<---------------- NOT EVEN CLOSE TO A REAL PRO !!!
This is a bit crazy. I know I am sure to get some heat for my screen name on here. I never meant it to be an indicator of my ability or my status. Nothing more than I love this game. And I used to answer pool questions on a non pool website. So, while on here I am not the best qualified or the best player, on there I was very qualified to clear up misconceptions about the game. I do happen to work in a pool room, and I gamble. I am also considering becoming a dealer of cues, cases, etc. So I derive almost all of my income from the game of pool.
I make all of my money from this game. I have even given lessons in the past. Was even considered a "house pro" at a previous room I worked in. I have played in many leagues ( i am an APA7). These are AMATUER leagues. I am a skilled player, but could not compete with any touring pro.
I have never considered myself , or misrepresented myself as a professional pool player. I absolutelty am NOT.
I think that the ONLY reason the definition is fuzzy is because of the state of the mens pro tour. In the case of the WPBA there should be no confusion. If you are female, and you are not a memeber of the WPBA, you are not a pro. PERIOD.
Listen, I have worked in bars, and pool rooms for quite a while. If a guy could run four balls on a bar table, he would go on about how he used to be a pro. Bullshit. The argument is always " well i play pool for money, that means I am a pro player". No way!!!
If you are a carpenter, you make your living working with wood. So technically you are a professional carpenter. Ability has nothing to do with this, because if you started a week ago and are getting $8 an hour, or you have been a carpenter for 40 years you are both making your living from woodworking, right?
The MAJOR difference is the governing body. Other than say a union, there is no "professional carpenters Assosiation" to belong to.
I always ask these "pros" a simple question: "So, playing a game for money makes you a pro, huh?". "Absolutely, that's the definition of a pro", they say.
"okay then, so if you and I go down the street and start a game of basketball for $50, is the NBA gonna call up and say "hey, I hear you got a couple of pro basketball players down there, why don't you guys come down and play for our team?" Not a chance.
Poffesional means belonging to the the professional governing body of that sport. Period. Obviously if you are a pro you would assume some level of proficiency. But it is a fact that there are players who have as much or more ability to compete professionally and do not. So ability does not define pro status. You can be a former heavyweight chapion of the world, just beacause you do not currently hold that title does not necesasarily mean that your ability has diminished. It just means you do not currently have that title.
If a current universally known pool professionl decides to stop playing in pro events, he would stop being a pro. His ablity may even go up. He is not a current pro. He would be a former pro player. He could change his mind at any time, resign up and be a pro again. Ability does not matter. He will still be regaurded as a pro level player and given the respect of a pro player. Is Dan Marino a pro football player? He gets to put it on his business card if he wants to. He will always be considered a pro player, even if he could no longer compete with current pro players. But the fact remains : he is not currently a proffesional player.
Using ability to determine pro status is absurd. Is the number ten ranked pro twicw as much a professional than the guy ranked number twenty? Nope, they both hold pro status. Even if one pro is twicw the player than another it does not matter. They are both pros. If I could beat every single pro player blindfolded, I would not be a pro player. Now if I pay my money, qualify, get my pro card, and enter a pro event, guess what? I am a pro. Even if I lost every game in that event.
Professional is belonging to the governing body or assosiation of that sport. It is up to that body to say what it requires of its memebers to attain and maintain pro status.
Like I said the only reason it may be unclear is because of the sad state of the pro tour (tours?).
If I was female, I think I could compete in the WPBA. Does this mean based on ability I could call myself a pro? But wait, I just beat your 28th ranked pro player, I'm in right? Nope, because one of the requirements of the WPBA is that you are female. No matter how good I play, I will never be a WPBA professional. At least not without the help of an operation ( or maybe a horriffic accident)
