Pool is dead.

grindz said:
And know that it is shaped by pro. and road background......but your view often fails to encompass the whole of pool. Pro is probably .....what....1/100th of a percent of total players. I know that this forum has a skewed % of higher players but that is not the future of pool IMO.

In the past a "pro" player had NO chance IMHO of making a living off pool unless they gambled also. I don't see much difference today, except the gambling side is greatly diminished with the www info out there.

Everything changes.....but pool has stood the test of time. Don't get discouraged....:smile: and there is a reggae song (if I could) I would play for you...it goes..... 'don't worry... be happy'. Always good for a smile or two. :smile: Best to you and yours..

td
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I understand exactly what you mean.

I agree that professional pool in the United States remains at the bottom of the pool totem pole. Soon it won't even have a spot on it anymore.

ATM -- LOL -- I am happy not being involved with pool on a frequent basis, as I used to.

FWIW, I do hope to see professional pool stay alive, for personal reasons.

IMHO, social players and recreational pool make up the very fabric of American pool that does exist, and it is fun playing pool for fun, so to speak. :thumbup:

Be on the lookout for "The Pool Ingenue."
 
<~~~~ Avid Counter-Strike:Source player. as well as IL2:1946, BF1942 and BF Vietnam.......Unreal Tournament GOTY 2004 Edition. Diablo 2. Halo 1 . Command and Conqouer: Tiberium Wars.and last but not Least.Virtual Pool 3 ONLINE..............I game ALOT on my pc!

Also my favorite games are 1 pocket,banks,14.1 and 10 ball :D:D:D

I love them both so I wont make any arguement
 
JAM said:
Read on, my young AzBilliards member, and keep pulling your joy stick.
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lol that's classic.

I don't get it and I can't get it because I wasn't there. I understand the situation clearly. I also respect the past as a method of improvement... not something to emulate. You want the US to go back to that magical time and place. I want the US to embrace pool as a professional sport, not a hustler's game. We'll never agree on that no matter how old I get.
 
Nostroke said:
I believe it is a cycle and at some future time it will dawn on a lot of kids that it is cooler to be doing something 'real' as opposed to playing in a fantasy world of gigabytes and software code. To conquer the real forces of the universe, i.e. physics, motion, angles etc wil be where it's at.

I just dont think I'll live to see it.
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i'd have to strongly disagree with you on this one. Video games will NEVER go away from here on out.

It's really not fair to compare pool with video games, as they are apples and oranges.

One characteristic that pool has that video games do not is history. In fact, we are witnessing at this moment the writing of history for video games and pro gamers particularly. This industry is only going to get bigger and more popular.

In South Korea, pro gaming is far greater in that country than football or basketball or baseball are in this country in terms of popularity.

Pool will never die and it will NEVER be as big as video games. NEVER. Video games are developed to appeal to the masses regardless of your skill level... the ones who have good skill take it to another level.

While this is moderately true for pool, anyone who does not have skill in pool generally does not like it and stays away from it. Those who exhibit good skill tend to get sucked into pool. Unfortunately this is an inherent quality of the game that can't really be changed, despite the efforts of the APA, etc.

There is a lot of doom and gloom talk about the future of pool, but I think it is largely unfounded and needs to be put into perspective for modern day rather than comparing it to the golden age, as they say. This game will never disappear, and that is evidenced by the thousands of extremely passionate people posting on this forum and out in the pool halls every day and night.

What pool needs now is better room owners, a new pool hall concept that is inviting and profitable yet geared towards the professional sport of it, and a bit of a clean up in image.
 
passion....

If pool is so dead then were is the last 5 pages of passion coming from????

Junior Programs is what the game needs (in the U. S)
And some one with the stature of Aronld Palmer to speak up for the program...I vote for Allen Hopkins

And dont you play games? "for the sport of it"
like "how sporting of you" and "thats some good sportsmanship"

now im gonna go whip luxury at a few sports of pool for the game of it.
 
Da Bank said:
i'd have to strongly disagree with you on this one. Video games will NEVER go away from here on out.
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I never said that and I agree with the above statement. I just said I believe "a lot" of kids somewhere in the future will find it "cooler" to play in the real world.

If you believe what you say, buy some ERTS stock. It's gone from 65 to 17in the past few months like most everything else. If you are right, you should make a big score.
 
Da Bank said:
One characteristic that pool has that video games do not is history. In fact, we are witnessing at this moment the writing of history for video games and pro gamers particularly. This industry is only going to get bigger and more popular.
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Whilst video games don't have as much history as Pool, they definitely already have some, as witnessed by the multi-generational comments here about cheats for games from 20 years ago!

And I can't believe no-one has commented on the what Vince's character said about this very same question in the nearly 25-year old "The Color Of Money" movie. Remember the restaurant scene where he's telling Eddie that video games are the future. Pool's just some balls and a stick!
 
just an fyi, i call poolhalls every day to see if they're interested in carry some pooltees apparel. i'd say about 3 out of 7 are out of business as evidenced by a disconnected message. it is extremely bleak out there. i couldnt imagine it getting any worse. :help:
 
Njhustler1 said:
just an fyi, i call poolhalls every day to see if they're interested in carry some pooltees apparel. i'd say about 3 out of 7 are out of business as evidenced by a disconnected message. it is extremely bleak out there. i couldnt imagine it getting any worse. :help:
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No, it's getting even more bleak. Those closings were not related to the 'credit crunch' Now that no one can borrow a nickel, not to mention the layoffs etc, I can only see it worsening.
 
JAM said:
Pool is dead for most.

Pool is alive for some.

Pool will always a passion for a minute few.

