THIS is what is wrong with pool these days!

[Floppage]

I have heard a lot of theories about what is wrong with pool. Not enough sponsorship money, tournaments don't pay out enough (or at all in some cases), too many groups like the ABP causing in-fighting, Bonus Ball drama, etc.

Here's what I think is wrong with pool...

I have been watching football with the same group of guys for over a decade. Its a mixed group spanning construction, military, college professors, etc. This coming weekend I'm hosting the NFL conference championships and in the invite email mentioned the fact that this year there's a pool table in the front room with the TV.

The responses I got back were something like:

"Pool table?"
"Is there another TV or just that one?"

Huh? There are a couple of guys who have played before but even they were very blase about the prospect of shooting some pool while watching the games.

This is what is wrong with pool.

I have read posts on this forum from players wondering why more people don't watch professional pool. Maybe its because they don't even want to play it casually with friends. My feeling is that many of the people involved with pool have been doing it so long they have forgotten a time when they weren't interested in pool and over the years their social circle has become increasingly dominated by people from the pool world. (leagues, tournaments, etc.)

My friends are definitely sports oriented group who watch most major professional sports and I am having to politely ask them to keep an open mind about pool. This is why ESPN doesn't want to show pool more often.

If you want to fix pool then I believe we all need to work on fixing it. That means CJ, Mark, Jay, Barry and anyone else who may or may not read this post. Pool doesn't need another variation to avoid racking tricks, a new pro tour, better league management, more gambling or anything like that. Before any of that will work pool needs more people to not balk at the thought of just picking up a cue and hitting some balls with their buddies. What pool needs is for ALL of you to ask someone you don't think has played ever or lately to go play some pool with you for fun.

Fortunately I already did this once with one guy from this group awhile back by getting him to play a few games of 8-ball with me at a bar table in a local sports bar so I have one ally in the group. And I'm hoping with his help I might create one or two more converts on Sunday.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll try going door-to-door. That works out for some religions, right? :thumbup:

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

It does work. Just not at 9 am on a Sat morning.

 

[Banks]

Set up some guitars and drums during the super bowl. Unless they hate music, too!

 

[SLIM]

So your fix for pool is to try to force people who have no interest in it what so ever, to be interested in it?

Slim

 

[cleary]

My feeling is that many of the people involved with pool have been doing it so long they have forgotten a time when they weren't interested in pool and over the years their social circle has become increasingly dominated by people from the pool world.

I don't agree with some of what you wrote but I this I fully stand behind.

 

[Floppage]

So your fix for pool is to try to force people who have no interest in it what so ever, to be interested in it?

Slim

Yeah, that's pretty much the plan. I call this plan: "Just the tip...just see how it feels."

Kidding. I just mean exposing some new people to it. If they don't want to play so be it. On Sunday there is a TV in the next room with a couch no pool table so that's an option.

A year or so ago I hadn't ever played pool. Someone got me to try it and now I'm hooked. How many other people would be fans if someone they knew or met asked them to give it a try?

 

[sonny_burnett]

Someone finally figured out there is a very small fraction of the world that gives a hoot about pool?

Face it folks. We a a very small minority in the sports and hobby world.

 

[philly]

I have heard a lot of theories about what is wrong with pool. Not enough sponsorship money, tournaments don't pay out enough (or at all in some cases), too many groups like the ABP causing in-fighting, Bonus Ball drama, etc.

Here's what I think is wrong with pool...

I have been watching football with the same group of guys for over a decade. Its a mixed group spanning construction, military, college professors, etc. This coming weekend I'm hosting the NFL conference championships and in the invite email mentioned the fact that this year there's a pool table in the front room with the TV.

The responses I got back were something like:

"Pool table?"
"Is there another TV or just that one?"

Huh? There are a couple of guys who have played before but even they were very blase about the prospect of shooting some pool while watching the games.

This is what is wrong with pool.

