There's a point of view out there that gamble is bad for pool. I, on the other, think gambling is good for the sport and if people would stop trying to clean up pool and embrace the gambling aspects of it, promote it even, the game of pool would be a lot more appealing to mainstream America.
Q: Why is pool so popular in Asia?
A: Because you can gamble on it!
(I don't know if you have to be Asian to understand it but if you are Asian you know exactly what I'm talking about!)
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Gambling in and of it's self isn't bad but people tend to attach a lot of negative attributes to gambling that simply are not there. For example:
Gambling Encourages Cheating
This is simply untrue. People cheat just as much in tournaments as they do gambling.
Have you never seen Johnny Archer give someone his infamous slug rack? Or seen Jeanette Lee put on her little show to shark her opponents?
Oh, right. It's not cheating, it's "gamesmanship".
There also seems to be this believe that this is exclusive to pool, that all other mainstream sports are exempt from unsavory characters and unprofessional behavior. Unfortunately, cheating happens in all sports.
Can you say "performance enhancing drugs"?
It's the lure of money and the lack of character that makes people cheat - gambling has nothing to do with it.
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Let me let you in on a little secret: Tournament pool is BORING to watch. Yes, I'm a HUGE pool fan and I'm saying this BECAUSE it's TRUE.
It's boring because, 8 out of 10 times I have no emotional attachment to the outcome i.e. I really don't care who wins.
If the Denver Classic Finals was between Don Ho vs. Bob Smithers would you care who wins? Would you even bother to tune in and watch?
Well, to mainstream America, when Allison Fisher plays Ga Young Kim for the Woman's US Open title, it's EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
No one knows who these players are, no one cares if they win or lose, and the way the WPBA has dumb down it's matches...it's far from entertaining or exciting. Yes, it's being broadcast on ESPN but trust me when I say that only true fans are watching. (And just barely...the format...ugh.)
One thing that can increase excitement and emotional attachment to an outcome, making it much more viewable and enjoyable, is to increase the risk factor.
Why are the playoffs in any sport so much more exciting than the regular season? In the playoff's there's a risk of having your season end, of being knocked out of contention, that visible in the attitude of the players and their efforts. Seeing players "leaving everything on the field", as they say, is probably as exciting as it gets.
How are we going to increase risk in pool? By having top players playing each other in high stake matches by GAMBLING.
(Yes, I do believe TAR might have the right formula to attract mainstream America.)
I was in Vegas during the BCA Tournament last May...and honestly there seemed to be more people watching Chris Bartram play Rodney Morris on TAR than there were people watching the Professional tournament that was going on simultaneously.
Watching two people battle it out mano-a-mano, risking huge amounts of "their own" money, just seems a lot more exciting to me, and a whole bunch of other people, than watching someone win another tournament match.
Normally no one would watch two hacks play but if two hacks played each other for 3k each I'm sure a hell of a lot of you would be tuning in to watch. (And a lot of you did.)
It's not like suddenly, because of the stakes, the two hacks ability to play pool got better and you were going to watch some great pool. (It was actually the opposite - they played worse under the pressure.) It was exciting because of the risk each player has involved: 3k of their own money.
People will tune in and watch if the stakes are high enough.
There's a lot of issues with the current state of pool and the discussion on gambling in pool, good and bad, can go on forever but I do think that the promoting of high stakes matches between top players, gambling, and the colorful casts of characters involved in these matches would be a step in the right direction in making pool much more exciting and appealing to the general public.
As the post says: that's why they call it action!
(Hmmm...a TAR reality show...like the UFC's ultimate fighter...TAR: the ultimate hustler? Hmm...)
Q: Why is pool so popular in Asia?
A: Because you can gamble on it!
(I don't know if you have to be Asian to understand it but if you are Asian you know exactly what I'm talking about!)
---
Gambling in and of it's self isn't bad but people tend to attach a lot of negative attributes to gambling that simply are not there. For example:
Gambling Encourages Cheating
This is simply untrue. People cheat just as much in tournaments as they do gambling.
Have you never seen Johnny Archer give someone his infamous slug rack? Or seen Jeanette Lee put on her little show to shark her opponents?
Oh, right. It's not cheating, it's "gamesmanship".
There also seems to be this believe that this is exclusive to pool, that all other mainstream sports are exempt from unsavory characters and unprofessional behavior. Unfortunately, cheating happens in all sports.
Can you say "performance enhancing drugs"?
It's the lure of money and the lack of character that makes people cheat - gambling has nothing to do with it.
---
Let me let you in on a little secret: Tournament pool is BORING to watch. Yes, I'm a HUGE pool fan and I'm saying this BECAUSE it's TRUE.
It's boring because, 8 out of 10 times I have no emotional attachment to the outcome i.e. I really don't care who wins.
If the Denver Classic Finals was between Don Ho vs. Bob Smithers would you care who wins? Would you even bother to tune in and watch?
Well, to mainstream America, when Allison Fisher plays Ga Young Kim for the Woman's US Open title, it's EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
No one knows who these players are, no one cares if they win or lose, and the way the WPBA has dumb down it's matches...it's far from entertaining or exciting. Yes, it's being broadcast on ESPN but trust me when I say that only true fans are watching. (And just barely...the format...ugh.)
One thing that can increase excitement and emotional attachment to an outcome, making it much more viewable and enjoyable, is to increase the risk factor.
Why are the playoffs in any sport so much more exciting than the regular season? In the playoff's there's a risk of having your season end, of being knocked out of contention, that visible in the attitude of the players and their efforts. Seeing players "leaving everything on the field", as they say, is probably as exciting as it gets.
How are we going to increase risk in pool? By having top players playing each other in high stake matches by GAMBLING.
(Yes, I do believe TAR might have the right formula to attract mainstream America.)
I was in Vegas during the BCA Tournament last May...and honestly there seemed to be more people watching Chris Bartram play Rodney Morris on TAR than there were people watching the Professional tournament that was going on simultaneously.
Watching two people battle it out mano-a-mano, risking huge amounts of "their own" money, just seems a lot more exciting to me, and a whole bunch of other people, than watching someone win another tournament match.
Normally no one would watch two hacks play but if two hacks played each other for 3k each I'm sure a hell of a lot of you would be tuning in to watch. (And a lot of you did.)
It's not like suddenly, because of the stakes, the two hacks ability to play pool got better and you were going to watch some great pool. (It was actually the opposite - they played worse under the pressure.) It was exciting because of the risk each player has involved: 3k of their own money.
People will tune in and watch if the stakes are high enough.
There's a lot of issues with the current state of pool and the discussion on gambling in pool, good and bad, can go on forever but I do think that the promoting of high stakes matches between top players, gambling, and the colorful casts of characters involved in these matches would be a step in the right direction in making pool much more exciting and appealing to the general public.
As the post says: that's why they call it action!
(Hmmm...a TAR reality show...like the UFC's ultimate fighter...TAR: the ultimate hustler? Hmm...)
