I play because I love the game and love the competition, with or without money being involved. The game requires not only a good amount of the following attributes but also a balance of them: eye hand coordination, intelligence, patience, artistry, mental toughness, imagination, discipline, and the list probably goes on. Of all of the sports that I've taken up and tried to excel in, for me pool and golf are definitely two of the toughest to master. Golf, however, has a larger physical component involved, leaving pool to be much more of a mental exercise once the basics are learned and somewhat mastered.
Having played for 15 years or so, taking a 4 - 5 year layoff, and now playing again and getting very close to how I used to play, with the potential always looming that I could get even slightly better than I was, I can't play enough, I want to play every day, hours per day, just like I used to when I was first learning. Of course I get about 2 days a week for 4 - 5 hours, but I will take what I can get.
