Here is the handicap summary from last Monday's 9 ball match (I did not play, I am a 556):
Given the Fargo Handicap Table attached as an image and the teams below, each player's handicap is shown to the right of their Fargo rating:
View attachment 921975
Team A (us)
430 : 0
483 : 3
500 : 4
503 : 4
summed total (1916 total Fargo) : 12
Team B (them)
323 : -5
517 : 4
515 : 4
439 : 1
summed total (1794 total Fargo) : 4
Using the difference of 8 between the two teams the game handicap calculation is multiply by .2 and round (.5 and greater round up, otherwise round down) which equals a 2 game advantage for every frame. A match consists of 8 individual (no race of any kind) games played per frame with 4 frames total (each player plays 2 games per frame in a round robin fashion). You can see where this is going. Basically our team has to win 6 out of the 8 games to win a frame, which given how the individual and total Fargo ratings match up, it is quite an uphill battle (if we win 5 and they win 3, they get the 2 games which results in a tie plus if we win less we lose the frame). We have had matches earlier in the season where we have had to give up 4 games for every frame (we have to play for a tie) and once we had to give up 5 games per frame (cannot win any frame or match).
So my point is, this system is a double whammy against the stronger team:
- initial Fargo Handicap Table is quite favored to lower players
- giving up games instead of balls / points prevents the stronger team from ever having a chance to win the games that were adjusted for the match
Not a very fun league to play in and our team probably would not have if we knew about this new 9 ball handicap system the League Operator wanted to try because he wants to continue to grow the league.
