Low Pro Players - Why Do They Do It?

[jrctherake]

I doubt their is even one person in this thread that "knows" why a "pro" does "anything" they do..... regardless them being lower tier or top tier.

Amateur players are, like myself...... clueless about what a pro thinks.

"ANYONE" that thinks they even have a wiff of a clue is "clueless".

 

[TATE]

Not to sound too cynical, but there is no end to avoiding the drugeries of life. You can walk into any weight room weekdays and see body builders, many well past their prime, still trying to get big for some imagined competition. Or, golfers at local tournaments sleeping in cars, shooting somewhere around par, to try to get the entry fee for the next tournament. College athletes who won't give up long after they should have.

Saying "they're doing what they love" is a probably cop out. Saying "they are avoiding what they loath" is probably more accurate. A 9 to 5 job isn't for everybody.

Ps. A lot of pro pool players work. They give lessons, sell equipment, work on tables, work at pool rooms, they do all kinds of things.

 

[Mkindsv]

I've never walked into a tournament thinking I had to win, or was favorite to do so. But I have walked out of a bunch of them with the top prize and also a bunch of 2nd and 3rd place finishes. Now, I don't only play pool, but I assume these other folks have the same experiences...anyone can have a great day at the table, especially at that level of play. you just have to hope that day lines up with the day of the tournament, and by God sometimes it does.

 

[Swighey]

You nailed it right here. They love to play pool, are good at it and prefer doing it to anything else. That makes them winners right there, just living life on their own terms. One of those low level pros, Tommy Tokoph, just finished fourth at Turning Stone. More power to him is all I have to say. :smile:

P.S. I played in a bunch of tournaments back in the 70's and barely broke into the money about half the time (it took two wins). Same with the last time I played in a couple of events, barely making the money. But I loved the challenge of playing against good players and seeing if I could still hold my own.

Yep. Pretty much the same reasons those of us with a source of income independent from pool continue to play against players who are better than us. Everyone is capable of “playing above their level” on occasion if they can get some of the consistency that makes the next level up players better players.

For the love of the game.

 

[deanoc]

when i was a kid there was a joke about a man who went to see the psychitrist
because he kept dreaming about elephant poo

at first the psychitrist ask the typical psycho questions about his mother,his dreams,his father
all the typical rhetoric which as in real life produced no insight or help

finally,after years of fruitless visits, he ask the guy"what do you do for a living?"

"",I clean up after the elephants at the circus,follow them around with a bucket,wait for em to go,
put it in my little pail"

At last the psychiatrist triumphantly proclaims "That's it ,quit your job,and the dreams will go away"

To which the fella replied" What?and give up show business?"

I think this pretty much describes accurately the mentality of the groupie,hanger on
loser with no job,no prospect and hangs on to unrealistic dreams to the exclusion of
getting a real life,job,career, family or life.

No offense to the productive tax paying family men with supporting wives and jobs
who just love the game and have nothing better to do than try their
hand against the others doing the same.

 

[RRfireblade]

Lets see...

First off, millions of people play golf that will never shoot par.

How many millions play the lottery....how many win?

Lastly, I would gladly pay a grand or more for the chance to play against/with my idol or get a lesson from the truly best in the world at what they do.

P.S. The best in the world sucked at one time and was probably asked the same thing....

 

[Kickin' Chicken]

some interesting responses thus far.

I like the whole surfer-bum comparison; imagine if you could simply enjoy life waiting for that next big wave. Exhilarating stuff, right?

but it may open up another consideration.

Surfers, golfers and low pro pool players who choose not to have other meaningful jobs and who are not making a living at their respective passions; say, for instance, they fall ill and since they have no money or medical insurance, they set up a Go Fund Me page looking for help.

Are you donating?

best,
brian kc

 

[Bobkitty]

Lets see...

First off, millions of people play golf that will never shoot par.

How many millions play the lottery....how many win?

Lastly, I would gladly pay a grand or more for the chance to play against/with my idol or get a lesson from the truly best in the world at what they do.

P.S. The best in the world sucked at one time and was probably asked the same thing....

Golfers usually start out with their dads or moms as youngsters on the golf course. If the bug bites they may make the high school team and a college team. What a great way to go through school. Any youngster should be encouraged in golf or tennis and not pool. Super sports they can play for the rest of their lives. Better people, acquaintances, friends, people in business, etc than in pool. Sorry to say that but we all know it's true.

 

[book collector]

I occasionally find myself wondering about why low level pro players who show up to compete at so many big tourneys, do what they do. More specifically, why do they dedicate themselves to pool to the exclusion of pursuing other more fruitful career possibilities?

Week after week they play in fields with world beaters against whom it would take about a miracle for them to win. These guys rarely if ever do win and so I'm not sure what the motivation is for them to continue - or maybe I do have an idea but would like to get some az feedback on why you guys think they do it.

To be clear, I'm not referring to the low pros who also have other actual careers running along side their pool pursuits, but rather, it's the guys who've been out there competing for years with no real chance of winning and no meaningful other careers.

