Welcome to American pool, Mapman72. While I am not a pro, I can offer some feedback having traveled the tournament trail for some time now.
Since you are a working fellow, it is most likely near impossible to attend 3- to 7-day events. The regional tournament trail is the best bang for the buck because you don't have to quit your day job. However, when the regional event requires travel and lodging, this can cut into profits realized after expenses. Third place, as an example, on some regional events in my immediate area pay out 300-plus bucks. If I had to travel and pay for lodging, I'd be stuck unless I came in first or second place attending a weekend event.
You mention Mike Davis in your post. Ask Mike next time you see him about what his feelings were about playing pool full time before he came in second place at last year's World Summit of Pool. He was getting read to high-tail it down to Florida and get a 9-to-5 job helping out to repair the hurricane damage because he was busted. This is a reality for many a player on the tournament trail, running out of funds to keep up with the pack.
One year at the Trump Marina 10-Ball Challenge in Atlantic City, while most participants lodged at the venue site at the Trump Marina, thrifty Mike Davis stayed down the street at a $29.95-per-night hotel room to fray off expenses, and the place had hardly any heat in the freezing winter and only three stations that worked on the TV, and I cannot imagine the bug activity in the room when the lights went out.
If you like to go shopping for new clothes, this is a luxury for some American pool players. Many of the "regulars" on the tournament trail shop at thrift shops because it is all they can afford. It is not unusual for players to share a room with another to save monies, many times a couple of them sleeping on the floor and, in some instances, they will stay up all night long and sleep in their car to save monies. How well do you think you will compete in a high-profile event after sleeping on the floor or in a car?
MANY professional-caliber players who frequent the tournament trail live with their parents, a girlfriend or wife, or a family member, even the sponsored ones. Believe me when I tell you if they had to pay their own freight, i.e., rent/mortgage, utility bills, auto expenses to include car insurance, and phone charges, they would not be able to keep up with their daily living expenses and financial obligations.
If a pool player earns $40,000 annually playing in competitive events, I can assure you that the expenses could eat up that 40-dime profit quite easily. Many times a pool player is stuck $1,500 to $2,500 before they hit the first ball. With current tournament payouts being what they are, you'd have to, again, come in third place in some instances to just break even.
That's a fact. I can remember the day when Mike Davis would never gamble, but he soon changed his train of thought after realizing the income potential playing competitive pool on the tournament trail. Most, not all, pool players in America do gamble out of necessity. It's a sad fact, but quite true.
There have been MANY instances when I have come up winner not because of the tournament income, but because of the gambling. At Turning Stone Casino earlier this year, McCready had a nice run on the craps table to the tune of 4 or 5 dimes in our pockets. He didn't cash in the pool tournament.
Personally, every time I attend a pool tournament, I look at it as a pool vacation, not as a means of income.
JAM's advice to Mapman72 is to not quit your day job unless you are willing to sacrifice the amenities that you currently enjoy in your daily lifestyle.
If you have financial support to pursue your dream, then, by all means, go for it, but I can tell you now that if you are self-supporting, which I think you are, there may be a day when you kick yourself in the butt for quitting a job which provides a guaranteed income.
It is very sad that many champions of American pool do not enjoy a lucrative income, but the ones who hang in there do so because of their deep passion for the game/sport and are willing to live a lifestyle that is fraught with occupational hazards and unappealling living conditions. Why do they do it? I do not know. Personally, I enjoy having a roof over my head and a place to hang my hat every single day, and I would never sacrifice my well-being and financial security for the life of an American pool player.
Having said all of the above, if you are dead serious and want to jump on in the mix, pay the 100 bucks and join the men's governing body of professional pool. It will cost you a dime or two for each week-long event.
Without financial backup to support the lifestyle of an American pro, you may end up on skid row. If you think you have got what it takes to elevate your game to the next level, if you're that close to beating the name-brand players -- and I think you are -- then it may be worth the sacrifice, but make no mistake about it, life as you know it today will most definitely change. JMHO, FWIW!
JAM
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