Ok but you want to be a professional pool player? You realize the commitment that it takes to be a pro and compete at the level means you would probably have to sacrfice a steady job. It's rare you see both of them going hand in hand.
Aiming for pro within 5 years. Realistic?
- Thread starter SamLambert
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Ok but you want to be a professional pool player? You realize the commitment that it takes to be a pro and compete at the level means you would probably have to sacrfice a steady job. It's rare you see both of them going hand in hand.
It's a nature vs nurture debate. I'm on the nature side.
My opinion is IF you have the genetic talent, you can definitely get to pro speed in 5 years, with lots of practice and competition.
If you do not have the genetic talent, you can practice and compete 15 hours a day for 30 years straight and will never become pro speed.
You will know in about 1 year from now if you have any shot at all.
The above are the opinions of a player firmly in the nature camp. Your opinions may vary
My opinion is IF you have the genetic talent, you can definitely get to pro speed in 5 years, with lots of practice and competition.
If you do not have the genetic talent, you can practice and compete 15 hours a day for 30 years straight and will never become pro speed.
You will know in about 1 year from now if you have any shot at all.
The above are the opinions of a player firmly in the nature camp. Your opinions may vary
23 is kind of old to start in any endeavor to become a professional but some have done it. John Schmidt comes to mind, U.S. Open 9 Ball Champion but John is a natural talent in most things he does. Because of the lack of money in pool, he chooses to spend most of his time doing other things, but yes, he is the exception and you could be too.
Most women do not tolerate a mistress for very long. This could change overnight, especially when you work full time and play pool full time. When does that leave time for courting and discovering this world with your better half? She will eventually expect you to cater to her needs and that is tough to do as a pool player.
Keep increasing that will power, because you will need it. I like your post and dream, but I give you one year and no more. You will hit a wall and realize that the commitment is too great and you just can't justify the time. (Ok that's a taunt to make you give your best effort. G/L)
Gambling at pool is almost a separate career and something that requires learning, time and experience. I don't think gambling is necessary to obtain a professional status in pool but it could help or hender, depending upon your personality and the bankroll of your significant other.
Speedcubing requires good eye hand coordination and logic so those innate properties may help you to play pool well.
Attempting to obtain the skills of a professional player is met by an ardent task master and most people fail to stand up to the gauntlet.
Don't let anyone tell you, that you can't accomplish this goal.
I give you less than a year. You are a merely a flash in a pan. Still, I even like the fact that you are willing to consider this goal. Write more in a year about your 30-40 hours of good practice per week.
(Oh yeah-ADVICE, get a part time job at the pool room so you don't have to pay for pool time or get a table at your home or both. Learn an aiming system or two or three or four and HAMB :smile: Go see John Morra and find out what it takes to become a professional pool player and find out the cost of doing so.). :welcome:
Best to you and yours,
JoeyA
Most women do not tolerate a mistress for very long. This could change overnight, especially when you work full time and play pool full time. When does that leave time for courting and discovering this world with your better half? She will eventually expect you to cater to her needs and that is tough to do as a pool player.
Keep increasing that will power, because you will need it. I like your post and dream, but I give you one year and no more. You will hit a wall and realize that the commitment is too great and you just can't justify the time. (Ok that's a taunt to make you give your best effort. G/L)
Gambling at pool is almost a separate career and something that requires learning, time and experience. I don't think gambling is necessary to obtain a professional status in pool but it could help or hender, depending upon your personality and the bankroll of your significant other.
Speedcubing requires good eye hand coordination and logic so those innate properties may help you to play pool well.
Attempting to obtain the skills of a professional player is met by an ardent task master and most people fail to stand up to the gauntlet.
Don't let anyone tell you, that you can't accomplish this goal.
I give you less than a year. You are a merely a flash in a pan. Still, I even like the fact that you are willing to consider this goal. Write more in a year about your 30-40 hours of good practice per week.
(Oh yeah-ADVICE, get a part time job at the pool room so you don't have to pay for pool time or get a table at your home or both. Learn an aiming system or two or three or four and HAMB :smile: Go see John Morra and find out what it takes to become a professional pool player and find out the cost of doing so.). :welcome:
Best to you and yours,
JoeyA
A few questions:
How old are you? 23
Can you afford to be without a job for the next few years?
No, but I do have a lot of free time after my work day / during the weekends.
Can you afford to be without a "better half" during this time?
Better half is actually supporting me and coming with me to my tournaments and helping me with my practice.
Do you have a will strong enough to bend spoons with that alone?
I bend spoons for breakfast.
Do you want to gamble while you are becoming a professional player?
Low amounts, sure. Nothing neck-breaking though. 500$ sets are not in my sight for a long time.
Do you want to travel nationally to play pool?
Yes
Do you want to travel internationally to play pool?
Being in Canada, north of the US is okay, maybe not the tournaments that would take more than a whole day of driving though.
Are you especially talented in some other sport? If so, what and how did you come to the conclusion that you are at that particular level?
I didn't play many sports at a high level. I liked playing with my Rubik's cube when I was younger and practiced solving it quickly (speedcubing they call it) and I was quite good at it. Sylvain did say that I am very good for someone that has only been playing for 3 months. His opinion is that if I continue working hard, pro in 5 years is something attainable.
