Poker Is Killing The Pool Industry

PORKYS POOLHALL · Apr 18, 2007

My View On This Is That All Us Room Owners Need To Get Together And Contact Espn And See What It Would Take To Get Pool On Prime Time Not 11am. Let The Tv Do For Us What It Did For Poker. We Are Not Getting New Kids To Discover The Sport If Its On When They Are In School. Any One Want To Help Me Please!!!!! For The Sake Of A Great Sport That We All Love

Strokerz · Apr 18, 2007

I agree 100%. Poker and video games have made a huge impact on the number of new young players taking up pool.

kevin s · Apr 18, 2007

Cant beatem Joinem

PORKYS POOLHALL said:
My View On This Is That All Us Room Owners Need To Get Together And Contact Espn And See What It Would Take To Get Pool On Prime Time Not 11am. Let The Tv Do For Us What It Did For Poker. We Are Not Getting New Kids To Discover The Sport If Its On When They Are In School. Any One Want To Help Me Please!!!!! For The Sake Of A Great Sport That We All Love

I realized six months ago that poker is so far ahead of pool that it may never catch up. We added three tables to our room and now run games four nights a week. There is always action on the card tables and the pool tables are hit or miss.We do better on four nights of cards with one table vs. seven pool tables on seven days and nights. I'd try and figure a way to do both!!!

Computerguy · Apr 18, 2007

I agree

I hate that Billiards rarely comes on and Poker is on about everyday. I have Dishnetwork and when you get the sports package you get the extra FSN channels and there is billiards on regularly and a couple billiards shows. I would love for ESPN to have it in HD.

biggame · Apr 18, 2007

Who want's to watch pool on tv? it sucks you get to see 8 games in an hour. I love pool but it sucks on tv we need to get pat fleming to do something with espn then maybe we have a chance. just my 2 cents

cueandcushion · Apr 19, 2007

Hard race to win

We are about ten years behind promoting pool vs promoting poker. It has been a slow growth that just exploded a few years ago. Pool would take the same amount of time to make that impact on ESPN. They care about ratings. Right now pool is in decline. Unless Angelina Jolie starts playing pool naked...untill that happens...the general public isn't going to care right now. The pool industry needs to think LONG RUN..not short run.

Hal · Apr 19, 2007

If pool was popular it WOULD be on TV in prime time. Nobody wants to see it on TV except pool players. It's that simple. In my opinion, pool will NEVER be popular on TV.

Dartman · Apr 19, 2007

Strokerz said:
Poker and video games have made a huge impact on the number of new young players taking up pool.

Agree. Home and online video games have been a huge success. I'm guessing they may have peaked somewhat.
Poker is still on a rush and won't go away any time soon as long as the payouts remain in the megamillions. Thank Chris Moneymaker for popularizing online play and the infestation of poker websites. I see no way billiards, or any thing else for that matter, can compete with the drama or the payouts.

PORKYS POOLHALL · Apr 19, 2007

THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT THE YEAR BEFORE MONEYMAKER WON THERE WAS ANOTHER INTERNET PLAYER WHO WON VARCONIE I BELIEVE WAS HIS NAME!!! this event was on tv but not prime time that is why not alot of people know of him. it was on 11am the years before and kids didnt see poker they were in school the same can happen with pool please help if we stick together we can do this

Computerguy · Apr 19, 2007

I agree

I know billiards on tv is not popular unless your someone who plays regularly but I wish is was on more regularly thats all.

Kevin Lindstrom · Apr 19, 2007

I don't get the whole poker thing anyhow

I don't understand all the hype with Poker anyhow. As a pool player and poker player I have no interest whatsoever to watch poker on TV. Now pool on the otherhand I would love to see more pool on primetime tv.

Computerguy · Apr 19, 2007

Kevin

Kevin do you have satellite tv cause if you get the sports package you get a lot more billiards.

drawls13 · Apr 19, 2007

Pool on TV is sorta limp

Is it just me, or do the pool players on TV come across a bit like robots? Pool players, as a rule, are funny people with about a million good stories to tell. You can watch TV pool for an hour and the only person that you hear talking is the damned announcer trying to guess how they are going to shoot their next shot (incorrectly about 75% of the time). The players have no opportunity to showcase their character and thus build a fanbase.

