Could you be a pro player?
- Thread starter benturner
- Start date
No... probably not, although it surely varies from person to person.
i've heard that 10,000 hours is a ball-park figure for number of hours needed to master a skill like pool. (roughly 4 years at 8 hours a day)
But I think the key would be what you are doing when you practice.... just knocking balls around or doing drills with an observer to give feedback?
A combination of practice with instruction and competitive games over many years (the earlier age you start, the better) - and you're in with a chance
just my thoughts
Bob
i've heard that 10,000 hours is a ball-park figure for number of hours needed to master a skill like pool. (roughly 4 years at 8 hours a day)
But I think the key would be what you are doing when you practice.... just knocking balls around or doing drills with an observer to give feedback?
A combination of practice with instruction and competitive games over many years (the earlier age you start, the better) - and you're in with a chance
just my thoughts
Bob
Yes. I have dominated in every random skill I've ever been confronted with.
When I was in Jr high we took a bus to the high school where I destroyed every senior on the tennis team.
I'm a guitarist, a magician and my peers can't beat me at pool. I'm one of those guys that is good at everything I do.
I took my girl to a pool hall tonight and walked up to a group of guys and told them if I beat them, no money. If they beat me, I throw them a $20. Ala Vincent in the color of money.
6 games later I pick my $20 off the counter.
Yes I think I could be a pro. Honestly, I think I have more random talent than 99% of y'all.
I live in Kitsap county and I got $1,000 bucks says no one can beat me in an all around here.
I'm talking pool games, batting cages, pinball, ping pong, tennis, putt putt golf, bowling, darts, golf driving range, horse on the basketball court, throwing a football the furthest.
However I love money too much to quit my job and play pool all day.
There are only so many shots to learn on the pool table.
So my answer is yes.
When I was in Jr high we took a bus to the high school where I destroyed every senior on the tennis team.
I'm a guitarist, a magician and my peers can't beat me at pool. I'm one of those guys that is good at everything I do.
I took my girl to a pool hall tonight and walked up to a group of guys and told them if I beat them, no money. If they beat me, I throw them a $20. Ala Vincent in the color of money.
6 games later I pick my $20 off the counter.
Yes I think I could be a pro. Honestly, I think I have more random talent than 99% of y'all.
I live in Kitsap county and I got $1,000 bucks says no one can beat me in an all around here.
I'm talking pool games, batting cages, pinball, ping pong, tennis, putt putt golf, bowling, darts, golf driving range, horse on the basketball court, throwing a football the furthest.
However I love money too much to quit my job and play pool all day.
There are only so many shots to learn on the pool table.
So my answer is yes.
Depends on what you mean by pro speed. To make a comfortable living playing pool? No way. But to be considered a pro and dominate the local fields with ease, 2 years is possible with proper coaching. The thing about pool compared to a lot of other professional sports is that we haven't even come close of reaching skill of play that I believe pool should be in. Too few people train the right way to practice the game.
Yes if you have a good instructor / coach, have money in the bank, no kids, no spouse, willing to stay late at night, travel all over, eat junk food most of the time, no known illness, and most of all patience (no giving up once you start)
You didn't list having eyes like an Eagle specifically, but you probably included it under "no known illness". You don't see many pro pool players wearing glasses and great eye sight is part of being a pro player. Contacts and eye surgery can give you good vision, but some people are just lucky when it comes to their sight. I heard Jim Rempe doing commentary on an Accu-stats video say (at the time of that match before he retired) that he was over 50 and had perfect vision! I always envied players who had great eye sight. I wasn't so lucky and I went through glasses, contacts, and finally LASIK eye surgery or I couldn't play pool.
James
Great Post !!! If someone needs a sick write off and can pay all my debts, secure financing for a 35 employee company, cover a possible divorce that might come up in the near future, contact Brown-Forman Corp., for unlimited supply of "J.T.S. Brown" Bourbon <----- for the players who know what this is !! and cover all expenses above and beyond my glorified huge signing bonus before my over inflated weekly salary, heck, I'd give it a try. I also want royalties on the upcoming movie when I co-star with Tom Cruise as Vinnie get's his butt dragged out of retirement lore. If this was all covered, I may then not be embarrassed by a pro at an event, otherwise, pool is a hobby and I love the game and people. Why change that??
