Want to try your hand at trick shots? Simply looking for a entertaining video of pool magic? You really need to go and check out the hompage of Eric “the preacher” Yow - specifically the list of all of his trick shot videos to get a full understanding of the content he has made available.

I recently contacted Eric about a quick interview - and he was provide some helpful info on the man behind the videos.

How did you get started with trick shots?

I began playing pool in the Fall 2000, when I started college. Soon after I ran the gameroom as a work-study job to help pay the bills. Turns out, I wound up playing pool everyday! Watching the pro players on television and the internet do impressive trick shots peaked my interest. I began to study the game diligently until I understood how and why things work the way they do. In 2004, I began practicing the trick shots I had seen on tv. As I developed a strong stroke and a keen eye, I became more and more able to perform the more difficult shots. Later, I decided to turn pro and since then, God has shown me the world, opening door after door for me to walk through. I greatly anticipate what else He has in store for me.

How do you practice?

I practice often and diligently. I tell those who are interested in developing a stronger game, both in artistic and otherwise, to practice, but practice consistently. This means that you learn something from every shot. For instance, when working on a shot, shooting it over and over, change only one variable at a time (speed, english, angle of elevation, etc). This way, you’ll learn exactly what makes things happen the way they do, and soon enough, exactly what it takes to make a particular shot. So, practice, but practice consistently.

Who of your contemporaries impresses you?

Semih Sayginer, Roberto Rojas, and Miguel Torres genuinely impress me and are my trilogy of heroes in the game (They are renowned Artistic Billiard players). I am of course impressed by Mike Massey, more by what all he’s done for the game, than anything else. Other players impress me for other reasons: Tom Rossman impresses me with his dedication to the progress of the game and his enthusiasm; Andy Segal impresses me with his consistency and persistence in mastering shots; Matt MacPhail impresses me with his continually improving performances; other new players like Tim Chin, Dave Jamieson, and Jamie Gray impress me by their perseverence and striving to excel. I could go on for days.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to learn artistic pool?

Once again, practice, but practice consistently. Learn the physics, then the technique. Too many try to learn the tricks before they learn the game. If you can’t run a rack or two of nine ball fairly consistently, don’t dive head first into artistic yet. Master the elementary principles of the game, develop a rock solid stroke and fundamentals, THEN tackle the great shots one at a time. And, my last advice - get help wherever you can get it. I make myself available whenever possible, email me. If I can’t help, I’ll tell you where to go to get what you need.

For a preview of Eric’s Trick Shot Madness… here’s his popular “masse insanity” video.

Blog Name: Snooker Scene Blog
URL: http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/

Who should read it?: Those who consider snooker their billiards game of choice.

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by month of posting.

Useful Links?: Links to lots of great snooker resources.

Blog Platform: Blogger

Blog Start Date: Posts go back to June 2006

This blog is an offshoot of the snooker scene online website. It reads likes a journal of recent news from the snooker tour. If you are a fan of the game, or just like to keep on top of Stephen Hendry and other tour favourites - this site will be a great resource.

One thing I particularly like about this blog is that the posts provide some insight into the players themselves and not simply the match outcomes. There are a lot of comments on players and how they have developed over the years. It kind of gives you an insider’s account of the tour.

I’m actually a little surprised I couldn’t find more snooker blogs that were being regularly updated (Snooker Scene Online updates weekly). The game is obviously bigger in Britain that it is in America - but I wonder if it is a space that could handle more content. Regardless, Snooker Scene Online is in a great position as they appear to be the leading blog for snooker.

Blog Name: Kendrick’s Billiards Blog
URL: http://kendricks.wordpress.com/

Who should read it?: Anyone who is interested in what it is like to run a billiards hall.

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date or category. Categories include: business thoughts, food/drink, funny, history, news, pictures, rants/opinions, thought-provoking, and uncategorized.

Useful Links?: Links to a coffee retailer and Kendrick’s main site. There is also a link to a guide on how to start a billiards hall.

