Could Corey Deuel have been one of the all-time greats?
- Thread starter Magyar19
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I worked fifteen years in factories bending, cutting and grinding metal before I started working in the pool industry. For most of that time I despised it. I will tell you what the old guys told me when I would b!tch about what I did: "I don't see you chained to that machine. Doors over there." Finally I walked out of that door and changed my life. Sounds like pool is your factory.
I worked 30 years in a factory doing work that I wasn't overly fond of, but....I stuck it out and now, after being retired for 10 years (at age 49), I have made close to $400,000 sitting in my recliner doing nothing. I could not have made anywhere near that kind of money trying to do anything pool related (nor has very many pros). Blue collar work CAN be rewarding to those who can hang with it.
Justin, I fully agree with what you said in your previous thread to the one I quoted above. Corey is also my favorite player to watch. I love it when he takes a little extra time on his next shot because you can almost see the wheels turning in his head and you just KNOW that you're about to see him work some kind of magic. Truly a thinking man and innovator of mastery!!!
As far as some posters getting upset that Corey is not being considered as an all-time great.........I think it all depends on the NUMBER of people you want to put on the list. If the list has 5 or less, then NO, he would not be considered as one of the all-time greats. If the number is 20 or less, he is borderline. Any list 25 or more, he would have to be somewhere on that list.
And....like some have said....he ain't done yet!!!
Maniac (really doesn't just sit in his recliner all day)
He placed 2nd in the US Open in 2011. IMO, he is still one of the all time greats and could snap of a tourney at any given time.
Not doing too bad for a washed-up never-was. http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/2000showplayer2013.php?playernum=45
hi
i shouldnt ***** because i have at least been lucky enough to have made hundreds of thousands ,and saved a bunch of it.
you strike me as a sharp guy and im shocked u keep hanging around pool.
i think u could have made way more money in that factory.
i can tell talking to u ,your as disgusted with pool industry as anybody but hey at least your not chained to it. your one of the good guys though,something will happen good for you.the doors right over there for both of us lol.thank goodness
seeing the things u write im not sure who is more disgusted with pool me or you.
i shouldnt ***** because i have at least been lucky enough to have made hundreds of thousands ,and saved a bunch of it.
you strike me as a sharp guy and im shocked u keep hanging around pool.
i think u could have made way more money in that factory.
i can tell talking to u ,your as disgusted with pool industry as anybody but hey at least your not chained to it. your one of the good guys though,something will happen good for you.the doors right over there for both of us lol.thank goodness
I remember hearing Dee Adkins telling a story at the derby one year how when Corey was younger and living with him, Dee would go to bed b/c he had to work the next morning and Corey would be shooting a shot, when dee got up 6-8 hrs later Corey was still shooting that same shot, he had Shanes dedication but lost it, he is one of if not the most natural talent that has ever came along but to think he didn't have to work for it is crazy, I love to watch Corey play and I try to sit and watch every chance I get, hope he has many more titles in his future.
Being rich was never one of the reasons I had dreams of being a pro player. It was more about the freedom to not have a 9-5 job, and to satisfy my hunger for competition. Of course, making enough to live comfortably and within my means would be a necessity.
In your estimation, what percentage of pros are actually able to live comfortably off tournament winnings, and not need to pick up a 2nd job? If a guy wins $50k in a year. What would his net income be after all expenses?
Lot of things in pool do disgust me. They are outweighed..at least so far..by the good things I have found in it. Mainly that is the good people I have met through it. I did make way more money in that factory and hated almost every minute of it. It wasnt the factories fault I hated it. That lifestyle just didnt give me what I wanted out of life. I finally figured out that I was the only one who could change that. I was lucky to have that job and lucky to be able to leave how I did but its the best decision I ever made.
Money has never really meant anything to me other than as a tool to do what interests me. If I was motivated simply by money or security I would be doing something else. Most of the best people I know around pool do not rely on it for their well being. I bet you could say the same thing. It is a brutal life if you want security and a soft place to land. That said I have never in my life heard anyone say "If you want to get rich you should go into the pool industry." It is what it is. We all pay our money and take our chance.
If I ever get tired of it or circumstances change I won't have any problem going and doing something else and I won't blame it on the game. I see people around pool always complaining about this or that and they remind me of EXACTLY how I was in that factory. In the end its simple....they can either try to change the situation for the better, leave or stay be miserable and b!tch. I understand all three choices as I have done them all.
hi
people tell me if tourneys pay so bad stay home.
so i did that i think ive played 5 tourneys in 3 years.
ive immersed myself in hobbies and one of these days something worthwhile will come along in pool.if not ill remain in a holding pattern.
i dont ***** anymore i just dont show up.
the other pros dont seem smart enough to do that so they keep showing up to tourneys where u get 5th place u break even. cracks me up.
in closing i agree with u totally
well said .i hope u dont fade out of pool cause ive always liked u. your a good guy.
people tell me if tourneys pay so bad stay home.
so i did that i think ive played 5 tourneys in 3 years.
ive immersed myself in hobbies and one of these days something worthwhile will come along in pool.if not ill remain in a holding pattern.
i dont ***** anymore i just dont show up.
the other pros dont seem smart enough to do that so they keep showing up to tourneys where u get 5th place u break even. cracks me up.
in closing i agree with u totally
I love this story.
