pool is dieing, what are you doing about it?

My three kids each have their own cue (even my three year old). My two oldest (7 & 8) like to play with Daddy and can play. My three year old just bangs balls and shouts "I win!" whenever a ball goes in. I bought a Josey cue at the SBE a few years back and he made a jump cue to match. The jump cue was the first cue my girls used. I then had Bob Frey make a handle for a jump cue and gave it to my other girl. So I will have at least three more players growing up.

When I was a kid, my dad would not buy a table as he said only derilicts played pool. I kept telling him you never see rich people playing because they owned their own table. He never saw the light. I got hooked in college and never turned back. I have my own table, but still love frequenting the various pool rooms around town.
 
Pool

My first job in 1967 was in a pool hall. I quit playing for 25+ years and got back playing a lot in 2001 after my divorce.
I continuously talk about pool with just about anyone I meet, customers, even the cable guy.

It seems like a lot of people play, just not very much.
I've noticed that kids love to hit those colorful balls around the table.
That's where it needs to start.
Many people I meet through work have tables in their homes, but they don't play.

What we need is a tour, with all of the big names, colorful characters like Kid Delicious, Earl the Pearl, Efrin, etc.
Remember the TV commercials with Steve Mizerak back in the 80's?
In the 60's everyone knew who Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi were.
 
You know, I've been playing pool close to 20 years.

I've supported pool enough.
If pool dies tomorrow, i will not care.

I do rather enjoy the expos that Allen puts on, and i do enjoy the weekend events, but sometimes life gets in the way. I just have too much other stuff to do.

But supporting pool isn't enough.

You need some MAJOR shift in peoples perception of pool.
The color of money DID just that, and in the late 80's early 90's, pool was jumping. All movies since then have sucked.
Until there is something mainstream that serves that purpose, pool will continue going downhill.
Plus you have poker now. Who wants to go out and endure dogging their brains out to try get better when they can just blame cold cards or a bad beat.
Pool will NEVER be the same again until poker is dealt with somehow.

It doesn't help that money in pool sucks. Who wants to be a player or aspire to be one or dream about it when the money isn't there?

Just look at the 14.1 tournament.
It's like $10,000 for first. For a world championship.
The prize money was better 20 years ago.
I was talking to a guy last night about this, and he said that someone we knew finished the preliminary rounds last year, to move into the final rounds of play. For being one of the guys who managed to plug away and get out of the individual brackets, he was guaranteed not only to play World Champions from that point on, but was also guaranteed $250 once he got knocked out in the first elimination round.

Factor in that he had to get the room at the hotel in Jersey for a ridiculous amount for the week. He was stuck, big time. Why even bother.
People are correct to think that pool players are broke, cause the majority of them ARE.

As for promoters and events, Hopkins has the right idea.

He is someone who has a certain "vision" of the future. Granted, it didn't take off this last time, but he is definitely on the right track.
If i am going to support anything, it will be his events.
He has contacts with ESPN, and his expo has been consistent enough for me to not question his motives.
Sure he makes his yearly nut off of it, but regardless, he has promoted it and made it a staple of the pool yearly schedule. I'm sure he will find a way to end up with the right combination that can work.
 
Needs to be more instructors that can teach people how to enjoy the game more. Give people a chance to become good at this game...only when someone can enjoy the game will they want to be good at it. Pool organization need to do more PR...go to a mall...let people enjoy a game or two. I would think that a pool hall can help do this as well..have free pool clinic for people who has not play pool learn how to play. Someone..need to motivate people into the pool room and show how pool can be a fun activity for the whole family.

Regards,
Duc.
 
hmmmmm

For me... I will just continue to feed and water it and play it classical music. :rolleyes:

P.S. as you can tell by my avatar .. my influence is there for my kids as well ... he is a bit older now.. ill have to update that pic ;)
 
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I bought a dog. :D Does that count? I'm teaching him to count balls.

Once upon a time there was a hustler named Jerry The Greek who had a dog named King who could identify any ball in the pack and pull it out with his mouth and bring it to you. If you asked him to bring you the eleven ball he would. King also knew the stripes and solids and could run out in rotation using his nose to make each ball.
 
Dog

jay helfert said:
I bought a dog. :D Does that count? I'm teaching him to count balls.

