Bank the 8 and going pro?just a couple questions for you guys, 1. i was wondering if there were steps beyond tournaments to work towars profesenal, i ask becuase i only know of 1 tournament in my state a year, witch is PA if anyone knows any outside the tourny in erie pa the state vnea tournament. or any diffrent steps 2. i have heard... | |
There is an anual tournament in your state that is a stepping stone to the professional ranks. It is the U.S. Amateur Championship sanctioned by the APA. Go to http://poolplayers.com/Locator/defau... and type in your zip code to find the APA League Operator closest to you and they will be able to fill you in on all the details.
As for banking the 8 ball as a means to win the game, that is something you will find almost exclusively on bar room tables and is nothing more than a drill of sorts. However, the ability to bank the eight may come in handy in some amateur or professsional level situations.
Well, there's definitely other tournaments in PA, primarily I'm thinking of the Super Billiards Expo, but it's across the state in King of Prussia. Allen Hopkins hosts a tournament there twice per year. Also check out some regional tours. There's the PA state champs coming up too (see second link), but I guess that might be women only. If you want to go pro though, you'll probably have to travel a bit to find high-level tournaments. There's a listing of regional tours on the third link.
I wouldn't say bank the 8 is bad for you. It does force you to look for and play for the bank, which may not be as simple as playing for a straight in shot. And in a tournament, playing to bank the 8 is a little risky. But why not just play bank pool and try banking everything?