I have read posts on this forum from players wondering why more people don't watch professional pool. Maybe its because they don't even want to play it casually with friends. My feeling is that many of the people involved with pool have been doing it so long they have forgotten a time when they weren't interested in pool and over the years their social circle has become increasingly dominated by people from the pool world. (leagues, tournaments, etc.)

My friends are definitely sports oriented group who watch most major professional sports and I am having to politely ask them to keep an open mind about pool. This is why ESPN doesn't want to show pool more often.

If you want to fix pool then I believe we all need to work on fixing it. That means CJ, Mark, Jay, Barry and anyone else who may or may not read this post. Pool doesn't need another variation to avoid racking tricks, a new pro tour, better league management, more gambling or anything like that. Before any of that will work pool needs more people to not balk at the thought of just picking up a cue and hitting some balls with their buddies. What pool needs is for ALL of you to ask someone you don't think has played ever or lately to go play some pool with you for fun.

Fortunately I already did this once with one guy from this group awhile back by getting him to play a few games of 8-ball with me at a bar table in a local sports bar so I have one ally in the group. And I'm hoping with his help I might create one or two more converts on Sunday.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll try going door-to-door. That works out for some religions, right? :thumbup:

I have said this before. The key to getting people as interested in playing pool as we are is mentorship. The millenials are keeping the myriad of production cue companies in business but they are taking their sticks to bars. Talk up the poolroom. Get them there. Mentor them. They have the wherewithal. They will get bit just like we did and they have loads of friends they connect with through the various social media. Word of mouth is still the best advertising. Remember when you first started playing and an older more experienced player took you under his wing? I think that's the key.

 

[StraightPoolIU]

Strange. Never heard of guys being put off by a pool table. My parents have one, and it's a big hit at family gatherings among non pool players.

 

[Floppage]

I have said this before. The key to getting people as interested in playing pool as we are is mentorship. The millenials are keeping the myriad of production cue companies in business but they are taking their sticks to bars. Talk up the poolroom. Get them there. Mentor them. They have the wherewithal. They will get bit just like we did and they have loads of friends they connect with through the various social media. Word of mouth is still the best advertising. Remember when you first started playing and an older more experienced player took you under his wing? I think that's the key.

A little over a year ago I hadn't played at all. Pool is very intimidating if you haven't every played it at all. The break is probably the most intimidating but making a bridge, trying to aim and so on are very foreign. If someone is just a little friendly and patient it can go a long way toward removing some of that intimidation.

I certainly won't be giving my buddies lessons. I'm not remotely qualified. But I will be encouraging them to just give it a shot. They will either like it or not but at least someone tried.

 

[Floppage]

Strange. Never heard of guys being put off by a pool table. My parents have one, and it's a big hit at family gatherings among non pool players.

I would have avoided it like the plague a couple of years ago. If you have never had it around you it just isn't as appealing as some experience players might think.

 

[jaetee]

I have heard a lot of theories about what is wrong with pool. Not enough sponsorship money, tournaments don't pay out enough (or at all in some cases), too many groups like the ABP causing in-fighting, Bonus Ball drama, etc.

Here's what I think is wrong with pool...

I have been watching football with the same group of guys for over a decade. Its a mixed group spanning construction, military, college professors, etc. This coming weekend I'm hosting the NFL conference championships and in the invite email mentioned the fact that this year there's a pool table in the front room with the TV.

The responses I got back were something like:

"Pool table?"
"Is there another TV or just that one?"

Huh? There are a couple of guys who have played before but even they were very blase about the prospect of shooting some pool while watching the games.

This is what is wrong with pool.

I have read posts on this forum from players wondering why more people don't watch professional pool. Maybe its because they don't even want to play it casually with friends. My feeling is that many of the people involved with pool have been doing it so long they have forgotten a time when they weren't interested in pool and over the years their social circle has become increasingly dominated by people from the pool world. (leagues, tournaments, etc.)

