Yes, it’s a shame that most of the great hustlers and tournament players will and did die broke. It really doesn’t have to be that way for most of them. You would think with all the books on top players and stories about them on the Internet that young players would get it. Do the math. It’s just that simple. Maybe 100 pool players in the world make a decent living, where they have a house, medical insurance, and money saved. None of them makes big money. As far as following the dream goes…you can’t live off a dream. The odds are of someone making the top 100 in the world is probably 100,000 to 1…maybe more.
I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination, and I wasn’t a top player at anytime, but I loved the game and loved the hustle, but I loved money, a nice roof over my head, good food, and a nice car and bike, and a lot more. I met a lot of top players in the North East through my Dad. I saw at a young age how most of them lived. If they had a roof over their head it was a one-room flop or their car. Some had girlfriends supporting them. Girlfriend leaves…no roof. Most that I knew could have saved enough over their years in pool. Most would make a big score and look to put it back in action at the table, track, or casino. Good pool players know their odds of winning on the pool table very well, but don’t have a clue how bad the odds are stacked against them in other gambling. Kids need to finish school, get a good job that they feel they can put up with until retirement.
I didn’t have an education, rarely played for big money, but a good percentage of my winning always went to buy something I could sell at a profit, like the Greyhounds, cars and horses that I bought, would work for me to make money. I never had any dream of becoming the next Mosconi. All I wanted was to be good enough to make a few hundred a week at it and by investing the profits I was making good money and having fun doing it. In over forty years I never missed once giving my wife her the weekly money she needed to run the house, take care of the kids, and buy herself and the kids something they wanted.
Most of the pool players that made money in pool were not great players. They simply got off their ass and found a job or started a business to make money to support their HOBBY of playing pool. Johnnyt
I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination, and I wasn’t a top player at anytime, but I loved the game and loved the hustle, but I loved money, a nice roof over my head, good food, and a nice car and bike, and a lot more. I met a lot of top players in the North East through my Dad. I saw at a young age how most of them lived. If they had a roof over their head it was a one-room flop or their car. Some had girlfriends supporting them. Girlfriend leaves…no roof. Most that I knew could have saved enough over their years in pool. Most would make a big score and look to put it back in action at the table, track, or casino. Good pool players know their odds of winning on the pool table very well, but don’t have a clue how bad the odds are stacked against them in other gambling. Kids need to finish school, get a good job that they feel they can put up with until retirement.
I didn’t have an education, rarely played for big money, but a good percentage of my winning always went to buy something I could sell at a profit, like the Greyhounds, cars and horses that I bought, would work for me to make money. I never had any dream of becoming the next Mosconi. All I wanted was to be good enough to make a few hundred a week at it and by investing the profits I was making good money and having fun doing it. In over forty years I never missed once giving my wife her the weekly money she needed to run the house, take care of the kids, and buy herself and the kids something they wanted.
Most of the pool players that made money in pool were not great players. They simply got off their ass and found a job or started a business to make money to support their HOBBY of playing pool. Johnnyt
