What's The Point Of It? Seriously . . . Brutal Honesty Required . . .

My love of the game goes back over 43 years ago when my Pop used to take me with him to see some of his customers, one place was a bar that had a table and he used to give me some quarters and i would bang the balls around. It wasnt till a few years later that he took me to the original Golden Q in NY and i got to see what a good player he was. Since then i have played off and on all that time. I just started playing again after 8 years away because of back trouble and although i cant go over 2 hours at a clip, i still love the game and the feeling of pleasure and accomplishment i get when i run over 20 balls, even 15 at times, lol.

Whats the point of it ? Whats the point of spendng your time doing anything thats a leisure time activity ? You do it because it fulfills you in some way and you get satisfaction out of it.
I have always enjoyed it immensely and always will, even if i do stink at it.:thumbup:
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
"It" being what pretty much all of us here on az do, namely, play pool.

Did you ever think about just how much of our time is wasted chasing 2 1/4" plastic balls into pockets.

And we know that the absolute vast majority of us will never go any further than being a shortstop level player, and even that, if we're lucky.

Added to this fact is another even more troubling fact, which is let's say you are one of the very few who possesses incredible natural talent and you decide you're gonna do whatever it takes (huge sacrifices) to get to the top. What's waiting for you should you arrive? Post dated checks, broken promises, air barrels, dumps, a $10k check if you can beat Shane or Alex, etc., etc., and etc...?

I know of some very talented pool players who have decided to pursue pool as a career and it turned out to be a colossal waste of their time. Sure they can do *okay* at some local or even regional tourneys but they're not really posing any real threats on a national level, and certainly not globally.

Couldn't this time be much better spent doing something productive?

And what about the rest of us?

I want to know from you all exactly why it is you play pool. Please be totally honest about why.

If this thread goes to 25 responses, I will explain why I play and I'm going to warn you, it's going to be brutally candid. Totally honest, no candy coating at all.

This thread is not meant to be negative, but rather, it's intended to try to better understand why it is that we, a collection of bangers to A players, dedicate so much of our time playing this game.

So, why do we?

And please don't respond with 'because I love it'. You'll have to do better than that. :p

I'm gonna be real candid and so should you!

best,
brian kc
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Good question Brian,

I think our brain retains happy memories and thoughts much longer than sad and unpleasant, the younger you are the more good pleasant memories stick, so first impression about pool is extremely critical, to be exact, wining your first local tournament with little $$ pot at community center, or school/college when you are young itched that moment in stone, so you want more and more of those thoughts, we get addicted and walla pool becomes a passion and the need to nurture it becomes second nature. That applies to everything in life.

To get back to your question:
Reason is:
Winning and that little moment of fame (i love it)
Itch to Gamble
Associate with friends you have known from 30 years back, maybe that trust feeling for them is comforting factor

If you drink, it must be alcohol, and pool the only way to get it

If your are not so good at pool, need to kill spare time and socialize would be a reason
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
"It" being what pretty much all of us here on az do, namely, play pool.

Did you ever think about just how much of our time is wasted chasing 2 1/4" plastic balls into pockets.

And we know that the absolute vast majority of us will never go any further than being a shortstop level player, and even that, if we're lucky.

Added to this fact is another even more troubling fact, which is let's say you are one of the very few who possesses incredible natural talent and you decide you're gonna do whatever it takes (huge sacrifices) to get to the top. What's waiting for you should you arrive? Post dated checks, broken promises, air barrels, dumps, a $10k check if you can beat Shane or Alex, etc., etc., and etc...?

I know of some very talented pool players who have decided to pursue pool as a career and it turned out to be a colossal waste of their time. Sure they can do *okay* at some local or even regional tourneys but they're not really posing any real threats on a national level, and certainly not globally.

Couldn't this time be much better spent doing something productive?

And what about the rest of us?

I want to know from you all exactly why it is you play pool. Please be totally honest about why.

If this thread goes to 25 responses, I will explain why I play and I'm going to warn you, it's going to be brutally candid. Totally honest, no candy coating at all.

This thread is not meant to be negative, but rather, it's intended to try to better understand why it is that we, a collection of bangers to A players, dedicate so much of our time playing this game.