My friends are definitely sports oriented group who watch most major professional sports and I am having to politely ask them to keep an open mind about pool. This is why ESPN doesn't want to show pool more often.

If you want to fix pool then I believe we all need to work on fixing it. That means CJ, Mark, Jay, Barry and anyone else who may or may not read this post. Pool doesn't need another variation to avoid racking tricks, a new pro tour, better league management, more gambling or anything like that. Before any of that will work pool needs more people to not balk at the thought of just picking up a cue and hitting some balls with their buddies. What pool needs is for ALL of you to ask someone you don't think has played ever or lately to go play some pool with you for fun.

Fortunately I already did this once with one guy from this group awhile back by getting him to play a few games of 8-ball with me at a bar table in a local sports bar so I have one ally in the group. And I'm hoping with his help I might create one or two more converts on Sunday.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll try going door-to-door. That works out for some religions, right? :thumbup:

Similar experience here... but with the twist that all the guys in my neighborhood are simply too 'effin macho. Afraid to lose, even though nothing's at stake.

Some people are afraid to show they are not good at something and would rather avoid it altogether. It's like closed-mindedness met path-of-least-resistance and they had a child...

 

[Celophanewrap]

I think to most people that pool is just a game like Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit or Candy Land and it gets about as much respect. If our community, not just the AZ community but the American Pool/Billiard community could find a way to elevate it to "sport" status then it might finally be taken seriously by the sporting world. For example, (and in all seriousness) I think the annual Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest and the Rock-Paper-Scissors competition have a bigger following and a bigger pay out than the U.S. Open,and those guys always get paid. To most people pool is still a back alley, slimy, greasy back room game for gamblers, drinkers, degenerates, and other low lifes.
I would still submit that pool as an Olympic event, even a demo event, would do wonders for the sport. For that to happen pool would have to organize and come together as a community and to expect or even hope for anything like that would be asking way to much.

 

[Jaden]

absolutely...

I have said this before. The key to getting people as interested in playing pool as we are is mentorship. The millenials are keeping the myriad of production cue companies in business but they are taking their sticks to bars. Talk up the poolroom. Get them there. Mentor them. They have the wherewithal. They will get bit just like we did and they have loads of friends they connect with through the various social media. Word of mouth is still the best advertising. Remember when you first started playing and an older more experienced player took you under his wing? I think that's the key.

The whole, I wanna screw the new guy out of his money does NOT help pool. Not giving up the "secrets", does not help pool...

Making people learn by losing their money to you, does NOT help pool. Showing beginners how to do some things on a pool table instead of just banging balls around can absolutely help pool and interest in pool.

In 2003, a buddy of mine who was stationed at the same command was sitting there and I said, hey I'm going to see this movie, you wanna come?

The movie was PHJs. You can say what you want about the movie, the unrealistic bend of it or whatever, but it is an enjoyable movie to watch as movies go, after all, how realistic is the expendables???

After the movie, I asked him if he wanted to learn to play like that. I was going to the poolhall and if he wanted to learn how to play, I'd show him.

Now he plays phenomenally and I expect you guys to hear about him in the next couple of years. I won't say who it is for now, you'll just have to wait, but the idea is that mentoring people into pool is what pool needs.

Many people in leagues mentor people into leagues, why not mentor them into the upper levels of pool too??? Get people interested. Many people wouldn't be into watching golf, baseball, football, etc...without friends giving them a reason to be into it.

Jaden

 

[336Robin]

Personal Advertising

I have heard a lot of theories about what is wrong with pool. Not enough sponsorship money, tournaments don't pay out enough (or at all in some cases), too many groups like the ABP causing in-fighting, Bonus Ball drama, etc.

Here's what I think is wrong with pool...

I have been watching football with the same group of guys for over a decade. Its a mixed group spanning construction, military, college professors, etc. This coming weekend I'm hosting the NFL conference championships and in the invite email mentioned the fact that this year there's a pool table in the front room with the TV.

