Let's Bring The Discussion Of Pool Player As Job Over Here
- Thread starter watchez
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"New World Order of Pro Pool Players" Secretly Rule the World
It's even worse than we could have ever imagined. :yikes:
Professional Pool Players secretly rule the world, it's the "New World Order of Pro Pool Players" - feel free to tell everyone, they won't believe it anyway.
It's even worse than we could have ever imagined. :yikes:
Professional Pool Players secretly rule the world, it's the "New World Order of Pro Pool Players" - feel free to tell everyone, they won't believe it anyway.
Is Earl's *real* first name Benjamin?
no one ever talks about how much you made - it's how many lives you effect
I know he made around $634,000 in an hour at my pool room....not bad for a "pool player"......Earl's made Millions playing pool in his career, and at the end no one ever talks about how much we made - it's how many lives we effect.....Earl's touched millions.
'The Game is the Teacher'
I know he made around $634,000 in an hour at my pool room....not bad for a "pool player"......Earl's made Millions playing pool in his career, and at the end no one ever talks about how much we made - it's how many lives we effect.....Earl's touched millions.
'The Game is the Teacher'
O.k. so comparing the plight of the "American Pool Player" to the plight of African Americans in the civil rights movement is a bit rich. I don't think we will have any lynchings, fire hoses, or dogs at the Derby this year.
Moreover, if we were to judge "pro" pool players by the content of their character, I am afraid the judgment for so many would be a severe one.
kollegedave
I think the BCA should be forgotten about its easy to say it's their fault pool I the way it Is but that's just blaming someone. Someone needs to step up and start something a new tour perhaps maybe the Keith McCready all star tour or something. The BCA isn't going to start one so no sense to keep blaming them it's time to start over an re build
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I also don't see the point in the thread. The numbers I stated about the us open are pretty realistic numbers and without hitting the top 24 you've lost money. And as you say, anyone can enter. Are you saying only 24 people should enter because they're the only ones that can make it in the pool word? 24 people enter, not much to win.
Relating that to my job just isn't the same. I don't have to out preform my co-workers to get paid. I come in and do my best and get paid the same thing every day no matter what. Yea, I have daily expenses but there is no risk involved. Money made-money spent=profit. My profit never changes. I know my margin and I'm happy with it. Playing tournaments you might profit, break even or lose. And 90% of the field loses.
For long term sustainable income you need sponsorships, to get these you have to meet certain criteria, as we all know how fast sponsors turn on you when they see the first sign of negative press.
You need a marketable product, organization, respectability, accountability, credibility, ethics.
Possibly one of the reasons many of today's snooker sponsors are bookmakers is that they now have an ethics committee and independent tribunal led by an ex police commissioner and are extremely diligent in pursuing any irregular betting patterns or other unscrupulous activity. They are also very strict on player conduct on and off the table to preserve the integrity of the game.
With these things in place you have an attractive sport for young grass roots players to aspire to, without them you have a bunch of pool room bums scuffling around till they die broke, you choose.
You need a marketable product, organization, respectability, accountability, credibility, ethics.
Possibly one of the reasons many of today's snooker sponsors are bookmakers is that they now have an ethics committee and independent tribunal led by an ex police commissioner and are extremely diligent in pursuing any irregular betting patterns or other unscrupulous activity. They are also very strict on player conduct on and off the table to preserve the integrity of the game.
With these things in place you have an attractive sport for young grass roots players to aspire to, without them you have a bunch of pool room bums scuffling around till they die broke, you choose.
Kollegedave I appreciate the defense!
I know JAM personally and can say she is the last person to be insensitive or racist. She is probably VERY hurt by your post!
Anyway, I wanted to set the record straight! I am black and her post was symbolic and done in honor of MLK and not to be little the struggle.
I also know most pro players and the history of pro pool. What a legacy has been left to them. No checks and balances, Infrastructure non existent and greedy leadership!
Kd
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I had to outperform my co workers to get paid. I started out at my company as a temp. Earned getting hired as a full time employee and then moved up 4 times to management. Many are still in the same place they have been for 20 years with barely a 2% raise that can't keep up with the cost of living.
Jam, Not trying to pile on, but I've noticed you have always been a defender of the pro pool player..Thats understandable, I guess, being as you have one of the good guys for a mate !... But you tend to bristle at any mention of negativity...You have even said you are a friend of Earl's and will not listen to people who put him down. Such loyalty is to be commended, but it should also be tempered with reality.
The points that Watchez and IBA bring up, are unfortunately exactly the reason's pro pool player's have ALWAYS been considered, just a notch above a pick-pocket, on the social ladder of success !..I have spent most of my life in the "racket" and I will only say one thing !..If my daughter had told me (at a young age) she wanted to marry a pool player, I would have tried to ship her off to a convent !..And I'm not even particularly religious..
