The Gospool

Freddy ‘The Beard’ Bentivegna has done it again, as he follows up his first book, Banking with the Beard, with this second volume of banks and outrageous pool stories.

Our Complete Review

The Gospool
According To Freddy “The Beard” Bentivegna

The reminiscences of an old-time pool hustler and true apostle of the game.

Back cover

Okay, Bank Pool Hall of Famer Freddy ‘The Beard’ might not be stroking the ball quite as well as he did in his prime, but with the publication of his second volume in as many years he sure is hitting dead stroke in the field of banking instruction and story telling. Don’t be fooled by the sectarian overtones of this book cover. ‘The Beard’ has a genuine fondness for the great rogues of pool, so The Gospool is loaded with outrageous stories, told in his flagrantly irreverent style. Throughout the book, Freddy includes snapshots of many of the characters whose names come up in his stories, which is a nice touch not present in his first book.

Of course this is a book about banking, and The Gospool picks right up where Banking with the Beard left off, with nice clear uncluttered diagrams that reveal yet more of The Beard’s banking secrets. Freddy starts the instructional aspect of this volume by further expanding on the fractional ball aiming system that he introduced in his first book. These are great basic shots that can give even a solid player a better foundation for high percentage banking.

From there Freddy moves into a lengthy section on what he calls “Passover Banks”, what other authors often refer to as “Cross-over Banks”. Whatever you want to call them, most students of the game find these to be about the most mysterious banks to master; well, hallelujah, Freddy reveals the secrets you need to solve their mystery.

Bank on Brother!