Does it bother you where the state of pool in america is?

I guess I don't really understand where everyone thinks the "state of pool here in the US" is ?

I go to our local pool hall almost every night. MOST nights the place is pretty busy. League nights several times per week, tournaments 4 nights per week or more.
all the 9 footers usually busy as well.

My son and all his friends play pool at several of his friends who have tables in their home. there is plenty of interest from young people.

on facebook around here (iowa) there are tournaments I could go to virtually every weekend.

I just don't see what's wrong with pool at all. Plenty of leagues and players, and streams almost every weekend. So what is wrong exactly ?

It bothers me a bit. It would be nice if the top pros got some recognition for how great they are. Also, it is somewhat saddening that many rooms have closed. Having said all that, there are more important things to be concerned about in life than the sad state of pool in the us

lawrence526 said:

Mainly, pool is a bar type environment, lots of players and good players, but the venue is not what you would call a sport that is, promotable. We have a few tournaments that are presented in a way where it draws a positive rating, the kind that the general public can pay attention to. The Sponsors though are billiards related with very few exceptions and the money, or draw, is dismal.

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But this is something that for some reason or the other is deeply embedded into the "general mind".
If you look at China, Taiwan etc. it's completely different and esp. China has taken great length to pull it out of this ditch by making sure there are repectable sponsors and a great venue.

Snooker even manages to be both a bar sport (in Great Britain) AND an internationally highly regarded sport that is televised.
It might be that for a professional player there's all sorts of clean conduct expected and as far as I can remember gambling is forbidden.

Bigkat said:

From tournaments wycliffe they don't average bringing home 8-10k a month!! THAT'S SAD!! The TOP PLAYERS OF WORLD IN ANY KNOWN COMPETITIVE ACTIVITY SHOULD MAKE 1 MILLION PER YEAR!! Minimum!! ✔

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Can't say that I'm with you on that one.
Professional athletes don't do the world that much of a service, they run around for the spectator enjoyment of others and serve no other purpose than to be watched.
An engineer on the other hand furthers mankind.

I all OK with good pay for good play. But easy, fast money? No.

It's also up to each of us - remind the pool owners that we value a repectable atmosphere and high quality equipment and also a bit of quiet and separation.
If I can take my whole family to a pool room and nobody feels even a bit strange then we've achieved something.

Cheers,
M

Well-

jasonlaus said:

I'm in Southbend/Mishawaka Indiana - big area/lots of people(for the weekend) and you have to drive an hour to play on a 9' table. So yes, sad state for pool to be in and its not gonna get better
Jason

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Not with that attitude.

Depends on what "better" means to you.

If you're a room owner, you want more people playing, it's your business which gives you a living.

If you're a casual player, you want others to play against.

If you're a professional player you want a way to play and make a living playing.

What helps all of those things?
More people knowing about and taking an interest in pool/billiards.

How do you get people interested?

Well you can show them different aspects of the game(s) and see if that gets some interest-
Bank Pool.
9 Ball
Stripes and Solids.
14.1

Maybe they know nothing about anything, but are using the game to be social.

Maybe that doesn't do it for them, but upon seeing "action" they're drawn to a crowd around a table for "action" to feel that intensity.

Maybe they shun all of the above altogether, and just like to wack balls.

My point is,
talk pool to everyone.
Pool is connected to EVERYTHING- there is no topic that cannot be connected to pool.

Literally, it is Gos-pool (gospel) and you should spread it to new people everyday!

JMS said:

I wish pool leagues would disappear. I hate handicapped leagues and handicapped tournaments. And if someone wants to gamble the first thing they ask for is a damn spot.

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You realize this happened before pool leagues started right.

justinb386 said:

I love the culture. That is a big part of what makes pool so exciting and fun to be around. Imagine if the culture was similar to golf. That sounds pretty boring to me.

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I could watch pool or carom without anything else in the room

I don't need anything to enjoy the game, I don't need childish behavior to enjoy myself, don't need loud mouths, all I need is to witness the play because that's what I'm a fan of, the games, the skill

not the crowd

When I want an electric atmosphere I watch mma or kickboxing

Bigkat said:

I have a SERIOUS problem with the current state of pool. Look at the top tier players, PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS!! I guarantee you the top 20 in the world don't make $100,000 per year (excluding gambling). From tournaments wycliffe they don't average bringing home 8-10k a month!! THAT'S SAD!! The TOP PLAYERS OF WORLD IN ANY KNOWN COMPETITIVE ACTIVITY SHOULD MAKE 1 MILLION PER YEAR!! Minimum!! ✔

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Ya and min wage should be 30 hr


1

I love pro pool and it sad that it is not more popular with other players. Most league players do not even know what the Mosconi cup is, the only pro they heard of is Minnesota Fats. With millions of league players you'd think we could support a pro tour.

