Another look at APA

[8up]

Week 1 I won in 8 & 9 ball. I beat a sl7 in 9 ball that was clearly better than me. I felt he missed some easy shots after making some monsters and like he gave up trying because he figured he couldn't cover the spread. This was just my thinking. I shot at my best that night.

Week 2 I posted how my SL had went up SL5 in 9 ball and an SL4 at 8 ball and I had played terrible and was giving balls to guys I felt shot a lot better than me. I felt for them to shoot that well and have a skill level lower than mine they must be sandbagging.

This week I was a SL2 at 8 ball and a 4 at 9 ball. I was matched against a 3 at 8 ball and she won the 1st and and dropped the 8 on her 2nd shot of the second game. I won the 3rd and the set. She was bummed. I felt we were about equal without a handicap as far as skill level.

Then at 9 ball they put her up against me again. Before we started I told her now you can have your revenge. She was SL and I was a 4 so I had to give her 6 balls. I won 31 -6. She was upset and acted like I was a sandbagger I think. I was told I will probably go up to an SL6 next week. I left feeling good.

On the way home I ran it all back in my mind and explained what happened to my wife and daughter. When an :idea2: hit me. I did make some real nice shots and I also missed some that had to look like I missed them on purpose. So it may have looked like I sandbagged. The score sheet also read as if I had out played her badly and I did.

Why did this happen? I shot my best with some lucky rolls and she had a bad night. She had the break twice and gave me ball in hand 4 times. The score sheet will not reflect the ball in hand that is such a game changer. So I played a little better than normal and she played a little worse and our lucky rolls went in opposite directions.

While this could have mirrored actual sandbagging there was none. The score sheet should show when someone gets ball in hand and it should show who had the break each game. These are important game changing events and somehow should reflect in how the handicap is figured.

I had fun and learned a few things as well. Did I find a flawless system no but I did have fun while learning and met a few new people as well. I ask for a break cue and was handed a hot pink one. I laughed and broke with it.

Was it worth my $8 yes

 

[LeagueGuy]

Week 1 I won in 8 & 9 ball. I beat a sl7 in 9 ball that was clearly better than me. I felt he missed some easy shots after making some monsters and like he gave up trying because he figured he couldn't cover the spread. This was just my thinking. I shot at my best that night.

Week 2 I posted how my SL had went up SL5 in 9 ball and an SL4 at 8 ball and I had played terrible and was giving balls to guys I felt shot a lot better than me. I felt for them to shoot that well and have a skill level lower than mine they must be sandbagging.

This week I was a SL2 at 8 ball and a 4 at 9 ball. I was matched against a 3 at 8 ball and she won the 1st and and dropped the 8 on her 2nd shot of the second game. I won the 3rd and the set. She was bummed. I felt we were about equal without a handicap as far as skill level.

Then at 9 ball they put her up against me again. Before we started I told her now you can have your revenge. She was SL and I was a 4 so I had to give her 6 balls. I won 31 -6. She was upset and acted like I was a sandbagger I think. I was told I will probably go up to an SL6 next week. I left feeling good.

On the way home I ran it all back in my mind and explained what happened to my wife and daughter. When an :idea2: hit me. I did make some real nice shots and I also missed some that had to look like I missed them on purpose. So it may have looked like I sandbagged. The score sheet also read as if I had out played her badly and I did.

Why did this happen? I shot my best with some lucky rolls and she had a bad night. She had the break twice and gave me ball in hand 4 times. The score sheet will not reflect the ball in hand that is such a game changer. So I played a little better than normal and she played a little worse and our lucky rolls went in opposite directions.

While this could have mirrored actual sandbagging there was none. The score sheet should show when someone gets ball in hand and it should show who had the break each game. These are important game changing events and somehow should reflect in how the handicap is figured.

I had fun and learned a few things as well. Did I find a flawless system no but I did have fun while learning and met a few new people as well. I ask for a break cue and was handed a hot pink one. I laughed and broke with it.

Was it worth my $8 yes

Thanks for the great post.

The APA is not perfect but it is nice to see some people that are enjoying it are posting here as well.

 

[JustinHayes]

The score sheet should show when someone gets ball in hand and it should show who had the break each game. These are important game changing events and somehow should reflect in how the handicap is figured.

