looks like a tough life being a pro

local hustlers

BasementDweller said:
Of course this is all true but my point is -- if a guy is 30 years old and they don't have a regular job, it's NOT because of pool unless they are practically cursed with being a professional caliber player. Sure these amateurs can quit playing pool but they will just find a different hustle. In other words, the game doesn't destroy a player's character. I think it's the other way around.
Click to expand...


I did know three or four guys most of the time, different guys that were rotating through, that were small time hustlers. These guys would cheat their own brother, and did. Not a word they said could be trusted. They didn't hesitate to cheat or pull any move necessary to get your cash. If they got a chance to bring in a world class player to beat a guy that was often good for a hundred dollar touch that would never get repaid they would do it in a heartbeat. They lived for today, the hell with the past and tomorrow.

They learned it was impossible to get me drunk enough to beat me on a pool table and I wouldn't play cards or shoot dice. I never got into deals with them either. While it would be stretching things to call them friends, they didn't have any, they were fellow denizens of the night and we were friendly.

One I liked best about my age was in Chicago when his brother was killed over a $2000 gambling debt. Poker with some Family kind of guys. Teester came running home and got in the wrong people's face. He was cut up so badly it was touch and go for a month and more, he spent six months in the hospital. When he got out he looked like a ghost. After that he disappeared. Did his good deeds or bad catch up with him or did he finally realize it was time to get out of the life? I don't know. Six months on your back gives a long time to think. While they were cunning, few of these guys had real brains. Teester was smarter than most, just seeking an easy way through life.

I got married and gave up pool and the general nightlife. I wonder sometimes if some of those small time hustlers are still around and still scuffling. They were totally worthless human beings but they were entertaining. Two I knew hit the big time, they were involved in two killings. Last I knew they were doing life on Angola State Farm. Local boys making good, they were born not far from there! The main killing of a political campaign manager paid $10,000 each. The other killing? Not a dime. Someone that was involved with the other killing that drank too much and had loose lips when he drank too much. Loose lips sink ships and all of that.

Ron came within a gnat's ass of being a surgeon once. He had snuck into a hospital, found some scrubs and was fixing to start an operation when somebody realized he was an imposter! Maybe his mom always wanted him to be a doctor.

Lots of memories come back of one stupid move after another these guys pulled. They worked damned hard for their easy money!

Hu
 
It's a tough life for sure, as managing life is, to some extent, about ensuring a steady and repeatable flow of income. That's why so many BCA Hall of Famers had jobs while they were competing. For example, Steve Mizerak was an English teacher, Irving Crane sold Cadillacs, and Joe Balsis was in the meat business.

Today's top pros tend not to have jobs or businesses, and while that's a good thing on the surface, many of them will reach forty with diminishing skills at the pool table, few marketable skills away from the table, and will, consequently, be financially ill-equipped for the second half of their lives.

That said, though, pool pros have a lot of freedoms that people in other professions will never know, and most pool pros are doing something for a living that they love. With or without a substantial income, their lives can be both exciting and fulfilling.

In conclusion, it's OK to pursue a career in pro pool but one should be prepared for the kind of life that usually comes with it. I envy and admire the pool professional but, at times, I feel sad for them because their sport hasn't provided the rewards their excellence would seem to merit. Anyone considering a career in pro pool should spend some time talking to others that have taken the same path to get a sense of what to expect.
 
sjm said:
It's a tough life for sure, as managing life is, to some extent, about ensuring a steady and repeatable flow of income. That's why so many BCA Hall of Famers had jobs while they were competing. For example, Steve Mizerak was an English teacher, Irving Crane sold Cadillacs, and Joe Balsis was in the meat business.

Today's top pros tend not to have jobs or businesses, and while that's a good thing on the surface, many of them will reach forty with diminishing skills at the pool table, few marketable skills away from the table, and will, consequently, be financially ill-equipped for the second half of their lives.

That said, though, pool pros have a lot of freedoms that people in other professions will never know, and most pool pros are doing something for a living that they love. With or without a substantial income, their lives can be both exciting and fulfilling.

In conclusion, it's OK to pursue a career in pro pool but one should be prepared for the kind of life that usually comes with it. I envy and admire the pool professional but, at times, I feel sad for them because their sport hasn't provided the rewards their excellence would seem to merit. Anyone considering a career in pro pool should spend some time talking to others that have taken the same path to get a sense of what to expect.
Click to expand...


The major issue I have is that the pro pool player usually drags others through that life with them. A wife who to some degree chose what she got into and children who had no choice.

We both know most pro's would make more money flipping burgers or busing tables. Winning thirty thousand at a tournament once in awhile doesn't mean much when you have spent twenty thousand on the road to win that one and that money has to be split with a backer. You have to pay taxes at the more legit tournaments too, something most don't realize until it bites them in the butt!

I helped a friend win an extra eighty thousand at a poker final table. He called me immediately afterwards and wanted to send me a five grand thank you. I told him to wait a few days and see what he actually had from a little over a hundred thousand total win. A little jelly arrived but it was a long ways short of five thousand. Suited me fine, I was still well paid for a fifteen or twenty minute phone call and I helped a friend who was living on the edge.

Hu
 
Pool is a great SECOND job. There is virtually no money in the long-run for full-time play. No insurance, no medical, NADA. Doing the weekend warrior deal and hitting a few bigger events is way to go. Trying to live on pool alone is one rough road. If you aren't a TOP-TOP player with a decent endorsement/sponsorship package nothing will be easy. I've known quite a few players who have had pretty good day-jobs and were then able to make extra $$$ with their cue.
 