The responses I got back were something like:

"Pool table?"
"Is there another TV or just that one?"

Huh? There are a couple of guys who have played before but even they were very blase about the prospect of shooting some pool while watching the games.

This is what is wrong with pool.

I have read posts on this forum from players wondering why more people don't watch professional pool. Maybe its because they don't even want to play it casually with friends. My feeling is that many of the people involved with pool have been doing it so long they have forgotten a time when they weren't interested in pool and over the years their social circle has become increasingly dominated by people from the pool world. (leagues, tournaments, etc.)

My friends are definitely sports oriented group who watch most major professional sports and I am having to politely ask them to keep an open mind about pool. This is why ESPN doesn't want to show pool more often.

If you want to fix pool then I believe we all need to work on fixing it. That means CJ, Mark, Jay, Barry and anyone else who may or may not read this post. Pool doesn't need another variation to avoid racking tricks, a new pro tour, better league management, more gambling or anything like that. Before any of that will work pool needs more people to not balk at the thought of just picking up a cue and hitting some balls with their buddies. What pool needs is for ALL of you to ask someone you don't think has played ever or lately to go play some pool with you for fun.

Fortunately I already did this once with one guy from this group awhile back by getting him to play a few games of 8-ball with me at a bar table in a local sports bar so I have one ally in the group. And I'm hoping with his help I might create one or two more converts on Sunday.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll try going door-to-door. That works out for some religions, right? :thumbup:

Floppage,
I read a lot of truth in your post. Its about Personal Advertising. I cant imagine were I a room owner that I wouldnt find someway of finding new converts to the Pool Religion. As players people arent as interested in recruiting people because they want to play someone at or above their speed so players bringing in other players doesnt work so well. I get annoyed at lesser players that want me to take time out of my life to play them and then if I suggest something, anything at all really to help their game not to suck out loud they almost get offended. So its hard on people to recruit or help others when they arent always open to it.

So Ive thought a great deal about the subject you brought up and I am coming at it with a plan but will it work...it could in certain instances where you have a pro active room owner....but soon I will have a book out that has the potential to function also a recruitment tool. My only hope is that somewhere I can get a room owner to try it. If he does and it works then there will be a low cost alternative to what is usually expensive and ineffective marketing.

Pool Players can be an interesting lot at times. I wouldnt count on getting them together to get much done. You will usually get a few...oh yeah lets do its...then the rest dont get too excited. I think the best thing is...we do what we can...we bring some people in, and not overextend ourselves too much and hopefully some people will enjoy the game...but really....isnt that suppose to be the guy who owns the rooms job? Yes it is......so conversely I've gone the last few months to playing a lot on home tables where you can play a set of One Pocket for 6 to 8 hrs and really get something out of it. Its probably the happiest playing wise I've ever been...very content.

 

[Floppage]

The whole, I wanna screw the new guy out of his money does NOT help pool. Not giving up the "secrets", does not help pool...

Making people learn by losing their money to you, does NOT help pool. Showing beginners how to do some things on a pool table instead of just banging balls around can absolutely help pool and interest in pool.

In 2003, a buddy of mine who was stationed at the same command was sitting there and I said, hey I'm going to see this movie, you wanna come?

The movie was PHJs. You can say what you want about the movie, the unrealistic bend of it or whatever, but it is an enjoyable movie to watch as movies go, after all, how realistic is the expendables???

After the movie, I asked him if he wanted to learn to play like that. I was going to the poolhall and if he wanted to learn how to play, I'd show him.

Now he plays phenomenally and I expect you guys to hear about him in the next couple of years. I won't say who it is for now, you'll just have to wait, but the idea is that mentoring people into pool is what pool needs.

Many people in leagues mentor people into leagues, why not mentor them into the upper levels of pool too??? Get people interested. Many people wouldn't be into watching golf, baseball, football, etc...without friends giving them a reason to be into it.