I've been saying the same thing.

On the otherhand, they average out your best 10 of the last 20 games so unusual good or bad nights should not skew things too badly... when you're new to the league, your SL will swing wildly until you have more games in to even out the average

 

[TheBook]

It will take at least 10 weeks for your true skill level to be established.

There is no perfect system. That is why there are amendments and rule changes. Every sport evolves and constantly changes the rules.

Don't get hung up on your skill level. Just go out and play your best game. Water always reaches its level and so will your skill level.

After a while you will find that the lower players always think that they are better than they are and the better players always think they are not as good as they are.

 

[s'portplayer]

This is a great post.

A person goes into the APA, accepts it for what it is, does their best to learn and grow as a player, and has fun doing it.

We all know the APA isn't a league for everyone, but there are quite a few people, from low SL's on up to the advanced player, who truly enjoy this league.


Thank you for the post and best wishes on a continued enjoyment of pool and the APA.

 

[jdxprs]

most people who DONT like the apa, feel the way they do because they enjoyed playing in apa UNTIL their skill levels were raised high enough to break up the team they enjoyed being a part of. this is done to increase apa revenues, and it sucks.

 

[Beware_of_Dawg]

Week 1 I won in 8 & 9 ball. I beat a sl7 in 9 ball that was clearly better than me. I felt he missed some easy shots after making some monsters and like he gave up trying because he figured he couldn't cover the spread. This was just my thinking. I shot at my best that night.

Week 2 I posted how my SL had went up SL5 in 9 ball and an SL4 at 8 ball and I had played terrible and was giving balls to guys I felt shot a lot better than me. I felt for them to shoot that well and have a skill level lower than mine they must be sandbagging.

This week I was a SL2 at 8 ball and a 4 at 9 ball. I was matched against a 3 at 8 ball and she won the 1st and and dropped the 8 on her 2nd shot of the second game. I won the 3rd and the set. She was bummed. I felt we were about equal without a handicap as far as skill level.

IMHO, you would do well to concentrate on not doing that so much.

Having any "feeling" requires that you analyze something or think about it to process a emotion based on what you think you see... Sounds like you spend alot of time thinking or processing feelings on somethin you have no control over (you opponent). Tell me what good can come from deciding that an opponent is better than you? and what pitfalls are there to feeling you are better than them? How about thinking someone could be sandbagging or not trying against you? The side effect of those emotions?

Not saying I can do this or that I dont fall into the same trap of "thinking" or "feeling" about my opponents but I try. I genuinely focus as much as possible on thinking NOTHING. I can't tell you how often Ive recently caught myself thinking and lost or just didn't play my best game as a result of it.

Sorry, if that's a little off topic, it's just that when I read your post it jumped out at me...

I am genuinely glad your having fun at league. I usually do to! as long as I don't let myself feel anything about the system, lol.

It is what it is. Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth. lol.

 

[SCCues]

most people who DONT like the apa, feel the way they do because they enjoyed playing in apa UNTIL their skill levels were raised high enough to break up the team they enjoyed being a part of. this is done to increase apa revenues, and it sucks.

I think you have a great point about the APA, but don't forget about the people who don't like the APA because of all of the sandbagging that goes on to keep better players at lower handicaps! I don't think there is a handicapping system that can stop people from sandbagging.

James

 

[8up]

IMHO, you would do well to concentrate on not doing that so much.

Having any "feeling" requires that you analyze something or think about it to process a emotion based on what you think you see... Sounds like you spend alot of time thinking or processing feelings on somethin you have no control over (you opponent). Tell me what good can come from deciding that an opponent is better than you? and what pitfalls are there to feeling you are better than them? How about thinking someone could be sandbagging or not trying against you? The side effect of those emotions?

Not saying I can do this or that I dont fall into the same trap of "thinking" or "feeling" about my opponents but I try. I genuinely focus as much as possible on thinking NOTHING. I can't tell you how often Ive recently caught myself thinking and lost or just didn't play my best game as a result of it.

Sorry, if that's a little off topic, it's just that when I read your post it jumped out at me...

I am genuinely glad your having fun at league. I usually do to! as long as I don't let myself feel anything about the system, lol.