What do you all think their motivations are and do you think they are making a good or bad decision doing this?

best,
brian kc

Of course it is a horrible decision, financially especially.
One has to wonder, how they can come up with the money, to even enter.
I can't think of 1 player who is, or has been, a top 30 player in the US, that wasn't capable of winning a major tournament by age 23 or so. So these 40 year old guys who haven't made it , never will.
You have the talent and you gain experience, not the other way around.
They all have the dream, that one day something will click, and they never miss another ball.
Plus, the thought of a real 9 to 5 job, usually makes them physically sick.
Why should they work , one time 20 years ago they made $5,000.00 in one day.
It was the highlight of their career and the worst thing that could ever happened to them, all rolled into one.
Every time I start thinking it would have been nice to have been a pool champion , I remember my house, and cars and family, and money in the bank and all the things I would 99% for sure not have , if I had stayed with pool.
In reality ending up with those things as a pro player, is probably less than 1 out of 100.
I actually feel bad for those guys , but it's not like every day, during the last 50 years , someone didn't remind them, how it ends.

 

[Bobkitty]

Of course it is a horrible decision, financially especially.
One has to wonder, how they can come up with the money, to even enter.
I can't think of 1 player who is, or has been, a top 30 player in the US, that wasn't capable of winning a major tournament by age 23 or so. So these 40 year old guys who haven't made it , never will.
You have the talent and you gain experience, not the other way around.
They all have the dream, that one day something will click, and they never miss another ball.
Plus, the thought of a real 9 to 5 job, usually makes them physically sick.
Why should they work , one time 20 years ago they made $5,000.00 in one day.
It was the highlight of their career and the worst thing that could ever happened to them, all rolled into one.
Every time I start thinking it would have been nice to have been a pool champion , I remember my house, and cars and family, and money in the bank and all the things I would 99% for sure not have , if I had stayed with pool.
In reality ending up with those things as a pro player, is probably less than 1 out of 100.
I actually feel bad for those guys , but it's not like every day, during the last 50 years , someone didn't remind them, how it ends.

You are correct. If Landon Shuffett had the same talent in golf that he does in pool, he'd be on a college team (don't know his age) and Nike would be looking at him. Great he's so good at pool but so what? Great doesn't mean he's going to make a living.

 

[BC21]

why do people choose to be ski bums or surf bums or whatever, because its not about the money, they enjoy the lifestyle and don't want to work at home depot...…


as they say: when you love your job, you never work a day in your life.

Good point. Being happy is about doing what makes you happy, whether it's a career or simple entertainment. Look at how many mediocre players flock to Derby City to compete, knowing full well they have zero chance of placing in any event. They do it because they love the game, and the opportunity to play great players makes the money they spend worth while.

 

[jay helfert]

Good point. Being happy is about doing what makes you happy, whether it's a career or simple entertainment. Look at how many mediocre players flock to Derby City to compete, knowing full well they have zero chance of placing in any event. They do it because they love the game, and the opportunity to play great players makes the money they spend worth while.

I used to play in the Bank Pool division, thinking that's my best game. I played five times and cashed twice. The first time I made the fifth round and got back my entry fee plus a few dollars ($78 I think). I told Greg thanks for letting me get even. The second time I made it to the seventh round and actually finished something like tied for 49th. I may have gotten back about $150 or so that time. I felt like a winner both times!

 

[BC21]

I used to play in the Bank Pool division, thinking that's my best game. I played five times and cashed twice. The first time I made the fifth round and got back my entry fee plus a few dollars ($78 I think). I told Greg thanks for letting me get even. The second time I made it to the seventh round and actually finished something like tied for 49th. I may have gotten back about $150 or so that time. I felt like a winner both times!

That's some strong competition to finish in any money! :thumbup:

 

[grindz]

Inertia.....

Td

 

[TATE]

You are correct. If Landon Shuffett had the same talent in golf that he does in pool, he'd be on a college team (don't know his age) and Nike would be looking at him. Great he's so good at pool but so what? Great doesn't mean he's going to make a living.

Probably more so than he could at his same talent level in golf, because the competition is thousandfold.

To get to the mini-tour in golf, the Web.com tour, where a golfer can at least cover their expenses, here's how to qualify ( I once read through the literature and tried to summarize it):

A player has to go to a 3 day pre-qualifying tournament, then first stage, second stage and finals, each a 4 day tournament, all stroke play. Some pros and so forth skip right to the 2nd stage.

The pre-qualifying tournaments have around a $3,000 entry fee. It’s a 3 day tournament plus 2 practice days , with top 30 and ties from each tournament going into first stage qualifier. If you are in the top 30, you pay an additional $2700 to move on to the first stage.

First stage is about a $5,000 entry fee, and is a 4 day tournament. There are roughly 950 players throughout the country. A varying percentage of the field advances to the second stage (since there are many qualifying stage tournaments going on across the country). Some PGA and previous web.com players, Asian tour etc may advance directly to later stages.

