question for league players...any league....do you change your routine during playoff

lorider said:

..a team mate called it an epic match lol. I won 4-0 in 5 innings...

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An "epic' match? Sounds like a 'short' match to me! Well done!

lorider said:

In apa ltc finals rules state opponents must sit away from their team and no talking is allowed. I follow that rules from playoffs on up. I do not want any one talking to me between my shots or any type iof distraction what so ever.

I also slow my decision making and psr down...not dramatically...just look over the table a lot more carefully than during regular session matches.

I find that my level of pls increases quite a bit when I follow this routine....guess that's why I am often accused of being a sandbagger lol

Wed night 8 ball play offs I faced a 5 like me..i had the game of my life...a team mate called it an epic match lol. I won 4-0 in 5 innings...2 of those innings were safes with one break and run....ran 6 balls one rack and rattled the pocket on last ball trying to get on the 8 . Missed 2 shots the entire match

Thursday night 9 ball I faced a 6 . I wound up winning that match also and was accused of being a sandbagger by my opponent afterwards. I just laughed and said he oughta be a 7 lol

Looking over the scoresheet later I saw that I was down 33-12 at one point in that match. Also had to over come 2 break and runs he put on me. Guess he felt a 5 should not over come that kind of deficit.

Now to my question ...do you change your routine and does I help ?

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No I play the same all the time. Why don't you? Why is regular season different then playoffs when you play? Your psr should be the same always then when you play everything feels the same.

. I won 4-0 in 5 innings...2 of those innings were safes with one break and run....ran 6 balls one rack and rattled the pocket on last ball trying to get on the 8 . Missed 2 shots the entire match

How do you win 4-0 in 5 innings if 2 innings were safeties and you missed 2 balls?

lorider said:

1st rack ...0 innings... Break and run

2nd rack...i miss last ball ...he runs a few and misses... I run out...1 inning

3 rd rack...i scratch on break..he runs a few and misses.I run a few and play safe. He shoots and misses..i run out. 2 innings

4 th rack..exact same situation as 3rd rack..i scratch he shoots...i shoot and play safe..he shoots and misses and I run out

5 innings if my math is right

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Ok you count innings differently then I do. I count every trip to the table as an inning breaks included.

lorider said:

In apa ltc finals rules state opponents must sit away from their team and no talking is allowed. I follow that rules from playoffs on up. I do not want any one talking to me between my shots or any type iof distraction what so ever.

I also slow my decision making and psr down...not dramatically...just look over the table a lot more carefully than during regular session matches.

I find that my level of pls increases quite a bit when I follow this routine....guess that's why I am often accused of being a sandbagger lol

Wed night 8 ball play offs I faced a 5 like me..i had the game of my life...a team mate called it an epic match lol. I won 4-0 in 5 innings...2 of those innings were safes with one break and run....ran 6 balls one rack and rattled the pocket on last ball trying to get on the 8 . Missed 2 shots the entire match

Thursday night 9 ball I faced a 6 . I wound up winning that match also and was accused of being a sandbagger by my opponent afterwards. I just laughed and said he oughta be a 7 lol

Looking over the scoresheet later I saw that I was down 33-12 at one point in that match. Also had to over come 2 break and runs he put on me. Guess he felt a 5 should not over come that kind of deficit.

Now to my question ...do you change your routine and does I help ?

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Being perfectly honest here- it does actually sound like you may be sandbagging whether intentional or not. If you play differently during playoffs and play better than your current skill level when the match matters then you are probably under handicapped.

Also- the situation you describe about being down 21 balls when your opponent only needs 13(?) more and then coming back from that deficit to win does sound like a definite sandbagging pattern so i am not sure I blame the 6 that accused you.

Again- you might not be doing it on purpose but you should treat each match the same and your psr should be unconscious to the point that the pressure of a match doesn't change it.

PETROBOY said:

Ok you count innings differently then I do. I count every trip to the table as an inning breaks included.

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In apa an inning is only counted after both players shoot. Imagine baseball- an inning is only counted after each team bats/fields once or there would be 18 innings not 9.

I don't change my pre shot routine at all but it just seems a preform better when it's playoffs or tri-annuals. Alot of teams don't like shooting at our bar because of we have a diamond table and we are the only one in our division that has one. So shooting at home gives me a bit of a boost too. Also you can't win 4-0 in our 8 ball league the max is 3-0.

zpele said:

In apa an inning is only counted after both players shoot. Imagine baseball- an inning is only counted after each team bats/fields once or there would be 18 innings not 9.

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Is the APA the only ones like that? I have never heard it like this before. That way doesn't make sense because it is possible one player never gets to shoot.

@lorider,
Congratulations.

When I was Captain, I used to remind my teammates about any special playoff rules, that may differ from the regular season. One such rule was everyone who wants to play has to show up at the start of the first match (playoff rule). I also remind them to use, avail themselves to both coaching and break opportunities.

Going into playoffs, last night was the final match in the regular season. We manage to be in first place since early in the season, but our lead was eroding. By the start of last night we were hanging onto first place by one win. Second, Third & Fourth were tied in win/loss, and placed according to game win/loss percentage (.513, .505, and .487). If they all win, and we loss then it could've been potentially a 4 way tie. From first place (us) to last place, the spread was (.518 to .484). .500 represent 50/50 win/loss in overall games.