It is what it is. Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth. lol.

I agree and it is something I am working on. I have no idea how the team score is figured or if my team has won any night. I know worrying about things I can not change will negatively effect my game. I am working on focusing on only the shot in hand which works when your not real good at position play lol. Thinking about how many games or points I am down does not make me play well.

 

[ball-banger]

Then at 9 ball they put her up against me again. Before we started I told her now you can have your revenge. She was SL and I was a 4 so I had to give her 6 balls. I won 31 -6. She was upset and acted like I was a sandbagger I think. I was told I will probably go up to an SL6 next week. I left feeling good.

I take it as a compliment when people say things like I should be ranked higher or they think i'm sandbagging. It means that my game is improving. A few weeks back I was playing 9 ball as a SL 5 against another 5. I was shooting out of my mind that night and won 38-3. Him and his team were *****ing and moaning and even asked to see my I.D. I simply showed them my I.D. and sat down. That felt pretty good

 

[paksat]

if you're a 6 next week.. then all doubts about no foul play in the system have left my mind.

It took a friend of mine to go from a legit 4 to a legit 6.. 5 1/2 years..

I got raised to it in about 1 1/2...

The way I see it is the LO knows that if I keep winning as a 5, people are going to leave the league because face it.. people don't like losing.

So now, I have to play against negative, drunk, egotistical know-it-alls and spot the lot of them double digit amount of balls.

Last time I played, the 4 ball was hidden from my angle at just a spot where the 7 beside it had it perfectly camoflauged.. naturally I took the ball in hand and shot the 3 playing position on the 5 before teammates shouted out about the 4.

Without looking I feared the worst and did a ever so slight sigh and roll of the eyes at my petty mistake which should have been nothing but a slight laugh for my opponent... but no out of no where I hear "what you *****ing about you can see it.."

About 5 minutes into it and this drunk loser running his mouth non-stop I started retaliating and 20 minutes into it he wanted to step outside and i wanted him to throw a 100$ on the game..

This is why I say F*CK THE APA.. people expect to win and they play ONE night a week maybe TWO and you are going to go up against fairly legit players and have an attitude?

That's just me though.. i'm done with it.. least in this division.. might try it again in a new area with completely different people.

90% stress 10% fun.

 

[8up]

if you're a 6 next week.. then all doubts about no foul play in the system have left my mind.

So what are you saying? You will think there is foul play or no foul play if I am a 6 next week?

90% stress 10% fun.

I choose to be in the 10%. When I start finding myself stressing more nights than having fun. I will find something new.

 

[LeagueShirts]

I've been playing weekly 8 ball for nearly 5yrs in our local APA. We play on-site at our bar, the teams count varies from 4 to 9 teams season-to-season. Anyone who's played over a year all know each other. There is really good competition and little observed sandbagging.

The SLs make sense for anyone there over a season. The first season will bounce your level around based on your short trend. 2's can hardly hit a straight shot, 7's will run out any open table and most which present a reasonable break out opportunity. That makes sense to me.

Do some of you travel to other bars? We don't have arguments and fights like I've read because we all know each other. I met my wife on league night and had essentially an apa member reception.

With 200,000+ members, I don't think any local observer can generalize the whole organization. That should be common sense.

 

[Beware_of_Dawg]

90% stress 10% fun.

AND BOTH ARE 100% your choice.

It's not what's happening around you, it's how your reacting to it.

With all due respect, it goes both ways. You are out here, saying these "drunk, know it all, stupid... Blah, blah, blah" they are out there saying those "sandbagging, attitude having.... blah, blah, blah" You've both decided without knowing squat about each other to pidgeon hole each other and not like/hate each other.... You both CHOOSE to do that.

If everyone took a look in the mirror once in awhile, we'd all be better off.

*edit* and thats not to say I havent met Aholes playing league and tourneys, etc... And they have gotten on my nerves. then I realized they couldn't do it unless I gave them permission.

and I'm not an enlightenment guru, I just play one on the internet. lol.

 

[Sharkey]

I have been reading through some of these league post for a while now and it strikes me as sad. I can remember when I first started playing in leagues in the late 90's, I could not wait till it was league night, it was the highlight of my week. You just don't see that spark in people's eyes anymore. People have just forgotten how to enjoy it. It may be the economy and stress that people feel these days, everyone's fuse is a little shorter. We all feel the pinch. I have been exploring some of the other leagues out there and some of them seem to be on the right track with much better handicapping systems as well as league systems.

