how are ya'll doing in league ?

DAVE_M · Mar 13, 2014

justadub said:
I knew about the 8-ball shot you are speaking of when I was a 4, as the friend that was teaching me how to play showed me. I couldn't make it very often, and probably wouldn't try it in a league match at that point in time....

I agree, the way you describe him playing would have me suspicious, too. I've never seen anyone below a 7 run two racks, and that is a rarity around here.

I'm not bitter about him winning, at all. I shook his hand and congratulated him on the win. I'm bitter, because our LO is lazy and can't see the sandbagging going on right in front of his eyes. The "APA veteran" on our team said he just had a good night; I don't buy it.

I will admit, when I was SL4 speed, I knew of plenty of shots that were the right choice for the given fubar situation. However, there was a very low percentage chance that I could actually make it and get shape.

JBB2388 · Mar 13, 2014

Roadking said:
I've seen this thread every day & I'm finally deciding to post in it.
About 9 weeks ago I got back on 2 APA 8-ball teams after a 2yr. layoff.
When I quit 2yrs ago I was a decent 6 in 8-ball & a 7 in 9-ball (at least in our league).
So anyway since my return I haven't been able to regain my confidence. I'm second guessing all my shots. And just haven't felt comfortable at the table.
Twice now once against a 4 & once against another 6 I was up 4-0 only to loose.
I just can't close anything out.
On a positive note I have had 3 B&R's but missed having 2 more by hooking myself & not being able to make the 8.
I'm sure in time I'll get it back but it can't come soon enough.
And know you know the rest of the story. Lol

Roadking, thanks for posting. When I started out playing again last spring after 10+ years off it took me MONTHS to get my game back and honestly, I still don't think I am playing nearly as well as I once did. Keep at it and let us know how it goes each week. Good luck.

JBB2388 · Mar 13, 2014

DAVE_M said:
The "APA veteran" on our team said he just had a good night; I don't buy it.

I don't buy it either. Just because this guy is a "APA veteran" doesn't mean anything. I've spoken to many of those. Doesn't mean they know enough or are capable of seeing a truly good player disguise his abilities in order to hustle or sandbag. Those who are serious players and know the game can see past it. Hard to explain. Some of these longtime APA players are still just bangers even after playing for years.

Solomon · Mar 13, 2014

Hello AZB, I'm new to the forum. I rejoined the APA this session after being stationed overseas for a while. I play on an in-house 8ball team out of Tampa, FL. I joined an existing team that had handicap room for me, a S/L 6. Since the start of this session 2 members of our team have been bumped up a skill level (justifiably so). Now we are in danger of having to break up the team if someone else increases in skill level.

I love the cohesiveness of our team, but I'm not sure if I will be with them next session because it is my goal to become a S/L 7.

Roadking · Mar 13, 2014

JBB2388 said:
Roadking, thanks for posting. When I started out playing again last spring after 10+ years off it took me MONTHS to get my game back and honestly, I still don't think I am playing nearly as well as I once did. Keep at it and let us know how it goes each week. Good luck.

Yea I was expecting to be where I left off, or at least close. Boy was I surprised.
I would always take the summer off, at least league wise & always came back playing the same level. I looked forward to taking it off.
But if I find it in the next 9 or 10 weeks I'm sticking with it.

Roadking · Mar 13, 2014

And one more thing, I've never been a sand bagger. I've always went out to win.

Solomon · Mar 13, 2014

Roadking said:
And one more thing, I've never been a sand bagger. I've always went out to win.

I'm the same way. I cannot imagine dumping a game, or an inning for that matter. I want to win every game that I play. I've noticed that there are a lot of people in this league that dump games or try to pick up extra innings. Sandbagging wasn't nearly as bad in the last league that I played in.

Rain-Man · Mar 13, 2014

Solomon said:
I'm the same way. I cannot imagine dumping a game, or an inning for that matter. I want to win every game that I play. I've noticed that there are a lot of people in this league that dump games or try to pick up extra innings. Sandbagging wasn't nearly as bad in the last league that I played in.

Nice avatar.. How appropriate, he may go down as the greatest hustler/conman of all time...

Rackemep · Mar 13, 2014

Well we had an interesting league night last week...we were playing the #3 team in our league (we were in first but I think this last match bumped us down)...Anyways these guys built a loaded team to come play us. They recruited some players from another city and only had one of their actual team members playing...I tried not to let it bother me but its frustrating to get done like that...

In a way I guess its kind of flattering that they felt like they had to recruit some better players to sub against us but replacing 75% of their original team just to get a win? seems kinda cheap to me...

This same group has been trying to steal me away from my current team to go to nationals with them...They have offered to pay my way and what not but win loose or draw I'll stick with the team that I committed to at the beginning of the season....

lorider · Mar 13, 2014

DAVE_M said:
By running out, I mean thin cutting the one at pocket speed to roll up on the 2. Playing 3 rails off the 2 for shape on the 3. Drawing two rails off the 3 for shape on the 4... The dude wasn't a four lol.

In the first rack he was running, he got a bad roll and the cue ball rolled to the rail on the 3rd diamond at the side pocket. The 8 ball was frozen on the opposite rail on the 2nd diamond. I figured he would try to bank it in and miss. He cut it right down the rail and went back and forth for the nine...