Are you Canadian? Quebec:
And no, that Sylvain Grenier was not a professional wrestler
That was a great post, thanks.
If memory serves until then, I will try to update this thread in about a year to give the current state at that time.
Also, what is great where I live is that there is a pool hall about 5 minutes from my home where I can pay 100$ per month to play 24/7, it's a pretty neat deal. He also gives lessons for 30$ an hour. Sylvain just loves pool and wants to promote the sport big time.
Have you run a rack twice yet? If you haven't you may still make 'Quebec Pro' but that's about it imho.
BTW- i practiced as much or more than you for more like 10 years and never made 'B' level. I cant draw or play a guitar either though i surely put in loads of guitar time also. Horses for courses and i hope one of yours is pool.
BTW- i practiced as much or more than you for more like 10 years and never made 'B' level. I cant draw or play a guitar either though i surely put in loads of guitar time also. Horses for courses and i hope one of yours is pool.
Break & ran 3 racks until now.
So a pro you've had a few lessons from and who owns the pool hall you frequent tells you that you can become pro in 5 years... Lol.
It shouts out to me the guy wants you spending every last dime on lessons and table time. People wanting your money will tell you what you want to hear and will bend the truth.
If it was a 13 year old child with the correct guidance and instruction 5 years would not be that unrealistic. Children pick things up and learn new things at a faster rate than adults... I don't know this for fact but it's what I've experienced when tutoring new players.
Most pros today we're world beaters by their late teens. If you were to stand a chance of becoming a pro in 5 years I'd say your potting ability would have to be at shortstop level after 6 months. Your positional play abilities to be at A or higher after 6 months and decision making would also need to be very high.
So far your practice time doesn't seem to have enough structure to it. Every pro in snooker I know have said about when they were kids, they would practice trouble shots for 8 hours on end 7 days a week until it became like knocking in a hanger. One player even said he bruised his ribs practicing power draw shots he struggled with from the grip slamming into his chest so much in one day. This is what sets pros apart from everyone else. Not being happy with anything other than perfection. Spending an hour on trouble shots a few times a week or on a weekend just isn't enough time for these shots to become unmissable. I feel you may have too many responsibilities in life to be able to devote enough time to becoming a pro.
It shouts out to me the guy wants you spending every last dime on lessons and table time. People wanting your money will tell you what you want to hear and will bend the truth.
If it was a 13 year old child with the correct guidance and instruction 5 years would not be that unrealistic. Children pick things up and learn new things at a faster rate than adults... I don't know this for fact but it's what I've experienced when tutoring new players.
Most pros today we're world beaters by their late teens. If you were to stand a chance of becoming a pro in 5 years I'd say your potting ability would have to be at shortstop level after 6 months. Your positional play abilities to be at A or higher after 6 months and decision making would also need to be very high.
So far your practice time doesn't seem to have enough structure to it. Every pro in snooker I know have said about when they were kids, they would practice trouble shots for 8 hours on end 7 days a week until it became like knocking in a hanger. One player even said he bruised his ribs practicing power draw shots he struggled with from the grip slamming into his chest so much in one day. This is what sets pros apart from everyone else. Not being happy with anything other than perfection. Spending an hour on trouble shots a few times a week or on a weekend just isn't enough time for these shots to become unmissable. I feel you may have too many responsibilities in life to be able to devote enough time to becoming a pro.
I'll just disregard the first paragraph, Sylvain is a great guy and what he does for the sport is fantastic. I won't let anyone tell me otherwise on that part.
My practice time not having structure is a problem I noticed and am trying to improve. Will definitely improve when I have a better idea of what I have difficulty with on a regular basis. I still don't know for sure if I should practice the shots that bother me or keep practicing my cueball positioning. I do both each day until then.
Ok pretty good-above average i think.
Hahahaha! That is certainly an excellent idea!
"Pro" as in some rating system in Quebec? Sure, maybe. "Pro" as in a person who plays pool as the sole source of their income? Very different question.
Ask yourself this, do you think you can become better than Danny Hewitt in 5 years? As good as John Morra?
Ask yourself this, do you think you can become better than Danny Hewitt in 5 years? As good as John Morra?
Yeah I noticed the source of the confusion after asking my question! The term Pro for a pool player is used loosely in Quebec as in you don't have to win your life playing pool to be a "Pro".
About Danny Hewitt and John Morra, I don't think I can become better than them in 5 years. but I do believe that I can get up to their level given enough time. What I'm aiming for in 5 years is more along the lines of being able to trade matches with them.
John Morra just placed in the top 16 in the WPC. You honestly think you can be there in 5 years?
That would make you part of a "very" small statistical minority. Most people have no chance whatsoever to reach Danny's level and only a tiny fraction of humans have the ability to get as good as Morra no matter how much effort or time they put in.
I said given enough time, not 5 years.
Guess I'll have to practice harder than I thought!
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Well if have 8 hrs of shooting time a day and plenty money to lose its possible to hit low end pro ,, obviously you have no other skills or education past junior high rich girlfriend or don't mind living off peanuts
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What was the purpose of that post? As far as I know, you don’t know much about me. Are you insinuating you know who I am and what I do in life based on my intention to become a pro-level pool player at 23?
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ROALMFAO,, stop your killing me
John's Dad is a pro he's been hitting balls since he started walking
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