Question: tournament play for money or competition
- Thread starter h100rr
- Start date
Im close to 50 years old now. I played my first professional tournament when i was 19 years old. I played on the PBT ( professional billiards tour ) and the Camel pro tour for close to 10 years. At that point in my life i played tournament pool only for the money. In those days i made my living both by playing pool and working on tables. When i turned 30 my oldest son was born and i quit chasing tournaments and playing on the road and opened a billiard supply store. I quit playing pool for close to 12 years. My sons started showing intrest in playing pool so i started hitting some balls with them a few years back then one thing led to another and i started playing weekly tournaments again but this time it was for fun and friendly competition. I kind if like it this way a little better. Im sure i will continue to push myself to play better and i will continue to play tournaments but now days i play for the love i have for this game and the comroderie amungst players.
Competition/experience. In the regional tour I play in, I'm only donating to the winner; I count my entry fee as a paid lesson. 
As far as local room/bar tournaments go, I play to win, regardless of the amount; I get far more satisfaction by winning itself, over any money I might pick up.
As far as local room/bar tournaments go, I play to win, regardless of the amount; I get far more satisfaction by winning itself, over any money I might pick up.
For me, it's more about the competition but money does have some consideration. Some of my favorite tournaments don't even have money involved. There is a charity tournament held in my area once a year that is fun and competitive with the money going to different charities. They have a huge raffle and give trophies to the top 5 places.
The APA holds the US Amateur which is a lot of fun to play but involves no money. Just pride and competition. Everyone plays with different motivations whether it's to challenge themselves with competition, the camaraderie, the money, or the recognition. Such with many things in life, It isn't black or white. I suspect most play for a combination of different reasons.
The APA holds the US Amateur which is a lot of fun to play but involves no money. Just pride and competition. Everyone plays with different motivations whether it's to challenge themselves with competition, the camaraderie, the money, or the recognition. Such with many things in life, It isn't black or white. I suspect most play for a combination of different reasons.
Competition for me. I learned a lot from snooker players' approaches: you can practice all you want, but you have no idea how good you are until you're under the heat, and your opponent's breathing down your neck waiting for you to make a mistake.
I played for the money from 19-22 having and managing a bankroll deciding which entry would be the smartest I. Terms of return on investment and also worked as a houseman for minimum wage n table time. I decided to get a full time job as a poker dealer at 22 and quit pool altogether. About a year down the road the poker dealing didn't work out and also I got back into negative habits finding myself in a bad spot. When I turned 25 i found out my girl deism was pregnant and 10 months ago I had my first child!!! I obviously got myself together and started playing pool again competivetly to keep busy and stay occupied and clear of trouble. This time around I play regional events and my results are much better and I believe it's because I'm not worried about the money as much which allows me to play relaxed knowing no matter what I still get a nice paycheck Friday. Anyways these days I def don't gamble as much and compete for the thrill of competition
Competition. I am more than happy to accept the money, I only buy myself in the calcutta if I go cheap, when people start raising their bids I bow out then buy 1/2 of myself back. If there was no competition and only money to win I would not enjoy tournaments.
I play tournaments to scout for action mostly. Especially in local events it is a lot more profitable to win 4 sets at 100 dollars each, versus winning 4 or 5 sets for less than 200 for 1st place or under 100 for second.
I'm not geared for big tournaments, with the hours of waiting around on the winners side....I'd rather be in action.
I'm not geared for big tournaments, with the hours of waiting around on the winners side....I'd rather be in action.
For me the tournaments I've played in was always to kill time till the good stuff - the action. Most tournaments don't pay sheet compared to what you can make gambling not to mention tournaments are MUCH harder.