Do professional pool players really enjoy playing?

P

poolhustla61508

Yea....That just happened
Silver Member
I've watched alot of pool and it seems like some top players really enjoy playing more than others. Alex P, SVB really seem like there enjoying themselves. I've heard that Shane can play for hours by himself and not get bored. I watched Alex playing on TV against Bustamante and no look the nine( he missed it but laughed it off).
Do other pros have this much fun playing still or is it all work for them?
 
poolhustla61508 said:
I've watched alot of pool and it seems like some top players really enjoy playing more than others. Alex P, SVB really seem like there enjoying themselves. I've heard that Shane can play for hours by himself and not get bored. I watched Alex playing on TV against Bustamante and no look the nine( he missed it but laughed it off).
Do other pros have this much fun playing still or is it all work for them?
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I think each pro player addresses the table with their own demeanor. Some, like Alex Pagulayan, seem to have fun playing pool, whether it's for $10,000 in a gambling match or a televised finals match on ESPN. Either way, Alex always seems to have a smile on his face. :wink:

Then you have players like Thorsten Hohmann or Johnny Archer who are concentrating 100 percent on every single aspect of the match in progress. Though it may seem they are not having fun, I think their tableside demeanor is just different than, say, Alex Pagulayan. I think they are having fun, doing what they love doing best, but it is just not their style to be jovial, joke around and/or smile. :cool:

I think this is true in all sports with all competitors. I mean, I don't think I have ever seen Cal Ripken, as an example, come up to the plate and look as if he's having a good time. Most ball players, in fact, look like they're in severe pain when they're getting ready to swing. :grin-square:
 
poolhustla61508 said:
I've watched alot of pool and it seems like some top players really enjoy playing more than others. Alex P, SVB really seem like there enjoying themselves. I've heard that Shane can play for hours by himself and not get bored. I watched Alex playing on TV against Bustamante and no look the nine( he missed it but laughed it off).
Do other pros have this much fun playing still or is it all work for them?
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Probably a means to an end for most. The joy that got them playing in the first place I think is long gone. Problem is, it is such a dead end sport you can't make any money at it anyway but I guess many don't know how to do anything else really. I have know a lot of pro football players and most all looked forward to the day they didn't have to play anymore.
 
JAM makes a good point, that demeanor is not necessarily a statement on enjoyment.

Me? I don't see how anyone could maintain interest in pool for decades. Maybe if I was one of the top 10% I'd think differently, but it just takes so much focus to maintain your position at the top of the heap that I think my wick would go cold.
 
I know several pros who really do enjoy playing, and look forward to tournaments and competition.
Realistically, knowing that there isn't a big financial reward in pool, there is no other reason to put that much effort into the game unless you really enjoy it.

Steve
 
i imagine being a pro pool player is like being a porn star. nobody gets into it for the money. it's the pure joy of doing something fun and doing it well, that's what gets people started
 
Well since there is no big money in pool then it would be stupid to do it and not enjoy it....
 
Ill screw up this quote, but someone posted it, and the jist is:

Pool was once my passion, then it became my profession, then it became my curse.

I honestly think it is like alot of other things, unless you are top 5 (maybe top 2 in pool)

Pool players are a little worse off because there really isnt any money in pool, but such is life.

Ken
 
JAM makes a good point, that demeanor is not necessarily a statement on enjoyment.

Me? I don't see how anyone could maintain interest in pool for decades. Maybe if I was one of the top 10% I'd think differently, but it just takes so much focus to maintain your position at the top of the heap that I think my wick would go cold.

Alot of people feel this way. This guy right here that is typing what you are reading isnt. Ever since I was thirteen and I played with my brother, I wanted to play this game. I couldn't get in a pool hall until I was 18 after I enlisted in the Army. I played every day that I could only taking voluntary breaks so not to burn myself out. I have had to stop playing due to 2 deployments to Iraq. Now I live in a location where there is no pool hall within 70 miles. Yet I am still persistent and determined to play this game and become the best I can. I just put a huge down payment on a diamond table and light and I will be practicing again in a couple of months.

Why have I been so persistent? Why do I care so much when there is only financial income for the top few? Because I love the game and I want to be the best. I am 25 now and I wont stop trying to be the best until I am in a coffin. I made that commitment a long time ago!

I am realistic though. I am still going to college and in the army working towards a career because I have no illusions that pool will pay the bills. If I play good enough though it will lead to some nice Christmas bonuses!

So basically what I am saying is that you have to love the game and really want to play it well in order to stick with it. I believe the pros feel this way too, though some do get discourage from the lack of money once they peak. I just refuse to quit. Pool is my favorite hobby, but its not a job. When people rely on it for income they are setting themselves up for failure. Even SVB is going to have hard time when he gets older if he doesn't start putting some of those winnings into an IRA or something.

I apologize for venting but I feel very strongly about this.
 
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poolplayer2093 said:
so you're calling them stupid?
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No I think it is pretty clear he is saying the people who do it are therefore doing it for enjoyment, not money.