Here's the life of a full time pool player

judochoke said:
I just got into shooting 1 year ago, before then basically knew nothing about the professional circuit or tournaments. but now after watching all of the main tournaments on you tube and streaming them, man the pros have it hard.
I watched max get smoked by bustemonte, Corey dual get smoked, and now Darrin Appleton just lost big time. and im trying to figure out how these guys make money?
is there really a green room where they gamble before the tournaments( like in the movie color of money), or do they get there second loss in the loser brackets and just go home?
do they hang out with each other afterwards and have a few drinks?
I have watched all of these guys on you tube, and they are fantastic on you tube in there practice videos, and they lose. I know everyone loses, with only one winner in a tournament, but how do they make a living????
(not trying to be a dickhead, just trying to figure out the life of a pro pool player)
Click to expand...
This movie was made in 1961.....58 years ago! and it is STILL glorified by the masses you find in pool rooms.
Think about it.
Pool Room Bum with caption.jpg
 
I was just asked last night why I don't play on the pro tour. The fact of the matter is the risk/reward is just not there. As someone stated, only a few at the top make any real money and even they can have a bad year. I love that we do have some great talent out there consistently and we have new young talent coming up. It is sad that there isn't enough money for all to just play pool like other sports, but thats the reality. Until there is big money, I'll just keep my job, sit behind my desk and collect my pay check. No hotel bills, plane tickets or eating out every night.
 
sjm said:
It's a tough life for sure, as managing life is, to some extent, about ensuring a steady and repeatable flow of income. That's why so many BCA Hall of Famers had jobs while they were competing. For example, Steve Mizerak was an English teacher, Irving Crane sold Cadillacs, and Joe Balsis was in the meat business.

Today's top pros tend not to have jobs or businesses, and while that's a good thing on the surface, many of them will reach forty with diminishing skills at the pool table, few marketable skills away from the table, and will, consequently, be financially ill-equipped for the second half of their lives.

That said, though, pool pros have a lot of freedoms that people in other professions will never know, and most pool pros are doing something for a living that they love. With or without a substantial income, their lives can be both exciting and fulfilling.

In conclusion, it's OK to pursue a career in pro pool but one should be prepared for the kind of life that usually comes with it. I envy and admire the pool professional but, at times, I feel sad for them because their sport hasn't provided the rewards their excellence would seem to merit. Anyone considering a career in pro pool should spend some time talking to others that have taken the same path to get a sense of what to expect.
Click to expand...


Good stuff

The bolded part though...my hunch is that anyone willing to give up on playing professional pool based on some conversations with pros -- probably never hard the all-consuming passion required to play at that level anyway.
 
jason said:
I was just asked last night why I don't play on the pro tour. The fact of the matter is the risk/reward is just not there. As someone stated, only a few at the top make any real money and even they can have a bad year. I love that we do have some great talent out there consistently and we have new young talent coming up. It is sad that there isn't enough money for all to just play pool like other sports, but thats the reality. Until there is big money, I'll just keep my job, sit behind my desk and collect my pay check. No hotel bills, plane tickets or eating out every night.
Click to expand...

there's a pro tour?
 
skogstokig said:
there's a pro tour?
Click to expand...

Not in this country. Do you (anyone) suppose you could make a living playing pool in
another country? To make a living at a sport here it pretty much has to be a main stream
sport. If Tennis and Golf didn't have foreign events to attend and participate in, would there
be enough money here to go around so you could make a living doing either one of those?
 
Celophanewrap said:
Not in this country. Do you (anyone) suppose you could make a living playing pool in

another country? To make a living at a sport here it pretty much has to be a main stream

sport. If Tennis and Golf didn't have foreign events to attend and participate in, would there

be enough money here to go around so you could make a living doing either one of those?
Click to expand...
I think golf could survive in the US without the intermingling with the European Tour and others, but yes it is stronger because of it. I know this has been beaten to death but golf has money around it. It has blue collar popularity and it is the pastime for many with tons of money. Private clubs are everywhere and the TV demographic is filled with people who can afford Rolexes and Cadillacs and pay firms to manage their wealth (advertising & sponsorship).
Pool faded long ago, it was on Wide World of Sports back in the day feequently but so was log rolling and ski jumping. That show was about sports that the network didn't have to pay to have broadcast rights. It was cheap content.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Omg

skogstokig said:
there's a pro tour?
Click to expand...

BAHAHAHAHA! I was thinking the exact same thing when I read that post. There is no pro tour. You have some regional "tours", but nothing that is going to provide any substantial, dependable income. There are money added tournaments all over the place throughout the year but it is typically the same folks in the money at all of them. Not to mention while the prize money is nice...it is nowhere near what the calcuttas pay and good luck buying yourself and turning a profit once you are consistently in the money at these large events. It is absolutely brutal to try and make a living playing pool. I just don't see how you can do it unless you are outrunning the nuts or have a lock on gambling matches and tournaments. Go look at the AZBilliards leaderboard on earnings and you will see what the best of the best make in tournament earnings before expenses. They are not paying taxes on those figures either. Like others have stated...no benefits and no social security unless you are working a regular job too. I travel for work and it is very difficult to go out of town and not drop $1000 or more per trip with hotel costs, food, transportation costs, etc. Granted, you can probably do it for about $500 for a weekend event where you are just staying the night Fri and Sat (if you don't have to fly into the event). If you have to fly to an event, that cost goes up by about $500 or more depending on the round-trip costs and the ground transportation once you are there. You may be able to do it for less if you stay at $40 motels and eat fast food.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top