Once upon a time there was a hustler named Jerry The Greek who had a dog named King who could identify any ball in the pack and pull it out with his mouth and bring it to you. If you asked him to bring you the eleven ball he would. King also knew the stripes and solids and could run out in rotation using his nose to make each ball.
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I would teach him to count cards instead
 
First let me say, I love pool and always will. That said, I don't see pool doing anything but dieing a slow death for the next ten years or so. You have self interest pulling in every direction for themselves. All tours same thing. Most, but not all billiad product companies taking but are not giving back. Pool will always be someplace, but it will get smaller and smaller every year. The only good thing that will come out of this will be the ones that have and are milking pool for what ever they can get away with will have to find something else to milk. Johnnyt
 
Yes, pool is declining, but...

The image must change. Once the sport of aristocrats, it has degenerated into the pasttime of boozing thugs (present company excepted, but that's the image).

  • Accentuate the positives: It is a social sport, great for the whole family, fun for friends.
  • Even if you buy your own table, it is relatively inexpensive to get in to, and can be played year-round.
  • Frequent and support the family-friendly sports restaurants. Suggest they get tables if they don't already have them.
  • The kids have Nintendo and PS3. If THEY don't start playing pool, we could be very close to the end.
  • Buy a table for your own home, if you don't already have one.
  • Demand legue play that you would feel comfortable inviting your wife or mother to join.
  • Clean up our act.
  • Watch it on TV as much as you can. Call or write the sponsors to say thanks. More TV means more players means better equipment means more TV....
 
1. I have a youtube channel with over 1.3 million views and 1600 subscribers.
2. Trying to start a high school pool association in the houston area.
 
When I Die !

I told my wife an hour ago how my dream was to be able to spend the afternoons in a 75 deg. room with a RH% of about 35. A nine foot table, like my Gandy Big "G". A nice bottle of Remy's XO and a bottle of single barrel bourbon (Blanton's, Booker's, ETC). Ya know what she said, honest to God. To my unemployed self! :thumbup: Finish the basement!
As several Az members know, the ceiling above the table is about 65%. The walls around the table are 100%. :wink: She is talking about the other 75% of the basement. Outright said GO for it. Fu@k a dream, just do it. You can take a big guess what I am going to do tomorrow!
No Fatboy, POOL ain't dead in my house, never will be.
That's where I am.
Peace, Purdman. :)
 
What pool needs is corporate advertizers, but..

Somewhat off-topic, so moved to new thread.
 
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What I try to do...

I promote pool to anyone that will listen as well as take the time to help them learn. I am captain for three APA teams, I run a 14.1 league and I am hosting a U. S. Open qualifier that is geared to the players.

I am excited about pool and where I think it is going. I think that room owners need to embrace the junior leagues and hold events for the 14-17 set. That is where the next generation is coming from and where their business is coming from.

I have had this idea in my head for awhile now, it is time to let it out in Erics thread. There has been mention of a reality show about pool, but no one has said how to make it happen. How is this for a start. We find 20 rooms across the United States that want to be involved and then have a tournament much like the AZ king of the hill matches and the top 16 players play and the top four winners then go on the road to the above mentioned rooms and play the locals in 16 player formats. 12 of their best for that room. everything is video taped by TAR. TAR did a great job at Allen Hopkins event and I think they would do a good job with this. It could be PPV on here to help offset costs. After the 20 weeks it is run on youtube. Now we have the attention of the youth that are so much into the youtube format. I am sure that there are people that can fine tune this idea and make this happen. This is just my idea and it is a basic idea. Eric, I am sorry if I hijacked your thread, but I thought it might be ok to post it here. I don't think pool is dying, I think it is taking a nap.

It is up to us all to make this happen. We are family here, lets take care of us! Rack 'em

Dwight
 
Don't know what it costs you to play, but here are the numbers in my area.

Table time $10 - $12/hr.

Play 5 hours a week, splitting the cost - $25 - $30

For one year - $1300 - $1560 plus food drink tips driving etc

Owning your own table starts looking like a real bargain compared to the pool hall.

And lots of people buy tables. They must, there are numerous retailers selling tables, In my area there are at least five big showrooms with top line stuff who must be selling into the home market because the pool hall market wouldn't support their operations.

So the pool hall is losing out to the home tables. No drunks, thugs, or fuming idiots sucking on their cigarettes.

For most it is a social, not a competitive, activity. They are not interested in gambling or tournaments. Even if they were, the retailers do nothing to encourage/enable purchasers to learn and improve their games. If people are competitive with their friends with whom they play, where is the incentive to work on dramatic improvement.

