Being a pool player vs. Regular life?

gpeezy

gpeezy

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I'm just curious how people make the decision between being a pool player and living a regular life. There is a big difference between the two. Or maybe I just see it that way. I've been torn many times between trying to hang up my everyday work life and friends and just play pool. Of course when I would get to thinking about it, thats a lot to give up.

Guaranteed money to spend as I wish by working a 40 hr week. Friends (which mine would support me in whatever I wanted to do) that I can hang out with as I wish. The memories that I would loose of summers at the beach, lake, you get the point. On the other hand. I hands down love to play. I love the action, the characters, the suspense, the talent, the competition. I could go forever on the parts of pool I love.

I've always felt if I just had time, I could mold myself into a good, possible great player. Often through my pool playing life I've drifted due to it affecting my "other life". I'm sure some would respond with the fact that I need to find a happy medium between pool time and what I call regular life. I have a problem doing that because I get so caught up with playing I tend to stay out later. I'm like a fisherman with "one more cast" I'm "one more game".

I'm hearing less and less of stories of action battles that make me want to go hit some balls and match up. Rather I hear of tournament low payouts vs. expenses and lack of action. The Action Report is great for pool IMO as it is for many others. To me they are the most noticeable ones in pool promotion and I praise them for it.

I just wonder where players make the decision to be a player. Or do they work also. Do they feel they have sacrificed a lot to play this game or does it just come to them as everyday life. Its a constant thought to me and I just have been thinking of it more and more due to I've been spending sometime away from the game in order to catch my life back up top par.

I'm just curious as to what kinda response this thread would get. I've started it before and deleted it a few times do to I feel like its rambling. I'm posting this time.
 
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From almost every pro I know, they started young and with great talent. When it came time to start a "square" job, none wanted to because there was too much money to be won.

It is hard to compare bring home a $1,000 paycheck every week to winning $25,000. With the exception of possibly Efren and Archie Karas, I feel certain very few people are up enough money to even come close to a job (for an entire lifetime - not a certain period).

Most players also give up any chance at a normal family life due to harsh hours, time on the road, and uncertain paychecks. There is also not pool player's medical insurance or a retirement fund, but there are stories that will last a lifetime. As well as times on the road and experiences the 9 to 5 would never compare to.
 
I was faced with this decision about two years ago. I was certain that I could play professional caliber pool if I only had the time to practice. Right before I was about to pull the trigger and try to play pool full time, I was leaving a regional event and I noticed a friend of mine sleeping in his car (at 3am). This wasn't his choice, he was homeless at the time. This guy has beaten a bunch of top pros and plays as good as anyone in the region. At that moment I decided to keep working. While I often enjoy weekend escapes into the "pool world", I've found that I am much happier with the security of a good job, health benefits, and a sure future. Now of course I will always wonder how good I could have been, but I am thankful to enjoy the security I do. The encouraging news is that even with working full time, my game continues to improve (slightly). So now instead of having a goal of being the best player in the world, I have a new goal. I want to be the best player in the world with a steady job. I think it's a realistic but very difficult challenge for me. Good luck with whatever you choose. I do admire those guys that take the chance and go for it; it's just not for me.
 
I see no problem with being a Pool Player and living a normal life ... I have been a Professional Drag Racer and lived a normal life ... I am still considered a Professional in Shooting Sports and live a normal life ...

It really depends on how each of us defines normal ...
 
I have to say, I'd rather go to an "action spot" or tourney than almost any other place on earth. I can't even remember a time that I was laying on the beach for more than two hours or so, and not thought about where I could play when the sun went down. I'm a pool addict, I guess. So there, I'm a pool addict. Bad part for me, I drink when I play 95% of the time. For the first four or five hours, no hindrance. After that, I might as well put the cue back in the Swift. Going to work with no energy, making money to buy a new cue or gamble, or make a tourney trek. Come on, you guys know the same feeling. I know you do.
 
Str8PoolPlayer said:
I see no problem with being a Pool Player and living a normal life ... I have been a Professional Drag Racer and lived a normal life ... I am still considered a Professional in Shooting Sports and live a normal life ...

It really depends on how each of us defines normal ...
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If you are a professional drag racer that more than likely takes up a large percentage of your life. Playing pool for a living can consume a life. Yes there is time for other things but it will take up a large percentage of your time. A race in to beat a man in pool is quite different to a drag race.
 