Blog Platform: Wordpress

Blog Start Date: Posts go back to July 2006

As Brian says - This blog is intended to be a record of the interesting things that happen at Kendrick’s Billiards in Bellingham, WA. I (Brian) will be posting accounts of the funny, strange, scary, and unusual occurances from the past and present.

I can’t do better than that as far as a overview of this blog goes. I must say that I’m pretty pleased to be reviewing this blog - the majority of others have been writen by players for players. This blog is much different - its less educational and a little more fun. A lot of the posts focus on the activities and people that frequent Kendricks. What I found particularly interesting was a run of posts that focus on how to start a pool hall. There are a lot of good tips in there, and some pragmatic advice for all of those that think it would be easy to transfer an interest in billiards into an entrepreneurial venture.

Kendrick’s Billiards Blog has currently garnered 5% of the votes in my best billiards blog poll. It is possibly the most unique of all the blogs I reviewed - grab a pint and give it a browse.

Blog Name: Barenada
URL: http://barenada.com/pool.shtml

Who should read it?: Advanced pool players who are looking for analysis on the finer points of the game.

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date or category - and you can even search by keyword within those different groups.

Useful Links?: Lots of cool stuff - links to David’s favourite blogs, forums, and instructional resources. He even links to other pages of good links.

Blog Platform: Movable Type

Blog Start Date: Posts go back all the way to 1999

This blog is really cool - David is a billiards enthusiast that has been blogging for a very long time (posts go back over 7 years). The focus on this blog is not simply pool - the Barenada site includes posts on cats, computers, etc… but you can easily find the billiards stuff if you are so inclined.

As David recommends- the site might not be for beginners. A lot of the insights and tips are for the more accomplished player. However, I’d recommend enthusiasts of all levels check it out - it will at least expose you to some areas you might want to focus on as your game advances.

What’s also cool about this blog is the deep functionality. David posts a lot of his own videos on the site - they are great learning resources as he covers a wide selection of different shots. Additionally, he has a large selection of table graphics that outline different shot types. There’s lots of great learning to be had here - he provides a particularly valuable section on practice shots.

Simply put, Barenada is a great resource. There’s so much here - including valuable links to so many other great pool sites. It would take me forever to list all the content, so just go and check it out.

But book off some time as you’ll be reading for a while.

I just re-did the navigation in the sidebar so that it included links to recent posts. Additionally, I started adding links to relevant posts from within the different category sections.

Improved navigation is overdue… I know. Once the site got beyong 10 posts I started thinking about the next evolution. However, I didn’t realize how painful navigation can be. I kept getting errors where links wouldn’t work - turns out I kept mispelling billiards as biliards. Or billliards. Simple mistakes… but they cost me hours of frustration. Hopefully its a little easier to get around the site.

Additionally, I’ve started cleaning up the CSS formatting a little bit. I have a funny feeling that the font in Internet Explorer is a little larger than it should be. If anyone is seeing the font size as looking really odd (either big or small), please let me know. Additionally, any feedback on navigation is always appreciated.

Blog Name: Bank the Nine
URL: http://bankthenine.blogspot.com/

Who should read it?: Anyone who appreciates the artistic side of pool and billiards

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date

Useful Links?: Some interesting stuff - a 3-cushion billiards site; cool photography blog; Dr. Dave videos; and the APA.

Blog Platform: Blogger

Blog Start Date: August 2006

Bank the Nine is Cary’s blog about his travels as a NYC amateur pool player and freelance photographer. His posts generally relate to his thoughts on the various pool hotspots across New York. The associated photos with each post are especially cool - everything is captured in a very understated black and white way. This photography seems to capture the beauty of the game in a way I hadn’t seen elsewhere on the web.

Bank the Nine includes a few videos, but it appears that the realy draw is the photography. The posts carry some interesting editorial as well - Cary shares thoughts on his own game. This is the type of blog I recommend taking your time with - its got a great style.

