!

Simply put, this book delivers. No mystical nonsense about Being In The Moment With The Ball. No bad science about Spanking Your Inner Child.

What it does is deal very well with the different mental approaches to practicing versus competing, the dangers of self-talk, the acquisition and maintenance of effective self-confidence - you know, the useful stuff. It gives sound advice, and then tells you why the advice is sound, based on what science knows about the human mind and body.

If you want drivel based on the fictional pseudo-Zen teachings of "The Master," you won't find it in this book. Myself, I've never met a Zen monk over a five-and-ten game of nine-ball, so I'll put my trust in good ol' Western science, thanks.

Since I have to give this book "stars" to post about it, publically I give it five--as one would assume most authors would about their books. Such self-doubts as I may have needn't be advertyised, right? Anyway, the stars aren't my idea, but oh, well.

The point of this "review," though, is to tell readers of the first edition how this edition differs.

This edition is about fifty percent larger than the original, organized into twelve chapters (and an "interlude") rather than the original seven. The new material is mostly about competition, motivation, and the place of the body in the mental game. In addition, new material has been worked into various chapters to elaborate or clarify.