Expert: Pool_Teacher - 12/15/2005

Question
It's nice to send you e-mail. I'm a college student in Japan. I began to play billiards when I was a jounior high school, and I'm interested in billiards now. I have two questions that I want to ask you. First, if I want to be a professional billiards player, how should I do? Second, How much is the income which a professional player get?

Answer
Maru konnichiwa, betsu no kuni kara amari hito ga watashi shitsumon wo kikanai node ureshii desu. Kono saito wo mitsukete, watashi wo renraku shimashita no wa kansha shitemasu.

(A friend of mine helped me with the above, I hope she translated well).

I'm not sure from your first question whether you seek to be a professional billiards player in Japan or in the U.S., and I'm also not sure whether by "billiards" you mean pool, and not three cushion billiards which is what the word billiards standing alone usually refers to in the U.S.

However, I'm going to assume that you refer to the U.S. and to pool since I don't think you would have also asked me what professionals earn if you were referring to a different country than my own, and the only form of billiards that really gets much professional play here is pool (there are professional carom tournaments but it's a drop in the bucket compared to pool).

The technical process of becoming a professional is easy. In fact, it's too easy, showing the lack of popularity, respect and professional organization of men's professional pool. In order to become a professional you simply need to sign up with a few of the professional organizations and pay annual dues, and then enter tournaments and get your name known.

To get your name known, you go to many of these tournaments, pay the entry fee (often in the range of $200-$400) and then DO WELL in some of these tournaments; finish high in the rankings consistently and your name starts to get reported. There are some professional events where you have to win qualifier events in order to play in. Once your name is established, however, you may get seeded into the events, meaning you do not have to qualify, having an established skill level.

A lot of professional tournaments are called "opens"; so-called because they are open to any person who is willing to pay an entry fee. Don't be fooled though. At some "opens" you still need to have certain qualifications.

Besides the professional organizations such as the BCA (Billiard Congress of America), UPA (United States Professional Poolplayers Association) and the WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) there are multiple regional tours such as the IPT (International Pool Tour), Viking,  Fury, Joss, Midwest, Pechauer, Southeast, NYC Tour and many more.

Of course, you are going to have to move to the U.S., and move to an area that is a hub of pool play. Then you have to be willing to live an itinerant life; that is, you have to spend a lot of time traveling to where the action is.

My question for you is this: are you good enough right now to compete effectively against high ranked players in Japan? All of what I have told you so far is about what to do already assuming you have the skill level to compete. But unless you have the skills, knowing where to go and how to enter tournaments is useless. The following is a way to rate your own skill level. It's an excerpt of an article by Bob Cambell in All About Pool magazine (December, 1997) giving guidance on handicapping nine ball players in a race to seven:

D- Player
>will not run a rack
>average run is about 3 balls
>with ball in hand, will get out from the 7, one out of 3 times
>rarely plays a successful safe

C-Player
>will probably run one rack, but usually not more than one
>avg. run is 3 to 5 balls
>with ball in hand, will get out from the 7, two out of 3 times
>mixed results when playing safe
>inning ends due to botched position, missed shot or attempting a safe.

B-Player
>Able to run 1 to 3 racks
>avg. run is 5-7 balls
>with ball in hand will get out form the 5, 2 out of 3 times
>most of the time a "B" player will play a "safety" which maybe hit easily 2 out of 3 times
>a typical inning will end with a missed shot, a fair safety, or a won game

A-Player
>will string 2 to 3 racks
>avg. ball run, 7-9
>with ball in hand, will be out from the 3 ball, 2 out of 3 times
>typical inning will end with a well executed safety or a win.

OPEN-Players
>average 8+ balls
>string racks together more than once in a match
>is a threat to run out from every ball, from every position, every inning
>typical inning will end in excellent safety or win

Most pros have run at least 150 balls in straight pool, many significantly higher, and many will run 80 balls or so fairly often.

If you have an "open player" skill level, you're well on your way to effectively TRY to become a known professional. If you fall much lower than this on the chart, you can enter all the professional tournmanents you want and it will be to no avail because you will be easily beaten and never make it to any tournament's finals.

As to your second question, that is very variable. Relatively speaking there is VERY little money in the professional pool world. The very top pros, who place fairly often in tournaments, often make less than $150,000. Lower echelon pros sometimes make far less--many less than $50,000. a year from tournaments.

While $150,000 a year is nothing to sneer at, only a handful of players do so, and if you compare this to other professional sports its almost a silly sum of money. Golf pros, for instance, can earn prize money in an amount multiple times this from a single event!

Of course there are ways to supplement your income. If you reach the higher levels there are endorsement deals, but not millions of dollars like in other sports. Many pros supplement their incomes in various ways like giving pool lessons, holding exhibitions, and from gambling.

You should also realize that because of the traveling component, it is expensive to live the life of a professional pool player--hotels, transportation, eating out, etc.

Good luck.

Ohayou.

Pool_Teacher