Pool Trick Shots: A Short History of the Art

Origins of Trick-Shot Pool

Trick-shot pool as a distinct discipline goes back at least a century, when exhibition players would travel pool halls and vaudeville stages performing impossible-looking shots for paying audiences. Willie Hoppe, Ralph Greenleaf, and Willie Mosconi all had trick-shot repertoires they would roll out at exhibitions. These early shots were often drawn from three-cushion billiards and adapted to pool tables, emphasizing multi-rail kicks, caroms, and precise position play that looked miraculous to an untrained eye.

In the mid-20th century, trick-shot exhibitions were a major revenue stream for professional players between tournaments. Mosconi in particular made a living partly through exhibitions, where he would combine tournament-style demonstrations with crowd-pleasing trick shots. A skilled exhibition player could earn more from a week of shows than from most tournaments of the era, and the tradition of traveling trick-shot artists persisted into the modern era.

Mike Massey, The Modern Legend

Mike Massey is the most recognized American trick-shot artist of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Known as 'Tennessee Tarzan' and later simply 'the Jump Shot King,' Massey has performed on countless television shows, including multiple appearances on ESPN's trick-shot events. He is known for creative jump shots, massé curves, and crowd-friendly setups that look impossible but have a real mechanical explanation.

Massey's influence on modern trick shots is hard to overstate. He helped establish trick shots as a legitimate televised pool discipline in the 1990s and 2000s, and his instructional material has taught an entire generation of players how to attempt advanced shots safely. He is still actively performing and competing in trick-shot events as of recent years, and his longevity in the discipline is remarkable. If you only watch one trick-shot artist's catalog on YouTube, Massey is the place to start.

Florian 'Venom' Kohler, The Social Media Era

Florian Kohler, known online as 'Venom,' is the most famous trick-shot artist of the social media era. A French player based in the United States, Venom built an enormous YouTube and Instagram following in the 2010s and 2020s by posting short, highly produced trick-shot videos with striking camera angles and creative setups. His videos regularly get millions of views and have introduced trick shots to a mainstream audience that never watched ESPN coverage.

Venom's setups often involve elaborate arrangements of balls, bridges, coins, and ramps, far beyond traditional single-shot artistry. His specialty is 'artistic billiards' style shots adapted for YouTube, which requires not just technical skill but cinematography and editing. Purists sometimes argue his work is closer to performance art than traditional trick shooting, but there is no question he has grown the visibility of the discipline enormously. He is a legitimate tournament player too, with multiple world trick-shot titles.

Andy Segal and Competitive Trick-Shot Pool

Andy 'Mr. 400' Segal is an American trick-shot artist and tournament champion who has won the WPA Artistic Pool World Championship multiple times. He is known for extreme technical difficulty and for pioneering shots that others said could not be done. Segal, Massey, and others helped build the competitive trick-shot tournament circuit in the 2000s and 2010s, which attempted to bring structure to a discipline previously defined by exhibitions.

Artistic Pool competition divides shots into eight categories (jumped, masse, follow, draw, power, cue-ball-control, stroke, and novelty), and competitors earn points based on difficulty and execution. Segal has been a dominant competitor across categories. The WPA sanctions an Artistic Pool World Championship, and Team USA, which includes Segal and Massey at various points, has been a consistent winner in team competitions. Competitive trick shooting is a genuine discipline separate from mainstream pool, with its own champions and fan base.

Classic Trick Shots, Shoot for the Moon, Domino Bounce

Some trick shots have become standards that every serious trick-shot artist attempts and that most experienced players can eventually learn. 'Shoot for the Moon' involves pocketing a ball via a jump over an obstacle, a staple of Mike Massey's catalog. 'The Domino Bounce' uses a line of object balls that knock each other sequentially, ending with a final ball being pocketed. 'The Railroad' involves two cues acting as rails to guide a ball along a specific path.

These named shots have become canonical because they are learnable with practice, demonstrate real pool skill, and look impressive on camera. If you are interested in learning trick shots, starting with classics is the right approach. Skip ahead to the 'social media era' complex setups only once you have mastered the basics. I have personally learned three or four classic shots over the years, mostly at home on my own table, and the practice carried over to my regular game in ways I did not expect. Trick-shot practice sharpens cue-ball control like nothing else.

Another staple is the 'Butterfly shot,' where eight balls are arranged in a butterfly pattern and one shot pockets all of them in six different pockets. It is a setup that looks impossible and is entirely mechanical, the balls are positioned such that a correctly aimed shot propagates through the whole pattern. I have seen this done in person at exhibitions and it still delights me every time. The shot has been performed on television more than any other trick-shot arrangement, and for good reason. It is visual proof that what looks magical is really just geometry and stroke discipline.

Trick-Shot Tournaments and Team USA

The WPA Artistic Pool World Championship is the top individual trick-shot event, held annually and drawing competitors from the US, Europe, and Asia. There is also an Artistic Pool Team Championship, with Team USA typically fielding a strong lineup. ESPN aired annual trick-shot championships in the 2000s and 2010s, which brought mainstream attention to the discipline and produced memorable television moments. The ESPN broadcasts are archived on YouTube and are worth watching even a decade later.

Beyond pure trick shots, the 'shot-making challenge' is another related discipline, where players are given specific difficult shots and must execute them for points. Shot-making is closer to tournament pool than pure artistic shots. Both disciplines have championships and dedicated fans. For a casual viewer, trick-shot videos on YouTube are the easiest introduction. For a serious player, watching competitive Artistic Pool tournaments is a good next step. The world of trick shots is deeper than most mainstream pool fans realize.