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The Purple Guide to Learning Billiards in 10 Days
A no-nonsense, day-by-day starter plan to learn the basics of billiards and decide if it's worth continuing
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: First Day
Welcome. This is day one of your ten-day experiment with billiards. Before we get into anything technical, let me tell you what you're not going to do today. You're not going to learn the rules of eight-ball. You're not going to practice bank shots or spin or any of the tricks you see on TV. Today is about one thing only: getting comfortable with the basic act of standing at a table, holding a stick, and hitting a ball in a direction you choose.
If you've never done this before, you should know that billiards feels much more awkward than it looks. When you watch someone play, it looks smooth and easy. Then you pick up a cue stick for the first time and discover that it's heavy, surprisingly long, and wants to wobble in your hands. The table is larger than you expected, the balls refuse to go where you want, and your body - which you've used your whole life - suddenly doesn't know how to arrange itself. This is completely normal. Everyone who plays goes through this. If you feel clumsy for the next few days, you're doing it right.
Let's talk about where you'll do this. You need access to a billiard table. If you don't have one - and most people don't - you need to find a place that has one. A local pool hall is the best option. They have tables, cues, balls, and nobody cares if you're bad.