If you have an education and the means to make a decent living, the hell with being a pool player.... The old saying about the difference between a pool player and a large pizza is true. A large pizza can feed a family of four.... I never played good enough to play road speed but I have spent close to 2-1/2 years total being on the road with great players grinding for a living full time. It's just that, grinding. It's all funny when your makin big money but for the most part it's just like having a job, except you have no idea when your next paycheck is coming. It takes a completely different breed to be able to fade that! You have to be a true grinder and scruffler, be willing to send it all in at a moments notice, and have enough vagabond in you to walk away from your home life and friends for weeks to months at a time. For most, the latter is pretty tough to fade. Was it worth it to me? Absolutely! I had a blast and loved every minute of it... Pool and action are my dope. I couldn't play good enough but I was really good at what my role was in the equation. I just finally hit a point where I had had enough and it was time to grow up and do something with my life. IMO, a pool room education is worth more in real life than a college degree... A pool room education teaches you to see things from all the angles, how to spot someone moving on you, and how to move on others. It's a job that is chock full of analytical thinking. How many "dumb" road players will you ever meet? Not many. They may not have a formal education and lack in marketable job skills but most are very intelligent and most of all quick thinkers.

If you can play at a level where you know every person in the country that can beat you and can avoid playing them (if you start playing and beating known players the jig is up), and never play in any organized tournaments (best way to knock your action), you may be able to make a decent living for a few years. You have to fly under the radar.... But the internet and technology has destroyed road playing, IMO. How many times have you seen someone post here "identify this player", etc...? I've had people send me picture messages from their cell phone asking who it is. Before the information age, the only way to get knocked was to knock yourself, have another player knock you, or by someone that had contacts in the underworld and knew who to call. Pool has always had pool detectives but now every single one of them has the internet and a camera phone. Makes it tough to make a living when everyone knows your business. The only other option is playing tournaments and how do you like fading Archer, SVB, Efren, Alex, etc... and even playing Viking or Great Southern tournaments you have to fade Putam, Nevel, Bartrum, Kirkwood, ect...

Saw
 
If you are young enough and have great job skills that are in demand, why not try and follow your dream for 90 days. At the end of the 90 days decide to stay a full time pool play, or return to where you are today.
 
Get an education/trade/career.
I've never met a happy pro player.
Except the ones who came from very poor background.
 
gpeezy said:
I'm just curious how people make the decision between being a pool player and living a regular life. There is a big difference between the two. Or maybe I just see it that way. I've been torn many times between trying to hang up my everyday work life and friends and just play pool. Of course when I would get to thinking about it, thats a lot to give up. Guaranteed money to spend as I wish by working a 40 hr week. Friends (which mine would support me in whatever I wanted to do) that I can hang out with as I wish. The memories that I would loose of summers at the beach, lake, you get the point. On the other hand. I hands down love to play. I love the action, the characters, the suspense, the talent, the competition. I could go forever on the parts of pool I love. I've always felt if I just had time, I could mold myself into a good, possible great player. Often through my pool playing life I've drifted due to it affecting my "other life". I'm sure some would respond with the fact that I need to find a happy medium between pool time and what I call regular life. I have a problem doing that because I get so caught up with playing I tend to stay out later. I'm like a fisherman with "one more cast" I'm "one more game". I'm hearing less and less of stories of action battles that make me want to go hit some balls and match up. Rather I hear of tournament low payouts vs. expenses and lack of action. The Action Report is great for pool IMO as it is for many others. To me they are the most noticeable ones in pool promotion and I praise them for it. I just wonder where players make the decision to be a player. Or do they work also. Do they feel they have sacrificed a lot to play this game or does it just come to them as everyday life. Its a constant thought to me and I just have been thinking of it more and more due to I've been spending sometime away from the game in order to catch my life back up top par. I'm just curious as to what kinda response this thread would get. I've started it before and deleted it a few times do to I feel like its rambling. I'm posting this time.
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I found out early in my pool playing career I didn't have what it took to make it just playing pool. My problem was, and it still seems the problem of players today, when you gamble for a living you want to gamble all the time. When I did grind out some $$ playing pool, and it was easy in the 50's/60's, I would play poker and other card games, play the horses and even gamble at golf and bowling, which I couldn't play a lick. Once I figured out I couldn't support my family this way I spent the next 45 years working and hanging around a local room playing in tournaments and gambling when action showed up. That is the happy medium you are talking about and the best way to go unless you are a stone champion. I am retired now and almost 69 years old and can still play a little, so I hope I have a road trip or two left in me while I still can play some. John Henderson
 
The Saw said:
The old saying about the difference between a pool player and a large pizza is true. A large pizza can feed a family of four....

