A New App For Recording and Measuring Your Pool Game

Pool Stats Pro

We've created an app that allows you to record every type of shot and various shot difficulties (1-99% shot probabilities) for the games of 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball. We also have a "locate users" feature, that allows you to find Pool Stats users within a 50mi radius of your location, where you can contact them via Google Hangouts and set-up and record your matches with new players. Sign-in with the App using Google to locate users. Locating and setting-up a match with local users is FREE unlike competitor apps that charge a fee per match. The FREE feature of this sacrifices a bit of privacy for convenience in order to give the users a chance to meet new players in their area. Locating users is not mandatory and is up to the user of the app to decide if they want to use this feature.

Integrated with the app is a web software suite to further analyze your shots, games, and matches via a web interface. We use the open source data visualization software suite, Metabase, to integrate data recorded and uploaded with the app. Currently, we have built-in over 30+ data metrics, graphs, and plots to rank players among each other. We've devised proprietary formulas to better analyze the game of pool to a whole new level. We have released our formulas before and are not afraid to do it again.

The web-interface is accessible to users who pay a small fee, $7.99/yr, to gain access to our built-in metrics and allows the user to create their own metrics of their games and share them with the community. If you know SQL, then you will be able to create extremely advanced data visualization and metrics using our Metabase integration. If you don't know SQL and don't want to learn it, that's okay too, as Metabase is meant to be a "point-and-click" data visualization software. The learning curve for Metabase is about 4 hours as compared to weeks to master SQL.

There is also a statistics interface within the app that gives a breakdown of the data you've recorded so far. Included in this statistics activity is a formula, we are not currently releasing, called TSP or True Shooting Percentage. If you are familiar with Accu-Stats TPA, shooting percentage is essentially equivalent, as I've recorded games from Accu-Stats and noticed a high similarity on the level of A .01-.07 difference. However, TSP is much different. It takes your Shooting Percentage and scales it based on a weighted shot difficulty level. I.e., more shots in the low probability range will improve TSP much more than taking a bunch of easy shots. TSP is analogous to the metric with the same name seen in basketball.

For more advanced stats we have devised, check out our forum:
https://discuss.poolstats.co


The Goal:

It's simple. To bring billiards into the data age. While that sounds rather vague, a more elaborate approach would be to say that we want to bring Bill James' sabermetrics to the cue sports. If you are familiar with the name, Bill James, you'll know his advanced data analytics have revolutionized the game of baseball. Since introducing sabermetrics, other sports, such as, basketball, football, and hockey, have all formulated metrics in the manner of Bill James to gain a deep understanding of a player's and team's ability to perform. That is why we have spent time drawing up formulas to better understand the game of pool. If you are familiar with the world of sports analytics, you might also know the name, Ken Pomeroy, who has taken Bill James' sabermetrics to a new level. We are also adapting his formulas to pool.

That's what we are doing with the cue sports. Pool Stats Pro + Metabase + Mathematical derivations gives us the tools necessary to complete this task.

About Us:

The man behind the curtain on this forum is Vincent. I graduated from University of Michigan in 2007 with a B.S. in the Mathematical Sciences and a minor in Statistics. I then went on to earn a M.S. in the Mathematical Sciences from Clemson University in 2012. Although my research in graduate school was focused on number theory and cryptography, courses were taken on advanced statistics and probability which furthered the minor I received at Michigan.

The other person involved in this venture is Matthew. He studied Applied Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago. His breadth of knowledge into sabermetrics and advanced sports analytics gave me the idea to do this for the cue sports. He is constantly researching new metrics that I can adapt for billiards.

We both love pool and play it often, though there is a lot of room for both of us to improve and hopefully we can use our data tools to do just that.

Examples:
(you may have to zoom in/out to get the legend and axes labels)

The following are interactive graphs and data points. Hover over the objects to get more stats about the data at hand.

Average time to shoot vs number of made shots for all players (Bar + Line chart)
http://poolst.at/a

Average of Consecutive Made Shots per Match for all players (Scatter Plot)
http://poolst.at/b

Shooting Percent for all players + No. of Made/Missed/Defensive Shots (Multiple Bar Graph)
http://poolst.at/c

DSR (Defensive Success Rate) - A formula I devised to measure your effectiveness while playing safe/defense. As a guide, the maximum DSR is 200, which means every time you play defense you force a turnover (highly unlikely and is the theoretical limit). A DSR > 100 is extremely effective. A DSR > 50 is highly effective and is where you want your defensive play to be at.
http://poolst.at/d

Screenshots:











Google Play:

Search "Pool Stats Pro" or go to the following link:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cc.symplectic.poolstatspro

Price:

App:
$.99. No ads. Ever. No in-app purchases.

Web-interface:
$7.99/yr to access our built-in metrics for your data only collected with the app.
$30.00/yr to access all player data and access to more advanced metrics.

Website

Check us out:
https://poolstats.co

Future:

Currently this app is only available on the Android platform. As I'm the sole investor in this project, and with very few funds currently, I am unable to develop the iOS app presently. I hope to be able to get a decent iMac or Apple laptop sometime this year and develop a cross-platform app using Dart + Flutter. I have began coding the app with Dart and Flutter, but without Apple products for virtualization and testing, it is kind of a moot point at the moment.

So bear with us as we try our best to bring this app out to all mobile users.

We have begun collecting data on professional pool players so we can analyze their game as well. The goal is to build a massive repository of data and stats on as many pool players as possible. We currently have a crowd-sourcing campaign if you are interested in contributing.

I will try to address all questions and comments in this thread as time permits. Please be patient.

Thanks for reading all that!

DecentShot said:

How do you use it as a dating app?

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You compare shooting percentages in the locate users feature and similar ones mean you are a close match. :wink:

1pocket said:

Looks interesting, but I am on iPhone.

