My take on all this.
1. Identity - if you're going to represent a player then represent them openly and don't act like you are that player. I got scammed out a case when someone contacted me pretending to be a known player and I sent a case. The player of course never got the case and I never got the "promotion" promised.
2. Know your man - If you're going to represent Cliff then you MUST know and be prepared for the "stories" that will emerge. I like Cliff a lot and he has put the bite on me and I obliged willingly and in return I extracted one pocket lessons instead of cash. But lots of people in the pool world aren't so easy going about loans and other business and so you MUST know that this is going to come up.
3. Know the audience - a little research shows that this is not a pro-friendly environment even though most of the people here are decent and nice. There is a small but vocal group that doesn't respect professional pool players in any way and they make it a point to use any tiny opening to attack any pro that comes on this forum. Whatever the motivation is for these people it's simply the climate that exists and you have to be prepared for that. As well this forum is made of two main types of members in my opinion, old-school pool folks who grew up in the poolrooms where matching up happened and league players who love to play but who are not educated in the old-school pool room culture. And of course there is overlap. So not everyone, even the nice folks, are going to react well to a player or his representative asking for money to play.
4. Three is a Crowd - Pool players don't have reps or managers and it's extremely suspect to have anyone claiming to represent a player come to the forum and ask for money. We are generally a giving bunch and we do like to pick players and back/sponsor them from time to time. But it has to be laid out in a clear and honest manner that we can verify.
5. Poker - David brought up the very good point that poker players ROUTINELY ask for backing on the poker forums. I would love to see this come more into practice here. Why not have a market place where you have players with skills offering their service to investors with money?
Many of you know about the Rack in Detroit. That was the famous pool room/card room where legendary humongous pool action took place. The basic story goes that if you were a pool player then you pretty much sat around waiting for a stakehorse to put you in a game. So in effect it was a marketplace where the people with skill were ready to perform for the people who have money to pay for that display of skill.
Why shouldn't players advertise themselves for big events and provide whatever terms they would accept or be willing to negotiate on? What if backers were also able to advertise that they are looking for a player to stake? Why can't tournaments be set up that they recognize official agreements, for example a VERY SIMPLE contract form, and they pay out prize money according to the agreed-on split to the parties.
Wouldn't it be great if we had such a marketplace where groups of us could get together and put a player in? Or businesses could come and find a player to sponsor for an event?
Despite what Lou said it's hard to be a professional pool player. Yeah, for the guys who have to get up every day and go to work it looks like a dream life but in fact it's not a dream life for the vast majority of professional players. Yes they play a "game" for a living, but moreover they ENTERTAIN you with their skill. They ENTERTAIN you by doing things you know are HARD because you try those things and cannot do them. They entertain you by playing under pressure you can't imagine and couldn't fade even a fraction of.
And for this they get very little compensation even when they win the tournament or beat the guy they are gambling against. Relative to the amount of skill they have to accumulate and the effort to get to the competitions the pay is lousy. And sure they can choose to do something else, so can you. But the point is they didn't choose to do something else and neither did you and if you want respect for your choices then give other people respect for theirs.
At the end of the day this is a business transaction, or it should be. Not charity, not giving a guy money to go play pool. But instead investing in a person's skill and desire on the chance that they can bring in more than they cost. Is it any different when a person asks me for a job?
I don't think so.
1. Identity - if you're going to represent a player then represent them openly and don't act like you are that player. I got scammed out a case when someone contacted me pretending to be a known player and I sent a case. The player of course never got the case and I never got the "promotion" promised.
2. Know your man - If you're going to represent Cliff then you MUST know and be prepared for the "stories" that will emerge. I like Cliff a lot and he has put the bite on me and I obliged willingly and in return I extracted one pocket lessons instead of cash. But lots of people in the pool world aren't so easy going about loans and other business and so you MUST know that this is going to come up.
3. Know the audience - a little research shows that this is not a pro-friendly environment even though most of the people here are decent and nice. There is a small but vocal group that doesn't respect professional pool players in any way and they make it a point to use any tiny opening to attack any pro that comes on this forum. Whatever the motivation is for these people it's simply the climate that exists and you have to be prepared for that. As well this forum is made of two main types of members in my opinion, old-school pool folks who grew up in the poolrooms where matching up happened and league players who love to play but who are not educated in the old-school pool room culture. And of course there is overlap. So not everyone, even the nice folks, are going to react well to a player or his representative asking for money to play.
4. Three is a Crowd - Pool players don't have reps or managers and it's extremely suspect to have anyone claiming to represent a player come to the forum and ask for money. We are generally a giving bunch and we do like to pick players and back/sponsor them from time to time. But it has to be laid out in a clear and honest manner that we can verify.
5. Poker - David brought up the very good point that poker players ROUTINELY ask for backing on the poker forums. I would love to see this come more into practice here. Why not have a market place where you have players with skills offering their service to investors with money?
Many of you know about the Rack in Detroit. That was the famous pool room/card room where legendary humongous pool action took place. The basic story goes that if you were a pool player then you pretty much sat around waiting for a stakehorse to put you in a game. So in effect it was a marketplace where the people with skill were ready to perform for the people who have money to pay for that display of skill.
Why shouldn't players advertise themselves for big events and provide whatever terms they would accept or be willing to negotiate on? What if backers were also able to advertise that they are looking for a player to stake? Why can't tournaments be set up that they recognize official agreements, for example a VERY SIMPLE contract form, and they pay out prize money according to the agreed-on split to the parties.
Wouldn't it be great if we had such a marketplace where groups of us could get together and put a player in? Or businesses could come and find a player to sponsor for an event?
Despite what Lou said it's hard to be a professional pool player. Yeah, for the guys who have to get up every day and go to work it looks like a dream life but in fact it's not a dream life for the vast majority of professional players. Yes they play a "game" for a living, but moreover they ENTERTAIN you with their skill. They ENTERTAIN you by doing things you know are HARD because you try those things and cannot do them. They entertain you by playing under pressure you can't imagine and couldn't fade even a fraction of.
And for this they get very little compensation even when they win the tournament or beat the guy they are gambling against. Relative to the amount of skill they have to accumulate and the effort to get to the competitions the pay is lousy. And sure they can choose to do something else, so can you. But the point is they didn't choose to do something else and neither did you and if you want respect for your choices then give other people respect for theirs.
At the end of the day this is a business transaction, or it should be. Not charity, not giving a guy money to go play pool. But instead investing in a person's skill and desire on the chance that they can bring in more than they cost. Is it any different when a person asks me for a job?
I don't think so.
Sometimes, when you're on the high ground, and you can survey the whole scene, you have an overview and information not apparent to those in the valley. This is one of those times when it's entertaining to see you, who has no idea what permissions I have had, making statements of fact to deflect from your own CURRENT rule breaking.