The number of people I've met in the "racket" who had any morale fiber at all, were certainly in the minority..(like very few)...Most have created the way the world looks at them, by their own actions !...I always loved the game, but not necessarily the environment... Most promising young players, are corrupted in their first year !
Things appear to be heading in a positive direction, but the average "Pro Pool Player" still has quite a way to go, to reach the status of a used car salesman, or a Lawyer !.. Jam, I do hope you get to see some good things happen for pool in your life time...I long ago gave up on it happening in mine !
There are those who have tried to make me feel guilty, almost as if it was treasonous to feel this way !...I'm sorry, but I have never had any desire to belong to any "secret society" that accepts, or even glorifies, the principles, and morals, of the average 'professional' pool player !
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And that sucks but it doesn't take away from the fact that if it costs you $1500 to do your job for the week and you'll be getting paid anything between $0-20,000 based on how you preform, you better be damn good. And if you're fine with that, cool but that doesn't make my original statement false.
My orgininial post was a reply to someone that said the top 25 players make a good living from tournaments based on a number he saw on the internet. I simply said those numbers don't include travel/lodging/entry. I don't know what that has to do with being entitled because they draw their ball.
Earl or any player deserve exactly what they have earned. He is not required to sleep on anyone's couch or fleabag motel. He is a free man to make his own decisions. If he chooses to sleep on a couch then that is up to him. If he has very little money and can afford some fast food then that is not all that bad. I have been in a position where I couldn't even afford that at times. I ended up there for the same reason that Earl did. I did not spend wisely. That is all there is to it.
I have loads of respect for pro players and their abilities. I do not believe that should earn them some kind of rights to the Hilton and steaks each night. They have to earn their keep just as the rest of us do.
If a player wants to go out and win a tournament then they need to put in the practice time in order to get paid. Yeah this is time when they are not getting paid, but is it really that much different than the rest of us. Most people in this day and age need to go to college to make a living wage. I am currently a college student. I am not currently getting paid. Do I think anyone should buy me meals or pay my way? Hell no. I have chosen this path for myself. It is my choice and my burden.
When I finish college I need to market myself to find a job where I will need to continue to hone my skills. While I am at home studying for professional exams to reach new certifications I will not be getting paid. If I screw up at my job or just walk off I will not be allowed to work there any longer. I can't walk out and then just come back next year like nothing happened. I can't skip out on a major project at work and expect to keep my job.
Being a pro player has some liberties that are not afforded to the rest of us. Just as the rest of us have opportunities that many pro players do not have. That being said I do not envy the life of a pro player. I may envy their skills but I do not feel that life would ever be for me, but at the end of the day it is their choice.
It's a cultural thing...
Tell someone in the USA with little or no real exposure to the pool scene that you are a "serious pool player" and they will invariably call you a shark or pool hustler and maybe even begin to perceive you in a somewhat negative light. It's automatic.The game just has that stigma here in the USA, and pool culture here has done it to itself. Movies like The Hustler, TCOM, Baltimore Bullet & Poolhall Junkies all glorify the fast lazy buck, usually won by whoopin' someone on the table, typically using some kind of dishonest tactic.
Everyone wants to be the next Minnesota Fats, Vincent Lauria or Fast Eddie and be crowned the "greatest hustler of all time" but but nobody interested in being the next Willie Mosconi.... or more recently, Ralf Souquet, a player who rose up through the German Bundesliga feeder system and who has made a very good living at this game.
Having lived in Europe for 20 years of my life and having played in nationally sanctioned, organized club league system in Germany, I can say with sincere honesty that they generally take a more structured and pragmatic approach to pool. It's much more innocent and above the board. They have pool halls like we do here, but there are also organized club-league teams who travel and play each other in multiple layers of regional and national divisions, where the good teams advance to the next highest division/level and the bad teams drop down a level. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as a handicap league and it makes the less skilled players take the game more seriously. Sure, there are gamblers there too, but the mindset is not nearly as prevalent (not even close). It feels like the primary motivator there is the love of the game and to develop skill, not the lure of easy money or the next hustle. And telling someone you are a billiards/pool player doesn't lead to assumptive stereotyping. There are club leagues for volleyball, badminton, table-tennis, etc... Pick your sport and they have sanctioned, organized competitive leagues for it, each with very similar structure, pool is just one of many.
