How bad do you want it?

[Jude Rosenstock]

Unfortunate, but true! One question for the thread--what percentage of professional caliber players do you think make a living without having some other source of income?

You can probably name how many players actually do make their living off of pool just by going to the money-list (minus IPT winnings). There are no hustlers anymore so you can completely dismiss any notion that people gamble for a living.

 

[JoeyA]

Merry Christmas

I want to hear about guys and gals that have desire. More desire than one can imagine. We're all on here because we obviously have an obsession with pool. Lets here about how bad you want it. How bad do you want to become the best player in the world? Now it seems I talked myself into a corner thanks to you kind folks but I'm up for it. 3 years is what I said. I wrote it, it shall be done. SAVE THIS MOTHER %&^$(* thread because I am going to prove Jay wrong. Jay I like ya but you have now officially declared war. I love reading your stories and one day I will be in them.

To Josh Eisert:
At 18 years of age, my dad told me "You're nothing but a bum, well you're not going to lay up on my leg. You're either going to work and pay rent here or you are out the door". That was a rude awakening but he was mostly correct. I was young and foolish and did foolish things. There were certain things that happened in my life to alter my path and I hope that you will be fortunate as well. But that is not what you wanted to talk about. Many are called to the field of green with the siren of clicking balls and continuous explosions but few have the tenacity to satisfy this dominatrix. She has sent most people back from where they came from because they lack what she demands. I want to become better at this game. I try to practice almost everyday. I don't have a pool table at home and wish I did. My main priorities have been supporting a family for most of my adult life but about 12 years ago I decided to see if I could truly become a better player. Gambling has always been easy for me as I have always worked and had money to gamble with, not big money but steady money, the kind that comes from good hard work. Besides, I must have a knack for gambling as I win just a tiny bit more than I lose. Now if you consider the amount of time that I have spent playing pool I would be in the hole big time. If I had spent that extra time working instead of playing pool, I would have made ten times as much money working but I did manage to work 40-60 hours per week for (very long time). My family is grown and they are taken care of no matter what happens, so I guess I feel I can slough-off on this passion of ours. I have always had a compulsion to play pool but work came first. (I had to prove my dad wrong. ;-)
So now I take the game even more seriously but know that in my heart I have to do the right thing and continue to make money by working. Besides I enjoy working and like the multiple rewards you get from it. I take pool lessons, play in tournaments, read books and in general study the game at every opportunity and will continue to play pool as long as I can show positive results. But more importantly, I do whatever I can to improve and make no excuses for why I am not the best player in the world. My only goal is to continue playing pool for as long as I am able to show improvement from one year to the next. For the past 12 years I have been able to improve my game each year, but it comes at a price most people are not willing to pay.........
Josh you may have what it takes to prove Jay and others wrong by becoming the best in the world. Hell, if you were in the top 100 in the next 3 years I would consider you successful in your quest. I am pulling for you.

But the advice that others have given you about going back to school/training and working is GOOD ADVICE. Josh, you can have a high-paying job and still become the best in the world. Will you have to make sacrifices? More than most are willing to make I'm afraid.

At an early age, I noticed my own son had uncanny eye-hand coordination and I was petrified that he might become a pool player like his dad or worse and kept my secret from him and steered him into other pursuits, mainly an education. He's got the gambling genes in him as he enjoys playing in poker tournaments but he can afford it because of a successful job and besides it is a hobby for him like pool is for me.

I hope that you will continue your quest to become a better player, even the best player in the world but hope that you will obtain balance in your life that will allow you to have a happy and productive in all of your endeavors.

So this reply ad infinitum was my Christmas gift to you.

My wishes for you are:
That you will be not so "merry" in the coming year.
That you will pursue your dreams and passion to their fullest.
That you will put some of your drive into working hard in a responsible endeavor which produces enough money to make you and your family secure.

Merry Christmas,
JoeyA

 

[CaptainJR]

I'll answer the question. How bad do I want it? I do believe that this is one of my biggest problems. I don't want it badly enough.

What is worse, I'm not sure that it is something you can change. Certainly not easily. Like trying to change who you are. Doesn't happen very often.

 

[Koop]

How badly do I want it?

Certainly not enough to sacrifice what I have.
My conclusion about my game is that I will NEVER get there because I don't have the time to put into it. My goal is to become an A player. I think I am getting close but it ain't easy playing as often as I do.

Family, friends, job, side-jobs, etc...all take priority over pool. Period!

 

[seymore15074]

I am 26 years old, and here's a little background to help you understand how much I want it, too. Good luck to everyone who shares this want but I suspect the vast majority of people on here do not.

I play 9-ball; I play it for hours. I play for hours every single day. I will go without sleep before I go without 9-ball; I will go without eating before I go without 9-ball. I got lessons at the local hall (a small, almost unheard of hall) from the big stick down there at the time. I learned and learned; I played and played.

