TheThaiger
Banned
That is a very poor line of argument. Thoughts about passion, desire, romance, achievement etc last about 10 mins. They do this as a job - nothing else. Only amateurs like us dream about it in this way.
AZB Player Money List - top 10 last 5 years (After IPT)
- Thread starter Roy Steffensen
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That is a very poor line of argument. Thoughts about passion, desire, romance, achievement etc last about 10 mins. They do this as a job - nothing else. Only amateurs like us dream about it in this way.
Yes it does, but after a while (& too many) your bowls are the same.
If you believe Kevin, he was building a sellable IPT business to the guy who wanted to do off-shore betting that didn't pan out due to change of laws. His plan was to make money, not simply donate to the pool world. But he ended up doing just that and some made some nice coin in the process. It was exiting for a couple years.
Passion, in my opinion, is why the players choose to become players. It's not a long term business decision. I think pool chooses them as much as they choose pool. It is very hard to get to the level of play to decide to gamble and/or play tourneys for your living, although some get there at a very early age. The biggest allure is the $1,000s of dollars that could be made at an early age - it's hard to work at a job for $10/hr to put yourself through school when you have the ability to earn as much as your professors (if you don't factor in your loses
Many do not have the level of passion to choose that life, because the force has to be strong, so they get jobs, go to school, and play pool their whole life as a fantastic hobby. This probably happened to many of the forum members including me.
What could be worse than choosing pool as your sport of choice (if it's a sport), to dedicate your early life to get very good at it, with the possibility of greatness to where you would be forced to make the choice to go full-time or not? Try getting good at 3-cushion billiards at an early age
But the underlying theme is passion! If it's strong enough, you play; it's as simple as that. Your choice in time is whether you work while you play or dive in head first. Those listed above are getting rewarded for being their own bosses (unless married).
Thanks for posting these figures, it is very interesting.
Dave
Exiting...there's a debatable typo... you sly devil, you.
TheThaiger
Banned
This post hits the nail on the head, and is ignored.
If pool is to compete with golf and tennis, or snooker even, it needs to attract a TV audience. Why don't people watch pool on TV? I don't watch pool on TV!
Pool is great to play but crap to watch. The game will continue to die a slow death until that changes.
How many pros do you know? Personally?
Dave knows quite a lot, so do I and so do a lot of people on this forum. It's not just a job for a lot of the people who play "professional" pool. A lot of them honestly love to play the game.
Shane Van Boeing is in love with the game. He is fascinated by it.
Maybe that's one of the reasons he is the top money earner.
TheThaiger
Banned
Yeah, it's in such rude health you have to import players from other countries...
TheThaiger
Banned
Not sure what that's got to do with it but quite a few, including one that's just quit because he was fed up with all the travel for no reward. He told me this as I was buying all his gear for a knock down price. Flight, hotel, miss two balls in two matches, stew in your hotel on your own, go home dejected and with no money in your pocket.
Repeat ad infinitum. No romance there.
So, the richest man in pool still has his hunger, eh? Who'da thunk.
what he makes now, he will lose when he is no longer top gun and young whippersnappers are drilling him. Most gamblers die broke.
This would be my signature line if I didn't love Curly Howard so much!!!
Nicely stated, John.
Maniac
That is a stupid comment. We don't 'import', we have an open-door policy and foreign players choose to attend events here.
Many choose to stay. Not indicative of the game's 'rude health' in the USA, compared to other continents.
Yeah, I think it's 'passion'.
I don't think anybody could be a top player if the game didn't give them
a thrill. Even the players who say they only do it for the $$$$, deep down
there is passion....hell, there's lots of better ways to earn money.
But for ones of my generation, the 'ROAD' made following your passion
a lot easier.
Peter Rabbit, a road player of the 70's, was interviewed by a reporter.
At the end, the reporter said that he had no idea what you had to suffer
to be a road player. He said "You must really like this game."
Peter replied "If you LIKE this game, you don't have a chance....
...you have to LOVE it."
I have mentioned this thread to several people and like me nobody
thought Shane would be at the top of the list...we mostly assumed
Ralf or Mika....I am impressed.
Billy Incardone says if you want to know who the best player is...
...count the money.
...so when ARE they gonna put Shane's countenance on that cliff
in South Dakota?
I believe passion is reason they may choose playing for a job, it starts there. But I agree with your thinking on this.
Thanks, PT109. I saw Peter Rabbit a few times at the Rack but never met him. I agree, you must love the game!
This is hilarious. Iwas going to change it once I read your post but why ruin a good thing :thumbup:. You sir, continue to be the master of the obvious!