Second stage is about a $5,000 entry fee, and is a 4 day tournament. There are roughly 400 spots throughout the country.
A varying percentage of the field advances to the second stage (since there are many qualifying stage tournaments going on across the country). Some PGA and previous web.com players etc may advance to this stage.

Final stage is one tournament and is about $4,000 to enter. The field is limited to the top 138 players and ties from the second stage. The winner is exempt for the web.com entire year, the next 9 and ties are partially exempt, all the way to the top 40 partially exempt for a short period.

And this is to get on the “mini” tour! The top 25 web.com finishers get their PGA cards. Our top local "pro" golfers have almost zero chance of making this, even if they had the 50K - 100K backing to take a shot at it.

 

[Bobkitty]

Probably more so than he could at his same talent level in golf, because the competition is thousandfold.

To get to the mini-tour in golf, the Web.com tour, where a golfer can at least cover their expenses, here's how to qualify ( I once read through the literature and tried to summarize it):

A player has to go to a 3 day pre-qualifying tournament, then first stage, second stage and finals, each a 4 day tournament, all stroke play. Some pros and so forth skip right to the 2nd stage.

The pre-qualifying tournaments have around a $3,000 entry fee. It’s a 3 day tournament plus 2 practice days , with top 30 and ties from each tournament going into first stage qualifier. If you are in the top 30, you pay an additional $2700 to move on to the first stage.

First stage is about a $5,000 entry fee, and is a 4 day tournament. There are roughly 950 players throughout the country. A varying percentage of the field advances to the second stage (since there are many qualifying stage tournaments going on across the country). Some PGA and previous web.com players, Asian tour etc may advance directly to later stages.

Second stage is about a $5,000 entry fee, and is a 4 day tournament. There are roughly 400 spots throughout the country.
A varying percentage of the field advances to the second stage (since there are many qualifying stage tournaments going on across the country). Some PGA and previous web.com players etc may advance to this stage.

Final stage is one tournament and is about $4,000 to enter. The field is limited to the top 138 players and ties from the second stage. The winner is exempt for the web.com entire year, the next 9 and ties are partially exempt, all the way to the top 40 partially exempt for a short period.

And this is to get on the “mini” tour! The top 25 web.com finishers get their PGA cards. Our top local "pro" golfers have almost zero chance of making this, even if they had the 50K - 100K backing to take a shot at it.

Most college golf stars can easily raise enough money from their friends and business men for these qualifying tournaments and for their first year on tour. I've contributed myself to a star in college. If anyone thinks a golfer can make it on tour, raising money is the easiest thing he'll have to do. Plus the Asian tour is cheaper and the golfer can make a lot of money. Are you saying pool instead of golf for a living? It's certainly up to the individual but as a youngster I'd say golf or tennis. Even if the golfer doesn't make the tour, many business men play golf and lots of contacts are made on the golf course. I have relatives that can tell the story. Don't see too much of that in the pool halls.

 

[KRJ]

There are dude in minor league baseball that are in the same boat. They will never make it to the show, but they are making a "living"... not much of one, but they have a roof over their heads getting paid cheap.

I'm talking about the guys NOT chosen in the first couple rounds. As the draft goes on, there are guys signing for $20K or less. They fill up the minor leagues as prospects.

Some will play till they are in their 30's even though it's pretty much known they are not going to make it. Some will get cut way before then. They love the game.

Was not good enough to get drafted but I would have done it for the few hundo a week in a heartbeat. No second thought about it... I would have given up going to college, whatever, just for that shot. Not the smartest choice knowing I really had no shot at the big time, but try telling that to your heart.

 

[TATE]

Most college golf stars can easily raise enough money from their friends and business men for these qualifying tournaments and for their first year on tour. I've contributed myself to a star in college. If anyone thinks a golfer can make it on tour, raising money is the easiest thing he'll have to do. Plus the Asian tour is cheaper and the golfer can make a lot of money. Are you saying pool instead of golf for a living? It's certainly up to the individual but as a youngster I'd say golf or tennis. Even if the golfer doesn't make the tour, many business men play golf and lots of contacts are made on the golf course. I have relatives that can tell the story. Don't see too much of that in the pool halls.

I'm saying that anyone suggesting someone like Shuffet could make it big in pro golf if he had equal skill as he does in pool is in for a rude awakening. But at least with golf, he can get a scholarship.

 

[KRJ]

I'm saying that anyone suggesting someone like Shuffet could make it big in pro golf if he had equal skill as he does in pool is in for a rude awakening. But at least with golf, he can get a scholarship.

He did get one to Lindenwood University. Now, he's using his degree to make his career. If he's smart, he can work and use pool as a hobby/second income. And if does not choose to play anymore, that's find too. His life, his choice.

 

[alstl]

It isn't limited to low pro players. Some of the giants of the game ended up flat broke.

A related question would be why do so many great pool players throw away the money they make in card or dice games? I suspect some of the low level pros are gamblers who are good enough at pool to survive.