I don't like Steve Helmuth, but I know who he is. If he were a professional pool player they would tape his mouth shut because his tantrums would be "ungentlemanly" or "bad for pool". Horsecrap. I think that the mouthing that can accompany a pool game might play well on TV. Honestly, if you ask the average person in America to name a pool player they will still say Minnesota Fats. Was he the best....NO. But he was entertaining. That is what people want when they turn on the television.

Don't even get me started about pool being played in a freaking hotel lobby.

Finally. Poker celebrates gambling. Pool tries to act like it doesn't exist. BRILLIANT!!!!! That is working out just great!

Just my two cents.

DRawls

Slider · Apr 19, 2007

drawls13 said:
Finally. Poker celebrates gambling. Pool tries to act like it doesn't exist. BRILLIANT!!!!! That is working out just great!

This is frustrating to me as well—I think the TV matches would be far more exciting if there was money changing hands instead of a sterile tournament purse.

Do you think the "Texas Hold 'em" ring game format is a step toward reviving the association of pool and gambling? The players all have a "stake" and the money flows back and forth between the players, while the commentators are freely talking about how much is being 'bet" on each rack.

Dartman · Apr 19, 2007

Kevin Lindstrom said:
I don't understand all the hype with Poker anyhow.

The hype is that a no-name won a $40 WSOP satellite and went on to win the main event and $2.5 Million. Once that news got out online poker skyrocketed with people looking to duplicate Moneymakers' success. All pool needs to do is get 1000 players together in one location at $10k a pop. Local rooms running satellites for entries into a $10 million dollar "open" tournament could rack up. Pool could get big but someone needs to think big to make it happen.

Cass · Apr 19, 2007

I have read some of the posts that say "what tv did for poker,poker & video games impacted pool,poker is so far ahead of pool,poker is on tv every day,who wants to watch pool on tv it sucks,we are 10 years behind promoting pool vs poker,pool will never be popular on tv,no way billiards or anything else can compare with the drama or payouts of poker"
Porkys Pool Hall says he feels "the same thing can happen with pool if we stick together we can do this. I like this attitude!!!!!
POOL IS POOL! It shouldnt be "POKER POOL" to try to jump on the poker bandwagon or golf bandwagon or any other sport bandwagon.

I FEEL WE SHOULD PROMOTE POOL ON ITS OWN , WE DONT NEED TO USE OTHER SPORTS AS A CRUTCH FOR HOPEFUL PROMOTION SIMILARITIES!

mark smith · Apr 19, 2007

as a 15 year room owner who has seen the good times is now struggling i can tell you that poker has had a significant impact. so has our new statewide smoking law. for the regular joe poker is attractive because he can play a local tourney one night a week and have a chance to win. if his game is pool and he only has one night out a week he does not have a very good chance in most cases. why? the luck factor in pool is about nil while the luck factor in poker is significant. we have always lost players to marriage, military, etc but we replaced themn with new ones. over the last 5 years new players are like hen's teeth. i say we need a sequel or prequel to the hustler or color of money, with big names and a real story. these are just the ramblings of an old has been.

Cass · Apr 19, 2007

you cant keep going back to movies and at the same time promoting poker in your establishment in trying to promote the Billiard business.perhaps that type attitude may be better promoting poker. (I also have been in the Billiard business as a proprietor,manager,shortstop player for many years}

Dartman · Apr 20, 2007

mark smith said:
... the luck factor in pool is about nil while the luck factor in poker is significant.

So true!
Talk to 100 people and you'll get 100 answers but here's mine - pool is about 99.9% skill and the only luck factors I know are how many balls go in on the break and whether a hanger will drop. Poker on the other hand is 10% skill and 90% luck of the cards. All the skill in the world won't help when your opponent sucks out the winning hand - yet this is the drama of TV poker which helps make it popular to the masses.

Fatboy · Apr 20, 2007

i have said it on a number of posts here, poker has killed pool, the 20somethings are walking into a poker room and never making it into a pool room and beyond that because its on TV 24/7 its pulling people out of the pool rooms,

Chris Moneymaker was the best thing that ever happened to poker and the worst for pool. It demonstrated that anyone can win, pool moves to slow unless your hugely gifted it takes years to play good, and the action is slower by nature. remember backgammon thats what we'll be saying about pool in 30 yrears, the rent is too strong, the $$$ model for a pool room is weak at best. game over-and i hate it

Poker Is Killing The Pool Industry

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