Starting weekly tourney...advice?

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Local Bar and Grill owner plays on my APA team and asked me to help him start a Sunday afternoon 8 ball tourney at his place. He is a former pool hall owner, so he has lots of experience, but none in this area. Here is what we are thinking, I would love to hear any recommendations or advice...

- $6 dollar entry ($1 is green fees)
*The bar matches entry fees for payout. Looking at paying top 3 with 4th place
winning back their entry fee
*8 ball race to 3, APA rules, but no handicap (local APA LO is going to help promote
it, but insisted on APA rules.
*Blind Draw
*Same person can not win 3 weeks in a row
*Single vs. double elimination will be determined by number of entries.
*Considering rotating 8 ball, 9 ball , scotch doubles each week.
*Start time of 4 pm


Pretty standard I reckon. What would set this tourney apart is that it will be played on two well maintained 9 footers as opposed to bar boxes. Any tips for making this a fun experience and keep folks coming back?
 

tucson9ball

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
With no handicap, it will die off pretty quickly. I'll give it 3/4 months tops.
What is the race? just one game?
Just 2 tables, better limit the field to 16, maybe just do the single elimination.....


I would suggest doing it on the bar tables. Still charge the greens fee but open up the tables. Many players don't like playing on the 9ft tables.
Pay 1/4 of the field.
Try to have at least 4 tables, otherwise it will take too long.

Just a few things off the top of my head.......
Good luck with the tournament, try to keep it fun :)
 

Icon of Sin

I can't fold, I need gold. I re-up and reload...
Silver Member
With no handicap, it will die off pretty quickly. I'll give it 3/4 months tops.

We have one in MD that has been going for years on Saturday nights. 20 dollar buy. Draws at least 30 players regularly. Big table, 8 ball on winners side, 9ball on losers side.
 

drv4

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Race to 3 is too long. Especially if you draw some 4s or lower, a match up of two 3s on a 9 footer if it goes hill hill could be over an hour.

Race to 2 winners side, race to 1 losers side.

Blind draw- and stay on top of matches, no one wants to waste their time.
 

stevenw00d

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
From the small towns (6 across the midwest and southeast) I've lived in and couple of cities (Cincy, Indy, Raleigh, and Burlington) I'll say that no rank tourneys seem to work well in the smaller places, but not so well in larger areas.

I'd love to find a small no rank tourney around here as it gives me a weekly place to play without feeling committed to it like I do a league.

Why charge greens fee if the bar is kicking money in? Drop the fee to $5, have the bar match that, and they are still making their money. Or have the bar match $4 for each $5 entry... it just seems like the less people think they are spending, the more likely they will play. This could be a wash though.

All of the small tourneys I have played have been single game, double elimination. A race to 3 is better, but definitely takes a lot longer. It also doesn't help someone who gets put up against the "shark" if there isn't a losers bracket. With race to 3 it is hard to have time for a losers bracket.

You could try alternating one week of race to 3 and the next week double elimination, single game. See which the people prefer.

Find 5 people that are going to play regularly and provide good feedback. Buy them each a beer a week and have them be your moles for the first month, or once a month. Get feedback on what people are saying and be flexible with how you have it setup.
 

ctyhntr

RIP Kelly
Silver Member
Instead of a straight up handicap, maybe the OP can consider a chip style tournament. Your $6 entry will get you 3 chips and just keep challenging players until one or two people end up with all the chips.

With no handicap, it will die off pretty quickly. I'll give it 3/4 months tops.
What is the race? just one game?
Just 2 tables, better limit the field to 16, maybe just do the single elimination.....

I would suggest doing it on the bar tables. Still charge the greens fee but open up the tables. Many players don't like playing on the 9ft tables.
Pay 1/4 of the field.
Try to have at least 4 tables, otherwise it will take too long.

Just a few things off the top of my head.......
Good luck with the tournament, try to keep it fun :)
 

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
With no handicap, it will die off pretty quickly. I'll give it 3/4 months tops.
What is the race? just one game?
Just 2 tables, better limit the field to 16, maybe just do the single elimination.....

I would suggest doing it on the bar tables. Still charge the greens fee but open up the tables. Many players don't like playing on the 9ft tables.
Pay 1/4 of the field.
Try to have at least 4 tables, otherwise it will take too long.

Just a few things off the top of my head.......
Good luck with the tournament, try to keep it fun :)

Race is to three. We have no options of playing on the small tables...there are only two 9 footers in the place....I like the idea of paying 1/4 the field.

Race to 3 is too long. Especially if you draw some 4s or lower, a match up of two 3s on a 9 footer if it goes hill hill could be over an hour.

Race to 2 winners side, race to 1 losers side.

Blind draw- and stay on top of matches, no one wants to waste their time.

This is a good suggestion. I am worried about the time factor with only 2 tables. Don't think folks will want to be out until 11 or 12 on Sunday night...
 

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So the final details the bar owner and I agreed on:
-6 dollar entry
-4 pm start time on Sunday afternoon
-8 ball, Double elimination, APA rules with no handicaps
-Race to 3 on the winners side, 1 game race on the losers side
-The Bar matches entry fees
-Payout a quarter of the field with the last payout spot winning amount of entry
-Championship match is race to 3, regardless
-Winner may not cash in consecutive weeks

So we will give it a go and see. Anyone around Middle Tn, come on out. I am hoping there are enough players that still like playing on 9 footers that it will be a good little in house tourney...

Thanks for all of the advice....very helpful!
 

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Well the tourney happened yesterday. We ended up with 14 players. The bar owner was firm on wanting it to be race to three on the winners side and race to two on the losers. As I feared, the first round race to three on the 9 foot tables took a loooong time, with several first round matches going hill-hill with a bunch of innings.

I made the call that from second round on, it would be race to 2, and the pace picked up, but the damage was done. The tourney ran from 4-10:30. Winner got 75, 2nd got 50, 3rd got 25...

Bright side is we learned a lot for next week. Most players wanted the entry fee jacked up to increase the payouts, and race to 2 on the winners and 1 game race on the losers...Will get payout up to 100 for winner as well...
 
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