Check Out Samm Diep’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samm Diep.

Hi Samm, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Hi! I’m Samm. I’m just your typical wife, mom-of-two, kombucha-brewing, bento-making organic gardener. Oh, and I happen to teach billiards professionally by day. My story? Let’s see… Where do I begin? I’m a Chinese-American immigrant. I grew up playing the violin all my life and when I was in high school I played in a strolling strings orchestra (yes, you read that correctly). We would meet for rehearsals every Wednesday night from 7:30-10:00.

I may have missed a couple of rehearsals here and there with some of my older friends (who had a car and a license) and you may have found us at the all-ages pool room in town. That’s basically where I was first bit by the pool bug. I continued dabbling in the game for the following ten years or so. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I was reintroduced more seriously and joined my first pool league.

I had no idea what I was doing but I was fortunate enough to have some wonderful teammates who took me under their wings and showed me the way. It wasn’t until 2003, after my marketing position at an insurance firm was eliminated, that I decided I would attempt to give this pool thing a full-time effort. It was the most difficult conversation I ever had to have with my very conventional Chinese mom.

I mapped out regional and national events across the country and gave myself a one-year mark to reach my goals (mainly because that’s when unemployment would run out). Although it took longer than a year, after 18 months I won my first national title, followed by three more in the next two years. Having been such a good student of the game myself (it also helped that I taught violin lessons for ten years after high school), it was a natural transition for me to start sharing my knowledge and begin my teaching journey.

Initially, I would teach a few lessons here and there between tournaments. It wasn’t until my husband and I started our family ten years ago and my girls came along that I shifted my goals from competing to teaching. Now, I’m a Master Certified Billiard Instructor with the PBIA (Professional Billiard Instructors Association) and the ACS (American CueSports Alliance).

I’m also a Senior Instructor at Billiard University, founded by Dr. Dave Alciatore, a retired CSU professor of Mechanical Engineering and my mentor. We teach Spring and Fall boot camps together in Fort Collins, where he’s based. It took the past ten years and a pandemic to truly build my teaching career with a solid curriculum offered in-person and remotely.

I’m so proud of all my students, young and old. Many of my juniors have gone on to win state, regional and national events. I’m also honored to offer programming for both seniors and kids through the Denver Parks & Recs. If you’re ever in need of billiard instruction or equipment, I hope you’ll consider me.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Billiards is not a lucrative industry or career choice by any means. Less than the top ten percent of the field make any profit or barely break even after travel, lodging, and entry fees. Struggling to cover tournament expenses is always a constant challenge in the beginning until you build some strong, loyal relationships with sponsors. I couldn’t have lasted as long as I did without them, and the teaching side gigs.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I teach billiards professionally. I offer 2-hour bite-sized lessons or 1 or 2-day sessions where I fill your brain with everything you ever wanted to know about the game, including cue ball control, kicking, banking, jumping, etc. My students who fly in for full-day sessions leave with a complete notebook illustrating everything that we cover, along with photos and videos from our time together.

I truly love my job so much!! It’s fun to meet so many different people from all walks of life. For me, each student is a puzzle to solve. How can I present the same information in twelve different ways so that twelve different learners can still gain the same knowledge? I love the challenge.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how diverse Denver has become! Dining options from all different cultures are available within a 20-minute drive. My favorite part about living in Denver is probably the sunshine.

I have never lived anywhere else that I can remember but I have traveled to many places it’s so hard to stay in places where the sun doesn’t shine and it always reminds me how spoiled we are with our 300 days a year of sunshine. If I had to pick something I like the least about Denver it would be traffic. It’s gotten pretty bad over the past few years.

Pricing:

• $250 for a 2-hour Private In-Person or Remote Lesson ($125/hour)
• $25/hour surcharge for evenings (after 4:00 PM) & weekends
• $50/hour for each additional student (up to 6 people)
• $920 for full day (8 hours) Billiard University Curriculum ($115/hour)
• $1,320 for 2-day (12 hours) Advanced Billiard University Curriculum $110/hour)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sammdiep.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/professionalbilliardinstructor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sammspocket
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammspocket/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sammspocket
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/samm-diep-denver-2