Qualifying levels (Pro, A, B, C, etc) in bank pool?

brandoncook26

brandoncook26

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I know the difference in levels has been discussed ad nauseum, but for the most part it has been most accurately described for rotation games. A friend and I were discussing bank pool today, and I was curious how a handicap would be determined for bank pool.

For example, if you were holding a handicapped bank pool tournament, how would you go about deciding who was an Open, A, B, C, etc.?

Would it be balls run, balls banked per inning, anything else? Curious about your thoughts.
 
Opinion of local players :)

Bank pool is not played widely enough I think even here to get a good feeling.

You could also make your first couple of tournaments open and just see how people do and then base it on that.

Truman has his broken up into A and B. A will let basically anybody in. B would be around a player that has never run more than three balls in a row in banks in their life.

I think its a great format personally.
 
brandoncook26 said:
I know the difference in levels has been discussed ad nauseum, but for the most part it has been most accurately described for rotation games. A friend and I were discussing bank pool today, and I was curious how a handicap would be determined for bank pool.

For example, if you were holding a handicapped bank pool tournament, how would you go about deciding who was an Open, A, B, C, etc.?

Would it be balls run, balls banked per inning, anything else? Curious about your thoughts.
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I think just about anyone that plays the game and knows the rules is either an A or strong B player. The same with one pocket or 14.1.
 
I have never played in one with a handycap, but have heard of them being like a race in ball count, with the weaker player having to make less balls.
 
thats a game thats VERY regional, in LA I'm a B+ bank player, in Chicago i'm a C bank player at best. Tuff call IMO.
 
Yukon Ed said:
I think just about anyone that plays the game and knows the rules is either an A or strong B player. The same with one pocket or 14.1.
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I know bank pool and one pocket rules inside and out, having played them for years. I wish I was even a strong B player :)
 
I find with people that play all games, their skills are roughly equal in all games. This means if they are a B 9 ball player, they are also a B 1-pocket player, etc.

Certainly, there will be minor strengths and weaknesses, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone a full speed better at one game than another.
 
Yukon Ed said:
I think just about anyone that plays the game and knows the rules is either an A or strong B player. The same with one pocket or 14.1.
Click to expand...

I am not a strong B player by any means; however, I did win a game vs. a top player in the country during his derby bank warm-ups (thinly veiled brag :P)
 
iusedtoberich said:
I find with people that play all games, their skills are roughly equal in all games. This means if they are a B 9 ball player, they are also a B 1-pocket player, etc.

Certainly, there will be minor strengths and weaknesses, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone a full speed better at one game than another.
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I don't know if I can buy into that one. I know a lot of good 9/10 ball players who are definitely not even average one-pocket players and others who can't bank much of anything consistently. With one-pocket and banks there are so many intricacies and situations that really need to be learned. An A player in rotation games might very well be very strong in patterns, cueball control, rotation safeties, etc but be considered below average in other games. I remember a year or so ago I heard a guy tell a buddy who is a A 9 ball player that he was now an average one-pocket player in his opinion. I remember that my buddy was pretty happy with the compliment because he had been trying so hard to gain competence in one-pocket.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I find with people that play all games, their skills are roughly equal in all games. This means if they are a B 9 ball player, they are also a B 1-pocket player, etc.

Certainly, there will be minor strengths and weaknesses, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone a full speed better at one game than another.
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I know a player is who probably top 10-15 in banks in the country, but plays 9 ball at barely an A speed. I think banks is a specific enough game that the only way to get proficient at it is to play it. You can learn to bank balls while playing 9 ball or one pocket, but banking balls is a whole different world from playing banks well.
 
brandoncook26 said:
I know a player is who probably top 10-15 in banks in the country, but plays 9 ball at barely an A speed. I think banks is a specific enough game that the only way to get proficient at it is to play it. You can learn to bank balls while playing 9 ball or one pocket, but banking balls is a whole different world from playing banks well.
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Yep.

I live in a bank pool town. I can't touch some of these guys playing that game, and some of these guys can hardly make a ball straight in. They just don't play ANYTHING other than bank pool. After a while, it becomes a completely different game than all the others, requiring a completely different skill set.

It's weird.
 
I think banks made per inning would be the simplest. Take out subjective opinions and have just hard numbers.

Of course there is strategy, and maybe if you play smart and stick to defensive leaves, you can have a high number of innings yet win almost every game.

I don't play a lot... so I wanna ask, do you bank pool regulars consider it to be an offensive game where the best players are the guys who simply can make balls better than the rest? Or is it more of a moving game?
 
Yukon Ed said:
I think just about anyone that plays the game and knows the rules is either an A or strong B player. The same with one pocket or 14.1.
Click to expand...

No way.

There are tons of folks who play 1p ALL DAY and would be nowhere near A/B speed in real world.
 
Having grown up playing primarily bank and nine ball, and playing now in a poolroom where almost everyone plays bank exclusively, I believe bank pool is almost all offense. It is extremely hard to leave a good bank player without a shot.
 
CreeDo said:
I think banks made per inning would be the simplest. Take out subjective opinions and have just hard numbers.

Of course there is strategy, and maybe if you play smart and stick to defensive leaves, you can have a high number of innings yet win almost every game.

I don't play a lot... so I wanna ask, do you bank pool regulars consider it to be an offensive game where the best players are the guys who simply can make balls better than the rest? Or is it more of a moving game?
Click to expand...

Full rack banks is more of a moving game for sure. Short rack banks is pretty much all offense.
 
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