Why do you want an improvement in the world of pool?

billiardthought

billiardthought

Anti-intellectualism
Silver Member
I thought this was worth discussing in it's own thread. With all the recent discussion about "why pool is dead", "this would be good for pool", and the current discussion regarding pros playing on seven foot tables - I found myself wondering why I personally wanted to see an improvement in the pool atmosphere. Maybe it is because I want more tournaments to happen just so I can watch them, maybe it's because I might enter some more tournaments if they were available. Maybe I want the hobby/sport/activity I love to increase in popularity just because I am already involved with it.

I am having trouble answering my own question, so I am wondering what the experts have to say? Why do YOU want pool to improve as a sport, or are you happy with how it is right now?
 
I'm not sure either....

Maybe..... we just want to see others place a higher value on something
we value highly?!

td
 
billiardthought said:
I thought this was worth discussing in it's own thread. With all the recent discussion about "why pool is dead", "this would be good for pool", and the current discussion regarding pros playing on seven foot tables - I found myself wondering why I personally wanted to see an improvement in the pool atmosphere. Maybe it is because I want more tournaments to happen just so I can watch them, maybe it's because I might enter some more tournaments if they were available. Maybe I want the hobby/sport/activity I love to increase in popularity just because I am already involved with it.

I am having trouble answering my own question, so I am wondering what the experts have to say? Why do YOU want pool to improve as a sport, or are you happy with how it is right now?
Click to expand...

I am not an expert, but I will give you my answer as to why I would like it to improve.

Pool is my hobby. It will never be a profession for me. I enjoy playing and I enjoy watching.

First and foremost, I would like to see the pros be able to make a decent living. I'm not talking NBA money, but enough that say the top 100 players don't have to have day jobs, can concentrate on pool and getting better and bank some coin for when their careers are over. I think this would elevate the level of play (because more players could devote full time to the sport) and, quite frankly, I want to see the best players be able to consistently make some money.

Second, I would like for the sport, and the level of the sport, to grow. When I was on vacation in the Philippines this year, the cab-driver (once he knew I was Canadian and was in to pool) immediately said "Alex Pagulayan! Johnny Morra! Jason Klatt!". Like a New York Cabbie talking to me about who's pitching for the Blue Jays. None of my non-pool playing friends know or care about pool or pool players.

So I want more people to know about pool, more people to play, and more people to play well. I'm like those annoying people who said to me years ago "you've never seen Breaking Bad? You HAVE to watch that show". (I did and I loved it). I want to proselytize for the church of pool!
 
I have found pool to be one of the hardest skills to learn and execute.

I am always shocked that others don't see the skill it takes to play the game at the lower levels never mind the high levels.

It seems that most outsiders think it's a waist of effort.

So I would like people to see that even at the hobby level it is a skill and excellence should get ones admiration.

I would like people to see what pros can do so we have a mark to shoot for.

I want to be a great pool player, but will sadly need to settle for being above average.
 
Great Responses!

GideonF said:
I am not an expert, but I will give you my answer as to why I would like it to improve.

Pool is my hobby. It will never be a profession for me. I enjoy playing and I enjoy watching.

First and foremost, I would like to see the pros be able to make a decent living. I'm not talking NBA money, but enough that say the top 100 players don't have to have day jobs, can concentrate on pool and getting better and bank some coin for when their careers are over. I think this would elevate the level of play (because more players could devote full time to the sport) and, quite frankly, I want to see the best players be able to consistently make some money.

Second, I would like for the sport, and the level of the sport, to grow. When I was on vacation in the Philippines this year, the cab-driver (once he knew I was Canadian and was in to pool) immediately said "Alex Pagulayan! Johnny Morra! Jason Klatt!". Like a New York Cabbie talking to me about who's pitching for the Blue Jays. None of my non-pool playing friends know or care about pool or pool players.

So I want more people to know about pool, more people to play, and more people to play well. I'm like those annoying people who said to me years ago "you've never seen Breaking Bad? You HAVE to watch that show". (I did and I loved it). I want to proselytize for the church of pool!
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-to a great thread!
I too want these things and more for pool and the people who play.
These goals have lead me on my journey.
Every facet that we are, the good and even the bad, has it's place.
What I do recognise is that we are more than our "hustler" stigma,
and while it takes time for foundations to be laid, people are realizing this fact and change is happening.
Most anyone who holds a cue, smiles when they're at a table.
Doesn't matter what kind of table, Pool, Billiards, Snooker
Grown men become happy children when they get to play.
I've seen it, I've filmed it, I've lived it!
Preach, go tell it!

Amen.

"Raising the Hustler"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uxH63RqwSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZaUOJgnqU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGXWl3wE3Bw

@Raisingthehustl
#RaisingtheHustler
#pooldocumentary
#poolordie
 
I just want to have a wider assortment of players to play with. I've got hundreds of people to play golf with, dozens to play tennis with, and so on...but only a handful of pool-playing friends.

