Plymouth Argyle put themselves back in the second division promotion spots after manager Paul Sturrock made five changes to the side defeated at QPR the previous Saturday.
The sweep-out worked, as goals from strikers Marino Keith and Nathan Lowndes, neither of whom started at Loftus Road, secured the victory that ended a run of four games without a win.
Keith netted just before the interval after a magnificent throughball from midfielder Steve Adams, taking the pass in his stride and slipping it across Pools goalkeeper Jim Provett and into the far corner of the goal.
Lowndes' strike three minutes after the break was even better. It stemmed from a mistake in midfield by Darrell Clarke, who lost possession under pressure from Lowndes, who then ran on, drifted by two defenders, and chipped the ball past Provett from 20 yards.
Argyle, who also dropped captain Paul Wotton and right-back David Worrell, and were without the injured Jason Bent and the suspended David Friio and Micky Evans, were excellent value for the win which puts them just one point behind rivals QPR.
They limited fellow promotion hopefuls Hartlepool, who began the day in sixth place and slipped two spots, to just two efforts, both from defender Chris Westwood following corners, that never really threatened Luke McCormick's goal.
The Pilgrims should have added a third, but Tony Capaldi slammed the ball against the crossbar from a good position close in and substitute Ian Stonebridge could not round off a dangerous run, following Blair Sturrock's defence-splitting pass, with a fierce enough shot.