So, why do we?

And please don't respond with 'because I love it'. You'll have to do better than that. :p

I'm gonna be real candid and so should you!

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...

Gosh! A chance to blow the dust off my philosophy degree and deal with your question! :)

Well, lets consider pool as a simple subset of "all things in life".

So, "what's the point of pool?" becomes simply a very specific case of the more general "what's the point of life?" question...

There seems to be a broad consensus among philosophers and scientists these days that purpose is something we bring to the universe, and not something we find in it. It is certainly a presumption to just take it as given that there is any real sense in asking about 'purpose'. OK, you can talk about the particular evolutionary survival advantage of something, and indeed all games probably originate from the survival advantage which they conferred on our ancestors as they let them hone various hunting skills or mate-attracting behaviour (in the way that young lions play before growing up to become strong agile killers). Wider questions of purpose however, to modern science and philosophy, they are just not meaningful questions, however meaningful they might feel to humans who, due to their evolutionary history, regularly find themselves attributing purpose to aspects of their lives.

So, coming back to pool, it would seem that if you need to ask the point, then for you there is no point. ...And even if you don't need to ask, there is still no ultimate 'point' to it. It's something to do between our births and our inevitable deaths ...a bit like painting, sculpting, or singing songs. If you enjoy it, do it. If you don't, do something else. ...Or even do nothing and just patiently wait to become worm food.

There you go. :)
 
Do you realize how much time we waste sleeping,watching tv,computers
and talking on the phone?Probably close to half of a normal lifespan.

I've always believed that no matter how clustered your life is,its always
good to keep one hobby no matter what it is.Mine happens to be pool:)
 
scsuxci said:
Do you realize how much time we waste sleeping,watching tv,computers
and talking on the phone?Probably close to half of a normal lifespan.

I've always believed that no matter how clustered your life is,its always
good to keep one hobby no matter what it is.Mine happens to be pool:)
Click to expand...

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."

-John Lennon
 
I am sure this has been said however, I am going to say it anyway. I love the game. I have no illusions or desire to turn pro, I make a good living. I just simply play the game because I love it.

Pool is one of those rare things that you can constantly evolve at/in and become better. When I am shooting pool I am at peace. I work a lot and when I am not working I am being a father to my beautiful children and a husband to my wonderful wife.

So pool is just pure fun for me. Yes I want to be able to run back to back racks. Yes it would be cool to play in a US Open or some other major tournament but it is not a goal for me.

I love the game an everything about it and that's pretty much it for me.
 
Husalah90 said:
This thread has been a major bummer, i know it was not meant that way but i have had a long lay off from pool and I'm starting to wonder if i should even come back to the game..Maybe i should just move on.
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This is a decision that only you can make.

The point of my posting this thread was a fairly simple one that I knew would elicit some interesting responses, and it has, including yours. :wink:

Despite my request for people to go beyond simply stating that they play because "I love pool", this does seem to be the prevailing reason why we do. And, of course, all of the sub-categories defining that 'love' are quite revealing and interesting.

Everything from the puzzle solving aspect to the accolades and attaboys, to the gambling adrenaline, to destressing, to the social exposure we get ranging from friends, bums, and maybe even royalty, to the feeling of being able to control the universe while on the green felt. And, of course, winning!

I want to add an especially poignant quote that AtLarge shared with us by David McCumber from "Playing Off The Rail":

"It is the sweetest irony that pool has gathered the reputation of being a game for louts and idlers, when, to be played well, it demands such incredible discipline of movement, of thinking, of emotion."

This certainly adds to the allure for many.

Thanks to everyone who offered their perspective on this thread and by all means, please continue to add more comments as you wish. :thumbup:

best,
brian kc
p.s. to Husalah90 who I quoted at the very top, I vote you continue with your plan to come back to this game. :)
 
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Life

Originally Posted by Husalah90
This thread has been a major bummer, i know it was not meant that way but i have had a long lay off from pool and I'm starting to wonder if i should even come back to the game..Maybe i should just move on.

