If you could do it over again would you still choose pool

onepockethacker

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This thread is directed at the older better players on this forum who have relied on pool as their source of income. In other words do you have any regrets that you got involved in pool. If you could do it over again would you do it the same way? Would you still have gotten into pool?
 

vapros

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The world of pool has a disproportionate number of 'older better players' who cannot afford to get sick or to get old, and they do not all have friends like Freddy. I hope that not too many of them are ours, on this site.

Every year we get requests here, either to aid them during illness or to help bury them. That's sad.
 

SJDinPHX

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This thread is directed at the older better players on this forum who have relied on pool as their source of income. In other words do you have any regrets that you got involved in pool. If you could do it over again would you do it the same way? Would you still have gotten into pool?

Good question Hacker...You made me dig up an old thread that I started one night, while having a 'pity party'...with a snoot full of Yukon Jack...It was very gratifying to me to see, (the next day) how many people understood, and how many had similar thoughts, and tales of their own.

http://www.onepocket.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5865
 

androd

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This thread is directed at the older better players on this forum who have relied on pool as their source of income. In other words do you have any regrets that you got involved in pool. If you could do it over again would you do it the same way? Would you still have gotten into pool?

Hardest way in the world to make an easy living. :)
I loved every minute of it and wouldn't trade it for anything.:D

Marcel Camp once told me pool was a nice little hustle to try to get enough money to do something with. :)

I believed him and after 10 or 12 years, moved on to other types of gambling.
I never quit playing pool for very long though. I quit a game once and one of railbirds said " Man you're sure a good manager"

I told him managing is easy when you have money. Try quiting after losing 3 of the only 4 hundred you have when the rent's due. When I was younger I lost that last hundred many times . I'd awake the next day wondering where I could borrow $40.00 to hustle with. :frus
Rod.
 

Skin

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I'm not one of the hard core career pool degenerates. but I am going to answer anyway. ;) I left the pool halls for college and bar hustling for the same reason I gave up on the idea of being a professional artist. Had nothing to do with lack of talent. I simply had other talents that could provide much better at a much lower cost. And...I could be enough of a conformist to get by in the company of seriously intelligent, conservative men. :rolleyes: :)


I don't regret a thing, espcially when I bump into a mid-fifties former roadie who never left that life.


Skin
 
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jrhendy

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Pool

Pool

I was lucky. All I ever wanted to do was be a pool player. When I was 21 and had no job and a pregnant wife at home I had a 17 year old Richie Florence stuck 18 games playing snooker. We raised it, I dogged it and went home and got a job.

Still played and loved it my whole life, but knew I needed a job and always worked.

I liked playing road players and have taken many losses from them, but I was a terrific lamb killer with the locals and never had to go too deep in my own pocket and have been in action my whole life. Not as big a bettor as some but enough to pay attention and get them coming around.

Still like to play better players from time to time and still getting beat, but I do book a winner once and a while:D
 

fred bentivegna

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What else could I do?

What else could I do?

"I've got a room temp IQ with the A/C turned on. What da 'f else 'my gonna do?"
Signed, Dick Mc Morran

OOps, you all wanted to know what others and I, would have done differently.

Nada, nothing. Had a ball, met good friends. Have good friends. Traveled. Got to meet some incredible characters, Fats, Puckett, CornBread, etc. Got laid once in awhile. (The "groupie" quotient in pool was extremely low in those times) At 71 yrs old I can still play a little too.

Beard
 

SJDinPHX

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"I've got a room temp IQ with the A/C turned on. What da 'f else 'my gonna do?"
Signed, Dick Mc Morran

Got laid once in awhile. (The "groupie" quotient in pool was extremely low in those times)... At 71 yrs old I can still play a little too.

Beard


It was only LOW for YOU and the Ghroast....Richie and I, (and our co-hort's) had to fight the pretty, young 'un's off, with a stick..."WITNESSES ABOUND".:D .Also, you saying "I can still play a little", is a big fat FIB :lol :lol :lol

PS..You are back on IGNORE again, for your opening remark...:sorry:
 
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Skin

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Got laid once in awhile. (The "groupie" quotient in pool was extremely low in those times) At 71 yrs old I can still play a little too.

Beard

LOL Fred. Obviously you never discovered the fringe benefits of 8 ball in frat bars. A typical night was to rob the frats and lay one of babes the frats had to ignore because the sorority chics would get pissed if they didn't. Now, I wouldn't change a thing about that part. ;)

Skin < has said it before, 8b is the only game he got laid after playing
 

tylerdurden

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I think about this all the time. I grinded out a "living" off pool for about 10 years (not anymore)... and I think of other things I could have done all the time. These are in no particular order....