I am reminded of the adage: In the pool world, we've all known a few of them. They're the "Road Players." These are the traveling gunfighters, who know no other way of life than betting it all and hanging on the edge. Most of the greats of today started out this way, but for every one who made it, there are at least a hundred who did not survive.

I am also reminded of one of the great road players, Shake and Bake, who smiled when asked about the old days and spoke warmly of players like Luther Lassiter, Irving Crane, and Jimmy Caras: "I've got a lot of good friends and good memories of a lifestyle that few people are fortunate enough to experience," he says. "I had the luck to know the old greats as well as the new crop of superstars the sport has cultivated."

It may be hard for younger folk to comprehend, but it's the truth. In fact, they will NEVER know what pool was like when it shined brightly in all its glory. They can only read about it on pool forums and imagine, while playing their video games. Sorry, younger folk, if I offended you. LOL.
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This is a good post JAM. Pool is alive to those who have the passion for it. Sure it has changed. I'm sort of a "younger folk" but was fortunate enough to grow up with pool in my life and can remember many details from the 80s and 90s. I think I still have a shirt that says "Sport of the 90s" underneath a rack of 9 ball. Coincidently, I just purchased a bunch of accu-stats from the late 80s and 90s to revisit this era. Anybody remember this clothing line? I saw Louie Roberts, Nick Varner, through the eyes of a young boy admiring the sport and the athlete who was so remarkable, as well as many other great players. I was exposed to the real scene as a "younger folk" and actually feel lucky to see the evolution take place (maybe cause I study history) and realize why things are happening in this sport. In my opinion, the bottom line is marketability.
 
Nostroke said:
No, it's getting even more bleak. Those closings were not related to the 'credit crunch' Now that no one can borrow a nickel, not to mention the layoffs etc, I can only see it worsening.
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very true. since most of the listings we get come from the internet anyway, i would guess that most of these place went out of business sometime over the last 2-3 years and the listings just have not been updated.
 
I believe there are more international tournaments these days compared to the old days. The difference is that they are spread all over the world, and much more players are able to compete and win them.

Examples:

30 years ago the Eurotour didn't excist. 7 yearly tournaments with about 50 000 $ in pricemoney in each. That is 350 000 $ more a year.

The GB9BallTour in UK didn't excist. 6 yearly tournaments. Don't know the pricemoney, but that's probably 60 000 $ a year.

The Team Leagues they have in Holland and Germany didn't excist.

World Cup of Pool didn't excist. 60 000 $ to the winners!

World Pool Masters didn't excist. 20 000 $ to the winner.

World Ten Ball Championship didn't excist. 400 000 $ in pricemoney.

International Challenge of Champions didn't excist. 50 000 $ to the winner.

Derby City Classic didn't excist.

Weert Open in Netherlands didn't excist, neither did Paris Open, or all the tournaments in Turkey, Greece, Scandinavia, Russia, Spain etc. Many of these tournaments offers good pricemoney.

Villards Cup in Philippines started this year. 6 yearly tournaments, with 10 000 $ and 15 000 $ in first price.

BSCP has started a 10-ball league in Philippines, and BMPAP will start a Team League for 48 players guaranteeing them income.

World 8-ball Championship has 200 000 $ in pricemoney, World 9-ball 400 000 $, what did they pay 30 years ago? (Yes, I know you got more for each $ back then)

International 10-ball Predator didn't excist.

Qatar World Open with 50 000 $ first price didn't excist.

Guinness Tour didn't excist, pays 15 000 $ first price each event, 6 or 8 events, plus one grand final with 35 000 $ in first price.

The Best of the East (Eastern Europe) tour didn't excist.

WPBA didn't excist back then. 7 yearly tournaments with average of 13 000 $ first price.

Many poolfederations around Europe gets sponsorship from government, and some players even get sponsorship from the countries Olympic Comittees.

Players in Taiwan, China and Philippines can get financial support from their government if they win big tournaments.



In my opinion, there are lots of international tournaments around the world, much more than before. 30 years ago, pool "only" excisted in America. Now it is a global SPORT in many countries.

I think pool is on it's way to something big, but America hasn't got used to the fact that the sport is now global.
 
JAM said:
shamrockhoax said:
Pool is not dead, it will get popular again.
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Wanna bet? :grin:

In China maybe, not in the U.S. :(
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The truth is, the world does not revolve around America. Maybe it is for the better that pool is globalized instead of being focused in America.
 
All we NEED IS A POOL MOVIE like Hustler, or Color with two or three of TODAYS SUPER STAR, Cruise, Pitt & Angelia, etc., the HOT STARS YEAR 2009, and Pool will be again off & running at 185 MPH.
 
poolsnark said:
Pro gamers have been around since the original Quake hit it big. There are a number of pro gamer leagues and events like QuakeCon have been around for ages.

Hate to break it to you, but the reality is that playing videogames at that level takes the same amount of skill and practice that playing pool at the pro level does. They spend 8-10+ hours per day practicing and make the games do things that even the creators didn't know was possible.

The top pro gamers pull down similar money to what the top pro pool players make and the big events like QuakeCon pull about 10x the attendees that a show like the Super Billiards Expo pulls.

Simply put, videogames are a much larger industry and have a far greater audience than pool. Videogame sales have surpassed box office sales on an annual basis and far more people have an X Box, Wii or Playstation in their homes than a pool table. Pro gamers have huge reach in their demographic the same way that Tony Hawk does for skateboarders and Shaun White does for snowboarders.

If anything, the billiards industry should look at a deal like this as well as the growth in popularity of the videogame industry and try and learn something from it.
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i won a world title on a arcade game nearly 10 years ago and got 10 grand for it
 
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