Pool's latest growth in popularity is due to...?

1pocket

1pocket

Steve Booth
Silver Member
Is it because:

  • ...a general surge in interest in retro ("analog") vs digital? I mean pool is basically as analog as it gets! Yet it has the bright colors, action and to a certain degree sounds, of video games lol. Plus of course the winning and losing. But pool doesn't need virtual reality -- it already has it :D

It is not a blockbuster movie this time! ("The Hustler" and "The Color of Money" of course)

  • The prevalence of handicap formulas that rule all the leagues, and most of the local tournaments, which have broadened the power of weaker players, such that they feel more valued and have so much of a better chance of winning matches?

I'm thinking both.
 
Coos Cues said:
I wasn't aware pool was surging.
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Seems like it is growing from my perspective way up northeast in NH. I did not say it was "surging" though -- I said "growth". The "surging" comment came regarding the interest in analog in general (vinyl records and film cameras come to mind)...

Maybe someone can post real numbers?
 
tim913 said:
I think the idea of a whole bunch of people in a confined space, mostly men, all jacked up on testosterone, alcohol, and drugs whilel carrying their own 19-22 oz clubs just appeals to everyone!
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I concur.

Not too bad with as few as 1 either, lol.
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Pool has always done well in financial hard times. It's a cheap way to get out of the house.

Bidenomics has aided to pools growth recently.
 
I think FargoRate has unified the pool world, and has helped improve participation in all levels of competition.

Matchroom expanding has also helped.
 
The proliferation of 7 foot tables now makes it easier for newbies to find the game relatively appealing from a ball pocketing success standpoint. Couple that with league proliferation and you start to get a higher player participation rate. Add in the social mix with the bar scene, and now begin to spice it up with reports of some pros making fairly large money scores on the new tournament scene--- it starts to add up a bit- albeit much different for the post 1961 Hustler movie pool room boom.
 
Pool is not in growth mode in Phoenix, it is in struggling and dyeing mode. Think the vast majority of Pool is being played in Bars, and Sports Bars, in Leagues. Most of the League Player if ask three questions would reply like this.

Ever hear of Derby City Classic? They might say you mean Horse Race?

Do you know who Efren Reyes is? They might say who.

Have you ever played 14/1 or One Pocket on a Pool Table? Reply is likely is never hear of that?

Those recreational players are the people supporting Pool, Drinking, help Bar stay open, and are what most AZB Member call BANGERS with contempt.

Companies like Action, Cue N Case, and Players survive on those people spending on price point equipment.

They do know what Toam Chalk, Barry Zamboti, Dennis Searing is, and don’t care.
 
I need some of what you are taking. Pool, as I knew it, is literally dead. The pool I knew was not played in leagues or tournaments. It was played in old school pool halls by a devoted group of dedicated, hardcore players. These pool halls are nearing extinction, and we all know what happens to a species whose habitat is destroyed. You must be addressing the aberration, or evolution, currently observed in bars . . .
 
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Biloxi Boy said:
I need some of what you are taking. Pool, as I knew it, is literally dead. The pool I knew was not played in leagues or tournaments. It was played in old school pool halls by a devoted group of dedicated, hardcore players. These pool halls are nearing extinction, and we all know what happens to a species whose habitat is destroyed. You must be addressing the aberration, or evolution, currently observed in bars . . .
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I hear ya, nothing more embarrassing than walking into one of my old haunts, with case over shoulder, only to find there are no pool tables. They’ve been replaced by video gambling
 
tim913 said:
I hear ya, nothing more embarrassing than walking into one of my old haunts, with case over shoulder, only to find there are no pool tables. They’ve been replaced by video gambling
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Had 2 pool halls locally. One replaced the tables with Video gambling machines, the other is boarded up...literally. Only place with more than 1 table is 40 miles away at a VFW post...3 coin ops.
 
Covid had a lot to do with it. The same has happened in golf and bowling. People were cooped up at home, many who stayed home by choice before, and during Covid golf was one of the things they were allowed to do. That got many people into the sport. When restrictions were lifted all were eager to get out of the house at night, and they began bowling and playing pool. There's something about telling people they can't do what they previously chose not to do that gets them to do it, especially young people.
 
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