Over 100 tips for playing pool like an expert.

An estimated 49 million Americans participate in cue sports, the most popular being pool, also known as pocket billiards. But for those who want to improve their game -- whether for recreation or competition -- little guidance is available.

Pool Techniques and Tricks fills that gap. It is a comprehensive illustrated guide on how to play pool like a champion. It reveals the secrets of the world's best players and describes how their knowledge of table geometry and physics, along with a few well-guarded "secrets," are key to their success.

The reader is introduced to vocabulary, rules, equipment, basic techniques and various strategies to help master every aspect of this fascinating hobby. Using clear diagrams, photographs and concise explanations, more than 100 professional trick shots are demonstrated. Each trick is rated as to difficulty, and the point of cue-to-ball contact is shown.

The book also contains:

• An introduction to the history of pool
• A survey of champions in men's and women's world competition
• Equipment and accessories
• Hand and finger positions and using the bridge
• Geometry of the table and working with ball motion
• How to analyze and play difficult shots
• Strategy and competition.

A separate chapter includes rules for all of the cue sports: 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, 14.1, snooker and carambola.

With Pool Techniques and Tricks, anyone can be a pro pool player, recreational or competitive.