Test examiners
Anybody know if there are any PAT examiners in the Southeast US?
Anybody know if there are any PAT examiners in the Southeast US?
PAT (Players Ability Test)
- Thread starter Wedge
- Start date
looks like the answer is "no". Yay Me!!!
That's too bad. I admit that I got lucky that there are some examiners here in Dallas. It hasn't really taken off here in the US. You will still benefit from the training materials and can still do a self-test though. You just need to be honest with yourself when you do.
Oh, I'm positive it's still worth it. I'm getting PATs 1, 2, & 3. It just stinks that the nearest examiners to me are going to be in the Midwest.
You do each full exercise the number of times specified (usually 3 or 4 times.)
You then take the average of those 3 or 4 scores and multiply it by the weird number that they give you. At the end you add up all of these subtotals and that is your score.
Sometimes the exercises are broken into two parts (A and B) each of which you do the specified number of times. You take the average of all the parts of the exercise (both A and B) and then multiply it by the weird number.
I guess there is no easy explanation, but I hope this comes close.
Was the PAT what they had you doing on your European field trip, Liz?
I took the PAT2 test maybe a year ago, never seen any of those shots before the test. I think I scored like 680-690 or something on a very tight GCIV table. I think I did fairly well considering the tough table.
If you tell your personal bests here, please tell also how many times you have taken the test? :wink:
If you tell your personal bests here, please tell also how many times you have taken the test? :wink:
That is a very, very good score
I have not taken the PAT2 yet but I will within the next few weeks. Perhaps you could ask Ine Helvik or Liz Ford what their scores are. They have both taken PAT2. Do you know Ine?
I have not taken the PAT2 yet but I will within the next few weeks. Perhaps you could ask Ine Helvik or Liz Ford what their scores are. They have both taken PAT2. Do you know Ine?
Yeah, I've met Ine many times in international tournaments, nice girl
IMHO many of the shots are something you can easily practise and then get a higher score after trying it many times. Would be nice to know if the results ppl are getting are from zero practising and first try Buckets for pockets also help... So I don't think the scores are comparable between players but you can always compare to your own previous score and see how you've progressed.Should've practised for months and taken the test on a table with 5.5" pockets so I shouldn't have to bring these lame excuses up...
Yeah, I've met Ine many times in international tournaments, nice girl
Should've practised for months and taken the test on a table with 5.5" pockets so I shouldn't have to bring these lame excuses up...
I think that the fact that as you said "many of the shots are something you can easily practice and get a higher score" is the purpose of the training!!! When you get in a Tournament situation you will see many of these shots...and guess what...you will say to yourself...shit I can make that...I made it a thousand times in my PAT Training!!!
Exactly. That's why comparing PAT -scores is like comparing apples and oranges.
But, I think I have to return to many of those nice PAT-shots to include in my rare practice regime. I never liked doing drills, but many of the PAT-shots have really good elements which you can practise without getting bored in some tedious progressive drill.
Here are my scores. I keep my training document (Excel file) on an internet share so I can update it from anywhere.
4/26/09 - first PAT START practice test, 1180 points.
5/31/09 - official PAT START test, 1256 points.
6/28/09 - best PAT-1 practice test, 715 points.
4/26/09 - first PAT START practice test, 1180 points.
5/31/09 - official PAT START test, 1256 points.
6/28/09 - best PAT-1 practice test, 715 points.
First 10 Attempts at PAT1
Here are my first 10 (Self Administered) attempts at PAT1 over a 2 month period. My average over 10 attempts was 969.
789, 1066, 929, 1059, 968, 983, 923, 993, 1006, 977
Note: My higher scores were when a fellow player set up the drills. I guess it is less tiring as when you do the drills yourself. It takes about 3 hours or so if you do the drills yourself or perhaps you want to impress your peer when they are setting up the drills for you!
Wedge
Here are my first 10 (Self Administered) attempts at PAT1 over a 2 month period. My average over 10 attempts was 969.
789, 1066, 929, 1059, 968, 983, 923, 993, 1006, 977
Note: My higher scores were when a fellow player set up the drills. I guess it is less tiring as when you do the drills yourself. It takes about 3 hours or so if you do the drills yourself or perhaps you want to impress your peer when they are setting up the drills for you!
Wedge
Weird number = difficulty factor ??
Are there factors for different pocket widths? Table sizes?
MJ,
While I believe that the PAT test is a really valuable testing and training aid; in my view the scores are NOT a valuable way to compare the relative skills of the players. For proof, just look at the high score page, and see how low Thorsten and Ralf are.
There are 2 main reasons it CAN'T be used as a general tool for comparison to other players (it's a GREAT tool for self-comparison, when taken on the same table as you progress):
#1 - Your score will be highly influenced by the difficulty of the table on which you take the test (as you accurately point out). Even the pro's will have significantly different scores on easier equipment (personal observation, I have administered it several times to high level professional players).
#2 - Several of the drills within PAT, are of the "shoot until you miss" variety; rather than the "shoot 15 and see how many you make" variety. A pro might be able to make 13 out of 15 of the long straight, off-the-rail shots; but if he misses the first one his score is 0, not 13. In addition, on the specialty shots they have only a few tries at each shot (I'm assuming to save time) - the pool fanatic would not mind 10 or 15 or 20 tries, their improvement over time would be much more noticeable with more attempts allowed.
I am currently involved in a large pool project; but as soon as it is done, I'm thinking I can definitely improve on the PAT test scoring with some very minor changes - we can have an "American Modified PAT" which could also include equipment specifications that would be a much more reliable measure of proficiency.
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Did you know that they are working on alternate versions of each drill? they've nicknamed it APAT. If you're a member you can download the entire APAT-1 document from their site. However, unless you can read German, it's pretty difficult to understand.
I don't think the scoring method is any different, and I kind of agree with you about the shoot until you miss rule.
JC,
Thanks for the referral. I do read German fortunately (it was the only way I could figure out how to score the regular PAT, as the English translation is PONDEROUS and almost UNREADABLE).
It would only take a little tweaking to make the PAT an awesome tool.
I've exchanged several e-mails with Dirk about the changes that they are trying to implement. I think they are behind schedule but we should see something this year.