Time and effort required to reach Fargo 400, 500, 600

N

Not Dead Ted

Formerly Dead Crab
Silver Member

So their estimates for taking a pool neophyte to these Fargo levels: 400(2-12 months), 500(6mo to 2 years), 600 (2-3) years, assumes 10 hours of table time per week, league competitive play, and professional coaching.

So reaching Fargo 400 could take ~260 hours, Fargo 500 ~1000 hours, Fargo 600 ~1500 hours

I don't think they touched on cost. If paying $7/hour table time to practice, that is $3500+ per year. Alternatively, you could buy a good home table for $3500 and be ahead after the first year.

Coaching could be $300/year online (estimating here), or $1200+ per year for a monthly session in person.

So reaching Fargo 500 in two years might cost you close to $10K?

These estimates were also assuming a young, physically able, and highly motivated student.

I hate to think how long and costly it would be for a retiree playing 3 hours per week to make it to 500.
 
Back in what I call the good old days, before FARGO, or Handicapping Systems.

People who want to be better at some skill, trade, a game.

Just worked at it without all the BULLS***.

Back when I first started playing Pool at a Boy Club in Miami, Florida in 1950's, there was no Internet, Dr. Dave on U-Tube, Instructional books, or people will to teach you mush for FREE.

You learn by observing, practicing, and play.
 
Back when I was embarking on my quest to get to My Best, I tried to balance my play and practice. The play involved the one night tournaments that were handily available. It also involved 9 ball ring games at one on the 5 and 2 on the nine. Respot.
Wednesday night was the White Spot Big Boys 9 ball. I paid my 5 dollar dues every week and won a beer for 7th 8th finish, after a year and a half. Can't remember how much longer until I could win it but it came.
The other 6 nights of the week provided much softer action that roughly showed a 200 to 250 profit per week. So the 50 spent on Wednesday nights was an investment. It was still recreation and I never imagined quiting the day job. Well I did have interludes between jobs that were profitable but Not sustainable. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Oh yeah and as to the Fargo numbers.
I think the highest I saw next to my name was 620 to 630. Briefly. Now I think I come up in ab540 t0 550 range. 🤷‍♂️
At my top form I was graduated to the BCAPL Masters devision. Probably when I hit 620 ish. It was first place in Seniors 8 and then 9 ball a year apart followed by a 4th in A devision that kicked me up to Master class. I logged only 1 Victory as a Master it was however against a Grand Master playing 8 ball.
I did get a couple of 725 pelts playing in $5 tournaments. 🤷‍♂️
 
When working 6 days a week, I went to the senior center on Sundays to play golf on the Snooker table and get free lessons from the Seniors.
 
OP.... life's not that simple.
One things for sure, when losing (that's your teacher).... and how you treat/think/process that is completely different in every person.
 
1500 hours for 600 Fargo sound very realistic (and true for 98% with no special disabilities). Some outliers can reach it a little faster... But most "naturals" just have the motivation to spend incredible amounts of hours on the "right" practice at the start of their "career". (Practicing 12 hours a day alone at the table will get you to 1500 hours in 4 months.)
 
I think climbing Fargo is not the best idea. It's all resistance, gar-niched with whatever your dumbrain makes of it.

Learn the pool. Those you beat is just waste product.
 
I think the time estimates could be wrong in either direction by a factor of ten.

For reference, the average FargoRated player with an established rating is a 470. It looks like there are 10,000 or so with ratings over 600.

Another factor is how long they've been playing. A 400 with 20 years of bad habits is not going to get to 600.

Allen Hopkins was quick. Joe Batchelor (Mosconi contemporary) was too. He started playing at 16 and within six months had run 100 balls at straight pool.
Not Dead Ted said:
... I hate to think how long and costly it would be for a retiree playing 3 hours per week to make it to 500.
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Three hours a week might only keep you from backsliding from 420, especially if it is league.
 
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Sounds about right. If we think about the maximum rating an adult person could reach within their lifetime from their current starting point with realistic motivation/training amount etc. (so no 10h a day for 10 years bullshit which works for 1/10000 of the people for economical, motivational and health reasons), then 600-700 is the most common upper bound. 700-800 for some, if they are already quite highly rated and/or somewhat talented and/or well-off for the sport physically. I doubt anyone has gotten to 800+ as an adult if they weren't already a 700+ as a 18 year old.

I chose adults to discuss here, because a hypothetical 4 year old is much harder to gauge as it's not clear at all how much of their potential is capped by genetics and how much by their motivation and amount/quality of practice for the rest of their childhood/teen years.
 
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There’s no answer to this lol everyone’s natural ability is different. I got pretty good pretty fast but I’ve seen people in leagues for 30 years who play all the time and are still terrible. Not to mention quality of practice. What kind of practice are you putting in. To many variables for this to have a real answer
 
In my apprenticeship weekly visits to the White Spot 9 ball academy I noticed a huge difference between players that practiced a lot and players that were in competition a lot. The practice guys could make the shots but often folded up under pressure. My method was to balance practice with competition. Soft tournaments and competition kept me in funds to take to the 211 pool room in Seattle and play er uh pay for lessons. 🤷‍♂️
"I pay for lessons and of course I charge for lessons." Was a line I often employed when prospecting on the pool tables after work. A fellow prospector used the line, "I don't play very good. But I will gamble."
When prospective conversations led to them asking me, "how good do you play?" My answer would be "I am the best player within ......" Then scan the room ...."a 10 foot radius. " 🤷‍♂️
 
I recall Ronnie Allen speaking of his style of play. It was something along the lines of, "sometimes I play like a lion sometimes like a lamb."
My version could be, "some nights I show up. Sometimes I don't. " Motivation would be a key factor. Piss Me OFF and you will see my best game. 🤷‍♂️ The adrenaline rush of a imminent fight is huge.
A Required Caution:
Adrenaline rush can be addictive. 🤷‍♂️

Some used chemicals to enhance play. They burned out quickly. I prefer doing it on the Natural even if I ain't a natural. I have however paid for the lesson Z and put in the practice. It's still a recreational endeavor. My number one gambling rule was, Never play for more than I can afford to lose or be cheated out of.
 
These numbers sound about right to me. There are a couple young men here in Oregon who work hard and put in the time that have been playing around 5 years total. One is a 619 the other a 639 and both were in the 500s within 12-18 months of picking up a cue.

The ceiling is the thing. Starting in your 20s sadly is a bit late to ever be more than this without the natural talent few have. Neither one of these will ever likely be 700 players. Maybe not even 650.
 
straightline said:
He said when he's behind he plays like a lion and when he's ahead, he plays like a lamb. Logic being, there's no good reason to risk squandering a lead.
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Yes. That’s on the one pocket match with Deliberto. In the middle there is an instructional by him and it’s pretty good. That’s where he says it. (On YouTube available video at least).
 
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