5 years later, I ran some racks on occasion, but was very inconsistant. I had a strong kicking and safety game with good position. Ball making was holding me back. I quit to persue other interests. I was fed up with all of the a-holes in this sport.

2 years later, I came back to the hall. I played twice as much as before, logging 6-8 hours, 7 nights a week. I hit local handicapped tournaments at other halls in the area. I've seen stronger players, played tougher matches, and played on a wide range of tables. When I catch a stroke, I play well. When I have a "bad day", I loose. On my good days, I beat people so bad that they demand spots...on a bad day, this was devastating.

Less than a year later, I am giving bigger spots and winning on my bad-days. I break and run 3-5 racks in a good session, sometimes back to back. I don't know exactly what an "A Player" plays like, but I would like to say that I'm either just arriving or close... I don't even call my bad days bad anymore. The spots are what did it, I'm convinced. Ratings in tournaments and spots for money games go up-past where I feel comfortable. I have finally realized that it is my time to step up. My rating has doubled since I quit a few years ago--doubled.

I am ready to begin hitting some regional events in 2007, enough with the handicapped tournaments. I know I can run racks; I have the ability, and I'm starting to get the mindset. All of this improvement that I am explaining, wasn't technique, it wasn't shot selection...it was mental. I thought that my lessons covered everything, but they didn't. There is one last barrier between me and the top players--my mental game.

I, too, am on this mission to reach the top, and it may never happen. I know this, and accept it. If I ever do make it, I want to shake their hands and tell them that, "now, I understand what it takes." From every hard time to everybody who says you can't do it, recognize those things as signs that you are on your way there.

 

[Harvywallbanger]

Well guys....... I really wish I hadn't wrote that stuff now that I am sober. I kind of feel like an assclown but I did mean what I wrote. Thanks for the replies to my post. They were all appreciated. Well I better start hitting some balls if I am going to be the best in the world considering I am only at B speed right now. Wanting it and doing it are 2 entirely different things. When I get drunk I have a hard time distinguishing the two. I put my foot in my mouth and I appolagize. I really don't need people trying to match up with me because of my loud typing but Jay I'll still play you a few games if we run into each other. I need an asprin.

 

[nyjoe14.1]

Well guys....... I really wish I hadn't wrote that stuff now that I am sober. I kind of feel like an assclown but I did mean what I wrote. Thanks for the replies to my post. They were all appreciated. Well I better start hitting some balls if I am going to be the best in the world considering I am only at B speed right now. Wanting it and doing it are 2 entirely different things. When I get drunk I have a hard time distinguishing the two. I put my foot in my mouth and I appolagize. I really don't need people trying to match up with me because of my loud typing but Jay I'll still play you a few games if we run into each other. I need an asprin.

Man in my opinion you shouldn’t apologize for anything. Drunk or not you simply spoke your peace, and apparently some people didn’t like it because you aspire to adream they simply can’t understand. I would bet if you don’t try, you will regret it for quite a while.

I say go get ‘em, and F**K what every one else says. Good idea, bad idea, you can, you can’t, no future in it and so on. If today’s pros thought that way there wouldn’t be any, and this is true in pool, baseball, football and everything else.

Joe

 

[JoeyA]

Harvywallbanger

Well guys....... I really wish I hadn't wrote that stuff now that I am sober. I kind of feel like an assclown but I did mean what I wrote. Thanks for the replies to my post. They were all appreciated. Well I better start hitting some balls if I am going to be the best in the world considering I am only at B speed right now. Wanting it and doing it are 2 entirely different things. When I get drunk I have a hard time distinguishing the two. I put my foot in my mouth and I appolagize. I really don't need people trying to match up with me because of my loud typing but Jay I'll still play you a few games if we run into each other. I need an asprin.

Maybe we should start a new thread titled, HAREVYWALLBANGER. In this thread, you would only be allowed to post if you are totally smashed on alcohol.

In this thread you would only catch mild heat from fellow AZers for displaying your lack of inhibitions and would promptly be forgiven for your indiscretions written in drunken stupor. They could tell you how poorly you spell and ridicule you in more ways than you thought possible.

Fellow AZers full of their pomp and succor will tell you why you shouldn't drink and will offer you bits of wisdom, more easily learned from experience than from counsel.

You would simply have to sit there and take the shots and be a sport.

I may have to enlist the help of the infamous Smorgasbored for my turn
of inebriate posting. He knows how to goad me into taking a drink.