Saw
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This is very funny.
 
You have to have the equilibrium in your life parallelling your ability. I have a degree (that I really don't use), and make a fairly comfortable living. I'm definitely not loaded, by anyone's standards. I think we all believe that we have what it takes to a certain degree. The key is to know what that degree is. And stay within our means. Pool is an addiction, along with all that goes along with it. Action, Money, Gunslinger mentality, etc. etc. That steady income is hard to beat; but, let's face it. When we get to the poolroom where a tournament is going on, and you haven't seen that crowd in six months or so...what's the first things you talk about? Work? New home? Probably not.
 
I spent the majority of about 13 years in a pool room...gambling and paving the way to becoming a professional. And one day I woke up and realized how much I had sacrificed. I hadn't done any of the things that other people in my age group had. If I met new people outside the pool world...we had very little in common. I didn't go to parties, movies, the beach, the mountains, on dinner dates, etc when I was in my twenties. I went to work, and then the pool room. The light of day was a stranger to me.

Now, I've expanded my horizons and I golf regularly, play co-ed softball with my friends (and I hit a home run last season), have poker nights with my buddies, go to plays and movies...the list goes on and on. BUT...my pool game has suffered....mostly because I lack the same motivation and drive I used to have.

You can pick one extreme or the other....or you can find a nice balance. But there are sacrifices no matter which road you take...and it is up to you to decide what is going to make you happiest (or the least miserable...LOL).

Melissa
 
Said to say even if you became the best in the world your talent would only earn you at best low six figures. With all the travel and expenses maybe not even that much. Playing pool is addicting and I'm addicted. I think you can both work and play and reach a very good speed (not pro speed obvisously). I work five days a week and gamble all the time. I stay in stroke by practicing when everyone one else in the pool rooom is BSing. You would be amazed how much time is spent in the pool room not playing. If you just hit balls and practiced half the time most people bS in the pool room you will be able to gamble comfortably. Of course it is your responsibility to make sure you match up right. Staying out late and sweating the action is so enjoyable to me I go to work on very little sleep often, but as they say I will sleep when I'm dead. GL with your decision, but remember you need money to do anything in this world.
 
One evening at the pool hall when one of the players announced to his buddy that he needed to get home because his wife was fixing dinner an older regular shouted out " do you want to be a pool player or a husband." I think its a tough choice sometimes.

TommyT
 
Three steps to a comfortable life: education, education, education. Get a job and you can make more than nearly all pro pool players, and much more consistently. Ideally, get a job with a flexible work schedule so you can take the time to go on the road or to tournaments when you want to.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Get an education/trade/career.
I've never met a happy pro player.
Except the ones who came from very poor background.
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I agree with Joey, here. There are a lot of players who have come from very poor backgrounds, and professional pool has been a means for them to actually better their financial situation. But there have been so many more who had other options, but went ahead and sacrificed everything just to be able to play fulltime, and professional pool has ended up being a big step down for them.
 
Interesting thread.

I play purely for fun, but want to be the best in my league etc.

I can relate this question to my own experiences in my chosen profession. I do music. (Film TV etc.) I have been a musician and composer for all of my life. It's NOT glamorous and sometimes due to strikes and slowdowns etc. it can be very tough on my family. I am always in constant preparation for a lapse in work, even when I am raking it in.

Every year, kids see rock stars become successful (and I guess pool stars) and they say I CAN DO THAT!. The truth is MANY more can't than can due to many reasons.

I know guys I started with 20 years ago who didn't morph from Rock musician to 'composer' like I did and it is very sad to see them hacking in a cab, etc. (No offense to cab drivers.)

The GREATEST thing i ever did was have my kids.

Which leads me to a story:

Francis Ford Coppola was taking a Q&A with young aspiring directors and writers, and was asked this by a young man in the audience:

"My wife and have postponed having a family because of my art and wanted to know if you started having kids after you were succesful?."