And the reason I love it is because you describe a person obsessed with learning every nuance of the game and then follow it up with saying he is the most naturally talented person to play the game.
No.
He is not naturally talented for pool.
What he is is naturally inquisitive and driven to explore. This obsession leads to learning ways to play that far outstrip his colleagues. He practices until his ability looks like he was born with it.
Every time we say a guy is naturally talented we then find out he puts in more effort than others. So maybe we ought to rename "talent" and call it "desire" instead.
Is Florian Kohler the most naturally talented trick shot artist ever? No, he is a person who spent thousands of hours discovering all the ways to do things with the balls that exist.
Having watched Corey dismantle Scott Frost one late night/early morning at the DCC around 2002ish I tend to agree that he is quite possibly the most creative player on the planet who is willing to USE that creativity when playing for real. Only Efren I think has more in the bag of tricks and he is after all the Magician. It says a lot that at one time Corey would play Efren even all the time in (REAL) rotation for $100 a game as practice.
You can admire a guy who plays Shannon Daulton in a major one pocket event and used a wide open 8-ball break and beats Shannon that way. Because as Corey put it he discovered that if he didn't make a ball then most of the time the balls would end up back on his side anyway with the cue ball safe.
That's knowledge and the heart to use it.
I am only going to say this one time.
You can get rich in the billiard industry but not if you have scruples, morals or ethics. Good ones. There are several people in this business who have made a ton of money and live very very very well. But they stepped on a lot of people to get there.
I have always said don't get in the billiard industry if you love pool. Because you won't have time to play and the other stuff will drain you.
Naturally this doesn't apply to everyone.
Who is calling him a "washed-up never-was"?
Also...
How do you know this?
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When my mother referred to a musician who was an excellent performer, she would always say he was an "accomplished" musician. She did not fall into the trap of thinking that when someone performed a technical feat he was doing it just on "talent." He had worked at it. That was the idea of her word "accomplished." The artist had taken his talent and done something with it.
You might be interested that psychologists are baffled by just what "talent" is. No one has been able to locate it in the brain, as I understand it, or in the psyche. Take a look at the first chapter of the book OUTLIERS.
Sam Snead had a golf swing which looked like the most natural action in the world. I am told that he was an intense worker.
Starting about three match-ups ago in one-pocket, I became confronted by chance repeatedly in the endgame with having to slice a thin cross corner bank away from my opponent's pocket over to mine while trying to leave the cue ball at the top of the table near the corner pocket diagonally opposite mine. (A curse on billiards for not having a notation system like that of chess!) My tenth, eleventh, and twelfth attempts at the shot were a lot more successful than my first, second and third.
You might be interested that psychologists are baffled by just what "talent" is. No one has been able to locate it in the brain, as I understand it, or in the psyche. Take a look at the first chapter of the book OUTLIERS.
Sam Snead had a golf swing which looked like the most natural action in the world. I am told that he was an intense worker.
Starting about three match-ups ago in one-pocket, I became confronted by chance repeatedly in the endgame with having to slice a thin cross corner bank away from my opponent's pocket over to mine while trying to leave the cue ball at the top of the table near the corner pocket diagonally opposite mine. (A curse on billiards for not having a notation system like that of chess!) My tenth, eleventh, and twelfth attempts at the shot were a lot more successful than my first, second and third.
When someone says that Corey "could have" been great they imply that A. he was not great and B. he will never be great.
I know Corey or any other human is not naturally talented for "pool" because humans are blank slates and develop into beings with abilities and skills based on their environment and opportunities.
The only "talent" is ability to focus willfully. Little children who have shown that they can focus and deny themselves instant pleasure for greater gain later have been observed to become more successful in life. That appears to be something that we are born with. However focus can be taught and learned as well.
I have to agree with most of the sentiment on Corey....He is an all time great without a doubt.
If there is a pay for view and he is playing I will always be viewing....especially in one pocket.
Just found this video today on you tube....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryy4I7al5dc
Corey and Putnam.....Corey is almost like toying with Putnam and he is no slouch himself.
Watch the first 2 games at least....His cue ball control is amazing.
At the end he gives an interview and states that he doesn't think intentional fouls should be allowed....Again, more creativity.
I've never considered one pocket without intentional fouls but it would definitely be a different kind of game.
If there is a pay for view and he is playing I will always be viewing....especially in one pocket.
Just found this video today on you tube....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryy4I7al5dc
Corey and Putnam.....Corey is almost like toying with Putnam and he is no slouch himself.
Watch the first 2 games at least....His cue ball control is amazing.
At the end he gives an interview and states that he doesn't think intentional fouls should be allowed....Again, more creativity.
I've never considered one pocket without intentional fouls but it would definitely be a different kind of game.