My Fargorate progression

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Well, I'm going backwards. My unestablished rating is the worst it's been yet.

I played again last Friday, against two way stronger opponents I've known for 20 years. I went 2 and out. My combined score was 1 win and 8 losses.

I was playing this event as a 550, whereas the same event the prior week I played as a 475. I have not cashed in any of these events, so I'm surprised my "tournament rating" changed that much. Still, I think I'll end up about 550 when all is said and done, so I'm not complaining. No action this week after the tourney.

It seems to take exactly one week from the date of the tournament using Digital Pool brackets, until they show up in the fargorate system. I don't know if that is typical, or something specific with my tournament director. Maybe he has to approve things, and he doesn't get to it for one week. I have no idea.

I also bought the fargo app. I had bought it 3 or 4 years ago and cancelled it after one year, since I had zero games and it gave me no extra functionality over the website. I decided to try it again, paying for one month only instead of one year. I can see all my match history. I sure wish it showed the fargo ratings and robustness of me and my opponents at the time of each match, and where they are currently.

On a plus side, I played in a 16 player bar room tournament last night in Atlanta. Most of the field were bangers. I won, they all thought I was god, and it was good for my ego:):):)
Don't sweat your Fargo until you get closer to 400 games in the system. I know the standard protocol is 200, but jumps in either direction can be had well beyond 200.
 
I went to Boston for work last week and played in a Fargorate tournament at Amazin Billiards. It was open, with no handicapps. 8 ball race to 2 on the winner's side, and 9 ball race to 3 on the loser's side. It was a great format IMO for a weekly weekday event. I played 4 total matches, winning 2, losing 2. My rating went up a bit to 417, 45 robustness.

The room was great, owned by a pro carom player, he had everything immaculate. Each table was streamed, and they used the digitalpool brackets. There was an ipad built into each light that the players would push the button each rack to record game wins and losses.

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I played in my first tournament that reported Fargorate a couple weeks ago. I was not avoiding them, just none were available. It was a local Friday night event, with short races to 2-3 or so depending on fargorate. I think I played three matches, winning one and losing two. After 9 games, I'm at 386. I felt I could have given the 2 players that beat me the 7 ball. Such is pool:)

Two of my buddies that I used to gamble with daily about 20 years ago are in the mid 500's, with approx 400 and 600 robustness. They are the only players in my area I played even with at any time in my life that are in the system. However, none of us have the pool "bug" like we did when we were coming up, as we are in our mid 40's now. Based on this, I think I will end up at 565 if I ever get to a few hundred games. I'll update if I get more games in the system.

Maybe I can match up with people and say I'm a
I am a 550. I haven't played in a tournament in well over a year due to my schedule.

I saw my rating jump up to 565 and back down again without ever touching my cue.
I’m in the same situation. I was told that your rating fluctuates according to some of the results from others that you did play in the past. This came straight from the people that runs FR….🤷‍♂️
 
So a guy like me sitting at 603 could easily pare that under 575 by October via league play. Two problems with that kind of scam though. First my recent match history would stink to high heaven. And if you finished high it would be scrutinized. Second a legit 603 is not an overwhelming favorite to win that event. A slight favorite in all matches but not THE favorite particularly. Probably just end up out a grand plus travel expenses with a reputation as a cheater.
Well, number one you might not be able to do that and number 2 the promoter has specified that IF you were 585 or higher in the year before the tournament you are not eligible.

We just had a 600 and under $1000 entry in my room in July. 128 players. The favorites didn't win and didn't get in the top four either. Favorites as indicated by the thousands of dollars they went for in the calcutta. Favorites that all the smart money and the scared money said were sandbaggers who were actually 650+. Our criteria was 400 games robustness. And "surprisingly" we had some players who had 402 games in the system by tournament time.......

A 585 won it and a 600 got second. $50,000 first place, $25,000 second place. Both with thousands of games in the system.

The $1000 575 is an offshoot of the tournament I held and the waiting list is like 40 deep. We are holding a second $500 entry event in conjunction with the promoter for those who don't get into the main event.
 