If there is the desire to improve, how do you go about it? Trial and error. Lots of activities have clubs operated by volunteers providing basic instruction to novices, and providing an entry to higher levels. In pool? Nothing.

If you want pool to improve, start instructing those who want to learn. If your meet people who are unfamiliar with the game, introduce them to it and keep it simple. Teach the kids how to make those balls move at their command.
 
mnorwood said:
2. Trying to start a high school pool association in the houston area.
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Bravo! I will help you anyway I can to get this going...

You should also hook up with Earl Munson in Dallas. He has been doing something similar for the past few years.


I for one believe pool is getting better and better...
 
Did anyone notice the Cue Sports International's newest project - National Championship Series? It's designed to reign the official State Champions and through different tiers of regional championship eventually send the US National Champion to the World Stages! All expense paid with some spending cash too:) It's very exciting. More press release to come as they iron out the details. Stay tuned

S.
 
Fatboy said:
pool is dieing, what are you doing about it?
Click to expand...
(shining a light on the elephant in the room...)

I'm waiting until the pool halls in the area all go to non-smoking so that I can invite the other 90% of the people I know (non-smoking professional types) to come and play pool with me.

Really, there's no chance for pool as long as it is difficult for the 80% of the population who don't smoke to play without wallowing in a bunch of second hand smoke.

Please don't bash. This is not an anti-smoking post. It's just that I cannot invite any coworkers, none of whom smoke, to play pool with me because they will not tolerate the smoke.
 
I think it is just a matter of time.

Even a country as small as mine cannot get our pool shit together. It has been more then a year and still no sign of a ranking tournament.

Look at this years world pool championship. No wait. there is nothing to look at because there ain't going to be any. The year without WPC. I consider the WPC THE tournament not just a tournament. Its the only one that matter. even that can be screwed up so i guess these are pretty telling signs of how things are going to be.

What can we do about it? What CAN we do about it. Take up golf maybe? Heard that is going to be an Olympic sports. Or at least it is going to stand a better chance.

Maybe when enough people has lost interest, people up there in their important associations and title starts to realize that they are holding title and position to an empty shell, they would step down and make way for people who are more interested in the game and have fresh ideas.
 
Great question.

I took over azpoolscene.com from Ron who was the last owner of Alexander's Sports Bar in Phoenix, AZ. I have converted the site into the catch all of information for all Arizona players. I do this for free because I love the game and love to support my own. Updates happen every day. Ad's are free.

I play in leagues and tournaments as much as the wife and kids allow. I setup shop in Wisconsin for the summer and have played in a few tournaments here. I flew back to Arizona to support the AZ BCA tournament that has been getting better every year except this year.

I write articles, post pictures, live on AZB, support Live Streams, text tournament results to friends and whatever else I can to promote the sport. I wrote 50% of the articles in the Arizona Billiards Info newspaper last month with no signature attached. I supported some great pool rooms by organizing tournaments, promoting everywhere and getting people I know to show up.

Oh yeah, and I went from not knowing much about the Arizona Ratings Committee to being a key member and the administrator to help get the system back on track and working for 90% of the people. The ratings help the smaller bars to get more players into there establishment with a chance to pick up a little change and enjoy some beers.

I'm working on setting up my own BCA sanctioned league in Arizona. The league is targetting teams to form the best team possible and spread across the entire state. We're hoping to be able to meat less often than every week so that more of the best players can join. Everyone agrees that playing great players all the time will help your game.

Also, I play with my 3 year old, she has her own cue and can make some balls with the help of my screwed up open bridge hand. I've considered building a small retractable ramp around the table so she doesn't have to move the stool every shot. I have a 1 year old as well. They could both use it. hmmm.

Wife thinks I'm crazy!

What are you doing?
 
I also don't think pool is dying.
In fact, as broad-bandwidth becomes more universally available and cheap, and while live streaming and video on demand becomes easier and cheaper, I think pool will calve out it's own niche.

That will allow many more pool enthusiasts to follow what is going on in the pool world, the let them know the players and many other aspects of the game in more detail, hence stimulating their interest.

It will also allow various producers to experiment with production models, game formats, sponsorship / revenue creation strategies, hence a lot will be learned about how to produce good events which are popular with viewers and that actually make money. When people can make money by running events, then the scope of such events will expand.

I see a bright future where in the next 5 years we will have live coverage of great matches at least once per week. Where we'll have at least one internet pool TV service, which will be more than just an archive of pool videos. Podcasts, Videocasts will increase. There will be a boom in quality content production.

Colin
 
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