Jaden

I totally agree. I was lucky to get a lot of mentoring when I first joined a league and it made all the difference.

I am in no place to mentor anyone at even the league level yet but I can at least try to snag a few first-timers. I think there needs to be a conscientious effort by everyone involved in pool to help get new people interested. I don't mean actively badgering people into it. I was just joking about that.

For example, at my last dentist visit he asked me what I had been up to lately and I mentioned pool. He didn't even know there was a billiard academy in our small town. I found out that the next week that my dental hygienist went down to the academy and bought a gift certificate for her husband and that they are going to start taking lessons.

It doesn't take much to cause a little spark. Someone willing to try it might just get hooked and then might spark that interest in people they know and so on.

 

[336Robin]

Exactly

The whole, I wanna screw the new guy out of his money does NOT help pool. Not giving up the "secrets", does not help pool...

Making people learn by losing their money to you, does NOT help pool. Showing beginners how to do some things on a pool table instead of just banging balls around can absolutely help pool and interest in pool.

In 2003, a buddy of mine who was stationed at the same command was sitting there and I said, hey I'm going to see this movie, you wanna come?

The movie was PHJs. You can say what you want about the movie, the unrealistic bend of it or whatever, but it is an enjoyable movie to watch as movies go, after all, how realistic is the expendables???

After the movie, I asked him if he wanted to learn to play like that. I was going to the poolhall and if he wanted to learn how to play, I'd show him.

Now he plays phenomenally and I expect you guys to hear about him in the next couple of years. I won't say who it is for now, you'll just have to wait, but the idea is that mentoring people into pool is what pool needs.

Many people in leagues mentor people into leagues, why not mentor them into the upper levels of pool too??? Get people interested. Many people wouldn't be into watching golf, baseball, football, etc...without friends giving them a reason to be into it.

Jaden

Jaden,
A lot of truth to your post. Many pool players do so out of what can they gain out of it financially and not what they can get out of it personally and that make for some very bad soup. There is just a lot of ugliness in pool and its because of they way its been. The way its been doesnt have to prevail. I think in a new time, there will be new ways to recruit and the new recruits have to be groomed in a new way to prevent that from happening. Probably the Pool league system does a better job of preventing some of that from happening than owners do but the pool league system doesnt exactly reward owners much so the good effects of what they do fall short of a fix for the sport.

 

[West Point 1987]

It's like it was before...there are peaks and valleys with respect to wide spread interest in pool. Pop culture is what usually drives a resurgence in pool's popularity. The Hustler and the Color of Money did it in the 60s and 80s. Pool rooms were barely able to make the rent, then BOOM! Wall to wall banger wannabes bringing in cash and buying two peice cues. Everybody thinks they can play, they usually don't, until they get excited after seeing a well made movie. Goes for a few years then gradually it's just a bunch of old men and league players and pool rooms start turning into sports bars or closing their doors. The question is, when is the next movie or reality show that lights the fuse, and what can the industry do to sustain it?

 

[Mr. Bond]

I have heard a lot of theories about what is wrong with pool. Not enough sponsorship money, tournaments don't pay out enough (or at all in some cases), too many groups like the ABP causing in-fighting, Bonus Ball drama, etc.

Here's what I think is wrong with pool...

I have been watching football with the same group of guys for over a decade. Its a mixed group spanning construction, military, college professors, etc. This coming weekend I'm hosting the NFL conference championships and in the invite email mentioned the fact that this year there's a pool table in the front room with the TV.

The responses I got back were something like:

"Pool table?"
"Is there another TV or just that one?"

Huh? There are a couple of guys who have played before but even they were very blase about the prospect of shooting some pool while watching the games.

This is what is wrong with pool.

I have read posts on this forum from players wondering why more people don't watch professional pool. Maybe its because they don't even want to play it casually with friends. My feeling is that many of the people involved with pool have been doing it so long they have forgotten a time when they weren't interested in pool and over the years their social circle has become increasingly dominated by people from the pool world. (leagues, tournaments, etc.)

