Bizarro World

Pool is a strange little sub-culture where ordinary things, like logic, never seem to apply. Here's a few of the things that bugs the shit out of me.

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Pool Professionals vs. PROs (Professional Pool Players)

If you happen to work in the pool industry and yes, while you do make you're living from the game of pool, it makes you a "Pool Professional", not a PRO. I think you're only allowed to call yourself a PRO when you're known for your pool playing abilities and your main source of income comes from PLAYING the game of pool. (Like gambling, winning prize money, paid sponsorships, etc.)

It's like people who have a PhD. Sure, you can go around calling yourself a doctor but you'll look like an asshole doing it.

So please stop referring to yourself as a PRO. You know who you are.

Going PRO

I don't know why but there are so many people in the NYC area who are trying to go PRO in pool. It's like they think that just because they like the game they can suddenly become a PRO in it. They seem to forget a few things that might keep them from achieving that goal. Things like, you know, TALENT and ABILITY.

I mean, seriously, if this was anything else other than pool, any other sport, wouldn't your talent and ability in it be the first indicators?

For example, I like basketball but I'm never gonna be able to go PRO. Why? I'm relatively short for the game at 6'0". I'm slow. I've got a 2 inch vertical leap. I can try as hard as I want, I can practice all day and all night but I'm never going to overcome the fact that I have no natural talent or ability for it. Sure I can get good at basketball and go as far as my abilities take me but that's never going to go beyond being a recreational hack.

Seriously, just go to your local pool room and look around. Look at some of the people who are in there, who've been around the game for years, who LOVE the game as much as you do. They practice all the time. They play all the time. Look at where they are now and what their speed is. Are they all PRO level? No? Don't you think there's a reason for that?

I don’t care how much you read about and learn the game, how many videos you’ve watched, how many lessons you’ve taken, hell, you could even have a PhD in pool knowledge, but without talent and ability you’re not going to get very far.

Please stop saying you're goal is to go PRO. If you have the talent and ability it'll just happen on it's own and saying you're gonna do it when you SUCK just makes you look like a retard.

Speed

When I was growing up there was no leagues and people determined speed by who they can beat regularly, often for money, and who they would need weight from to make a “fair” game. People often dumped or just played "good enough to win" to try and stay under the radar cause they didn't wanna start matching up with the better players and making it harder to win the $$$.

Now it’s all about leagues and “getting raised” and how, suddenly, you’re judge by whatever “speed” it is the league director decided for you. Someone even once describe the Amsterdam League in NY as the “totem pole” for pool in NYC...

Well it’s all BULLSHIT.

Please realize that the speed a league director arbitrarily gives you doesn’t mean shit anywhere else. Please realize that he doesn't really have a system for determining someone's speed. SO you can go around claiming you’re Open speed all you want but unless you’re going around playing, and beating, other Open players…YOU’RE NOT OPEN.

And, great, you’re an SL7 in APA 9-ball. No one plays APA style pool outside of APA leagues so please realize that it means absolutely shit anywhere else.

There are plenty of Open tournaments and handicapped tournaments everywhere. Go and play in them. Use the results as a benchmark for how good you are, not leagues.

Please stop living your pool life by your arbitrary grade because, really, it’s pretty meaningless and it makes you look retarded.

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Ah. I feel better.