More players would also mean more places to play. It would be nice if decent pool tables could be found in every bowling alley, etc. It might even revive a few extinct pool rooms.

I enjoy watching pros play but with the limited time I have to watch pro matches, it's not a major reason to increase pool's popularity.

So the pros can make a decent living? I've got friends who are starving artists and musicians. They chose the profession knowing they weren't going to make a decent living. No tears for them.
 
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Chicagoplayer said:
-to a great thread!

Most anyone who holds a cue, smiles when they're at a table.
Doesn't matter what kind of table, Pool, Billiards, Snooker
Grown men become happy children when they get to play.
Click to expand...

Sure, except for the times we curse ourselves when we miss or blow the run out.

Earl said in one video I remember watching "This game is a curse"! I think it is both a blessing and a curse - I'm trying to change my own personal blessing to curse ratio.
 
I would love to see all cue sports rise from the ashes. Almost everyone can
play. Needs one set of internationally recognized rules per discipline!
Must get youth involved to have any chance. Long live Cue Sports!!!!
 
Pool is a great skillful game anyone can play from 6yrs old to 96,but in my opinion the pros should be able to make a descent living concentrating on pool only.
 
Pete said:
I have found pool to be one of the hardest skills to learn and execute.

I am always shocked that others don't see the skill it takes to play the game at the lower levels never mind the high levels.

It seems that most outsiders think it's a waist of effort.

So I would like people to see that even at the hobby level it is a skill and excellence should get ones admiration.

I would like people to see what pros can do so we have a mark to shoot for.

I want to be a great pool player, but will sadly need to settle for being above average.
Click to expand...

But it doesn't take a lot of skill...thats the problem.

To win the world championship (or any major tournament) you have to play at a level most of us couldn't even dream of, however to pot a few balls on a table with 5.25 inch pockets (or whatever size they are on a standard club table, they may of course be smaller, I'm just guessing) anyone can turn up, having never played and feel like its an easy game.

Yes they may not appreciate the difficulty at even a slightly higher level, but so long as equipment exists that creates an easy game this is all the casual player will see.

For what its worth (and I accept this may be a uniquely British thing), club snooker tables have pockets bigger than the pro tables, but still approx 1.5 ball's across, so play incredibly tough for the casual player.

This (again I stress this may be a British thing) means over here people perceive snooker to be tough and pool to be easy.

That said Chinese pool seems to be a great middle ground between snooker and pool, very watchable (I think) and the pool players seem to come out on top, I'd definitely like to see more of that!

There is some truth in that of course, but as we all know, you have to beat your opponent not the table, that's the challenge in becoming the best!
 
Hear Hear!!

9Ballz said:
I would love to see all cue sports rise from the ashes. Almost everyone can
play. Needs one set of internationally recognized rules per discipline!
Must get youth involved to have any chance. Long live Cue Sports!!!!
Click to expand...

Well stated sir!
 
Chicagoplayer said:
Well stated sir!
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Seconded!

The lack of consistent rules is really confusing for all and whilst its good to have different games, the pool community really needs to pick one or two and run with them.

If I had it my way, I'd like to see the following:

1) All 8-Ball disciplines agree a standard set of rules and table style, personally I would like to see Chinese style tables become the norm for 8-Ball, partly because with tighter pockets than a conventional table they would still be challenging for weaker players as 7 foot tables (which seems to be important for bars/pubs) and partly because they seem like a better table for 8-Ball overall! Additionally it seems to offer some kind of middle ground between US and English pool disciplines, so seems like a logical compromise.

2) 9-Ball should be played on 9 foot tables with regulation pocket sizes specified, something like 4.25 to 4.75 inches permitted.

3) 10-Ball and Straight pool should be played on 10 foot tables, maybe the pocket size range could be 4.5 to 5 inches here.

4) Snooker would obviously stay as it is

5) I'm ignoring other billiard games for now (Carom, Pyramid etc), but all other pool disciplines should be social games (for now, that can always change in time), trying to promote multiple disciplines is just confusing for fans and new players!

Hopefully this sort of conformity would encourage some TV coverage and if a couple of key markets get on board then who knows what could happen!

Oh and each discipline needs a world championship as its flagship event, not a US centric tournament (I appreciate in snooker its fairly UK centric, but that is changing).
 
I just want to see real pool halls come back, with decent tables, 3 cushion tables, maybe a snooker table, etc. I'd also like to see a sport I actually like end up on TV some day. Now that I'm completely out of baseball, football and golf, I guess pool is it.

I'd love to see it in the Olympics.

I'd love for it to be like when I was in S. Korea. You couldn't throw a rock without hitting a pool room, and almost everyone I ran into played or knew something about it at least. Is it still like that? Hope so.
 
The main reason (there are many small reasons) pool is almost dead on the pro level is it's too boring for people today and it takes many years to get any good at it. Kids see a basketball star making millions of $ a year and then the BEST pool players in the world making under 200k a year and on no cereal boxes. Johnnyt
 
vjmehra said:
But it doesn't take a lot of skill...thats the problem.