The guy who won the OKC tourney was a teammate of mine when I lived in Tucson.
He was not much of a gambler but he plays often, mostly on the 9 footers.
His fargo rating was accurate imo. On a good day he could perform near 600 speed but I'd put his average around 580.
He's a great kid and no cheat. I would bet you could not find a person in town with something bad to say about him.
I prefer how MOB draws a number in a window say, 550-575 and requires players to be below the number drawn at the time of the drawing and within 10 pts at tournament time.
100% agree. And the guy who got second is the cue repair guy in the room. He is also a legit 600 with 3k games. I put him in the tournament on a whim to say thanks for all the support. No one expected him to get to the finals or the final day. Not because he can't play but because he is retired and barely plays and lacks stamina.

I was very pleased to see the outcome. Especially since the "smart money" favorites whom everyone claimed were sandbaggers didn't win. I don't know if they were actually 600- for their skill but I know that many others spent thousands on them with the thought that they were the ones going to "rob" the tournament.
 
Hi John, if you are have a hand in these big events, may I suggest picking a random fargo number limit for future ones? The tournament directors in general (nationwide) seem to usually go by 100 point increments, which means the players on the 100 border by and large would be favorites. Maybe one event could be 407 limit. Next 559 limit. Next 709 limit. Next 611 limit, etc.
 
Is it typical for over a week before games from DigitalPool make it to Fargo? My 4 tournaments, in 3 different states, all took about one week.
 
Well, number one you might not be able to do that and number 2 the promoter has specified that IF you were 585 or higher in the year before the tournament you are not eligible.

We just had a 600 and under $1000 entry in my room in July. 128 players. The favorites didn't win and didn't get in the top four either. Favorites as indicated by the thousands of dollars they went for in the calcutta. Favorites that all the smart money and the scared money said were sandbaggers who were actually 650+. Our criteria was 400 games robustness. And "surprisingly" we had some players who had 402 games in the system by tournament time.......

A 585 won it and a 600 got second. $50,000 first place, $25,000 second place. Both with thousands of games in the system.

The $1000 575 is an offshoot of the tournament I held and the waiting list is like 40 deep. We are holding a second $500 entry event in conjunction with the promoter for those who don't get into the main event.
That sounds like a pretty good case for the reality that fargorate is accurate. Don't tell Mike Page.

Funny how certain players can incite that type of intimidation above their true speed. These are usually the ones that are fearless gambling. Tournament only type players don't seem to get the same respect.
 
Well, number one you might not be able to do that and number 2 the promoter has specified that IF you were 585 or higher in the year before the tournament you are not eligible.

We just had a 600 and under $1000 entry in my room in July. 128 players. The favorites didn't win and didn't get in the top four either. Favorites as indicated by the thousands of dollars they went for in the calcutta. Favorites that all the smart money and the scared money said were sandbaggers who were actually 650+. Our criteria was 400 games robustness. And "surprisingly" we had some players who had 402 games in the system by tournament time.......

A 585 won it and a 600 got second. $50,000 first place, $25,000 second place. Both with thousands of games in the system.

The $1000 575 is an offshoot of the tournament I held and the waiting list is like 40 deep. We are holding a second $500 entry event in conjunction with the promoter for those who don't get into the main event.
I find it hard to believe that there are enough "true" under 600 players to fill up the bracket for a $1000 entry fee tournament...especially if they have to travel halfway across the country. Most under 600 fargo players I've known are real hard to get down for a race to 7 for $50.

Maybe I've just been solely surrounded by nits all my life?
 
I find it hard to believe that there are enough "true" under 600 players to fill up the bracket for a $1000 entry fee tournament...especially if they have to travel halfway across the country. Most under 600 fargo players I've known are real hard to get down for a race to 7 for $50.

Maybe I've just been solely surrounded by nits all my life?
When I was coming up all us middle speed players were routinely gambling $100-300 sets in the late 90’s. “With each other”. There was way more action at this speed than the top local players, who nobody wanted to play. I’d definitely go across the country if I had a legit chance to be competitive, rather than donate a big entry to a pro event. Imo.
 
When I was coming up all us middle speed players were routinely gambling $100-300 sets in the late 90’s. “With each other”. There was way more action at this speed than the top local players, who nobody wanted to play. I’d definitely go across the country if I had a legit chance to be competitive, rather than donate a big entry to a pro event. Imo.
HUGE difference between the gambling scene in the 90's and the 00's...even HUGER difference between then and the last 5-8 years.