My thoughts on the matter are from my own experience. Pool to me is not "fun", I am not going to be out there with a big grin on my face loving every minute of it. Pool much like most sports when played competitively derives its enjoyment from the competition and the striving for excellence at something.

Few pro's would truly have "fun" shooting, but any pro is going to enjoy the competition and challenge of playing another great player and beating them, or they would not be doing it.

Any sport is like this, a tennis player, a golfer, if they are playing pro the "fun" of the game itself is not the primary reason they are there, they are there for the competition and challenge of playing to the peak of their ability and seeing where they stand.
 
JAM said:
I think each pro player addresses the table with their own demeanor. Some, like Alex Pagulayan, seem to have fun playing pool, whether it's for $10,000 in a gambling match or a televised finals match on ESPN. Either way, Alex always seems to have a smile on his face. :wink:

Then you have players like Thorsten Hohmann or Johnny Archer who are concentrating 100 percent on every single aspect of the match in progress. Though it may seem they are not having fun, I think their tableside demeanor is just different than, say, Alex Pagulayan. I think they are having fun, doing what they love doing best, but it is just not their style to be jovial, joke around and/or smile. :cool:

I think this is true in all sports with all competitors. I mean, I don't think I have ever seen Cal Ripken, as an example, come up to the plate and look as if he's having a good time. Most ball players, in fact, look like they're in severe pain when they're getting ready to swing. :grin-square:
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I want to add, I know Thorsten a bit and can say you sorta have to know him before you can figure out whether or not he's having fun. I think he only finds pool fun when it's most serious. The moment he wants to goof around, he packs up his cue. I think he's a very happy person. He's a very deciplined pool player and maybe some people think that "letting it loose" is equal to having fun but it's not for him. The way he has fun when he's playing pool is by exerting all of his energy into the game.
 
Celtic said:
No I think it is pretty clear he is saying the people who do it are therefore doing it for enjoyment, not money.

My thoughts on the matter are from my own experience. Pool to me is not "fun", I am not going to be out there with a big grin on my face loving every minute of it. Pool much like most sports when played competitively derives its enjoyment from the competition and the striving for excellence at something.

Few pro's would truly have "fun" shooting, but any pro is going to enjoy the competition and challenge of playing another great player and beating them, or they would not be doing it.

Any sport is like this, a tennis player, a golfer, if they are playing pro the "fun" of the game itself is not the primary reason they are there, they are there for the competition and challenge of playing to the peak of their ability and seeing where they stand.
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man i'm just f'in with him
 
George Fels gave me this quote, so I have no doubt it's accurate. Mosconi said:

To me playing pool for fun is like a waiter waiting tables on his day off.
 
It's hard to imagine pool being fun when even the best can't make a decent living at it. Mike Davis seems to be one who derives all of his money from pool and enjoys it. You would have to place in the top 2 of almost every tournament to make a living after expenses.
 
In pool, a player has to have lots of wins year in and year out period. Weather it comes from cash games, small tournaments and big tournaments as well. Each (full time) player is a independent contractor looking for work every day. Its no fun when the same 5 or 6 players keep taking first place in all the big money tournaments and you have to keep traveling from town to town trying to win local tournaments for next to nothing payouts, playing the local pros spending hours just negotiating a "fair" game. Between the ages of 15-22 its alot of fun, your young and having a great time. No worries, no responsabilities. But alot of these players put themselves in hole by not having anything else to do, other than playing pool. My guess alot of these players have no high school education. I would be curious to know which players don't have one.

Pool is fun, its great to win tournaments from time to time and even win cash games. Only the top 6-10 players listed on the AZB list are really making decent living playing pool year in and year out and enjoying it (and that is a struggle as well). However, they win, get sponsors support and endorsement. Those are the ones really enjoying pool.
 
Jim Kuykendall said:
It's hard to imagine pool being fun when even the best can't make a decent living at it. Mike Davis seems to be one who derives all of his money from pool and enjoys it. You would have to place in the top 2 of almost every tournament to make a living after expenses.
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Mike is a very nice guy. He does live quite frugally and is careful with how he spends his dough. Nothing wrong with that. I admire it.

I am not as frugal. Whatever you see a pool playing winning per annum, cut it in half for expenses. That's the average.

So, when a player wins $50,000 for the year, he's lucky to clear $25,000 for the year. The expenses are just that high. And if you're backed or staked, make that a 25 percent profit out of the 100 percent won. Sad but true.
 
for me,during the 8 years as a professional, the wins and highs felt really great...because of all the despair and frustration during the lows.

this surplus, due to external factors, just became negative at a certain point. the lows weren't outweighed anymore.

and in retrospect: as a professional athlete you, or atleast i did, always worry about shape and getting a winning streak. once it was there, the worry was about losing it.

i now am relieved from that. enjoying the game more than before, playing with more feel and sometimes reliving past glorious moments when in fact i'm only playing the final some local tournament.

who knows,maybe i'll do a Mike LeBron in 10,15 years
 
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