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What: “Billiards for Advanced Players” by Steve Mizerak with Joel Cohen. ICS BOOKS Inc.

Price: $12.95 paperback.

Had I known as a student that knowledge of geometry is a useful tool for a pool player, I would not have cut class to play pool in the arcade one block away from the schoolhouse. Some 20 years passed before I finally considered myself an advanced player.

Steve Mizerak’s book does not include the complex equations that explain how to make a multi-rail bank shot without sinking the cue ball, but it is full of information that can help the advanced player develop a tournament-quality game as well as help the beginner to become an advanced player.

Mizerak translates the knowledge that won him four consecutive U.S. Open championships from 1970 to ’73 and Professional Pool Players Assn. World Open titles in 1982 and 1983 into a simple, easy-to-read format that will make even the most advanced player say, “Why couldn’t I think of that?”

The accompanying diagrams and drawings are plentiful and understandable, while the 2 1/2 pages about how to watch out for and avoid hustlers make the book worth the cover price.

The first chapter is devoted to equipment selection, followed by a chapter on style (stance, stroke, grip, bridges and special shots). Two chapters delve into various strategies, some of which are common sense and others that even a serious player might find surprising.

Mizerak tells some funny and bizarre stories in the final chapter, titled “Tournaments I’ve Played and Lessons I’ve Learned,” that entertain the reader while delivering important lessons.