Coppola chuckled and responded: "My wife and I did the same thing and i was broke and out of work constantly. When then had an "oops" and got pregnant with our daughter. Almost imeadiately I got the job to write the script for the Great Gatsby, then the Godfather etc. Don't postpone life, the work will come."

I guess what I am longwinded in saying is, balance. Music was much more fun to me BEFORE it was the only source for food on the table. Now its a job. And I bet you you love pool more now, than if it was the sole means of your support.

Best of luck.
 
gpeezy said:
I'm just curious how people make the decision between being a pool player and living a regular life. There is a big difference between the two. Or maybe I just see it that way. I've been torn many times between trying to hang up my everyday work life and friends and just play pool. Of course when I would get to thinking about it, thats a lot to give up. Guaranteed money to spend as I wish by working a 40 hr week. Friends (which mine would support me in whatever I wanted to do) that I can hang out with as I wish. The memories that I would loose of summers at the beach, lake, you get the point. On the other hand. I hands down love to play. I love the action, the characters, the suspense, the talent, the competition. I could go forever on the parts of pool I love. I've always felt if I just had time, I could mold myself into a good, possible great player. Often through my pool playing life I've drifted due to it affecting my "other life". I'm sure some would respond with the fact that I need to find a happy medium between pool time and what I call regular life. I have a problem doing that because I get so caught up with playing I tend to stay out later. I'm like a fisherman with "one more cast" I'm "one more game". I'm hearing less and less of stories of action battles that make me want to go hit some balls and match up. Rather I hear of tournament low payouts vs. expenses and lack of action. The Action Report is great for pool IMO as it is for many others. To me they are the most noticeable ones in pool promotion and I praise them for it. I just wonder where players make the decision to be a player. Or do they work also. Do they feel they have sacrificed a lot to play this game or does it just come to them as everyday life. Its a constant thought to me and I just have been thinking of it more and more due to I've been spending sometime away from the game in order to catch my life back up top par. I'm just curious as to what kinda response this thread would get. I've started it before and deleted it a few times do to I feel like its rambling. I'm posting this time.
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if you have a skill/trade, you can do both keeping you from having to make a choice. working a part-time for security and pursue pool as well. it takes pressure off of both, in my opinion. the fact is making money in the pool world is WAY too tough, it all depends on what kind of lifestyle you are wanting in the future.
 
iba7467 said:
From almost every pro I know, they started young and with great talent. When it came time to start a "square" job, none wanted to because there was too much money to be won.

It is hard to compare bring home a $1,000 paycheck every week to winning $25,000. With the exception of possibly Efren and Archie Karas, I feel certain very few people are up enough money to even come close to a job (for an entire lifetime - not a certain period).

Most players also give up any chance at a normal family life due to harsh hours, time on the road, and uncertain paychecks. There is also not pool player's medical insurance or a retirement fund, but there are stories that will last a lifetime. As well as times on the road and experiences the 9 to 5 would never compare to.
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your right about everything in your post,

I never played real strong but have lived the pool life several times in life, I made enough to grind out enough $$ to live on, but the standard of living I could maintain was horrible(and I didnt have high standards either), the hours were brutal, perhaps if I played better it would have been better, but I gve it my best, if I added up all the time I lived the pool life its jut under 3 years in 3 different times.


I walked into the pool room one day- I remember is clearly. I was sick to my stomach with what I saw, a bunch of 50 year old guys(i'm averaging the age) who I know well and see everyday yet I dont know where they live, they dont know where a I lived because we were all at the pool room all day everyday looking for a customer, some of them played better than me some worse, none of them had a girl-I am not into the rental thing so there is no plan for me but to have a girlfriend, they were all miserable for the most part, just talking about how good things would if....and the "if" part is what made me sick because that "if" aint gonna happen unless you make it happen. So after my 3rd time around living the pool life, I was done with it.

I didnt want a square job(never had one) I wasnt a champion(not even close) and I didnt like the negitive gray haired guiys who had nothing going for them except who was gonna walk into the pool room next. For me that wasnt acceptable so I left pool-I didnt want to be 50, fat, lonely, and lost in life. I wasnt going to play into the "If" dream. So I had to go.

you cant live both lifes-no matter how good you play, the guy who chooses the pool life will awalys win. But in my eyes thats winning the wrong game.
 
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