Ramon Mistica is a renowned Filipino pool player and instructor. He began playing professionally at age 15 and has had a career spanning over three decades. While originally focused on playing tournaments, Mistica transitioned to providing commentary, lessons, and instruction. Since 2000, he has primarily taught pool in the Philippines and mentored top players. Mistica now resides in New York City where he offers lessons to players of all levels and also competes in local tournaments, having recently placed third and fourth in an event along with his student Daniel Dagotdot.

1. Pool Lessons with Ramon Mistica
By NYC Grind Contributor, Alison M. Fischer
While his name may not be very well-known for most American pool players or fans, rest assured, Ramon
Mistica stands among the elite in the world of Filipino billiards. Born on December 17, 1959 and raised in
Quezon City, Philippines, Ramon Mistica began his career as a professional pool player at the mere age of
fifteen, after only playing for two years.
Mistica was known to frequently play at the famous Puyat Billiards Hall in Farmers Plaza in Quezon City,
Philippines, and played against many of the most widely-known names of his generation… including Efren
“Bata” Reyes, Santos Sambajon, and “The Leader of the Filipino Invasion” Jose Parica.
As a professional player, Ramon Mistica’s career spans over three decades, however, his focus became
broader than just playing the game. After appearing as a commentator and analyst for a major tournament in
the Philippines, Mistica went on to make more TV appearances as a commentator and instructor, giving
lessons on key shots and how to shoot the ball perfectly.
Since the year 2000, Ramon Mistica’s main focus has been on pool instruction in the Philippines, together with
instructors Ramon Ancaja and George Totoy Dacer, and became a mentor to the current #1 ranked player
in the world, Dennis Orcollo. In a phrase, Efren Reyes has named Mistica “The best pool teacher in the
Philippines”.
From 2003-2005, Mistica traveled all over Asia (including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and China) to give
lessons and compete in tournaments. Then in 2005, he got a visa to go to Canada and the U.S. to teach pool,
and has continued to do so until the present time. Ramon Mistica is currently residing in New York City,
where he is offering lessons for players of all levels, along with competing in the regional pro tours.
Daniel Dagotdot, one of NYC’s up-and-coming young amateurs, is Mistica’s first student in NYC. The two
both competed in last weekend’s Mezz Tour stop on July 10 at Raxx Pool Room, where Dagotdot and Mistica
finished in 3rd and 4th place, respectively, and were also seen at the recent George “Ginky” SanSouci
Memorial at Amsterdam Billiards, NYC.
Ramon Mistica is also mentoring several other up and coming players who are part of the NYC pool landscape.
Jerry T was also recently speaking with Noel Bensurto who mentioned that Ramon had shown him a few
things that have made an immediate impact on his game. Noel also played in the Mezz 9-ball event, and
grinded back to 6th place after a first round loss.
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