I honestly think an easy way for struggling pro's to offset expenses is to make themselves available to amateurs. As in:
Find a roommate for the event. Splitting the hotel costs offsets $380 for the full, 10-day Tunica package right there. As an amateur, I did that in 2012 in Tunica. It helped the guy's expenses out. I didn't nut-hug too much, but I got the chance to drink a beer and talk pool here and there. Learned thru osmosis. Got him to the table and he showed me 3-4 things, just in 15 minutes, that have stuck with me to this day.
Then, if they give some lessons to amateurs here and there, they could break even or better for the whole she-bang.
I paid a different pro last year $125 to spend 2 hours with me working on things. I even took him to a $25 dinner once to pick his brain a bit more.
Basically, with a single 2-hour lesson.....plus throwing him a nice dinner, the guy got his meals covered for about 5-6 days (that's $25 a day or $12.50 a meal, based on the fact that I generally ate twice a day there). I learned some things, so it was worth it to me. If a player did just 1 lesson a day at that event, they'd probably be money ahead by the time it was over, even if they didn't cash.
Now, if a pro or super strong amateur doesn't want to associate with players lower on the totem pole, then that's their choice. They either need to find a day job that pays their pool expenses (like us regular folk do) or get a corporate sponsor.
If they're not a good teacher.......find another pro or instructor who IS good at teaching and say........"Show me how to be a good instructor. I have things that I don't mind sharing with people, but I just don't know how to articulate or present it."
Now, if a pro is going to blow their wad in the casino, on hookers, eat steak twice a day, lose in bad match-up games.......then I have no sympathy for them.
I understand that there are these similiarities between amateurs and pro's at an event:
Hotel, food, transportation, entry fees. Those are the basics. You travel to an event. You get shelter. You get food. You compete in the event. ANYTHING else is frivilous and needs to be done within a budget based on THAT overall event and FUTURE ones.
The difference between the pro and the amateur is that when I go to work......I'm guaranteed a check. The pro is not. HOWEVER, I also have to work 50 hours a week at a job that I don't even like, just so I can play in my state pool league and a couple of big Open events a year.
I don't know any pro's, Shane included, that put 50 hours a week in playing pool. I asked Shane himself, in Tunica, how much he practices a day. He said 7-8 hours. I suppose if that were truly 7 days a week, then yes, he puts in over 50 hours. I know he also works out to increase performance and stamina for his pool career. You could even factor that in. Seems to me that he's doing it the right way. And guess what? Shane is at the top.
So, as a summation, and I can't even remember how this started, a pro should:
Put in an hour a day exercising.
Let's say 5 hours a day practicing.
2 hours a day giving lessons.
Boom, you have a nice 8 hour day.
Then they spend a couple of hours a day matching up/playing in tournaments.......which is where the rubber hits the road. They gamble only as much as they can afford to lose. They work their ass off to cash in the tourney.
I know it's the competitive nature of a pool player to live on the edge, but there's a price to be paid for living on that edge. It's called comfort and security. They push the envelope probably when they shouldn't and that allows them to have higher highs than most, but also lower lows.
But, with a budget and lifestyle managed correctly, a pro should be able to survive as well as any of us working stiffs.
. Been saying this for too long. 50 (or so) pro players versus half a million amateur players. Where do you think my loyalty is at?
I guess it's just getting a little old listening to "the pros" whine.