Hope this perspective helps;

I felt the same was about motorcycles/mini bikes I've had bikes since the fifties, I LOVED EM. I had twenty in my life and then when my wife got pregnant it was time. Twenty years later kids gone/college and Now I'm allot smarter ''I think" than I used to be (yeah right:) and came up with a ton of reasons why NOT to drive again because I knew so much more yadee yadee. But hell, I got tired of riding my bicycle for 20 + years and actually realized I would be safer on a small inner city bike, why? because its got Good brakes, blinkers, horn, lighting and waaaaaaaaaaay bettter tires, and I'm lower to the ground. So I got new Honda 250 Nighthawk and drove it from 06-2012 and don't regret a minute and look back at all the reasons I created to NOT drive it again, when it played out just the opposite. GO FOR IT, ONLY THEN WILL YOU KNOW....
 
I keep a written journal of my pool life (such as it is) and it includes interesting/relevant quotes. Here are a couple that I reread when I get stick-throwing frustrated.

From a 1967 Sports Illustrated interview with Luther Lassiter:
...except to leave you with this final thought: the one gladdest thing in this whole world is running the table, just moving around it all light and easy inside, shooting and listening to your own music. The saddest thing in this old world is just sitting there while someone runs the table on you. I know both moods. You play a while, you get to know them too - and that's what pool is all about.
Click to expand...

From Pleasures of Small Motions, by Bob Fancher
It matters because it brings to your life the pleasures of precision, the joy of the exquisite power of small motions. It matters because it is beautiful. It matters because it is fun.
Click to expand...
 
You just know that I subscribed to this thread, KC.....
...but I find it incredibly difficult to answer.

I started as a very accurate shooter ( I played scratch golf before coming
to billiards), but I played the game like a moron...although I could play chess.

Then a guy that I could give a bit of weight to told me about kicking....
...if you put draw on the cue-ball, it would shorten the angle.
That is what hooked me to the game...it gave me a glimpse of the various
mysteries that existed in this game I was having 'fun' at.

One day I set up an easy shot and strove for hours trying to really SEE it....
...not just the IDEA of it, but to see it like a child and hit it in a sane manner.

An oriental sage said "Study a dew-drop and you'll understand the universe."
This partly explains my fascination with this game...the physics, the
game strategy, and a good look at myself.

A friend who is a terrific chess and backgammon player once asked a group
of us "How much of what you do can you explain?"
A few of the vain types answered quickly with a percentage in the 90's.

That question was asked in 1983...I'm still pondering about it.

KC, you're giving me a headache.;)
 
I also think most people in general have thought as youngsters they
would be famous, rich and in the spotlight.

As years past and reality sets in most people live an average life
with average jobs,working and raising a family and focusing on
just paying the bills and hoping to take 1 vacation in there life.

Pool has alot of downsides but one unique upside.With leagues all over
the country,it might be one of a few sports on earth that can take
your average person who isn't good at the game and put in a situation
that if he or she can make that last ball, for that one moment
can have that feeling of being in the spotlight they've craved for
years.

For whatever reason you play,hopefully you all get to experience
your moment in the spotlight.Goodluck:)
 
I play because it sharpens my mental side that is needed to slash through all the bs in the world right now.

Pool is a great test of concentration and focus, it sharpens the mind.
 
As Baby" James Taylor put it...

"THE SECRET TO LIFE IS ENJOYING THE PASSAGE OF TIME."

I did it as my racket for a couple of decades and I do it today, almost daily, for enjoyment.

Or, as we say in Morocco, "alleshala"..."Why not?"

Keep it nice. Alfie
 
At times, I have been about as disgusted with pool as I can get. Now is one of those times. It seems that I can't beat another banger no matter how hard I try. I played in a monthly handicapped tournament this weekend just for us bangers and couldn't get a sniff at the money.

Some peers blow smoke up your a**, always trying to make a move on you.

Good people blowing smoke up your a**, with good intentions. Everything is relative.

A few haters, sniping at you because you happen to work harder on your game than they do, so you win a little more often than they do. Just jealousy, nothing more but it still sucks.

A few competitors that will shark you unless you treat them unseemly. That sucks on both sides of the equation.

