Question/advice about turning pro.

[Jude Rosenstock]

To all, I would like to say, Thank you for taking the time and effort to provide sincere, honest feedback.

To be perfectly honest, I have no REAL desire to turn pro....

Jude - the comment about logic meaning nothing to me was a little harsh. You seem to make an assumption that I am either reckless or that I have not thought about this at all, which is incorrect in both cases. Keep in mind I am not looking for some onlne bickering.

I'm sorry if you thought it was harsh but it's how I honestly feel. "Follow your dreams" is something you can say to a child. It's not something you can say to an adult. If you have a wife or child, it's simply not fair to them. If you don't have a family yet have thoughts of having one some day, you can kiss that dream good-bye. All the pros we hear about of course make enough money to live normal lives but there's a lot out there you never hear of and it's rough.

 

[Takumi4G63]

There's a very good chance you won't even come close but everybody here is going to tell you to try anyway. I mean, if you're even thinking about it, I don't see why you bother asking us because obviously, logic means nothing to you.

I don't know why you say logic means nothing to him, and it's totally illogical, when you know hardly a thing about his intentions and values in this pursuit. You might say he is being illogical if he wants to go into pro pool to get rich (given what we know). You claim that if he's even thinking about it logic means nothing to him. I don't understand this - does this mean anyone who thinks about going pro, no matter how serious they are about actually going through with it, are incredulous to logic? Or that logic means nothing to any pro player?

 

[chilli66]

To all, I would like to say, Thank you for taking the time and effort to provide sincere, honest feedback.

To be perfectly honest, I have no REAL desire to turn pro, because I know how hard the life will be, especially given my combination of limited ability, desire, financial security, etc. Since the cumulative experience of the users here is gargantuan, I thought this would be a valid place to pose the question.

Was I seriously thinking about it? No. The only way I would consider leaving my day job to pursue this would be if I happened upon a LOT of money to where debt, retirement and financial security were no longer issues.

I know about the benefits problem, having a portfolio, how hard retirement can be even for us working stiffs, etc. I was simply curious as to everyone's feedback to see what I had not thought of.

My colleagues were riding me a little last week about not having the courage to pursue my dreams, etc. When I tried to explain how difficult it would be I was accused of making excuses. It was very easy for them to sit back and make those claims, when all of them (non-pool players) are not living THEIR OWN dreams...but you get my point.

As I had mentioned, I have been around pool for 20 years so I have seen my fair share of great (make that phenomenal) players who have less than I do in terms of assets, benefits, etc. One can make the argument that they are living their dreams...but I bet most of them can't take two vacations a year like me, for example.

And some of you are right about me being 40 and thinking about this as a bad idea. When you get older you DO think about health more, and your own mortality, and you do question whether you are living up to your potential, pursuing your dreams etc. That is inevitable for most of us. No, I am not going through a mid-life crisis, it was just a thought as I said.

Here I am, 45 miles from Hall of Fame in Detroit and would rather sit on the sofa with g/f and dog and watch a movie...so the desire is obviously not there.

So...once again, I will remain a C-player and dream like the rest of us (what if...) but truth be told I like my life now, and won't give it up to become a road agent, hustle, scrounge etc.

Thanks again for everyone's honesty.

Two more things:

cuechick - I am not a troll. I posted then left for an 8-hour road trip (NPR) and only logged in just now to read feedback to my OP, which I have been eagerly awaiting.

Jude - the comment about logic meaning nothing to me was a little harsh. You seem to make an assumption that I am either reckless or that I have not thought about this at all, which is incorrect in both cases. Keep in mind I am not looking for some onlne bickering.

Personally speaking, I'm very glad you started this thread. I'm 41 & playing pool regularly again after years off. I'm loving the game right now, even the off-nights & I'd love to be able to see how good I could be. It's the one sport that I can honestly say I have a natural talent for, but whether that talent is good enough to be great is a different matter. Sadly, I have neither the time or finances to play or practice as much as I'd like to.

For now I'll have to settle for my league games & weekly tournies (not that I can make them every week) but I do plan to try my hand at bigger events in future. I'll just have to plan them well in advance.

I already regret leaving the game for 12 years, I'd like to be able to look back in years to come & think that maybe I did the best I could, and enjoyed it. I don't think that's asking too much but it's still up to me to do it.

Now, if I won the lottery I may change my plans, but we're really getting into the world of dreams there!