Play violin -- I have thought, if you played violin well, like really well, you could probably make money anywhere in the world. And if you think about it, woulnd't it be beautiful to play violin well.... not to mention the ability to serenade aspect. What girl could resist that??

Fighter -- what if instead of hitting all those balls, you learned how to kick ass. Man, that could come in handy here and there.

Camera operator/cinematographer -- good cameramen get are in demand. Got that technique down of walking with a camera and not too much bouncing... you can make a living anywhere, an interesting one at that.

The thing that amazes me about pool, you can be the best in your area, or in your state, and it don't mean nothing, financially. If you are the best car salesman, accountant, hotel manager (or almost anything), you are ranking in some serious dough. Man I hate that. For me, there was no motivation to really up my game. Some might say that is my bad.... and I guess it is.... but when it really comes down to it, if you are going to truly put yourself 100% on the line for something, you have to have it make sense financially, or be rich already. There are just no two ways about it. The desire was always there for me, but the money wasn't.

Those are my thoughts just spilled out into onepocketorgage.
 
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lll

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I think about this all the time. I grinded out a "living" off pool for about 10 years (not anymore)... and I think of other things I could have done all the time. These are in no particular order....

Play violin -- I have thought, if you played violin well, like really well, you could probably make money anywhere in the world. And if you think about it, woulnd't it be beautiful to play violin well.... not to mention the ability to serenade aspect. What girl could resist that??

Fighter -- what if instead of hitting all those balls, you learned how to kick ass. Man, that could come in handy here and there.

Camera operator/cinematographer -- good cameramen get are in demand. Got that technique down of walking with a camera and not too much bouncing... you can make a living anywhere, an interesting one at that.

The thing that amazes me about pool, you can be the best in your area, or in your state, and it don't mean nothing, financially. If you are the best car salesman, accountant, hotel manager (or almost anything), you are ranking in some serious dough. Man I hate that. For me, there was no motivation to really up my game. Some might say that is my bad.... and I guess it is.... but when it really comes down to it, if you are going to truly put yourself 100% on the line for something, you have to have it make sense financially, or be rich already. There are just no two ways about it. The desire was always there for me, but the money wasn't.
Those are my thoughts just spilled out into onepocketorgage.

i dont have the qualifications to speak first hand about this but i want to make a comment
i hope im not out of line for speaking since i have not walked in your (or any full time pool players )moccassins
so if i should just shut up and listen
i apologize
the reason you put 100% into something that "makes no sense financially"
is because of PASSION
you mention playing the violin
do you realize how many hours of practice alone in a room it takes to master an instrument????
and most musicians are starving
not traveling the world and seducing/serenading young ladies
i can think of many other examples
artists ,craftsmen
occupations that take an extremely long time of dedication and sacrifice
to excel and the end reward is small except for the few
so i think its the love for what they do that drives the pool player
not to hijack the thread but i think the ones that dont have anything ($$$)to show for their life in pool might regret their poor money management
but that burning desire to play and win the cheese and the lifestyle i dont think many regret
just my humble opinion
 

SJDinPHX

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i dont have the qualifications to speak first hand about this but i want to make a comment
i hope im not out of line for speaking since i have not walked in your (or any full time pool players )moccassins
so if i should just shut up and listen
i apologize
the reason you put 100% into something that "makes no sense financially"
is because of PASSION
you mention playing the violin
do you realize how many hours of practice alone in a room it takes to master an instrument????
and most musicians are starving
not traveling the world and seducing/serenading young ladies
i can think of many other examples
artists ,craftsmen
occupations that take an extremely long time of dedication and sacrifice
to excel and the end reward is small except for the few
so i think its the love for what they do that drives the pool player
not to hijack the thread but i think the ones that dont have anything ($$$)to show for their life in pool might regret their poor money management
but that burning desire to play and win the cheese and the lifestyle i dont think many regret
just my humble opinion

Well said Larry...You make more sense then 99.9% of pool player's..:rolleyes:
 

onepockethacker

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Players who finish within the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list are secured playing privileges for the 2008 season. Here's a look at who finished inside and outside the magical number after the year's final official event at Disney.

