Diary of a Pool Shooter: PoolSynergy, April 2010, The Most Important Thing

Thursday, April 15, 2010

PoolSynergy, April 2010, The Most Important Thing

This is the 6th in a monthly series of posts written in coordination with selected pool bloggers. For the month of April it was my turn to choose the topic, and after giving it a lot of thought, I went to the heart of the matter and wanted to know "the most important thing about pool".

I have been studying, practicing, taking lessons, competing, teaching, and writing about pool for the last 6 years, and not once have I heard or read anything claimed to be "the most important thing". And yet it seemed to me that there had to be *something* at the top of the list of really important things you had to know/do/be/think to truly master the art & science of pocket billiards. This was my opportunity to ask other pool bloggers to consider the matter deeply and to share their secret of pool with me, and the world. The only problem with this plan is that I had to deal with the issue as well. And now I have a greater respect for the difficulty of the task than I did when I first came up with the topic!

Without further delay, here is the list of 10 pool bloggers who have had the courage to take on the challenge. They are listed in no particular order, as I wouldn't want it to be misunderstood that they are being ranked based on their writing. I know some of these people personally, but most I have never met except through their blogs. You will notice that some of the names below are professional players and/or pool writers. Some list only a first name, and some list only an obscure "handle" in an attempt to disguise their true identity, for whatever reason.

However, based on my own experience of blogging for the past 6 years, I have come to realize that pool bloggers (for the most part) are some of the best people on earth, so I encourage you to read these stories carefully for clues you can apply to take your game to the highest levels. To read each story, click on the title to the right of the author's name. Here they are:

Gail Glazebrook: The Criticals

Melinda: Lessons