How can we effect changes to better Pool?

[Sargo]

I think pool is just so hard to learn. This is obvious with the various aiming threads that even good players still discuss all the time. I think majority of beginners quit because of this. They find no immediate gratification from the game because they don't know how to pocket balls. Golf is very difficult but if you are able to get a ball in the air in the driving range you feel good right away.
And the "proper way" to play golf is not perceived to be a secret, so with practice one believes he/she can learn. It is the opposite with pool where aiming is thought of as "mysterious" and pool players keep a secret.

 

[Jersey]

Improving Pools Image...

First off, the Local League Operators and Room Owners have to step up. Those of us who are Players, know about and seek out these Organizations and Venues...the average person that plays at home, at a friends house or in their local watering hole that has a couple of tables does not. Let's face it the 'Average' Pool Room leaves a lot to be desired...it may have GC's or Gandy's or Olhausens, but it's dark, uninviting, smells like booze and cigs, has horrible facilities, (ie restrooms), is not Youth or Family friendly. Until we change this Pool will continue to stagnate, and only guys and gals like us on this Forum will know how great this game really is.

BTW...Since I've been playing APA, I have gone from a travel, all bar division,(8's & 9's, but more bar than Pool Rooms), to In-House at Mr. Cue's II here in Atlanta, (this room host's Pro and Regional Tour Events), to now, In-House at a local area room here in Marietta, GA...and since I started playing there, Spring '05 we have not had AC???, and lived with sub par mens facilities until the beginning of the Summer Session, we need to start at the base, before we talk Corporate and TV...until 'everyday' people say, 'hey lets go shoot some pool', and have decent facilities in their area, we'll go nowhere...look at Golf, almost 1 Billion, (that's right Billion with a 'B'), donated to Charity...where's Professional Billiards???

 

[BRKNRUN]

I think pool is just so hard to learn. This is obvious with the various aiming threads that even good players still discuss all the time. I think majority of beginners quit because of this. They find no immediate gratification from the game because they don't know how to pocket balls. Golf is very difficult but if you are able to get a ball in the air in the driving range you feel good right away.
And the "proper way" to play golf is not perceived to be a secret, so with practice one believes he/she can learn. It is the opposite with pool where aiming is thought of as "mysterious" and pool players keep a secret.

I have a slightly different take on this...I think pool is actually one of the most popular games and most played games out there... As far as "serious players" though....probably one of the least...

I do think that the only reason there are (less) serious players in pool is simply no future or money in the game. (thats one of the only reasons that there are more in golf...potential $$$$)

I think pool is actually more enjoyable to beginners than golf...People are end result oriented...(watch the little kids closley) ...Kids that pick up a golf club are quickly drawn to the putting green...The reason is there is a "end result" in making the ball go in the hole....(same as the end result in pool)

My son was able to get the ball airborn the very first time he picked up a club...(of course it was because I taught him...LOL .. )....Every time he hit a shot his question was always.."How far did that one go and when can we go over there??"....as soon as I turned my back he was off to the putting green....because according to him..."I want to make the ball go in the hole"... Many kids are the exact same way...

Pool has that advantage in that there is a end result right away....or at least an attempt at a end result...(pocketing a ball)....Golf does not have that as after you hit a shot you will probably have to hit at least 2 more to get to an end result....

I think that if and when there is $$$ in the pro level game....you will see a huge jump in teenagers with dreams of being a pro player picking up cues that otherwise will be playing Golf / Baseball / Etc.....(Think back before there was so much $$$$ in Golf)...There were not very many kids when I was a kid and Golf was actually just (barely) being accepted as anything more than a "nerd" sport. At least pool does not have the "nerd" label to overcome....

Also...I wouldn't go so far as to call them secrets, but there ARE parts of the Golf game that are not really talked about outside the "pro" level......I would imagine the same is true for pool, but I am not at the "pro" level yet....Besides that...with the advent of this and other forums...I think the secrets to pool are now very much available with very little effort...

I have picked up secrets of Aiming / Kicking / Banking that even 10 years ago would have NEVER been spoken of without some serious $$$ coming out of my pocket in one way or another... JMO

 

[Jimmy M.]

In general, I think your right on the stereotype, but, If I remember correctly…wasn’t it a pool player at Casino Billiards that got you kick started in Unix / Linux / Scripting???? Do you ever wonder what you would be doing today if you had not been “just a dumb pool player”????

I do wonder what might have happened had I never met the guy but, yes, he helped me tremendously in getting started. I doubt I'd still be trying to grind it out playing pool, but who knows?

 

[SlimShafty]

Looking to the youth or Family is not going to work, To be honest, I would much rather take my son to play golf or go fishing etc. then go to the local pool room. Don't get me wrong I have been in some nice pool rooms and a lot of the problems are the past stigmas attached to them, but many still remain and the majority of places are not the best places to bring the family

That being said, who in their right mind is going to open a room to attract the family at this time, not many because the money is not there, and forgetting the cost, the kind of place you would have to open would drive most of the players that would support your place away.

like
1. No Smoking
2. No Alcohol
3. Other draws, like Chucky Cheese type of stuff, parties, video games etc..
4. large staff, with at least one instructor
5. Well organized Leagues/Tournaments especially youth tournaments with guaranteed prizes for all.
6. bright clean upscale look with plenty of light and plants.
7. odd sized tables, neon lighted tables, glowing "billiard balls" and off the track type of pool games that might be fun for families.