My friends are definitely sports oriented group who watch most major professional sports and I am having to politely ask them to keep an open mind about pool. This is why ESPN doesn't want to show pool more often.

If you want to fix pool then I believe we all need to work on fixing it. That means CJ, Mark, Jay, Barry and anyone else who may or may not read this post. Pool doesn't need another variation to avoid racking tricks, a new pro tour, better league management, more gambling or anything like that. Before any of that will work pool needs more people to not balk at the thought of just picking up a cue and hitting some balls with their buddies. What pool needs is for ALL of you to ask someone you don't think has played ever or lately to go play some pool with you for fun.

Fortunately I already did this once with one guy from this group awhile back by getting him to play a few games of 8-ball with me at a bar table in a local sports bar so I have one ally in the group. And I'm hoping with his help I might create one or two more converts on Sunday.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll try going door-to-door. That works out for some religions, right? :thumbup:

From one player to another, it's nice that you are " concerned " enough about the subject to give it some thought and post your opinions, and you certainly aren't alone. Likewise you certainly aren't the first to make suggestions and you won't be the last.

That said, there are a few things I think you ( and the other concerned citizens) should be aware of...

There is public pool and private pool.
Public pool happens at bars and halls, and in the professional realm.
Private pool happens at home and in private clubs.

Private pool, and the games we all play on our own time, is NOT broken. And other than the periodic economic up and down swings, we have no real reason to believe that the average Joe enjoys pool any less than they ever have. The simple fact is, some people like it, and some don't. This is normal, should be expected, and has nothing to do with which game , rules, or equipment is popular yesterday or today.

Public pool, excluding professional pool, is all about the economy and opportunities taken. In other words, give people a place to play that is affordable and decent, and they will. The private players will take their enjoyment of the game with them wherever they go if given the opportunity. Unfortunately the economy will make or break where and how many opportunities exist in the public to play. Public pool is not broken, it's simply subject to many ( naturally occurring) variables.

Then you have " pro " pool.
Which is definitely broken. And the reasons behind this are neither small nor few in number. In fact I could easily write a 100 pages on the subject and barely scratch the surface. Fortunately for you I will not address this here, today.

The point of my boorish rant is simply to delineate the dichotomy of this industry. Some pool is perfectly fine. Some is not. And there are distinct differences between the two.

 

[theattendant]

The whole, I wanna screw the new guy out of his money does NOT help pool. Not giving up the "secrets", does not help pool...

Making people learn by losing their money to you, does NOT help pool. Showing beginners how to do some things on a pool table instead of just banging balls around can absolutely help pool and interest in pool.

In 2003, a buddy of mine who was stationed at the same command was sitting there and I said, hey I'm going to see this movie, you wanna come?

The movie was PHJs. You can say what you want about the movie, the unrealistic bend of it or whatever, but it is an enjoyable movie to watch as movies go, after all, how realistic is the expendables???

After the movie, I asked him if he wanted to learn to play like that. I was going to the poolhall and if he wanted to learn how to play, I'd show him.

Now he plays phenomenally and I expect you guys to hear about him in the next couple of years. I won't say who it is for now, you'll just have to wait, but the idea is that mentoring people into pool is what pool needs.

Many people in leagues mentor people into leagues, why not mentor them into the upper levels of pool too??? Get people interested. Many people wouldn't be into watching golf, baseball, football, etc...without friends giving them a reason to be into it.

Jaden

This man speaks the truth. The best course I think for a beginner to take is to get them interested, get them on a fun team in a league. Not one of the teams all about winning, or one that just comes out to get drunk, but one that has fun. After they see the game is fun, let them decide how far they want to take it. Just kinda be there if they want to play somewhere new or a tournament sui they don't feel alone. Going to a new place the first time can be intimidating as well.