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Hopefully we will roll out the iOS version late this year.

New Stat: Clutch Shooting Percent (CSP)
(coming soon to an update near you)

We've (me) cracked the formula for Clutch Shooting Percent (CSP). This is a measure of how well you play under duress, i.e., if your opponent, in a game of 8-ball, runs 7 straight balls, but misses the 8; you come back and run the rack for the win - your CSP is 100%. If you break and run your CSP ~ 83.3%. There are various factors involved in the equation and it is a function of three variables. The Goal would be to have a CSP ≥ 42%

We (me) will be publishing the formula in the coming weeks on Instagram and Facebook.

In the meantime, we (me) have included this formula in the statistics section of the app and an update will be occurring, for those that have downloaded it, later this week.

Screenshot:

slach said:

"We've created an app that allows you to record every type of shot and various shot difficulties (1-99% shot probabilities) for the games of 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball."........


If I correctly understand (correct me if I'm wrong) how the stats work you need to record/categorize EVERY shot of your matches. That's asking quite a bit, have you actually done this?

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I do it every game I play with my colleague. It adds about 4 seconds on to my shot, none on his, and I record the shots of both of us. We recommended doing dry runs in your house with the app to familiarize yourself with the interface. Or watch a youtube and record a match that way.

The ideal situation is if you play on teams to have your teammate record the match for you, while he/she awaits their turn. Or some other 3rd party that is pool literate.

We currently have over 7,000 shots recorded.

evergruven said:

first, I dig your efforts-
pool at all levels could benefit from more stat-tracking- props!
(and please holler when the iphone app is up)

I do wonder about your definition of "clutch" here
in general, I think clutch is a relative term
running eight balls is good
but say the table's clear
and you're left with a tough shot on the money ball
many fewer balls to sink
but one shot for the cheese
how would that be rated?
you said you'll be publishing the formula
just thinking out loud here
and I'm (obviously) curious
some things seem difficult to quantify

Click to expand...

In the app, we have a "Shot Probability" level. Now if there is one ball left to pot, and it's a low probability shot, that will be weighted against the level of difficulty. Of course potting the remain 4-balls at a low probability will record a higher CSP, then just potting the last ball, because the remaining 4 balls are the money balls to win the game.

The more consecutive balls you pot, leading up to the money ball, records a higher CSP. Things such as difficultly of shot, how many balls remain to be potted, how many balls the opponent has potted, and so forth, are easy to quantify. The problem in the mathematics of sports is quantifying emotion and the player's perceived intensity level.

Let me point out, that mathematical statistics, and the mathematics of sports, is not an exact science and never will be. Statistics is, crudely, mathematics to a high degree of confidence (85% - 99% accuracy). As we publish our formulas, more data becomes available, and more mathematicians gain an interest, the weights become more and more refined, with more and more advance mathematics, increasing the degree of confidence.

That said, I'm confident in the formula I have derived to gain a better understanding of this metric. However, there will always be room for improvement.

Something can be said for the 'your-sport-here'-reference.com outlines of formulae.

CocoboloCowboy said:

PoolStats like the designs of your avatar, but if the proper or internet went down I have candles. People IMHO need to go back to talking one on one, stay off their phones, quite driving and texting. Go play Pool it's fun old school.

“Pool is geometry, in its most challenging form, the science of precise angles, and forces" - Quote from: A Game of Pool, The Twilight Zone 1961 Television Show.

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I respect the opinion to play old school. I pay my respects to the days of yonder via movies. I haven't watched a movie released within the last 25 years in a very long time.

But by your signature, since pool is mathematics, let's understand it the way we do particle physics!

Snooker Theory said:

Is .99cents a high enough price tag to support future development, if people don't opt into your other options like the 30$ a year thing?

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Most likely not. I'm optimistic that when people see the power of integrating the app with the web interface, I'll get more cash flow. Plus, I have a few colleagues, along with myself, that are cataloging matches from high profile tournaments using the app. As we gain more and more data, it may attract academic personal and Las Vegas sports gamblers.

Also, I have a lot of time on my hands and a monthly source of income to keep this going for the foreseeable future.

My main concern is what the cost may be when I have to migrate the web interface to something like AWS. There will be a tipping point where the server gets overloaded and the income of web users versus the cost to keep those users active on AWS. Hopefully, that tipping point will also be the break-even point or even a small profit margin.

As a side note, generally one wants their total data ponits for any metric to be >= 30. The data we currently does not meet this requirment for all players, but it may give insight into how the DSR's of the players change as more data is recorded. Check back at the shortened link to see the updates as they happen.

We are currently cataloging matches daily during this shut-in.

http://poolst.at/dsr

Note:

From what I'm seeing so far, Justin Bergman is the best defensive player of the games we have recorded so far. That may change as more data becomes avaiable.

New Features:

Integrated Chat


Now with Pool Stats Pro you can locate and chat with local members or any member that is signed into the app with Google. Don't want to be found, or not looking for a game, then simply log out and people won't be able to see your location.

Loyalty Program




With the new release of Pool Stats Pro (v1.5.1), now on Google Play, you will receive points for every upload you make. Say you record 100 shots and upload it to our servers, you will receive 100 points, so long as you have created a poolstats.co account in the Web App option of the app.

Earn more points by recording and uploading more data. You can buy a yearly membership program to our web portal, with over 50+ custom metrics, to better analyze your game, once you've recorded and uploaded 1500 shots. You can also easily create graphs and analytics with a few simple clicks. 3000 shots recorded an uploaded, and you can buy an all inclusive membership which gives you access to all data recorded plus the ability to create your own metrics and graphs - this includes all metrics we've thus far created in the web portal.

YouTube Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INqpZNWmIf