Money List Finish Player Total Money
120 Alex Cejka $868,303
121 Ryan Armour $862,979
122 Kevin Na $856,669
123 Jeff Maggert $845,585
124 Kevin Stadler $810,876
125 Mathias Gronberg $785,180
Top 125 retain PGA Tour card
126 * Ben Curtis $772,321
127 Ted Purdy $758,734
128 Craig Kanada $743,305
129 * Joe Durant $723,599
130 Brett Quigley $717,411

2011 pools top 30 mens money leaders

Shane Van Boening- $160,450
Ralf Souquet- $150,044
Darren Appleton- $144,180
Dennis Orcollo- $117,588
Thorsten Hohmann- $97,100
Alex Pagulayan- $89,360
Pin-Yi Ko- $87,500
Chris Melling- $84,141
Huidji See- $80,377
Niels Feijen- $72,067
Rodney Morris- $71,807
Yukio Akagariyama- $66,000
Lee Vann Corteza- $63,193
Jung-Lin Chang- $56,400
Johnny Archer- $56,225
Nick Van Den Berg- $53,531
Ronnie Alcano- $51,210
Mike Dechaine- $47,300
Mika Immonen- $44,005
Shawn Putnam- $39,765
Jian-Bo Fu- $38,400
Mark Gray- $37,601
David Alcaide- $34,079
Raj Hundal- $32,917
Larry Nevel- $32,685
Mike Davis- $32,430
Carlo Biado- $29,589
Earl Strickland- $29,445
Charlie Williams- $29,340
Dennis Hatch- $28,630

130 th on the PGA tour made more than the top 6 mens pool players made together
 

Alfie Taylor

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Messages
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Everyone' take is different

Everyone' take is different

I guess I fit into the catagory of "old timers" you mentioned. And, I did put in about twenty years in the racket. The game was good to me, put me in the company of the most interesting people and taught me to think on my feet. And, I was a good scuffler who knew the road and hung on to money pretty well. But, I'm not so egotistical as to think it was a way to make any more money than to keep my bills paid. One pretty good real estate closing could net a realtor more cash than my two decades scraped together. The advantage of the racket is you are your own boss and call all your own shots. I was lucky enough to get out of it and find another living that drives me equally nuts. But, I'm still my own boss. (I hope my wife doesn't read this)

Now, since Bill Porter and San Jose Dick introduced me to posting, I can have a touch of this extremely nice world again. Thanks, guys.
Keep it nice. Alfie
 
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petie

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Citrus Springs, FL
This question was tailor made for Nick Varner. He told me that when he was in high school he made a career decision between a life of being a professional golfer and a professional pool player. Apparently, his talents at both were equal. He has done better at pool than 99.999% of the players in pool but I bet his lifetime net income at pool is below a good year at golf. I could be exaggerating here. Too bad Nick doesn't post here.
 

tylerdurden

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i dont have the qualifications to speak first hand about this but i want to make a comment
i hope im not out of line for speaking since i have not walked in your (or any full time pool players )moccassins
so if i should just shut up and listen
i apologize
the reason you put 100% into something that "makes no sense financially"
is because of PASSION
you mention playing the violin
do you realize how many hours of practice alone in a room it takes to master an instrument????
and most musicians are starving
not traveling the world and seducing/serenading young ladies
i can think of many other examples
artists ,craftsmen
occupations that take an extremely long time of dedication and sacrifice
to excel and the end reward is small except for the few
so i think its the love for what they do that drives the pool player
not to hijack the thread but i think the ones that dont have anything ($$$)to show for their life in pool might regret their poor money management
but that burning desire to play and win the cheese and the lifestyle i dont think many regret
just my humble opinion

I guess I just strenuously disagree with you. If you are the best violin player in California, what kind of living do you think you can make relative to the best pool player? I see it as a very different living, and you can extrapolate from there (ie second best, 3rd best etc). But, maybe i'm wrong. My point is just that pool players aren't lucky imo. As a violin player, there is actually something to strive for, much like say baseball, golf or many other sports. You're good, and there is always that incentive to be that much better -- as in, if I can pull this off and get to the show, I can focus 100% on baseball. Not true in pool. You know who is one of the best ALL AROUND players in my state (if they really beared down)... Tang Hoa... you ever see him playing pool?? You know why? It aint because he don't love pool, i'll tell you thay right now.