Dave
Not sure what that's got to do with it but quite a few, including one that's just quit because he was fed up with all the travel for no reward. He told me this as I was buying all his gear for a knock down price. Flight, hotel, miss two balls in two matches, stew in your hotel on your own, go home dejected and with no money in your pocket.
Repeat ad infinitum. No romance there.
So, the richest man in pool still has his hunger, eh? Who'da thunk.
Well a guy should quit if he can't do "the job" and doesn't like his job. Willie Mosconi hated it but he was the best at it. Other people played not much under Willie and they LOVED pool.
But it was Willie who reportedly said that the secret to pool is don't miss. So there you go, flight, hotel, miss two balls in two matches and you're out of the event. Someone gets to hoist the trophy at the end anyway. And when your guy quits there is another one right behind him willing to take his place who still has passion and loves the game. Rinse and repeat.
Yes, the richest man in pool LOVES to play. His name is Efren Reyes and if you go to the Philippines you will see that he is loved by all who know him. If he has time he will play you for very low stakes and give you a handicap on top of it. How many superstars would do that if they didn't simply love to play?
And why do I say Efren is the richest man in pool? Because he is universally respected and loved by his peers and his fans and he has true friends all around the globe. Wealth measured in a lifetime of experiences that were earned. Experiences that the richest person in the world can't buy.
Passion
I believe all the pros start with a deep passion for the game, and many still love it. The problem is even if you love it how long can you give up so much and receive so little in return. My opinion is if the money was in pool Corey Duel would be the best player in the game. But in its current state what does he have to really play for? Thats the reason you dont see alot of pros working on their game. When the IPT was going was the first time I really saw players practicing and really working on their game. And that was because of the money and possible reconigtion they could attain.
I believe all the pros start with a deep passion for the game, and many still love it. The problem is even if you love it how long can you give up so much and receive so little in return. My opinion is if the money was in pool Corey Duel would be the best player in the game. But in its current state what does he have to really play for? Thats the reason you dont see alot of pros working on their game. When the IPT was going was the first time I really saw players practicing and really working on their game. And that was because of the money and possible reconigtion they could attain.
If he was smart he would invest his money to make money for him. At least that's what I would do. Traveling expensesand tournament fees?? DONE!!
Does Johnny Archer's wife make good money?? I find it hard to believe that he is the sole breadwinner playing pool. Im not knocking him but Ive always been curious if players have any of their expenses paid for. Sure they have sponsors but how much do their sponsors pay them?? Very little Im sure.
Hmmm.. I will say this - reference the drive/intelligence that all top players seem to have..
If a top pro of high intelligence decided to make a career change, with their drive/intelligence, and a decent mentor to show them what to study, within 2 years they could be at a solid $60K a year in IT/Computers, and within 4 years they could be at a solid $80K a year, if they could "learn to love" IT.
These are figures based on an average of 2-3 hours a day of study/labwork.
If they turn out to be talented, this figure could go upwards of $100K, depending on location.
The one thing EVERY top pro has is drive/ambition, and a winning, positive attitude to boot. Given a good mentor, little more than this is needed to develop the skills to be successful in IT/computer networking these days.
This is just an observation.. Nothing more. I am not suggesting the top American pros hang up their cuestick and train for another job. I am just saying with only a moderate level of commitment (compared to what they have already accomplished), these players can fairly easily reach the level of income that would allow them a more stable existence.
Then again, the "rush" would not be the same as in competitive endeavours, so there is that to be noted.
Russ
If a top pro of high intelligence decided to make a career change, with their drive/intelligence, and a decent mentor to show them what to study, within 2 years they could be at a solid $60K a year in IT/Computers, and within 4 years they could be at a solid $80K a year, if they could "learn to love" IT.
These are figures based on an average of 2-3 hours a day of study/labwork.
If they turn out to be talented, this figure could go upwards of $100K, depending on location.
The one thing EVERY top pro has is drive/ambition, and a winning, positive attitude to boot. Given a good mentor, little more than this is needed to develop the skills to be successful in IT/computer networking these days.
This is just an observation.. Nothing more. I am not suggesting the top American pros hang up their cuestick and train for another job. I am just saying with only a moderate level of commitment (compared to what they have already accomplished), these players can fairly easily reach the level of income that would allow them a more stable existence.
Then again, the "rush" would not be the same as in competitive endeavours, so there is that to be noted.
Russ
So tell us Russ, what job could Earl train for? Hostage negotiator???
Maniac
Eh... Earl is a special case. His lack of people skills is so bad even IT geeks would not work with him.
:angry::angry:
:grin-square::angry::angry:Russ