Blog Name: The Tip Jar
URL: http://site.sammspocket.com/blog/

Who should read it?: Anyone who wants great practical advice on ways to improve your game.

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date - plus within helpful categories (practicing, competing, my training, polls)

Useful Links?: Great link catgories - everything from recommended blogs, instructional/news, pool supply retailers, tours/leagues, players, etc…

Blog Platform: Wordpress

Blog Start Date: September 2005

I really looked forward to writing the review for the Tip Jar - I think its an awesome resource for the aspiring pool player. Not only are Samm’s posts both useful and detailed, but they are written in a very accessible manner. Samm presents a lot of interesting training concepts and has some great tips on practice tools. Virtually all of the posts has some valuable take-away that can improve your game- I’ve read the whole blog and plan to go back and revisit some of the older posts again in the future.

The Tip Jar is nicely laid out with helpful categories and an excellent set of links. In fact, the links could keep one busy for a long time as they cover a good spectrum of pool resources. Of additional note - Its a wordpress blog and there are a few plugins adding some nice extra functionality.

The Tip Jar recieved the 4th most votes in my best pool and billiards poll. I bet this blog is only going to get better and better - a must read.

Blog Name: Phillipine Billiards
URL: http://philippinebilliards.blogspot.com

Who should read it?: Anyone who is interested in Philippine Billiards - the blog follows the progress of Yisra’el’s favourite pros.

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date.

Useful Links?: A couple of Filipino tour websites and recommended blogs.

Google Pagerank: 3

Blog Platform: Blogspot

Blog Start Date: February 2006

If you like the work of Efren “the Magician” Reyes - then you can read a lot about his exploits and those of his fellow Filipino professionals at Philippine Billiards. Yisra’el’s blog reads like a regular update on the success of the Philippine billiards scene. The posts report results from major International tournaments - and there are editorial comments sprinkled throughout.

The blog is updated every week or two - and the archives make for a good review of the past year. I also have to say that the look of the blog theme is simple and easy to navigate… which I could learn from. Philippine Billiards recieved the 3rd most votes (11% of total) in my Best Billiards and Pool Blogs Poll, and it definetly worth a look.

Blog Name: Shir in the Poolworld
URL: http://shirinthepoolworld.blogspot.com

Who should read it?: Anyone who is interested in the European tour

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date.

Useful Links?: A couple of european tour websites and recommended blogs.

Google Pagerank: 2

Blog Platform: Blogspot

Blog Start Date: Regular posting starts around late 2005

At the time of this writing, Shirley Ang’s Shir in the Poolworld has about 15% of the votes for my best billiards blog poll. The blog covers her travels within the European tour circuit.. and no one travels like Shirley - the calendar on her blog sidebar has her travelling nonstop.

She is originally from Holland (her first posts are in Dutch), and she regularly shares her thoughts on both her own play. However, the real appeal of this site would be to follow the current events in European pool. There are posts about tournament results and commentary on what happening in the community. Lots to read - over 100 posts.

Blog Name: Diary of a Pool Shooter
URL: http://poolshooter.blogspot.com/

Who should read it?: Anyone who wants to improve their game.

Blog Categories: All posts are categorized by date.

Useful Links?: Helpful links to billiards forums, billiards supply retailers, learning resources, and pool videos.

Google Pagerank: 3

Date Domain Registered: Nov 02, 2005

Blog Platform: Blogger

Blog Start Date: Regular posting starts around late 2003, early 2004.

Michael McCafferty’s diary of a pool shooter website has been leading my ‘best billiards blog’ poll since I first put it up - which is no surprise given the depth of posts on his site. He has been blogging about his growth as a pool player for a number of years while covering a lot of the challenges that other pool players can learn from.

There’s a lot of good advice on this site about how to think about your game. In particular, I think you will look at being more efficient with your practice time after reading few some of the more insightful posts. I personally have picked up a number of useful tips from regularly perusing this blog.