how are ya'll doing in league ?

Rain-Man said:

To that I have no doubt...


I know when we go to Nationals for TAP, there are teams that are so out matched that its not even funny.

I actually feel bad for some of the teams because TAP Nationals (and every location in my local TAP league) use's Diamond tables, and for a lot of these teams its the first time they've ever played on a Diamond. They are carrying (over inflated) handicaps from playing on 5" big pocket Valley's and Dymamo tables, and just cannot get used to the speed of the Simonis Cloth, the way Diamonds bank, and the tight pockets.. Huge difference.


I also looked at the 3 closest APA leagues near where I live, just to see the caliber of players in each.

2 of the leagues were just as bad as the one I play in, and I do not mean that to sound the way it does, but... There is one around here that has quite a few decent players in it. It had I think (5) APA 8-ball 7's in it, and at least (2) APA 6's that I know must be sandbagging, because they should be APA 7's all day long. I know every one of those guys because all but one of them play in our local BCBC 8-ball league (the other guy used to at one time as well)..

I do agree though, that league skill levels will vary greatly..

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we have 14 divisions in our area. i play 4 of them . i know some of them play in more than one division like i do but right off the top of my head i know there are at least 15 -7's and 19-6;s in those 2 divisions alone.

i have no idea how our players compare to other areas but i can tell you how i have fared in regionals and my one time at nationals. .

my 1st regionals was not long after i joined apa as a 4 and i went 2 and out. i had never played on diamonds before and they made me look like i had never played pool. before.

my 2nd trip was as a 5 and i went undefeated all the way to the finals and lost hill-hill.
my 2nd time ever on diamonds but i was able to adjust pretty good.

both of these were in 8 ball. we play mostly on valleys but occasionaly on gold crowns and just recently i joined a division that plays on red label diamonds twice a session. it usually takes me one rack to adapt from one type of table to another.

my one trip to nationals was for team 9 ball....as a 5.

my 1st match was vs another 5 and i won 38-4.....my 1st ever skunk in apa and since then i have acheived 2 more locally.

my 2nd match was vs another 5 and i won 38-10.

my 3rd match was vs a 7. he won the lag and was up 18-0 before i ever got to the table. after getting to the table i matched him point for point losing 55-37.

either i am a pretty strong 5 or my opponents were over rated .

Rain-Man said:

To that I have no doubt...


I know when we go to Nationals for TAP, there are teams that are so out matched that its not even funny.

I actually feel bad for some of the teams because TAP Nationals (and every location in my local TAP league) use's Diamond tables, and for a lot of these teams its the first time they've ever played on a Diamond. They are carrying (over inflated) handicaps from playing on 5" big pocket Valley's and Dymamo tables, and just cannot get used to the speed of the Simonis Cloth, the way Diamonds bank, and the tight pockets.. Huge difference.


I also looked at the 3 closest APA leagues near where I live, just to see the caliber of players in each.

2 of the leagues were just as bad as the one I play in, and I do not mean that to sound the way it does, but... There is one around here that has quite a few decent players in it. It had I think (5) APA 8-ball 7's in it, and at least (2) APA 6's that I know must be sandbagging, because they should be APA 7's all day long. I know every one of those guys because all but one of them play in our local BCBC 8-ball league (the other guy used to at one time as well)..

I do agree though, that league skill levels will vary greatly..

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last night while typing my above post i recalled a conversation i had with an opposing team captain while at the 2013 apa nationals.

i was hesitant to write about our conversation because i did not want to come across as a braggart or sound like i was tooting my own horn. i really do not think i am that great a player because there are other 5's in my area that always give me fits and i usually lose more than i win against them.

the following day after one of my matches the captain of that team and i ran into each other in the casino lobby. he approached me and struck up a conversation.

he stated he had been a member of apa since the 1st year it started. he also stated he has been a captain for 17 years and has been to the nationals 8 times.

he stated that i was the best 5 he had ever seen. he said the confidence i displayed at the table along with my shot making and cue ball control was impressive and that there were 7's in his league that could not compete with me.

i think my experience may be an example of your statement that s/l's will vary from region to region but i have often wondered if his comments were a nice of of him saying he thought i was a sandbagger.

to be honest ...there were extenuating circumstances that led to my level of play there.....mostly mental and alchohol . :grin-square:

DaveM said:

I've had a good few weeks. Rackless in 8ball last week against a 4 (I'm a 5). We had a bye one week and I got free tickets to U2 the other so I didn't play. 9ball has been better, but waiting for the shoe to drop and get rated a 5. I'm currently a 4. It's my 3rd season and the during first I'll admit the scoring (balls not wins) and my lack of playing safe hurt me. I never really played much 9ball before and my brain is wired for wins not ball counting. So the last 4 weeks in 9ball were that I beat a 7 by 31-32, a 6 by 31-16, an 8 by 31-50 ( I was a few balls ahead after 4 racks but he caught a gear) and Friday I beat a 6 by 31-7. My lifetime 9ball is about 60% after a poor first season or two, but I'm tired of hearing I shouldn't be a 4...I don't think I should be either and I'm not worried about getting another 7 balls.

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congrats on your shooting. :thumbup:

as for paople complaining about your handicap...i could write a book on that subject .:grin:

to be honest , there was a time i was one of the guilty ones complaining about certain players in my area. :embarrassed2: i came to realize that every one i thought was under handicapped was raised sooner or later , so the system does work.

i have also had a lot of people complain about my handicap also...especially at play offs or higher.

to be honest , some of the griping mat be warranted. on weeknight play during regular session i mostly play relaxed and treat it as a night out. its hard on me to give 100 % during those nights when i have worked my ass off all day in 95 degree weather . iam tired and gotta get up and do it all over again the next day.

play offs or higher is when i turn on ...beast mode ...as one of my team mates puts it. my body feels as ok as it can for being 61 and i can get serious without having to worry about getting up early for work the next day so consequently i play better than during regular session.

i guess some people would say it s a form of sandbagging but i think a lot of people are like me. they play better when some thing is on the line instead of just a night out with friends .

i played the same guy in both 8 and 9 ball tonight.

i won 8 ball 4-3 with 1 b&r

i won 9 ball 38-40 with 1 b&r.

pretty decent night for me.

Forgot to mention he is a 6/6 and I am a 5/5

man ...my consistency sucks.

last night i faced a 6 who i have won more than lost against. the only rack i won was when he scratched on the 8. the thing is...i gave him bih on the 8 ball 3 darn times. !:angry:

tonight i faced another 5 and won 4-0.

i guess the good thing is i dont let my bad games get to me. otherwise i probably would not have been able to play good enough tonight to shut out my opponent.

DaveM said:

Still a 4 in 9ball after having a 75% win percentage this season and beating a 7,6,8 and 6 past few weeks. Add to that last nite I beat a 7 by 31-30. Long way to go to be a good player, but I should finally move up to a 5 this week.

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yea i would say you are on a good lil roll....keep it up . :thumbup:

been playing pretty good myself lately although my win /loss record does not reflect it.

in sunday night double jeapordy we were short handed and i played both formats twice.

1st match was 9 ball vs a s/l 9. i lost needing just 2 points. i played 15 safes...he played 18. the match went 58 total innings. after the 5th rack the score was him 26...me 24. he then put a 2 pack on me and pulled away from me.

i played the same guy 8 ball and lost hill-hill.

i then played another 5 9 ball and lost 38-37. i was up 37-23 and feeling pretty confiden . i then broke dry and he ran the table. the score is now 37-33. he breaks and runs 5 balls winning the match.

i then play the same guy 8 ball and win 4-1.

i played 8 ball travel tonight. we were short handed and i played twice again.

ist match was a 4-3 race and i won 4-0.

2nd match was a 5-2 race and i won 5-0.

DaveM said:

Nice night. I'm still a 4 lol....
9-Ball Open Summer 2015 4 9 7 77.78%

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a 4 with a 7-2 record ? would love to have you on my team lol.

gonna look up my stats.

btw ...tue night i had to play twice. had 2 rackless 4-0 matches.

wed night. another 4-0 rackless in 8 ball and playedm 9 ball twice. won 16-4 and 14-6.

man i am all up and down the scale from one night to the next.

sun afternoon masters 1-1

sun night double jeapordy
8 ball....8-7
9 ball...7-8

tue 8 ball 5-5

wed double jeapordy
8 ball.. 8-3
9 ball...6-4

fri double jeapordy
8 ball...3-4
9 ball...4-2

overall around 50% in both but i am racking up rackless patches....pun intended

so far this session

5...8 ball rackless patches
2... 8 ball b&r
3... 8 on the break
2...9 on the snap
3...9 ball b&r
1... 20-0 skunk
1...9 ball mini slam

and no...we do not pay for them.