The Old Jaybird
Well-known member
even myself, sets the playback speed to 1.25 because I want to see the shots made, not the guy contemplating for 2 minutes.
A quick fix for pool
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
I have been thinking of a post involving hockey for a while. As far as hockey in the US and its development, it has been decades in the making. The recent Olympic wins have highlighted some of the improvements. I didn’t know about the arena in Michigan that was purchased for the U-18 and U-17 teams I think it is. I may try to toss it out there as food for thought. I wasn’t involved, but as a kid was around some of the folks who were. The change from AHAUS to USA Hockey and the development of players is so much better now than it was in the ‘70’s. And in some ways it started with a guy crazy enough to get the visas and travel to Soviet Russia to learn about coaching and player development. He did that on his own dime too. And then he went to AHAUS which had very little money and few programs.
Soccer and basketball (I think that's what you meant by "basket") are pretty much each a single sport played by people of various ages, mostly younger people. I cant even think of all of the different forms of motorsport from road racing, drag, circle track, rally, endurance, off road, sand, hill climb,land speed etc but then you have to add in all of the different types of vehicles from cars, open wheel cars, motorcycles, karts, airplanes, lawn mowers, boats, etc and this is going on all over the world every day/night of the week. The info I see on the interweb seems to always reference F1 but I dont think thats the biggest single form of racing for the spectator and even if it is it is just 1 single form and that pales by comparison to all other forms combined.
I use the 5 second skip feature on my computer, as soon as the shooter gets down on the shot I quit skipping ahead.
middleofnowhere
Registered
That's a yes or no thing, it's interesting seeing what the players are contemplating.
These are just my opinions, but I think pro pool has gone as far as it could. Let's be glad that matchroom and barry hearn plus the predator group have decided to take it in the direction that it is right now which has opened up even more big events for all the top players to join and win some big-time money. The one thing I wish someone would do is consider opening up a national tour. It does not have to be anything big and it should be capped to not allow the travelling pros to come in and play. Treat it as a developmental tour for anyone wanting to consider going onto the bigger events.
The amateur side of things imo is doing just fine. There are plenty of really great regional tours all over the country for the more competitive players and the people running them are making a good living off of it. And as much as many people on these forums hate them, the leagues and their offices are never going to go away because they have their clientele and those people do not need to take pool serious like we do.
The amateur side of things imo is doing just fine. There are plenty of really great regional tours all over the country for the more competitive players and the people running them are making a good living off of it. And as much as many people on these forums hate them, the leagues and their offices are never going to go away because they have their clientele and those people do not need to take pool serious like we do.
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George the Greek
Well-known member
There's quite a following whether league play or the Predator Tour etc here in Nova Scotia. Quite a few players men and women show up for the events and support . As usual the same top eight or so always cash out and there's a 500 FR and under (1st one of it's kind) coming up and I believe it'll draw a big number. The better players here are 620-680 on avg and time to give to the little guy.
The International's Semi Pro event proves that even low Fargo ranked players would enter a tournament even if it is non-handicapped. But of course, that is because of the name attached to that event. And I'm sure that capped tournament you mentioned will draw a good turnout because again, low ranked players from my experience want more events like that, that cater to their level.
If you ask me, there's a big potential for more of those kinds of events.
Willymakaball
Member
Image is everything, most reprentations in films are negative, a fight, a hustler, even those that have tried to create a tv show stimulate that preception of pool and it's players.Higher end tournaments have elevate the dress code for players, black shoes, polo shirt. I'm not saying a dress code is needed. Yet you sure do not see golfers playing in tee shirts.
Perhaps shining some light on the younger players out there, promoting teams in schools,Math class would be a good place to start. If Patty Hearst could get a pool table put in prison,a few schools would be a start, think of all the kids that played football, how may can play that game into their 80's. Yes the negative image has prejudiced many people's view of pool.
If retailers of pool merchandise would commit a small percentage of their sale to prize pool, I believe player yearly winning would rival that of pro golfers.
I’ve been on the forum for 22 or so years and this topic has been talked about since then. I don’t think a solution to market the existing games to the masses will be found if it hasn’t happened by now. I do think UPL has the most promising alterations even more so than match room. Another post mentioned players showing some kind of emotion/personality would be helpful but the locked in stoic nature of how top players play is how they perform so well. It would be nice if they could all be Kieth and or Jimmy mataya but maybe that’s not reasonable.
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
I agree that UPL has some promise. The rule-set is pretty good, the shot clock helps, moreover, the co-located events for juniors, women, amateurs etc. are an avenue to bringing casual APA types in as participants and fans.
