United Billiard Leagues

I like what I see so far.

Pros:
Lots of money
Pretty cheap @ $12
Handicap seems to work
Something new


Cons:
No shot clock - but they know that and it will probably be implemented
I don't know how the BIH's are calculated and I don't see how people won't be able to shark
Will they be able to last long enough to get big enough to sustain those types of payouts?

Random thoughts:

They kept talking about it being hill-hill, that's correct for the whole set but how did the individual matches turn out? I wasn't paying that much attention but it seemed like the individual matches were sometimes lopsided. Nothing new with short races I just don't think it should be a selling point

Mike Sigel shouldn't be the face of the league. I know pool players like him but listening to him ramble during commentary was a bit off-putting. Wouldn't change my mind but the attitude he had when being asked about the fees was interesting. I think this is one of those cases where the guy who comes up with idea should hire someone else to manage it?

There was also a conflict in one of the finals matches and both Mike and LoriJon were trying to get into the middle of it, and it turned out they were wrong. As some people mentioned, and I agree, there's a referee, let them do their job.

LoreeJon did great and she clearly cares about the league.

The handicaps are done like most other leagues; you're assigned a handicap to start (in the case of UBL, a 3) and then evaluated as play continues over a session. Basically if you win, your handicap goes down; if you lose it goes up. there are details in the rules that are published at www.unitedbilliardleagues.com/league-info. As I mentioned earlier the system seems robust enough to discourage sandbagging, but this is only the first session. As more players get involved any weakness will be found and exploited.

I'm personally not thrilled about the rule that allows a player to hold different handicaps for each team he plays on; IMO if you're a 3, you're a 3 no matter who you're playing for. But hey, it's not my league.

And you're right, the play was entirely too slow even with the coaching limit of 2 minutes per game in the rules (and yes, I understand these were amateurs playing for a lot of money).

I AM impressed that the league is administered via a phone app, with the ability to pay your fees through the app (and even in advance). No paper to keep up with, and every player can keep up with every other player and team, though it's inevitable that some will complain that the software is secret.

I hope the UBL does well; we know Kracker Jacks # 5 is excited!

OK, I read all the UBL posts on this forum and I'm going to do something I seldom do. Post on AZBilliards. Not that I have anything against the site. I just research more than I post. I post about once a year as I recall. Feel free to respond or comment whether you agree or not. Just don't look for a timely reply. I'm lucky to be on here more than once a month or so.

About me. I played the game a lot prior to the advent of leagues from about 1959 -1964 and 1967-1970. Then a 29 year break to take care of some minor issues; earning a living, and raising a family. Started back when I retired in 2009 and I've been playing APA 8-Ball since then. I like it. I have a reasonable game but make no pretense of being ready to play with the "big boys." Might make it to Vegas, might not. Still a cheap night out once a week either way.

Now to the United Billiard Leagues.
1. Like all leagues in all sports, "there is no one size fits all." Especially where handicapping is in place. Some people will like the format, some won't.

2. If you haven't tried it, either in the UBL league or by subjectively handicapping your playing buddies and trying out the format, you're still entitled to an opinion but not to knock those that want to find out for themselves if they like the format. You can find the rules and handicapping system at www.unitedbilliardleagues.com.

3. The handicapping via ball-in-hand may surprise you. I joined a team in a new (to UBL) venue. To begin with some of the better 8-ball players (APA 6 and 7s) were having fits trying to beat APA 3, 4 and 5s when both they and the lower players each had 3 BIH before enough weeks were played for handicaps to adjust. Probably because they didn't take the lower level players seriously and suddenly found they missed when their opponent had three BIH left and only three balls plus the eight left on the table.

4. The weekly fee is reasonable and even if you never make a dollar in playoff money, you still had a night out for a few bucks and got to play pool to boot. Oh, look, that's the same as the APA league. I don't play BCA or any other leagues so I can't make a judgment there since I don't know how it works.

5. There's a lot of talk in this forum and elsewhere about weaker players never improving in this format. And, that's true if the elitist abandon them to struggle on their own. Oh, look, that's also true in other league formats.

6. Stronger players should always be doing all they can to help weaker players become better if you're playing for sport, not money. Here's a simple rule, the better a player is the more fun he/she has and the more likely they'll continue with the game.

7. I saw some talk about pool rooms and leagues only wanting to make money. No kidding. Why put up with all us folks of the pool player mentality otherwise. The more money they make, the more likely they will stay in the business, the more rooms that stay in business, the more places we have to enjoy the game. I don't see a down side there. The UBL division I'm in has attracted some players that didn't play in other leagues. So, new players mean more money to the venue...

8. Slow play in the UBL finals. No argument there but you did have rank amateurs playing for $100,000 first prize. And, if you watch some pro tournaments, for a lot less money (and without a shot clock), on YouTube the play is much slower for some pro players than I saw on the UBL final (and I watched every minute of it).

9. Bottom Line. I like the UBL format as an additional way to play the game. I hope it succeeds and remains as an option for us. Give it a one season try and then make up your mind based on experience, not unsupported opinion. I still play on my APA team and added a night of play for the UBL. So far I like it and I'll definitely finish out the season before making a final decision either way.

Cheers y'all, Southern Fried.

JC said:

I have no desire to play C players. I'm glad they have somewhere to go play.

We are starting another night of BCA play here with a $20 a night fee to weed out the players who don't want to improve.

JC

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I'm glad to see you post that you have no desire to play C players. Do you have any desire to sell Coos Cues to C players or to players that play simply for the fun of it?

Johnny Rosato said:

I'm glad to see you post that you have no desire to play C players. Do you have any desire to sell Coos Cues to C players or to players that play simply for the fun of it?

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There is no correlation between the two things. I said I was glad that they have somewhere to play not that they shouldn't. If two people want to play each other for the fun of it more power to them. I try and be more focused when I play.

Because I have no desire to play players a couple hundred fargo points below me makes me evil? Or is it the honesty you find distasteful?