To win the world championship (or any major tournament) you have to play at a level most of us couldn't even dream of, however to pot a few balls on a table with 5.25 inch pockets (or whatever size they are on a standard club table, they may of course be smaller, I'm just guessing) anyone can turn up, having never played and feel like its an easy game.
Click to expand...

You must be more talented than the average person. Nobody that I know, including myself, showed up and thought pool was easy. It was hard as hell to pocket a ball for me. After a few years of practicing I finally got to where I could run 15 or 20 balls straight pool style. I think my experiences are much closer to the norm than yours are.
 
It's too complex of a game for the casual player to understand, yet it's easy enough to poke a few balls in the holes with a reasonable amount of practice.

The casual player can't comprehend what it takes to poke ALL the balls in the holes, over and over again. They simply can't appreciate what's going on.

Probably the same reason Chess isn't a popular sport that people watch, even though most of us have played Chess at least a few times in our lives.

People can't appreciate what it takes to be a Chess Grandmaster and can't follow the advanced moves of the game, so they'll never appeciate and love it

Ask anyone on the street...people view a Chess master as a genius. They view a Pool master as a cheating, lying, low-life thief. Not only is there a problem of appreciation, there's a problem of respect.

Why do I want improvement in the world of pool?...

Because I love the game and I want others to recognize what it takes to play it well and appreciate and love it too. That means that the "hustler" image needs to go away so that people appreciate Pool as the beautiful game that it is, and respect and admire the players.
 
I would like to see improvements at the local level. Why people are concerned about the welfare of the professional pool player is beyond me, but I digress.
I would like to see a modern well-lit, up-scale pool room with a strict dress code.
A place with no more than a couple of big screen TVs. One with looping YouTube matches, and the other with available streaming events.
A room with a pleasant decor and plenty of photographs, posters, and various wall art from the world of pool, past and present.
A fully equipped pro-shop with a first-rate cue repair facility.
Employees there would be appropriately dressed, in attire befitting the room. In addition, these employees would not be permitted to drink, or smoke, while on the job.
It would have a well stocked and elegant bar, but enclosed and located away from the tables. Five o'clock drunks would be discouraged, and only wine and beer by the glass would be permitted near the tables.
Music would be non-specific and in the background.
League play would be encouraged, and monthly tournaments would be held with added money provided.
And, after all of this, I'd like to see a pig fly out of my ass. :D
 
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Why do I want an improvement in the world of pool?

I guess it is because I have found lots of pleasure in the game for myself and would like for others to experience the good things pool has to offer.

While pool has a tolerance for those who come from different backgrounds, I find that a growing bigotry still drives a lot of people away from the sport.

I suppose some people just don't have a thick enough skin to deal with the jerks in pool.

For me, I seem to find good people in pool wherever I go.

JoeyA
 
Chicagoplayer said:
Well stated sir!
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s0lidz said:
You must be more talented than the average person. Nobody that I know, including myself, showed up and thought pool was easy. It was hard as hell to pocket a ball for me. After a few years of practicing I finally got to where I could run 15 or 20 balls straight pool style. I think my experiences are much closer to the norm than yours are.
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With all due respect perhaps you're taking what I said as a criticism, which wasn't intended, I'm not trying to belittle anyone, just trying to take a step back and view things from the casual observer.

I am by no means a good player, I occasionally play socially with friends of a similar level, however the first time I picked up a pool cue I managed to pot a few balls, I've never met anyone that couldn't do that...I'd be stunned if you were any different (if you think back are you honestly saying you couldn't pot even a few balls on your first attempt)?

My point is that to the casual player it is a very easy game, especially (and thats why I stressed it may be more of a British thing) when you compare to snooker or even English pool. The tables may only be 7 foot, but the pockets are tiny and for the casual player its much harder to pot a ball than a 9 foot table with 5.25 inch pockets!

Again I'm keen to stress, I fully appreciate pool is an incredibly tough game to be competitive at, especially at the top level, I'm merely stating that in order to improve its credibility, the pool community needs to address multiple issues. A key one, in my opinion is that the game is fundamentally too easy (to the casual viewer) and changing the equipment could solve that problem.

Again I stress, far more people here in the UK play snooker than US pool, yet it is a much harder game (in terms of simply potting a ball, I'm not trying to get into a snooker v pool debate), so I'm not of the view that a slightly tougher pool table wouldn't put people off, as I mentioned previously, I'd like to see different pool disciplines commit to specific table sizes/styles.
 
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Tramp Steamer said:
Why people are concerned about the welfare of the professional pool player is beyond me, but I digress.
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Watching professional pool players gives me joy. Seeing the game that I love played to perfection is a beautiful thing. I would like it if those who give me the pleasure of watching their skill were able to make a decent living doing so.

And, if professionals were able to a make a decent living at it, more could concentrate on the game and the overall skill level might go up.
 
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