I think Bruce Lee is a good example to discuss your points. He went in 100%. All day, every day. Constant striving for improvement. Now, how do you do that? How can you be in a situation to do that? Well, he made money. How? Try teaching people in your town how to defend themselves well, and then try to teach pool, see what kind of results you get. Pool is just incidentally a sport with no money in it. Lee was also very good, which didn't hurt. The point is, if he was a pool player with the same interest in pool, he'd probably be the same guy, yet with a day job, and who knows how much off his game as a result. See what I mean? He could not be 100% in that way. That is my take. It is too bad, just the way the cards fall I guess. In short, I dont agree with you... to be able to put 100% in to something you must also be making a living off of it. Some professions you can, some you can't. That is my take.

In short, i'm just saying... you need to have a passion, AND perhaps be a little lucky. My point about the violin maybe didn't work, but I still would love to have some other skill that being able to shoot balls in the hole at this point in my life... that's all :confused: And the ability to serenade the ladies, or impress people at a party is sounding mighty good to me at this point relative to being able to bank a nine ball cross side for 10 dollars minus 4 for time.
 
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lll

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vero beach fl
My point about serenading was lost... what I was saying is.... if you were a washed up violin player (working another job lets say), you'd have this amazing and useful talent (at parties etc). Pool you have nothing. That is my opinion, as you said, it differs... perhaps some old guy out there loves to go beat up on bangers and get free drinks... for me that is way passe. Anyway, I hope you get my drift.

I think Bruce Lee is a good example to discuss your points. He went in 100%. All day, every day. Constant striving for improvement. Now, how do you do that? How can you be in a situation to do that? Well, he made money. How? Try teaching people in your town how to defend themselves well, and then try to teach pool, see what kind of results you get. Pool is just incidentally a sport with no money in it. Lee was also very good, which didn't hurt. The point is, if he was a pool player with the same interest in pool, he'd probably be the same guy, yet with a day job, and who knows how much off his game as a result. See what I mean? He could not be 100% in that way. That is my take. It is too bad, just the way the cards fall I guess. In short, I dont agree with you... to be able to put 100% in to something you must also be making a living off of it. Some professions you can, some you can't. That is my take.

In short, i'm just saying... you need to have a passion, AND perhaps be a little lucky. My point about the violin maybe didn't work, but I still would love to have some other skill that being able to shoot balls in the hole at this point in my life... that's all :confused:

tyler
the carearr choice of teacher,doctor ,accountant, car assembly line person
etc
is an individual decision
if you goals are to make as much money as possible
you hope you are another bill gates to have the brains and marketing skills so you make gazillions:)
pool players are in the same boat as craftsmen and teachers
jmho
they do it becausew they love it

jmho
icbw
 

tylerdurden

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tyler
the carearr choice of teacher,doctor ,accountant, car assembly line person
etc
is an individual decision
if you goals are to make as much money as possible
you hope you are another bill gates to have the brains and marketing skills so you make gazillions:)
pool players are in the same boat as craftsmen and teachers
jmho
they do it becausew they love it

jmho
icbw

I'm losing you. I'm not talking about making bundles in the slightest. I'm simply saying pool isn't a profession conducive to being able to dedicate yourself 100% to it and actually make a living at the same time.

What that means is, you can't dedicate yourself 100% to it, correct? Unless you are rich already you can't. You'd have to have another job so you have some actual income. Most jobs take quite a bit of time (ie taking away from the 100%). You get the point.

Again, I highly disagree with you. A pool player isn't in the same boat as a teacher in the slightest. A teacher can go make a living, and CONCURRENTLY concentrate 100% on his passion. A pool player CANT do this. No way, no how. Efren maybe, a few others maybe... but not any old person like a person that wants to be a teacher can. See the difference??

One last point, you are talking about teachers. If you could get the number for how much total income teachers make a month in the US (all of their income put together), THEN take the monthly income of all the US pool players.... youd be looking at numbers that were so abysmally different all you could do is laugh. In short, teaching is a very "good" passion to have if you want to dedicate yourself to something (relatively speaking, it is viable and there is money there). Pool, not so much.
 
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tylerdurden

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I think Larry has helped me come to my final conclusion on this question via some very thoughtful PM's.

I would still choose pool, but after becoming a proficient player, I would NOT put that quadrillion hours it takes in to improve that extra 1 or 2 %. It just isn't worth it -- it doesn't make sense (in pool) to devote your life to that 1 or 2% for the return, or lack thereof.

On a side note, I just saw my old buddy Jeff Beckley won a pretty big tournament in IN. You know what comes to mind when I see that? You know how many tournaments he didn't money in? Spent the money on travel and entry. Great for him, he knows i'd be happy, but it is a losing battle is all i'm saying, and jeff plays great.
 
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