My team Captain likes to put him self up whenever we draw the blind. Instead, last night didn't choose himself, and instead puts up our strongest available player. So, I noticed that immediately as a change in tactics.

I've been told that I'm a fast paced player. Normally it takes me 75 minutes to hour and half to finish a match. Last night, being more deliberate, it took two hours and I used up all my coaching opportunities & breaks. On the hill-hill game, I ended up making the 8-ball on the side and cue ball heading into position for the 9-ball, but ended up scratching in the corner. I ended up losing 6-7.

We ended losing 3 out of 4 matches last night. Results haven't yet been posted, but I think we may likely lose our first place lead in our division and our first/second round bye in the playoffs.

Yes, in APA I don't mark down an inning until both players have played. A break and run would be marked down as 0 innings.

PETROBOY said:

Is the APA the only ones like that? I have never heard it like this before. That way doesn't make sense because it is possible one player never gets to shoot.

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I had a match one time a race to 5 alternate break I broke and ran 3 tables and my opponent broke dry twice and I ran out. Would that be 2 innings or 0 lol I still think it's 5 but the APA way makes me look better.


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I'm not going to give the cliche "play every match like it's the playoffs" cause (for me) it simply isn't doable. Life happens and there might be matches where I don't really feel like playing and so I'm going through the motions.

Playoffs/LTC's/or big tournaments come and the results of this game/match absolutely matter so it gets my full attention. Not going to say I play different really (as far as psr or my pace), but the focus level is there.

Maybe I've been playing league too long or maybe the super competitive side of me is gone but the idea of being super into every single league match has been gone quite some time.

Congrats on your wins.

I would mark that as 0 innings for each of the five games.

The 3 break and runs = 0 innings.

Your opponent broke dry, you ran out. He didn't come up to the table a second time so I don't mark it as 1 inning. So that's 0 inning.

PETROBOY said:

I had a match one time a race to 5 alternate break I broke and ran 3 tables and my opponent broke dry twice and I ran out. Would that be 2 innings or 0 lol I still think it's 5 but the APA way makes me look better.


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I don't really change much for our team when (or if, heh heh) we get to the playoffs. Other than I will play the strongest lineup, rather than trying to get everyone involved. (They all understand this from the outset of the season, during the session I will try to play everyone as close to equally as possible, but playoffs are another thing. We are also splitting any prize money won equally as well.)

I tend to try and throw one of the second/third best players early, to start as strongly as possible and still have flexibility as the matches proceed. On our current team we have three or four players who are fairly close in ability so its easier than some years. I guess I don't do that every week during session, tho it does happen more than not.

ctyhntr said:

Yes, in APA I don't mark down an inning until both players have played. A break and run would be marked down as 0 innings.

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An inning is marked only after the bottom person ends their turn, even if they start the game and give up the table but never come back, it is an inning.

ctyhntr said:

I would mark that as 0 innings for each of the five games.

The 3 break and runs = 0 innings.

Your opponent broke dry, you ran out. He didn't come up to the table a second time so I don't mark it as 1 inning. So that's 0 inning.

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This would depend on who won the lag and I don't see any indication of that. If the opponent won the lag I would agree that it is 0 innings. However, if they were on bottom then clearly their dry break brought that to 1 inning.

From what he states above this match could have been recorded one of 2 ways:
Vital info: He had a break an run, he played 2 safes and missed 2 shoots.

If he was on top:
5 Innings - Assuming that his opponent never came back to the table after the BnR and then 2 safes and 2 missed shoots that would be 5 games, but he only played 4 so that can't be true. Which means in one of the games 2 of those things happened and thus his opponent got 2 shoots before losing making the innings 5.

If he was on bottom it would go something like this for 4 innings, not 5 as he only gave up the table 4 times so it can't be more according to his statement.
The innings would be 4 if all of those misses and safeties were during separate games and his opponent never game back to the table after missing once, except in one game. If the opponent broke and then gave up the table and he ran it out that would be 0, if he gave up table (safe) but then got the table back to finish it that is 1 inning. He then BnR, that is 0 so for 2 games 1 inning. He then broke and missed, that is 2 innings. Opponent gave up the table again and he finishes it, now 3 games in 2 innings with 1 miss and 1 safe. Now the 4th and final match he breaks, gives up the table (safe), opponent gives up table, he misses, opponent gives up table and he finishes it. 4 games, 4 innings with a BnR, 2 misses and 2 safeties.

He did not mention a rackless so I will assume he didnt earn it and say it should been recorded at 4 innings.

As far as sandbagging goes. I would not assume he is as sometimes people can just play better at times and on any given shoot anyone can be a 2 or a 7. However, I would say he is in for being watched and possibly adjusted at higher level tournaments because of the way he changes his focus and thus improves his game when it actually matters. I would certainly expect him to get raised if he shoots better consistently at higher level tournaments as that is a tell tale sign of sandbagging, whether it is done intentionally or not. If you can consciously decide when to play well and when not to based on the focus you give the game, then you are not playing and thus not rated at your true potential.