For many of us, any impression of "american pool" could be totally false
because it's mostly based on limited experience in a few places.
Like pool could be BOOMING in the midwest and I'd have no idea, being on the coast.

My impression, based on limited experience mostly in 2 states, is that it's doing OK
as a recreational activity. I have to drive 30 minutes minimum to find a non-bar pool hall,
but 50 minutes max to find several good ones.

But there's absolutely nothing wrong, weird, or bad about that.
This is a huge and spread-out country compared to just about anywhere else.
France for example is slightly smaller than Texas.
So needing to drive a while is not abnormal.

There are "dry patches" where even an hour's drive can't get you to a decent room,
and that sucks, but again I don't think this is weird when you think of how huge the country is.

As a professional sport, it's pretty weak, but we can't necessarily expect pool to get
the same huge numbers as the NFL or NBA. As a spectator sport, it's closer to chess
than golf (meaning there isn't a lot of excitement, and most of the time
a nice play almost requires someone to be an avid player to appreciate it).

Overall I'm happy and feel lucky that I can go into one of 3 or 4 good pool rooms within
a reasonable (which I define as an hour) drive, and I love seeing how packed those places are
on league night.

I don't like professional pool
I like to see Efren play one pocket,but not much more

Tournament pool is boring to me

I once plated harrybPlatis $1000 one pocket in the practice room of a Reno pooltournament
over 1000 people cramed in the room to watch

In the other room about 5 people watched the finals of the World Championship 9 ball

not even the contestants watched

I have had similar experiences at the one or 2 other tournaments I was at

I never watched a complete match

honestly who cares about the Mosconi cup or any of that stuff

The only name I really recognized was mosconi,I remember him
I doubt if anyone will recognize the names of any in 10 years

the fact that pool rooms are closing down,action games are dying
now that bothers me

why?
I would let my kids within a mile of either one

I don't want them to be pool players

Positively Ralf said:

This is mainly for people who live in the states. Does it bother you that pool in this country is in the state of where it is? Or do you think it's just a bunch of people in this forum making it out to be as bad as it is?

If you do not like where it is, what would you want to be seen done to try to fix it?

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Dude are you secretly JustinB?

No, it doesnt bother me personally at all. I can understand how players and others can benefit from a better pool industry.

I personally like it in the shitter. I like the seediness of it. The last thing I need is hunders of 15 yearolds packing the pool halls all summer with Nike pool cues.

Would no support Hustlin or hustling

Positively Ralf said:

This is mainly for people who live in the states. Does it bother you that pool in this country is in the state of where it is? Or do you think it's just a bunch of people in this forum making it out to be as bad as it is?

If you do not like where it is, what would you want to be seen done to try to fix it?

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I would not support Hustlin or hustling.

Poolhall60561 said:

I love pro pool and it sad that it is not more popular with other players. Most league players do not even know what the Mosconi cup is, the only pro they heard of is Minnesota Fats. With millions of league players you'd think we could support a pro tour.

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Most league players in my experience don't really care. and that's A-OK. a lot of league players just want to get out of the house for a night, to hang with friends, have a good time and shoot some pool/breeze.

there's nothing wrong with that. With them pool is a hobby.I like to drive fast, but I couldn't tell you 5 Formula 1 drivers names. Same thing with league players.

pool should be a hobby and fun. if some people want to try to make a living doing it, good for them, but to assume the general public should support them is wrong.

IMO.

This guy is like JustinB ( I think that's his screen name).
Couldn't care less about the question or the answers.
Just wants to make long threads.
Never participates just throws out a bunch of questions one after the other just to make threads.

JMS said:

Whenever I have trouble sleeping I watch some 1 pocket on youtube.

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Got to admit, that method is faster than watching dried white paint turn yellow.

Yeah, I mean it bothers me that there can literally be a Michael Jordan level pool player, he goes out for the weekend to play a tournament and maybe makes 1000 if he gets a bunch of rolls. Meanwhile, a girl on Instagram selling calendars of selfies showing her twat and ass makes 1000 bucks a day and has no talent at all. It's seriously a sad time, but I suppose it's what we make of it too.