No.......... Practice will help you play to your potential and that may or may not be pro speed. 2 years isn't even close
Edit to add. I'm not referring to myself, just in general. I can't even imagine practicing that much
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Yes. Assuming my body would hold up. I am 100% confident that I could play pro speed with a solid 6-8 hours of practice every day for 2 years.
35000 hours of solid practice? I don't think I can physically do it but with the idea being that it takes 10,000 hours to become world class at something I would hope that if I were able to put in say 25k hours in two years that it would be more than enough to get there.
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i have always thought i could have when i was younger....but now at 47 its all over for me man....i think as i get older and see what it takes to be a pro at anything i am like man they really love the sport they are in, to put that much time into it. I feel like i have been on the top of the heap in my town of 40,000, but if i go south 50 miles i rank about 200th...the top players there have played on the pro tour, but even most of them are just great local players. I guess when you are young you are optomistic ,ignorant,and foolish, indestructable...so my final answer is no i dont think i could be a pro player. Its like the guy before me said,why would i want to travel every week to some new place and not make a good living, if there was any money in it, there would be more trying,but if i was going to try to be a pro at something,golf would be a better choice.
No, and neither could anyone else. 
I'll play ya some left handed chess.
Check your math there, John.
The hardest part would be fooling myself into believing that there actually would be a good reason to do it.
Ooops, 5800 hours. I still think if I put in a solid 4000 hours in two years I would get to world class. The 6000 I put in in the past 30 years should count for something.
JC
Coos Cues
It might count for something and it might not...
JB you're different than many... 10,000 or 20,000 hours might not be enough, but at the same time 3000-5000 might be enough for most many people...
JB you might be able to do it with the dedication because it would be real dedication, proper dedication.
First off, it will be different for most people.
I played probably 8-15 hours a day six or seven days a week for the first two years I took the game seriously although I had already been playing for nine years and I was at that speed by the end of those two years. I was placing first through third in almost ever tournament I played in although I didn't get a chance to play in any big tournaments before I lost my mental edge.
I had a really bad relationship at the time and developed mental deficiencies that prevented me from moving forward with pool at the time and it's taken me 12 years after a six year layoff to get back close to being able to compete at that level again. I've always been able to play at that level since then, but I had lost the ability to compete at that level.
I am the exception though I think but maybe not. It's hard to say. I've always been good at most things that I try.
I taught a guy how to play who then got dedicated and he was at a high A level within two years and now plays pro speed.
It's mostly going to be about long hours of proper practice with a good coach AND most importantly an innate ability.
Everyone with two years of lots of good practice with a good coach will NOT be able to get to pro speed, but maybe a majority of those few could. Of course to follow through on something like that takes a special something and a huge desire so just actually completing that task takes a drive that most people just DON'T have...
Jaden
Ooops, 5800 hours. I still think if I put in a solid 4000 hours in two years I would get to world class. The 6000 I put in in the past 30 years should count for something.
JB you're different than many... 10,000 or 20,000 hours might not be enough, but at the same time 3000-5000 might be enough for most many people...
JB you might be able to do it with the dedication because it would be real dedication, proper dedication.
First off, it will be different for most people.
I played probably 8-15 hours a day six or seven days a week for the first two years I took the game seriously although I had already been playing for nine years and I was at that speed by the end of those two years. I was placing first through third in almost ever tournament I played in although I didn't get a chance to play in any big tournaments before I lost my mental edge.
I had a really bad relationship at the time and developed mental deficiencies that prevented me from moving forward with pool at the time and it's taken me 12 years after a six year layoff to get back close to being able to compete at that level again. I've always been able to play at that level since then, but I had lost the ability to compete at that level.
I am the exception though I think but maybe not. It's hard to say. I've always been good at most things that I try.
I taught a guy how to play who then got dedicated and he was at a high A level within two years and now plays pro speed.
It's mostly going to be about long hours of proper practice with a good coach AND most importantly an innate ability.
Everyone with two years of lots of good practice with a good coach will NOT be able to get to pro speed, but maybe a majority of those few could. Of course to follow through on something like that takes a special something and a huge desire so just actually completing that task takes a drive that most people just DON'T have...
Jaden
