07-17-2002, 04:34 PM
This Post is going to a local player in my local pool hall. 16, just dropped out of school to play pool full time. He's a good player, but any top money player will spank him around. I doubt he reads this board but I thought I would post this anyway. This would also be good reading for all the people who come on and ask how they become pro pool players. Sorry for peeing on everyons dreams like this. Reasons not to play pool for a living.
1. Income. The Top 20 Male pro's last year made an average of $53,125.
Remember, these are the 20 best players in the world, if you aren't world class your going to get by on much less. The 20th ranked player only made $20,670. Tournament victories will not pay the bills, so the next option is to gamble.
2. Gambling. This is how you are going to make the majority of your money. The only problem is you can also lose. Not to mention that winning doesn't mean you'll make it out of the building with your cash. Not exactly the most stable cash flow source.
3. Friendship. You aren't going to have any real friends. That isn't to say that their aren't good people in the pool hall, but you aren't going to deal with these people. The people you will spend 90% of your time with will all be after the same thing, money. They will steer you, bet against you, and then try to borrow money from you after they lose. Life starts to suck when you are all alone.
4. Family. Unless you meet the most understanding women ever created, there won't be any family for you. Kids are another story altogether, I'm even of the belief that if you have kids you should be at home taking care of them, not out on the road.
5. Your Health. You will need to spend the majority of your time in smoke filled pool halls. Your not like a regular person, you can't pick and choose what places to frequent, you need to go where the money is. I hope you enjoy Lung Cancer.
6. Purchases. Try to buy a house without a job. Unless you have 100k in a safety deposit box your SOL. Banks don't give money to unemployed people with no credit.
7. Hospital. You better purchase, very expensive, your own benefits package or hope you never need to visit the hospital. Road Players don't have benefits last time I checked. Many self employed people just take the risk that they won't get sick, and lose everything they have when they do get sick.
8. A New Job. After 15 or 20 years, your eyes aren't what they once were, your losing more than you winning, you simply can't cut the mustard anymore. Time to get a new job you say. Problem, most employers don't hire people who haven't worked since high school. Not to mention the knee-jerk reaction the employer will have when you try to explain to him that you gambled at pool for a living for the last 20 years.
9. No Respect. And the reason that the employer will be so fearful of a person like you working for him is because pool players have the stigma of being the lowest of the low. That is how your whole life will be, you, will be looked down upon by all of society.
10. Morals and Trust. After 20 years of hustling, being hustled and watching your back, you won't have an ounce of morality or faith left. It's like being a serial killer who finds it easier to kill with each victim. Only with you it is about getting money. And good luck trying to trust anyone. When you spend your life with scum, everyone starts to look like scum.
11. Money Means Nothing, One of the keys to being a successful gambler is convincing yourself that money is not important. That is how you can live with yourself when you lose several thousand dollars. Money is just the tool used to get the action.
12. Action Junkie. After a few years of gambling high stakes, normal life will mean nothing to you. How exciting is it to stay at home and watch T.V. when just a few years ago you were betting thousands on a single roll of a ball. You are now a confirmed action junkie. You are like a Heroin Junkie chasing the dragon, nothing will ever scratch the itch like gambling did.
13. Pension. You are 50 years old, you've managed to scrape by on your minimum wage job for the last 20 years. Now all the people you went to High School with are retiring with healthy 401k. Meanwhile, you have eaten through all the money left in your Security Box and are looking forward to 20 more years of menial labor. But at least you followed your dream.
Overview. This isn't indicative of what will happen to everyone who goes this route, but we have all seen too many talented young players turn into middle age nits. Pool is a hobby and should be treated as such. Get a job, education, family, friends all that good stuff. And if you want to test the waters, there is enough gambling and tournaments on weekends to give you an idea if you are World Class and this is the life for you. Unfortunately, when you are 16 sleeping in and staying up all night seems like a good life, when you get a little older you realize it isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Krusty
1. Income. The Top 20 Male pro's last year made an average of $53,125.
Remember, these are the 20 best players in the world, if you aren't world class your going to get by on much less. The 20th ranked player only made $20,670. Tournament victories will not pay the bills, so the next option is to gamble.
2. Gambling. This is how you are going to make the majority of your money. The only problem is you can also lose. Not to mention that winning doesn't mean you'll make it out of the building with your cash. Not exactly the most stable cash flow source.
3. Friendship. You aren't going to have any real friends. That isn't to say that their aren't good people in the pool hall, but you aren't going to deal with these people. The people you will spend 90% of your time with will all be after the same thing, money. They will steer you, bet against you, and then try to borrow money from you after they lose. Life starts to suck when you are all alone.
4. Family. Unless you meet the most understanding women ever created, there won't be any family for you. Kids are another story altogether, I'm even of the belief that if you have kids you should be at home taking care of them, not out on the road.
5. Your Health. You will need to spend the majority of your time in smoke filled pool halls. Your not like a regular person, you can't pick and choose what places to frequent, you need to go where the money is. I hope you enjoy Lung Cancer.
6. Purchases. Try to buy a house without a job. Unless you have 100k in a safety deposit box your SOL. Banks don't give money to unemployed people with no credit.
7. Hospital. You better purchase, very expensive, your own benefits package or hope you never need to visit the hospital. Road Players don't have benefits last time I checked. Many self employed people just take the risk that they won't get sick, and lose everything they have when they do get sick.
8. A New Job. After 15 or 20 years, your eyes aren't what they once were, your losing more than you winning, you simply can't cut the mustard anymore. Time to get a new job you say. Problem, most employers don't hire people who haven't worked since high school. Not to mention the knee-jerk reaction the employer will have when you try to explain to him that you gambled at pool for a living for the last 20 years.
9. No Respect. And the reason that the employer will be so fearful of a person like you working for him is because pool players have the stigma of being the lowest of the low. That is how your whole life will be, you, will be looked down upon by all of society.
10. Morals and Trust. After 20 years of hustling, being hustled and watching your back, you won't have an ounce of morality or faith left. It's like being a serial killer who finds it easier to kill with each victim. Only with you it is about getting money. And good luck trying to trust anyone. When you spend your life with scum, everyone starts to look like scum.
11. Money Means Nothing, One of the keys to being a successful gambler is convincing yourself that money is not important. That is how you can live with yourself when you lose several thousand dollars. Money is just the tool used to get the action.
12. Action Junkie. After a few years of gambling high stakes, normal life will mean nothing to you. How exciting is it to stay at home and watch T.V. when just a few years ago you were betting thousands on a single roll of a ball. You are now a confirmed action junkie. You are like a Heroin Junkie chasing the dragon, nothing will ever scratch the itch like gambling did.
13. Pension. You are 50 years old, you've managed to scrape by on your minimum wage job for the last 20 years. Now all the people you went to High School with are retiring with healthy 401k. Meanwhile, you have eaten through all the money left in your Security Box and are looking forward to 20 more years of menial labor. But at least you followed your dream.
Overview. This isn't indicative of what will happen to everyone who goes this route, but we have all seen too many talented young players turn into middle age nits. Pool is a hobby and should be treated as such. Get a job, education, family, friends all that good stuff. And if you want to test the waters, there is enough gambling and tournaments on weekends to give you an idea if you are World Class and this is the life for you. Unfortunately, when you are 16 sleeping in and staying up all night seems like a good life, when you get a little older you realize it isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Krusty