Mark Finkelstein was five years old when his father started taking him to a second floor pool room in Rockaway Beach, two subway stops from Aqueduct Racetrack. The best straight pool players in New York killed time on those tables before heading to the track, and Mark caught the bug watching men run fifty balls without ever hitting anything hard. Seventy years later he's a PBIA Master Instructor, winner of the 2020 Jerry Briesath Award, and the guy other instructors take clinics from. We discuss why a three cent stroke ruins a million dollar aiming system, where your feet actually go, the notebook exercise that exposes what you say to yourself, why he makes students play without chalk, and how to build a year long plan that peaks when it matters.
Book a lesson at Cue Master Pool School (https://www.cuemaster-poolschool.com), email Mark directly at mfinkelstein3@icloud.com, or find Pool Ramblings on Amazon.