Leauge Pool Vs Gambling...a rant.

Missing Link

Missing Link

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Hey Guys...long time lurker, but my first post.

I play local APA (I know...let the hazing begin) and also like to play a good money game when I can find one...it seems like having a "rank" ruins your ability to gamble to and extent around here...everybody wants to gamble and get spotted balls based on APA rank...the local shooters act like "APA is KING" and all the fun and friendly wagers are slowly going out the window since I started playing leauge pool.
Has anybody else noticed this? Or is it just my first year in APA and this is just how it is?
 
When you're setting up a money game you will always have to haggle over what spot you give or get. Your APA skill level is just one thing someone can try to use as a bargaining chip. If you are up against an A player he probably won't mind playing you even regardless of APA skill level. :cool:
 
sounds like an APA thing. Most seasoned gamblers would probably smirk at your post or maybe I'm just showing my age.
 
Forgive me, I edited your post....


Hey Guys...long time lurker, but my first post.

I play local APA (I know...let the hazing begin) and also like to play a good money game when I can find one...it seems like having leagues in the area ruins your ability to gamble to and extent around here...everybody wants to drink and get spotted balls for no particular reason...the real local shooters act like "APA is the end of action" and all the motivation to play good pool has slowly gone out the window since I started playing leauge pool.
Has anybody else noticed this? Or is it just my first year in APA and this is just how it is?

Welcome to the forum by the way :)
 
in my area theres several of the APA "champs" that won't play unless you give them their APA spot. the or either 50-100. But if not apa they wouldn't bet water is wet.
 
APA does use a pretty good handicap system. If somebody is a SL5 you will know what to expect. The problem is with SL7 and higher (speaking 8ball here). Somebody could be a borderline SL7 against a player who is shortstop speed without a spot since they are both technically the same handicap (SL7 is the highest).
 
good points

Props to Chichilla for proper editing of my post....I joined APA for the fun... wasn't expecting the lazy shooters, the politics, the sandbagging, and the overal degridation of perfectly good pool....
 
Missing Link said:
Props to Chichilla for proper editing of my post....I joined APA for the fun... wasn't expecting the lazy shooters, the politics, the sandbagging, and the overal degridation of perfectly good pool....
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Ahhhh, I see. You were expecting the APA to be better than the rest of society then. Sorry about that. It's just as bad as everyone else, or just as good. Your mileage may vary.
 
$player said:
Yeah league night just doesn't look as good as they advertise, certainly you don't see those good looking actressess there or the black widow.

APA kills pool action period. These guys know they don't match up with good players and they stay in their own world. Decent APA players like to feel like heros to the APA 3's. They only shut down their own growth by banging away on those Valley tables.
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Maybe in your area but in this area we play on 9 footers in pool rooms and we have a lot of league players that play the open tournaments and a few take down the pros here and there.
 
LOL apa is any pocket anywere .. I use to play it . Oh god i had to stop It was killing my mind, Playing for points Short races to payout for winning .. Hmmm . I love to pay cheap sets .But playing apa is a joke , met a lot of people that can't play 8 ball and feels that they are 7 cause they beat 2 and 3 .. Take ball in hand out of apa and see what will happen to apa ....
 
Missing Link said:
...it seems like having a "rank" ruins your ability to gamble to and extent around here...everybody wants to gamble and get spotted balls based on APA rank...
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Having a fair Rank ruins your ability to "Steal" when matching up. The better a player is, 9 times out of 10, the more they hate a rating system. Why? Because they can win more easy games (aka "Steal") from lessor players playing even. With the Rank or Rating, they might have to actually play a more even match by spotting weight.
 
All the local shooters I know could care less about the APA, in fact when they hear APA ranking their mouth starts to water and there eye's get bigger, I like the APA because it produces a lot of HAMBURGERS, and I know because I am one of them, they also Know little to nothing about action.

Maybe one of the problems is instead of people growing up with gambling on pool now they are growing up playing apa and never learned the in's and out's of gambling.

I think it is more that people do not know how to gamble or even where to start and the terms, I think someone had a post were they requested someone make a book about action. You know what are good spots and how the change on table size depending on what game you are playing, like getting the seven on a bar table is way more than the 7 on a 9ft

Maybe you need to change your technique or your approach to get a money game. Maybe try going to some different pool rooms.

watch out for the guy who says I get the breaks and ball and in hand you get the rainbow so all you have to do is make one ball ,and watch him run the table over and over and over again
 
Last edited:
The Chinchilla said:
Forgive me, I edited your post....


Hey Guys...long time lurker, but my first post.

I play local APA (I know...let the hazing begin) and also like to play a good money game when I can find one...it seems like having leagues in the area ruins your ability to gamble to and extent around here...everybody wants to drink and get spotted balls for no particular reason...the real local shooters act like "APA is the end of action" and all the motivation to play good pool has slowly gone out the window since I started playing leauge pool.
Has anybody else noticed this? Or is it just my first year in APA and this is just how it is?

Welcome to the forum by the way :)
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That was good...:rotflmao1:
 
I play APA and I think its great.... I could give a squat about people who want to gamble, most of those guys won't match up against quality competition.