I'm sure just 1 and 2 would drive half of us here away, and the other half would be gone on 3. Just the idea of any kids running around is a scary thought, I still have a hard time when the place is full of teens who don't give a crap about pool.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, it will never reach the heights we all think it should, but that doesn't mean it can't get bigger and looks like it will over the next few years just based on natural cycles of whats new, in or hot. I just don't think a lot has to change for that to happen, the new IPT tour and a possibility of a new reality series will give it just enough spotlight for that to happen.

 

[Sargo]

Maybe the question to ask is how the game became so popular in Taiwan and the Philippines?

 

[Travis Bickle]

I agree with Jude when he said pool is fascinating to most people. On the odd occasions I've watched a tournament Internet feed at work, I always get people drifting by and checking it out.

What people don't understand is HOW TO PLAY ... or even how to learn it. To those who play a couple of times a year, serious pool is like some dark secret society. The poster who said what we need is more FREE lessons -- but for everyone, not just kids -- was dead on. Every room should offer that. Invest a couple of hours a week and see what happens. When somebody gets hooked they're more devoted than hard-core boozers.

The other thing I think the game needs is some glamour. Right now you've just got a bunch of shady characters playing tournaments for peanuts, and trolling the poolrooms for prey. More money, and non-pool industry sponsors could make a big difference.

For instance, I was talking to my brother the other night for the first time in a long while. It turns out he's gone heavy into the triathalon/Iron Man competition thing. Narrowing it down just to the bicycling aspect, here is another sport that NOBODY watches, and is just about unwatchable for outsiders, but it is SWIMMING IN MONEY. People all around the country are willing to pay $400 bucks to compete in day-long events with ZERO prize money.

Sponsors shell out millions to teams in the Tour de France and such ... the ordinary grunts in that race and on the circuit apparently are salaried at 100K a year or more. Top riders like Lance Armstrong pull down golf money. Of course, these advertisers are going after a market that buys $5,000 bikes like they were Chinese break cues! Think about the differences in the general image of cycling and pool ... but pool could learn from this.

 

[unknownpro]

1) Pool rooms need to have high standards, a good room, be helpful,
with good pro shops, a pro on duty, with helpful instruction and knowledge.
2) Pool organizations need a central authority to help regulate where our
sport is going.
3) We need to get the kids involved, educate them, let them enjoy the
sport, to help further our sport in the future.
4) We need exposure, by way of a cool Pool movie, knowledge about
pro players (Tony Robles is an excellent example IMO), the different tours,
international play, upcoming Junior players (who are they, what do they
like to do, scholastic achievments), unique type tournaments (such as
14.1 or 3 cushion), outstanding or unique Pool rooms, great contributors
to the sport, real good billiards newsletter and papers, need exposure
in our hometown newspapers.


I would say that we have a pretty good start to helping our sport with
these listed above .... now, how can we make those things happen?

As for #2 above, I think it is important to decide who should be in charge of a professional pool tour or tours. I would like for the players themselves to be in charge, and run their own organization(s) under strict rules voted on by all of the participating players. They should, in my opinion, have rules that provide anyone a chance to qualify, and work with all the regional tours for qualifying.

The MPBA had a qualifying system, but was mainly concerned with making decent money for its top 32 players. Include everyone, have every place in the tournaments pay out money with zero enty fee, a qualifying round before the main tournament to break in the cloth and give lower ranked players a chance to qualify for spots. Jose Parica commented at the World 9-Ball in Winston-Salem several years ago that since only about 10 guys there had a real shot of winning for their $500 entry fee and the tournament only had about 60 players instead of the 128 full field that everyone else should be allowed in for $100 and go ahead and fill it up. I don't have quite that much confidence myself, but I think that kind of thinking is what's needed. Get everyone involved.

I believe it is important to make the rules to bring out differences between pool and other sports. For instance 9-ball should always be played winner breaks. It's not tennis, it's 9-ball, and if you can't run 5 racks and out on somebody in a pro tournament it's boring. If the players are too good for the tables make them tighter or go to 10-ball, 11-ball, 12-ball, whatever.

Ten ball was played on the Camel Tour just before the perfect rack was available. Now that we have a perfect rack you just really can't play 9-ball anymore as a pro game. It is too easy with a good rack and too stupid to give everyone a bad rack. Needs to be 10-ball at least, preferably 11-ball or 12-ball.

Also, women being able to compete equally with men in an open organization is essential in the long run, imho. Maybe someone could find a way to work with the WPBA to see that they allow this to happen in a way that benefits their tour also, instead of competing against them for players.

Who do you think should decide these issues? Maybe everyone that can play at a certain level? I wouldn't want to tell straight pool players or one-pocket players how to run their sports because I don't feel I play those games well enough to have a say (they should have independent organizations), and I don't want people that aren't near the top of the 9-ball world running my game. The question to me is where is the cutoff point.

Not that everyone can't or shouldn't give an opinion. As Efren said before, you often you learn the best shots from watching less accomplished players...

unknownpro

 

[JrockJustin]

In the meanwhile, all we really can do is be as organized as we can and accept the ebbs and flows. The industry will eventually climb again. Unfortunately, it may be years before that happens and no amount of work on our parts will change that.

Very well written... Your last paragraph summarized it the best. ORGANIZATION is the main ingredient. Pool needs to be an organized sport recognized globally. America, since it produces the most players needs to develop this type of solid organization and promote it through out the world. The top players need to be recognized as athletes, rather than the image portrayed today. Easy to say I know, but it is being worked on as we speak...