I really think focusing on in-person fan experience would go a long way. Golf is much harder to follow as an in-person spectator than pool, but attending golf tournaments is awesome, and attending pool tournaments isn't something I'd currently spend much to do. A hybrid experience with real-time brackets, scores, and key matches on screens throughout the venue would help. Hospitality options would be good. In the US, pool is a bar game; getting some appropriate booze sponsors should be easy work, regional food options would be cool. Buffs is in one of the best food towns on earth, Vegas has great food, maybe try and get some of that food to fans and participants. Some premium spaces, maybe with player interactions, clinics, premium viewing, would all be nice. Equipment demos, fan challenges and games, maybe a premium cigar and whisky experience, could all make attending events more fun and feel more premium, without excluding the core pool demographics.
NASCAR has awesome hospitality options that are approachable for their fan-base and also very premium. 8-Ball pool could too, just need to make it a priority.
I really think focusing on in-person fan experience would go a long way. Golf is much harder to follow as an in-person spectator than pool, but attending golf tournaments is awesome, and attending pool tournaments isn't something I'd currently spend much to do. A hybrid experience with real-time brackets, scores, and key matches on screens throughout the venue would help. Hospitality options would be good. In the US, pool is a bar game; getting some appropriate booze sponsors should be easy work, regional food options would be cool. Buffs is in one of the best food towns on earth, Vegas has great food, maybe try and get some of that food to fans and participants. Some premium spaces, maybe with player interactions, clinics, premium viewing, would all be nice. Equipment demos, fan challenges and games, maybe a premium cigar and whisky experience, could all make attending events more fun and feel more premium, without excluding the core pool demographics.
NASCAR has awesome hospitality options that are approachable for their fan-base and also very premium. 8-Ball pool could too, just need to make it a priority.
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This has been the best post so far.
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
Thinking more about this, there are lots of lessons from other sports. Boxing does a good job with pre fight hype. I don't think it would be too much to ask players to do press conferences before or after big matches. Darts has borrowed the walk out from boxing. It's a bit silly but also fun.
Football and basketball have fan activations at half time, like half court shots and trivia for money and prizes. I'd love to see the announcer call a seat number between sets on the TV table and have some rando try to break and run a rack of ten ball for $1k per ball.
In other words, make it fun.
Well the 1991 Challenge of Champions was an event that had a casino booking bets and posting odds. The way the event concluded with Buddy Hall wearing the same expression as the guy that dumped the $64,000 question game show, was definitely a setback for the game of pool. Add the movie The Hustler and that's how a Perception of pool is set in concrete. (People that stole from casinos could end up in concrete. Well rumor has it that's what happened to Jimmy Hoffa.)
Cole Dixon told me of how he took down a baccarat game. Well he was the member of the team.
One person blocked the camera and the other switched the shoe, then Cole sat at the table. Only one of the decks was stacked. Two nights in a row they took down the high stakes table. The third night the game was shut down. Cole at the time of this story telling was barred from gambling in Nevada. He said there wasn't a casino in the state that he had not run out of or Been run out of. The cheating that got him barred from the state led to a conviction. He lamented that his "get out of jail" phone call was late. His knowledge of organized crime and never crossing the mafia or uh organized crime included that a certain casino had a floor that Nobody returned from. He had made enough money for his connection that lived in a Las Vegas casino that he could get a thousand sent through western union with a phone call. Cole gave me a cab drivers insights in the hour and a half drive I gave him, as he was too drunk to drive his nice and newish pick up.Racetrack Rick gave me insights into a certain big money pool player and his methods. His wisdom was, "If you are Not in on it....Don't bet."
My conclusion is that pool as an after work pass time is a good hobby. Pool as a profession is not a good gamble.
Pools difficulty.... unless it's handicapped....
80% if the time the better player wins.
No existing pool game offers the 20% ers a chance to win an event unless it's an extremely short race.
80% if the time the better player wins.
No existing pool game offers the 20% ers a chance to win an event unless it's an extremely short race.
I just use the right arrow key on youtube to fast forward to the actual shot
-dj
if you went to tournaments that were also gambler ones years back you would see the audience involved and excited about each match. and the players didnt have to sit in a chair and not make any movement or someone cried sharking.
the tournament directors were fun to listen to and they let the players have a lot more freedom.
you know an opponent can complain if he sees wrong.
the tournament directors were fun to listen to and they let the players have a lot more freedom.
you know an opponent can complain if he sees wrong.
your post resonates more with me, I've always said. Its the way its played! Its just not exciting to watch.
compared to the mid 90s, today's game is a lot slower. But im stuck in past, old videos is what i like watching. I struggle watch the modern stuff, To build a platform for a wider audience, people have to be interested.
Darts is a prime example of this.
I also think live streaming needs commentators who speak well, understand the game and an audience who appreciates their body of work. Sorry, Earl and Siegle are hard to listen too. JJ does a good job and lately John Schmidt and Mark Wilson at DCC were very good as well. We need more commentators who are easy to listen too.