You're a good sport Harvywallbanger. You get REP for letting it all hang out.
JoeyA

 

[jay helfert]

Well guys....... I really wish I hadn't wrote that stuff now that I am sober. I kind of feel like an assclown but I did mean what I wrote. Thanks for the replies to my post. They were all appreciated. Well I better start hitting some balls if I am going to be the best in the world considering I am only at B speed right now. Wanting it and doing it are 2 entirely different things. When I get drunk I have a hard time distinguishing the two. I put my foot in my mouth and I appolagize. I really don't need people trying to match up with me because of my loud typing but Jay I'll still play you a few games if we run into each other. I need an asprin.

Well at least I got a game out of this.

You know Josh, I'm twice your age and can honestly say I was never a great player. I played pretty good and beat quite a few shortstops, but the top players all gave me weight. And I was totally dedicated to playing when I was a young man, kinda like Seymore on here.

My peers are guys like Buddy, Nick, Rempe, Miz and Hoppy. All great players, like I wanted to be. But you know what, I have no regrets about the years I spent chasing a dream. I learned a lot about myself, and about life. Pool was the best education I ever got. And if you stick with it, I suspect it will pay dividends for you as well. Good luck.

 

[Harvywallbanger]

Thanks guys. Maybe I didn't need to appolagize but by opening my big mouth I kind of put myself on the spot. I really love billiards and thats what I intended the thread to be about and somehow I went into a tangent about me becoming the best player in the world. Instead of saying I want...I said I will and thats what I didn't intend. To come on here and say I WILL become the best and blah blah blah is rather arrogent.

 

[Harvywallbanger]

...and now I'm stuck in a match with Jay Helfert. Have you guys ever seen 'the Honeymooners'? When Ralph says to Alice...."BECAUSE I HAVE A BIG MOUTH!"

 

[beetle]

Unfortunate, but true! One question for the thread--what percentage of professional caliber players do you think make a living without having some other source of income?

I would guess that between 80-100 people in the US make a living exclusively by playing pool, and many of them just barely make a living.

 

[Matt_24]

How bad do I want it?

Well, I'll share my goal with you all. My goal is to open up my own billiard room when I retire from the Air Force.

I've set a date, calculated how much money I will need at that time (approx. 2019) to have a fighting chance of acquiring the loan I will need to get started. All I can do at this point is save, save, and save.

When is gets closer to retirement I will need to draw up a detailed business plan, choose a location, etc, etc.

As a kid I loved JOBs in Nashville, and have yet to go to a poolroom that I liked better. I want to create my own poolroom that is equal to or better than JOBs in some other part of the country. I guess it isn't rocket science and doesn't take much more than capitol...but that is my dream.

Josh, set your long term goal and then create short term goals to meet that long term goal. Talk about it with your family, friends, spouse and get them on board with your idea. You WILL need their support, both physically, spiritually....and if you want to play pro pool I'm sure at times financially.

If you take a "never say die" attitude, perhaps you will be the best someday. 3 years......well, how are you exactly going to achieve being the BEST in 3 years? That is what you have to ask yourself, and then devise a plan of attack to achieve it.

Best of luck!

 

[jay helfert]

...and now I'm stuck in a match with Jay Helfert. Have you guys ever seen 'the Honeymooners'? When Ralph says to Alice...."BECAUSE I HAVE A BIG MOUTH!"

Why do I feel like I'm getting hustled here? All right Josh, you got me for a little One Hole...cheap.

 

[Matt_24]

BTW Josh...I must say that if you have a wife and kid..........take a reality check, work hard, and put them first. Stopping everything to play pool at THAT point is a stupid decision. Just wanted to put that small clarification in.

 

[chilli66]

Josh, it's always good to apologise for the things you say while drunk but having the guts to say "Well, I made myself a mountain. Now I'll have to climb it." is another thing. I think you deserve a lot of credit for that. Most people would've just stopped at "Sorry, I was drunk."

I hope you do it, I really do.

 

[JoeyA]

Why do I feel like I'm getting hustled here? All right Josh, you got me for a little One Hole...cheap.

If Josh is hustling you/us, he doesn't need to improve because he will already have been the best. LOL

Way to keep than antennae up, Jay. You got Josh covered though, even if he is that unknown Filipino kid that kept trying to get close enough to you in Manila to get a game with you, recently.
JoeyA

 

[Hierovision]

So on-topic, I'll be up there with you... if you stay there in 10 years That's about how long it's going to take me

 

[Harvywallbanger]

Why do I feel like I'm getting hustled here? All right Josh, you got me for a little One Hole...cheap.

LMAO. Very unlikely Jay...but you never know. Anyways are you going to take a crack at any of the main events while your down there?

 

[Harvywallbanger]

BTW Josh...I must say that if you have a wife and kid..........take a reality check, work hard, and put them first. Stopping everything to play pool at THAT point is a stupid decision. Just wanted to put that small clarification in.

Yeah I have 3 kids. 5, 4, and 2. They will always come first though.