Tremendous amount of time invested in practicing, only to find out that the return on your investment is miniscule, especially when you take into account cashin/cashout.

When you think you can play a little, you just have to step over into the next national event and you find out, that you are nothing more than a little fish in a big pond.

The struggle is that pool provides me with some satisfaction, competitively. I've always liked competition but it seems that winning in pool takes an awful lot of discipline and dedication. You have to be slightly masochistic.

I regularly tease my wife when headed out the door with "Going to work." She keeps asking me to show her my paycheck and I promise that the return is just around the corner. :p

The better you get, the more weight you have to give up until you get to the point where you see you can't win. It's sickening when you think about it. I sympathize with the professional players being barred from playing in local and even regional events. They work to become the best and what do they get in return?

I've had immense joy in learning how to play pool. Collecting the information that unlocks the secrets of the game has given me great satisfaction. Sharing those secrets with deserving people also provides me with some joy, especially when I see that the help is appreciated.

The little money that I win playing pool is certainly not enough to justify spending the incredible amount of time that I do with pool.

The commentary gigs have been fun but don't nearly pay what some think they do. If you take into consideration the amount of money you lose by not working your regular job, and the expenses for traveling and staying at the events, you soon realize that the pay isn't very good.

Commentary, learning and competing are the three main things that keep me in the game. Like most everyone, I get disgusted with pool from time to time, but I think I have been called to the sport and the disgust won't last long.

I probably spend a little more time than most with pool, even when compared to most of you on this forum.

Every now and then I need a little break from pool. Maybe it's one of those times. Going fishing, traveling, something not pool related seems to help. Probably just spending too much time with pool. Trouble is I love pool. :smile:

Why the hell did you have start this thread and why did I find the need to respond to it? Oh yeah, I'm disgusted with how I am playing and the rest of those negatives. Oh yeah, and I love just about everything about pool, except it could be a whole lot better. :embarrassed2:
 
Because your definition of wasting time and unproductive are different than mine.


When I'm at work or home or out, most of the time I'm still thinking about pool. I'm not great at the game, but I'm getting better.

If its nearly all I think about I am firm in my belief that any time spent at a table is more productive than anything else I could be doing for myself.


Our time on this rock is limited. Spend it doing what you want.
 
For me I have been good at pretty much every sport/game I have played throughout life, but never great at any of thm. (4 handicap golf, 190avg bowler, above average pool player, college baseball, softball, tecmo bowl champion, madden champion (not now), beer pong, etc). I think it started out as a guy thing to stay competitive and experience the highs/lows that come with the game. I do not like to lose and this game gives you the chance to continue experiencing those feelings.

Now that I have a few years into the game I think its still the same. However now I play and try to work on my game to beat the better players. I want to be the working guy that takes down someone noteable--that may/may not ever happen but thats why I play.
 
Island Drive said:
No matter where I go I feel at home in a ''real'' pool room. No matter what state I'm in, I Always seem or know someone from somewhere else. A few yrs back I actually ran into a guy that I played with when I was 15 ys old. Then 40 + yrs went by and we happened to be in match at Capones in Springhill FL. And I ran into Varner, whom I played against in the midwest collegiate 14.1 finals 1969 or 70, Earl the pearl was there, and got to know rocky and Rob Saez/first time we met, and few others, made me feel right at home INSTANTLY.
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exactly, aint it great? anywhere in the world

funny thing is I split a cab with Rob, didnt know him at the time, we were leaving the pool room at 5am at the same time, going to the same hotel. been friends since.we knew of each other and by the end of the trip, we were friends with 500 friends in common.
 
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fastone371 said:
I play because I like the competition, it costs far less money and can take way less time than racing, or more time if you choose, but either way its your choice. If you decide to race you have no choice but to invest the time in the car. Plus its a better workout than watching tv.
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Pool and racing have one thing in common. To make a small fortune in either it's best to begin with a large one.

FUN...that's why I play. If it ever stops being that, I'll find something else to do.
 
Because it's so damn fun. And I like the look of my opponent when I'm running out and they know they're beat. You know the look......that little sigh they let out when they slump back a little more in their chair.
 
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