The room I play in we have several players who play very good, but they won't ever match up with one another, they want something easy..

I think from a lot of the post here at AZBilliards it is pretty much that way everywhere.

Everybody talks great but they want a lock to bet.

JMO
 
I think APA is great too but this thread is starting to remind me of the APA all talk and no action!

Sorry guys I couldn't resist, or am I?
 
Missing Link said:
Hey Guys...long time lurker, but my first post.

I play local APA (I know...let the hazing begin) and also like to play a good money game when I can find one...it seems like having a "rank" ruins your ability to gamble to and extent around here...everybody wants to gamble and get spotted balls based on APA rank...the local shooters act like "APA is KING" and all the fun and friendly wagers are slowly going out the window since I started playing leauge pool.
Has anybody else noticed this? Or is it just my first year in APA and this is just how it is?
Click to expand...

The highlighted areas are what doesnt mix when it comes to leagues and even small friendly bet's. There is nothing wrong with playing APA, TAP, BCA, VNEA.....etc but when people take it for more than its worth is where the sanity stops and the BS starts. I got out of it just for that simple fact and do not regret it a bit. Leagues are a way for people to get together and have a good time and good way to meet new people who share a common interest, period. Handicap systems are a joke and a league that uses them will never in a million years be fair, when they can be manipulated that is. When its in your best interest to lose so you can win later does nothing but hurt your game in the long run because it will eventually cause you to develop bad habits. After years of missing shots intentially (dumping, sandbagging.....etc) you will subconciously do it without thinking, when it counts. If I had $1 for everytime I heard someone say they got beat by a 4 that played like a 7 I would probably be playing with a Szamboti. I always find it funny when people make excuses for why they play in the APA for instance. People should play because they want to play and because they enjoy the company of friends. Leagues are not a means of making a living and when people think they have something to gain besides a good memory and an empty wallet by winning a trip to Vegas they are sadly mistaken. Some people play because they want to give the state tournament "one last try" or because they think they have a chance in the biggest knock fest in the world at the APA national tournament. There is another thread in another section on here that talks about races vs ahead sets. Leagues are a prime example of how races are bad for pool in a lot of ways, especially short ones. If im a 3 and I play a 7 which is a 6 on 2 race and win 2 to 0 does that mean I am a better player, absolutely not. I have seen this firsthand more times than I can count and even the longtime self proclaimed league guru's cant figure it out. Another thing that is quit funny is when you hear people talking about their handicap and telling other league players or anyone who it might impress how they are APA 7's or master players but in the next breath telling a legitiment pool player how it isnt fair that they have to play them even, lol. Anyway, I guess that kind of got off track from the original post but im sure a lot of people can relate to all of this.

Here's a good thing to always remember when it comes to league play and gambling. If your a good player and you quit when your a 4 or 5, you will always be able to get a spot from people who play your speed but carry a higher handicap.
 
APA will make you shoot bad eventually because you can get away with stuff on a bar box that doesn't fly on a 9ft, i think it is bad for your stroke and you can't develop a stroke that's powerful and accurate on a bar box.
 
I play APA and we play on 9ft tables in a nice pool hall. I joined the team because I get to show up on Wednesday's and practice all night long if I want on these nice 9ft tables. Unlike others on the team I am happy when I don't have to play because I don't have to pay $10 but I play when I'm needed.

I play on a 9 ball team and one of the biggest problems I have with it is that it's ball count instead of games won. I play to try and run out each time, and sometimes when I miss the captain might say I was trying to be fancy and should have just made sure I got the point on that ball I missed. I ignore it because I want to play well not cinch in a ball to make sure I get that point. Either way I usually win so it's not a big deal, but it goes to show you how it's hard to improve if you have a certain mentality in the APA.
 
ajuarbe said:
I play APA and we play on 9ft tables in a nice pool hall. I joined the team because I get to show up on Wednesday's and practice all night long if I want on these nice 9ft tables. Unlike others on the team I am happy when I don't have to play because I don't have to pay $10 but I play when I'm needed.
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Weird. I play APA and I joined the team so I could play pool, improve my game, and help other people improve theirs. Practicing for free isn't nearly as much fun as paying to play my game and coaching others with theirs.

ajuarbe said:
I play on a 9 ball team and one of the biggest problems I have with it is that it's ball count instead of games won. I play to try and run out each time, and sometimes when I miss the captain might say I was trying to be fancy and should have just made sure I got the point on that ball I missed. I ignore it because I want to play well not cinch in a ball to make sure I get that point. Either way I usually win so it's not a big deal, but it goes to show you how it's hard to improve if you have a certain mentality in the APA.
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That's the problem with most of the higher skill levels in the APA. He tells you you should've gotten the point for that ball, but you pretend that you missed it because you were going for the runout. You should've played a lock-down safety to make your opponent kick at that ball, so you still get the point for that ball and every other ball in the run. Pros don't run racks because they run racks, they run racks because they know the difference between a low-percentage shot and a high-percentage safety.
 
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