How Many Years Have You REALLY Been Playing?

I started playing somewhere around 5 years old.

I couldn't guess in a million tries how many hours a day/week/whatever it all adds up to.

You'all are way better than me if you can remember any of that. ;)
 
Going by the 1300 hours a year....

BasementDweller said:
If you calculate how many hours most top players put in to this game to become world class players the number of hours can be pretty amazing.

If you take an average of 5 hours a day for 5 days a week you get 25 hours a week. I think this is on the low end but just for fun I'm using this number. So this means these players in their formative years at least, were putting in 1300 hours a year. For most top notch players, I bet you could throw in another 10 hours on the weekends, but that number is just too big for me to consider :)

So if we make a year of serious pool playing equal to 1300 hours, how many years of serious pool playing do you have under your belt?

For me, I don't think I ever put 1300 hours into pool for a year - not even close. Well, maybe close to that during the first year or two that I played but that's about it.

Here are the numbers that I came up with for me:
Age
17-20: 500 hours (just messing around)
20-22: 2200 (figured out how cool the game was)
22-26: 500 (busy with life)
26-33: 800 (busy with life)
34-present: 1000 (shooting for 10 hours a week)

Total: 5,000. I'm guessing this is close to accurate. Using this number I've been at this seriously for almost 4 years. That feels about right to me. Pool has definitely been on my mind for years, but my actual table time is quite low during much of this time.

Anybody else think about the time they have put into the game like this?
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I played 6 years the first two years I played seriously...

I've played a total of about 12 years in the 18 years I've played somewhat seriously maybe 14... I took a five year hiatus where I only played one night a week.

Jaden
 
I was 4 when I started and I have been pretty much the same speed since. ;) 28 years so far. I love it more now than ever! This last year was the first year I have given it any seriousness.
 
Hours

1979 - 13 years old - started learning straight pool -200 hours
1980-1983 - straight pool - about 1500 hours/year
1984-1987 - straight pool - about 1200 hours/year
1988-2008 - 9-ball & barroom 8-ball - about 1000 hours/year
2009-2011 - straight pool & barroom 8 ball - about 1000 hours/year

Around 34,000 hours - give or take a thousand.

Ron F
 
JamisonNeu said:
I was 4 when I started and I have been pretty much the same speed since. ;) 28 years so far. I love it more now than ever! This last year was the first year I have given it any seriousness.
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I do believe in practice and more practice. Matching up and long matches can be even better. I believe even more strongly that the quality of practice is what's more important. i see many going through the motions and wonder what the hell they are thinking.
I began playing in December of 1971. I have taken many leaves away from the game several times. From 1993 till May of 2000 I never hit one ball. The first year back near drove me insane. At 60, I believe my peaks are over with and i can live with it. It is still frustrating though
 
Ron F said:
1979 - 13 years old - started learning straight pool -200 hours
1980-1983 - straight pool - about 1500 hours/year
1984-1987 - straight pool - about 1200 hours/year
1988-2008 - 9-ball & barroom 8-ball - about 1000 hours/year
2009-2011 - straight pool & barroom 8 ball - about 1000 hours/year

Around 34,000 hours - give or take a thousand.

Ron F
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And, according to your sig, your high run is ONLY 80???

Dude, if you really have 30,000+ hours in, you should give the world the 8 ball :wink:


Eric
 
@Eric,

Eric. said:
And, according to your sig, your high run is ONLY 80???

Dude, if you really have 30,000+ hours in, you should give the world the 8 ball :wink:


Eric
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I know. I stink! But I never said I was a John Schmidt, a Thurston Hohmann or an Eric.! lol

Ron F
 
I've played more years on your scale than I have played in actual years l0l (been playing for ~10 months now and have consistently averaged 30-35 hours a week since week 2)
 
Ron F said:
I know. I stink! But I never said I was a John Schmidt, a Thurston Hohmann or an Eric.! lol

Ron F
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You can say that again!

Using the theory that you achieve the majority of your abilities and expertise after 10,000 hours, I think you plateaued as a mediocre "B" player.

I do admire that you put in 20+ hours a week, for, like, 25 years straight! I mean, who can do that? I wish I could, but I had other things that needed my attention i.e. job/career, relationships/girlfriends, wife, kids, housework, etc.

You aren't a mid 40's guy that is still single and still lives with mom, are you? :wink:


Eric
 
Wow…this gets ya thinking.

I first picked up a cue in 1982, but didn't really start playing till 1990. The first 12 years (1990 - 2002) I spent most of my time outside work in the non-pool world I was in a poolroom - playing, practicing and running a tour. But easily in those years I estimate 25 hours for about 48 weeks of the year on the table. (I deducted a few weeks where I didn’t play at all).

