How to become a professional?

[orenzai]

I wish you could still smoke in the snooker halls here!
Think your self lucky!

i wish they ban smoking here...its just unhealthy for non-smokers like me...

thank you all for the advice and ill keep myself motivated... during this school holiday i shall dedicate my time to snooker...and just to correct myself in my previous post...what i meant was that t achieve this goal is quite hard...due to this part of the world i am in and my parents...but i will never give up on snooker!!!

[orenzai]

Its not too late

hey...i just found out from the other section that peter ebdon started playing snooker when he was 14!!!which means you dont have to start snooker from small to be a pro...

[nardiello]

ive just started to play snooker few weeks ago..im going to turn 23 next month.this sport can even be played by 50 years old grandpa like steve davis..why should we care about the age..i think if ure good enough..u can even turn to pro at 27 and be the world champion at 29..is it impossible?i dont think so..i dont think u have to start at very young age..orenzai..let me know if ure good enough..we can go to uk together and start to join PIOS..is it expensive to join PIOS?how much is it?any info about PIOS?

[nardiello]

for member above 21 to become pro..any advice,please?

[Alex0paul]

we can go to uk together and start to join PIOS..is it expensive to join PIOS?how much is it?any info about PIOS?

PIOS costs £900 pounds to enter the eight events that span over a year so because you live in New Zealand it will cost you a hell of a lot of money. I Know two people who play in PIOS and they are excellent players who can make 100 breaks at will. However they struggle on PIOS because the standard is so high. You trully have to be something special to turn pro as a) you must win something or qualify through an event and b) there are only 96 tour places so its incredibly hard to get a spot nevermind trying to stay on the tour.

[orenzai]

you think the conversion rate from nz to pounds is a lot? guess what...my place...the rate is 1 pound=7 ringgit... which is its 6.3k...i can get 2 motorbikes here now...hahah...

[ADR147]

In truth you don't even have a 2% chance of turning professional! Most very good club players that I know were making 50+ breaks at your age and speaking for myself I made a 39 the first day I picked up a cue, albeit on a 3/4 table, and despite another 20 years of regular practice and becoming a better player I am resigned to the fact that I have nothing like the requisite amount of talent required to play the game at the top level. Now with the benefit of hindsight I am aware that the difference between the good players and the pros is really truly massive and until you have seen them playing on a club table it is hard for you to imagine just how good they really are. Any player on the main tour standing next to you playing is staggering the first time you see it they make the game look stupidly easy!

All this said however, DO NOT stop playing the game! Just because you might not be the next Stephen Hendry does not mean you will not get better, win some games and take a great deal of satisfaction from playing. I love a few pints but I will never be Oliver Reed!

[orenzai]

you made a 39 break the first day you picked up a cue?i dont believe... jimmy made breaks of 50 after 2 weeks...that maybe possible..

[Sam_92]

that was on a 3/4 table.. But thats like Ronnie he made his first hundred when he was what? 10?

[lbs]

orenzai...
these are practical advices. I live in the same side of the world like you (hey we are neighbours) and I can understand what you mean.

You are considered very fortunate ... 15 years old... in Singapore we undergo compulsory education until the age of 16... n further more there is national service to think about -_-. Snooker is considered an expensive sport like everywhere else, and skipping education for snooker like the Hendrys and O'Sullivans is really really rare. Poverty should never be a reason for not being able to play snooker--and that is why Ding's case is such a wonder--his parents sold the house for him. The stuff of dreams...

Keith E, the first Singaporean to get a 147 overseas, started at the age of 17-18. Fortunately for him, he is very talented and has easy access to the tables. And like all geniuses he worked hard.

I always believe that as long as you are focus in what you want, you will always get it. You may not get it perfectly, but you will get there.

What you need is a decent plan instead of a hazy idea.

[orenzai]

hi lbs...i don think i am any diff from you though...we have compulsory school until 17yo(form 5) unless you opt to stop yourself...and cases like hndry and sollivan they took the high risk...thats what not many people dare... ding.he is a wonder...his parents have been so supportive...i don think its impossible...but this part of the world...its just harder...peter ebdon started at 14 yo..went into the national team only at 17(if i am not wrong)...

[ADR147]

you made a 39 break the first day you picked up a cue?i dont believe... jimmy made breaks of 50 after 2 weeks...that maybe possible..

jimmy white was only 6 or 7 though i was 11 or 12 !!! - by the time jimmy white was 12 he was the best player in his local club and was earning more per night playing snooker than most people with jobs! i know a couple of top pros both of whom were knocking in 100 breaks pretty soon after they started playing, ie within a couple of months.

[orenzai]

thats kick ass dude...talented kids...omg...

[ADR147]

look up young michael white who is your age just joined the main tour and has already beaten most of the top player in the world.

[dannyd0g]

Just watched an old DVD of Alex Higgins over the weekend. In it he admits he did not start playing until he was 15.

That means he went from nothing to World champion in 7 years. Ok the game is totally different now to what it was in 1972 when there was only a handful of proffessionals. But judging by Alex's example 15 is not too late to develop an amazing talent. Alex was still playing at or around his peak well into his mid 30s too.