Ax @Charlie Hustle
 
I find it hard to believe that there are enough "true" under 600 players to fill up the bracket for a $1000 entry fee tournament...especially if they have to travel halfway across the country. Most under 600 fargo players I've known are real hard to get down for a race to 7 for $50.

Maybe I've just been solely surrounded by nits all my life?
They just did so I’m not sure what you’re getting at?
 
I went to Boston for work last week and played in a Fargorate tournament at Amazin Billiards. It was open, with no handicapps. 8 ball race to 2 on the winner's side, and 9 ball race to 3 on the loser's side. It was a great format IMO for a weekly weekday event. I played 4 total matches, winning 2, losing 2. My rating went up a bit to 417, 45 robustness.

The room was great, owned by a pro carom player, he had everything immaculate. Each table was streamed, and they used the digitalpool brackets. There was an ipad built into each light that the players would push the button each rack to record game wins and losses.

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I appreciate you taking the time to track this. It’s fun, and interesting!👍
 
HUGE difference between the gambling scene in the 90's and the 00's...even HUGER difference between then and the last 5-8 years.

Ax @Charlie Hustle
Yes I agree. But I think it’s picking up in the past couple of years.

I thought the same thing that no one under a solid A player would put up $1000. I guess they are.

On the other hand, top local A’s to legit pros have always had backers since the beginning of time. Backers have been a dime a dozen. Now, those backers can bet on themselves.
 
I was in Delaware tonight for a chip tournament. It is run by a guy that is super, super, pro fargo. He even started a whole league in the area based on fargo, rather than the typical APA/BCA stuff. The number of chips each player started with is determined by their fargo rate.

600+=4 chips
551-600=5
501-550=6
451-500=7
401-450=8
351-400=9
301-350=10
250-300=11

I got 7 chips. I think he had me as a 500 I'm guessing.

Unfortunately, the game results are not reported to fargo. I was dissapoined, as that was the main reason I went to play, and the place was a 1 hr 10 min drive from me. The tourney director told me there is no way to get the games into fargo from the chip format. I don't know if it was a digital pool issue (I believe that's the software he was using) or a fargorate issue. He would love to if possible. I don't know if Mike can look into that?

It was a packed house. 38 players showed up. 6 Diamond Blue label Bar Box pin ball machines. God I can't get over how many people like the pin ball rails. Its nuts. I digress. I again felt I was the best player in the room, and would have gambled with anyone there that I watched or played. I played some super nice racks and felt I had the best cue ball in the room. Alas, I played all night, and when my last chip was gone there were still 17 player left past midnight! It really is true, to win a tournament you have to play super good "every match", and get lucky a few times.

After I lost I asked the houseman if he knew of anyone that gambled. He said some guys did, but he needed all 6 tables for the tournament so couldn't give any.

The tournament was super well run. Maybe one of the best I've seen to keep it moving. The winner of the game stayed at the same table for the next opponent, and racked the balls in preparation. No practicing in-between. The loser went to the desk and gave the results. The next match on that same table was immediately called. If the player didn't show up within 2 minutes, they lost their chip. The player being called would be the breaker. The whole night flew buy, I never once saw an empty table. It eliminated half the players wandering around for their table, the flip/lag, time to rack, etc.

I don't know how many matches I played (all race to 1). It felt like 20. It would be great fargo data because each match was a different opponent. Its hard to get that many opponents in 3 weeks of regular local tournaments.

I wasn't following the chip count. One player asked me how many I had left, and I said I had no idea. When I lost my final match, I went to tell the desk, and they informed me I was out. I was deflated, ha ha. I finally checked the computer screen at the desk, and the remaining players all seemed to have about 2 chips left. So I was not too far off.

On the way home I was hot that I didn't win the whole thing. I played a few shots wrong and kept going over them in my head. I hope I learned my lesson, ha ha. I really felt the competitive drive. I haven't felt that in 10 or 15 years I don't think.

I hated the rule set. It was call every shot, call safe (playing 9 ball). You couldn't play a 2 way shot at all. I even called safe twice and inadvertently made a ball, and my opponent told me to shoot again. I don't get why everyone started calling shots. Luck makes pool fun.
 
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