Pool in the USA seems so completely disorganized at all levels... Do we even have a reliable way to identify the top 25 American players? There's no such thing as a nationally sanctioned non-handicapped league. Instead, there are at least a half-dozen handicapped leagues, all operating with different handicapping philosophies and rulebooks. And then there is a decreasing number of invitational and open "heavyweight" pool tournaments with prize funds that wouldn't satisfy even the lowest of the established golf tours.
Pool has several things going against it here, beyond the negative media stigma and the overwhelming popularity of handicapped social leagues.... Part of the problem here is that our country is sooooooo BIG! It takes a big budget to city hop for tournaments outside of the Northeast, making a "national league" type of team structured league almost impossible. Another issue is that the game really sucks for spectators. Where can you go and actually watch a match without inhaling a ton of carcinogens, or where you can actually sit in a comfortable chair and watch a match? Most tournaments are in spaces only large enough to hold a few front row spectators. And would you want to take you kids to a pool tournament to watch, or would you be afraid of what they may see or hear?
Frankly, I think streaming matches and tournaments are the best we can hope for in terms of future exposure for our sport on this continent. And until those tournaments can include the type of prize money that make it worth a person's time/effort to travel and assume the risk, this is all just conjecture. Now, how do we get that money into those tournaments? That's the million dollar question, eh? Answer that one with some real results and things may start looking up... But until then, pool in the USA has really just been reduced to a great way for an individual to pass spare time and develop fine motor skills.
Tell someone in the USA with little or no real exposure to the pool scene that you are a "serious pool player" and they will invariably call you a shark or pool hustler and maybe even begin to perceive you in a somewhat negative light. It's automatic.The game just has that stigma here in the USA, and pool culture here has done it to itself. Movies like The Hustler, TCOM, Baltimore Bullet & Poolhall Junkies all glorify the fast lazy buck, usually won by whoopin' someone on the table, typically using some kind of dishonest tactic.
Everyone wants to be the next Minnesota Fats, Vincent Lauria or Fast Eddie and be crowned the "greatest hustler of all time" but but nobody interested in being the next Willie Mosconi.... or more recently, Ralf Souquet, a player who rose up through the German Bundesliga feeder system and who has made a very good living at this game.
Having lived in Europe for 20 years of my life and having played in nationally sanctioned, organized club league system in Germany, I can say with sincere honesty that they generally take a more structured and pragmatic approach to pool. It's much more innocent and above the board. They have pool halls like we do here, but there are also organized club-league teams who travel and play each other in multiple layers of regional and national divisions, where the good teams advance to the next highest division/level and the bad teams drop down a level. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as a handicap league and it makes the less skilled players take the game more seriously. Sure, there are gamblers there too, but the mindset is not nearly as prevalent (not even close). It feels like the primary motivator there is the love of the game and to develop skill, not the lure of easy money or the next hustle. And telling someone you are a billiards/pool player doesn't lead to assumptive stereotyping. There are club leagues for volleyball, badminton, table-tennis, etc... Pick your sport and they have sanctioned, organized competitive leagues for it, each with very similar structure, pool is just one of many.
Pool in the USA seems so completely disorganized at all levels... Do we even have a reliable way to identify the top 25 American players? There's no such thing as a nationally sanctioned non-handicapped league. Instead, there are at least a half-dozen handicapped leagues, all operating with different handicapping philosophies and rulebooks. And then there is a decreasing number of invitational and open "heavyweight" pool tournaments with prize funds that wouldn't satisfy even the lowest of the established golf tours.
Pool has several things going against it here, beyond the negative media stigma and the overwhelming popularity of handicapped social leagues.... Part of the problem here is that our country is sooooooo BIG! It takes a big budget to city hop for tournaments outside of the Northeast, making a "national league" type of team structured league almost impossible. Another issue is that the game really sucks for spectators. Where can you go and actually watch a match without inhaling a ton of carcinogens, or where you can actually sit in a comfortable chair and watch a match? Most tournaments are in spaces only large enough to hold a few front row spectators. And would you want to take you kids to a pool tournament to watch, or would you be afraid of what they may see or hear?
Frankly, I think streaming matches and tournaments are the best we can hope for in terms of future exposure for our sport on this continent. And until those tournaments can include the type of prize money that make it worth a person's time/effort to travel and assume the risk, this is all just conjecture. Now, how do we get that money into those tournaments? That's the million dollar question, eh? Answer that one with some real results and things may start looking up... But until then, pool in the USA has really just been reduced to a great way for an individual to pass spare time and develop fine motor skills.
I guess I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
Are you saying your job is just as difficult as a pool player's, or are you saying your job is more difficult than a pool player, or are you saying a pool player's job is more difficult than yours?
I think he is saying that working at McDonalds probably is a more stable job and could even be more lucrative.
This may be top 5 in dumbest responses of all time on here.