People these days are all about the icing, and have forgotten about the cake!

 

[alstl]

I just joined the APA and two things are obvious.

1. People have to sandbag to keep their rating down, otherwise they can't play.

2. Most of the players are mid level players and as such they will be inconsistent.

Just have fun and don't worry about all the other stuff.

 

[Blackball75]

A person goes into the APA, accepts it for what it is, does their best to learn and grow as a player, and has fun doing it.

That is basically a summary of what I've been saying about the APA. I also started playing in it for the first time this session. I love it so far and am working to improve.

 

[au2ag]

I have been am member of APA 1 year and now play on a Doub. Jeop., 9ball, and 8ball team. Have been a 2, 3, and 4 in both. Currently a 3 in 8 / 4 in 9.

I love playing members who are better than I, regardless of their skill level. Two weeks ago, for double jeopardy, I was put up in 9ball by my team who had been loudly and drunkenly razzing the other team all evening. My sweetie was in the middle of playing 8ball, and she (a 3 with only 5 weeks of experience under her belt) was getting her arse whooped by a 2 who was making some impressive banks and cuts. Clearly, my girl was a weak 3 and the other lady was well better than a two. BUT, like my sweetie, she had been playing league a mere 5-6 weeks.

So, I am thrown in 9 during the intentionally loud and innappropriate conversations of my team, and the other team defiantly tosses their 7 against me and after a few high fives and laughs, I hear them say "Hey Doug. PLAY YOUR BEST."

I lose the match something like 65 to 12. In the middle of said match, though the comment made by the opposing team implied that maybe my teammates' conspiracy theories may have had some truth, the snarky comments and yelling across the room completely ruined what would have been a great learning experience. In fact, I stopped in the middle of my match and told my team to "SHUT THE F+++ UP AND SAVE THIS S+++ for later."

The silliness continued though, and after my match I was so embarassed by the conduct of my team that my sweetie and I left when my captain attempted to throw her against the same 2 in 9ball (That is how uncomfortable I was... I am NEVER the guy who requests that my girl join me on my moral stances. Fortunately, when in the car, she confirmed that the activities had ruined her night of shooting, also.)

After nearly quitting the team, I realized that one can make three choices in APA: 1) Enjoy yourself and try and improve your game. IF YOU CHOSE THIS ROUTE, YOU CAN NEVER WHINE OR COMPLAIN ABOUT SANDBAGGERS OR YOUR SKILL LEVEL. 2) Be a sandbagger to increase your chances of Vegas, Singles, Moneyshoot, ETC. If you choose this route, though, you can NEVER WHINE OR COMPLAIN ABOUT SANDBAGGERS OR YOUR SKILL LEVEL. 3) OR you can sit smugly when you win every match, and when you don't, you can blame it on sandbagging. You will never take away tips or lessons from your opponant's play because you will either be cocky or offended. You can complain about sandbagging all you want, because if you had to truly face the realities of your game/attitude, you would never play APA again.

Sorry, there is option #4. Quit.

I have chosen #1 for my 8 ball team and 9 ball team. My double jeopardy team, over numerous incidents like this, has given me permission to dump every match and take route #2. This may make me an asshole one out of three nights a week, but I cannot just enjoy myself and play my game on this night, ruling out option #1. #3 is against my personality, and quitting would mean that my sweetie could no longer get competitive experience while she learns a great new game.

 

[au2ag]

By the way, for those of you hungry to know the inner operations of APA, the LO's respone to this evening and the many 'issues' was to award no points in 8 ball for either team.

"Instead of taking the time to find actual fault or responsibility, you will both lose your points for the evening."

 

[paksat]

haha you sure you don't play in the middle of florida somewhere like I used to?

That sounds about right tbh. Pretty damn close if not to what I see from time to time.

Unless you're a natural Ahole and love fights and drama.. it just isn't worth it.

BTW, I envy those of you who get to play with solid competition and with class.. I'd continue if I didn't have to get into a MMA match with somebody potentially half the season.