From 1990-2002
48 weeks year x. 25 hours = 14,400 hours

From 2002-2006 (the little playing, lots of time in an airplane and real estate years)
Less pool playing (around 150 hours a year) = 600 hours estimated

From 2006 – Current (the sporadic playing and ramped up work on the industry side years)
Around 200 hours a year = 1000

So total: 16,000 hours of my life at the table

So far I have lived 410,232 hours
Estimated that I've played pool 3.9% of my time on this little blue / green planet. However since really starting to play in 1990 it is 9% of my overall time and in those 12 concentrated years (1/4 of my life) it was 14%.
 
Played

I have been playing 50 years, since 1962, on a serious note, but Dad bought a 6' table and put it in the basement when I was 12. I don't count those 2 years since I just fooled around on it.
 
I started in 68 at the ymca,never took lessens,except for want I lost while gambling as ayoung man...then I got married joined the service,had five children..still played an gambled when I could..I became a little more serious in the 90's still wasn't any good tho.In 2000 I joined apa an bca an for the next four years I had a pretty good time,I pkayed four nights a week during that time,was never concidered a threat to anyone,so a few lost their pride,when they shouldn't have.I have well over 14,000 hours in play time..the last ten years I've played at least 20 hours a week..maybe more,its only the last couple of years that I have been really practicing anything..doing drills,banks,kicks..I truely love pool,my passion for pool is only behind my love for my family.I am sure there are times my wife wonders why we ever married..j/k .my kids are grown,so now I have even more time to play,I have a home table,an folks to play with..its just hard getting some of the master players over,but every once in a while one will show up..Most of you guys/gals play way over my head..my hats off to you folks with hard core desire to put in the practice time that it takes to become an elite player.
 
It's about the density of hours put in, not total...

This is a fascinating post! I think the "density" of hours spent on a table over a period of time is key...a lot of guys will spend years and years playing two nights a week, maybe a total of 6-9 hours, which is like just over 300-500 hours per year...these would constitute a big number of your average league players, with several aberrations of a SL7 or above that had a past where the density of hours was higher at some point. Some guys get totally hooked, they're single and young enough to put up with doing 6 or more hours per day. That period of practically living in a pool room (when not at work or sleeping) is IMHO the point where strong players are built. You can lay off after that period, then when you pick it back up, you can slowly build back up to that speed.

So, I think your formula has to account for periods when you have a high concentration of hours, not just a 30 year total. How many of us older guys lament that we played our best pool in our early 20s, but after many more years' experience we're not anywhere near that speed anymore? Has everything to do with that density factor. That and the fact that I don't think I can physically put in 6+ hours everyday anymore...three hours and I'm pretty much cooked!
 
been playing since early 2004. My play schedule is very irregular so I couldn't even begin to estimate the hours spent, but if I had to guess, it would be around 15-20 hours a week average. In the last year, I've been slacking off a lot, maybe 5-10 hours a week and there was an 8 month period where I played A LOT, like 40 hours a week, so 15-20 is my best guess.

So by the OP's standard, I have played for 5-6 years.
 
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I started last week. If anyone in the world gives me the orange crush, we got a game. ;)

But cereal-ly, I played for @ a year when I was 16, playing push-out and straight - self-taught, and got to a strong B, then got into biz and breeding, picked it back up @ 4 years ago. I'm a hair older now. and a lil bit better....

Matt
 
I would love to have people put their speed along with their hours played, so we can see if their is any consistency between hours played and level of play.

I do believe that putting a number of the hours close together is important. FOr example, if I continue to play 2-3 hours a week over 20 years, it will be a lot of total hours, but I will likely not be able to get past certain plateaus that require a lot of focused practice, versus playing 20 hours a week for short periods to really improve an aspect of ones game.

I currently play at what I think is a high C level, but can play at a regular C level if I am off. My play is very inconsistent which is probably normal for someone with my time on the table. I am interested to hear what level others play at with similar and greater hours at the table.
 
I wasn't quite ready for this thread to die. I think this is some interesting stuff here.

I agree with Mantis - It would have been nice to know everybodies speed and then compare it to the hours played.

I also think West Point is right about the density of hours that are played. He mentioned the league players that put in a few hours a week. If they do this long enough they will accumulate a lot of hours but not necessarily see the improvement that a player with far fewer calender years but an equal number of hours at the table will.

Some of you logged some serious hours -- Holly, I'm talking to you :) That's a lot of hours.

I think I have a good feel for how well Masayoshi plays just from reading a lot of his posts and I'm thinking he has really spent a lot of quality time at the table. Not much banging of balls there. I think Jaden falls into this category as well. Good work guys.

All in all, this thread has made me feel better about my game and where it's at. I would actually feel pretty good matching up against most anybody that had under 5,000 hours of table time.

Thanks for all the replies.

Now I'll let it die :thumbup:
 
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