Edit -

What APA 9-ball SL4 knows how to shoot this, let alone what SL4 can actually make it and get shape?

i can bekieve he is a 4 by the simple fact he left the cue ball where he did after pocketing the 7 ball.

the fact that he hit the 8 at warp speed indicates it was a hail mary shot as another poster said. he could have been trying to bank it and just lucked up hitting it where he did.

lorider · Mar 13, 2014

lost my tue night 8 ball match 3-4 in a 4-4 race. i shot good ....just not good enough. my opponent lucked in a few and just like always when some body lucks in one they wind up perfect on the next ball.

update on my teams handicap situation i mentioned earlier. try to keep it short but a lotta conversation went down between my lo and i.

my 4 that was raised to a 6 will stay a 6 . my lo said he judgement is based on my player is rated a 70 in napa league and believes he has been dumping in apa. my lo stated he believes i had no idea my player is dumping.

. both my lo and i know my player shows up drunk on sun night apa. now what i am going to say is pure speculation on my part. it may be that my player does not show up for tue night napa drunk. its possible he just parties on the weekend and stays sober during the week in order not to affect his job. i did the same when i was his age " 25." its possible showing up drunk affects his play and if he is sober on tue he undoubtely would play better.

regardless my lo feels my player is capable of playing at a higher level than he has shown and is going to stay a 6. after mulling it over i agree with my lo.

my 3 that was raised to a 5 is going to be dropped to a 4. no evidence he was dumping .... my lo just suspected him because he used to play on the same team my just raised 6 did. at 1st my lo was going to lower him back to a 3 but sun night my player played as a 5 beating a 3 ...12-8. so my lo just lowered him to a 4 instead.

during our conversation i told my lo i thought my 4 was about the same level as the top 4's in our league. come to find out the 2 guys i mentioned were both raised to 5's in 8 ball and one is a 5 in 9 ball and the other is a 4. let me call the 5/5 joe and the 5/4 larry. they both happen to play napa also but in a different division than i do.

i did some checking last night and i believe my lo opened a can of worms basing his judgement of raising my 4 to a 6 based on his napa rank of 70.

joe ...the 5/5 happens to be rated a 71 in napa.

larry who is a 5/4 happens to be rated a 64 in napa.

i am a 5/5 and rated 55 in napa.

my team mate who i have been telling the lo should not be a 5/5 is only ranked a 44 in napa.

i forwarded all this info to my lo last night and told him how to look this up for himself on napa's website.

the way i see it is if he is gonna raise my 4 to a 6 based on suspision of dumping AND his napa rank. well he has got a whole lot of adjusting to do on the above 4 players i mentioned or he better have a darn good explanation of why he ain't adjusting any body else.

you can look at just about every post i ever made concerning apa i have always praised my lo. i understand he is trying to protect the integrity of the league and i don;t envy his job at all but like i said he may have opened a can of worms here he may wish he had left closed.

what do you guys think? lets keep it civil....this has been a great thread so far.:thumbup:

Rain-Man · Mar 13, 2014

Lorider,

Your LO is probably right, but for the wrong reasons.. He shouldn't base an APA handicap on a NAPA handicap. Apples and Oranges, especially since NAPA is basically all about wins and losses, and the quality of your opponents. You could average 30 innings a game in NAPA, but as long as your winning, your gonna keep going up in skill level.. I play TAP, NAPA, and now APA, and they are all very different. My local TAP leagues skill level is 10x what the local APA' s is, and so far, NAPA seems to be even a bit higher than TAP's...

DAVE_M · Mar 13, 2014

lorider said:
i can bekieve he is a 4 by the simple fact he left the cue ball where he did after pocketing the 7 ball.

the fact that he hit the 8 at warp speed indicates it was a hail mary shot as another poster said. he could have been trying to bank it and just lucked up hitting it where he did.

Thats the problem, he didn't hit it at warp speed. He hit it to pocket it and play position. Even if that was the one fluke, explain the 2 pack lol

JuicyGirl · Mar 13, 2014

I also play Tuesday double jeopardy. Our team is doing very well. I think this is my last session with the APA. I'd like to check out other leagues but no leagues is more likely. Money is tight life is crazy and our babysitter aka first born child is going off to the coast guard... And getting married

. I'd like to play at local tournaments that pay something. I'm getting better but too busy with work and family. I want to be the best but I don't I am at the right place in life for that.

83% wins in 8 ball as a sl 4

50% in 9 ball was a 4 last week they dropped me to a sl 3.

I'm annoyed with ping pong sl levels.

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Tapatalk

lorider · Mar 13, 2014

Rain-Man said:
Lorider,

Your LO is probably right, but for the wrong reasons.. He shouldn't base an APA handicap on a NAPA handicap. Apples and Oranges, especially since NAPA is basically all about wins and losses, and the quality of your opponents. You could average 30 innings a game in NAPA, but as long as your winning, your gonna keep going up in skill level.. I play TAP, NAPA, and now APA, and they are all very different. My local TAP leagues skill level is 10x what the local APA' s is, and so far, NAPA seems to be even a bit higher than TAP's...

in my 5th paragraph i said i tend to agree with my lo about his decision. i believe the 4 that was raised is capable of playing at a higher level....if he ever showed up sober lol.

my lo based his judgement on several things he said.

1. got several complaints about the entire team this guy played on a year ago. he dropped out of league until he joined my team this session. my co captain picked him up. both of my players are simply guilty by being associated with that team i guess.

2. my lo watched my player during 1 match. we were playing on 9 footers that night. the lo said it looked like he was just banging balls around. who the heck dont bang balls going from a 7' to a 9; ?

3. that he is ranked a 70 in napa. i gave evidence that other player ranked low in apa are ranked high in napa and players that are ranked high in apa are low in napa. yes i agree... apples vs oranges.

bottom line is i can not field a competitive team now.

strange how some teams can stay together for years and be competitive but every session i have 2 or 3 players raised and have to hunt up new players for the next session. its frustrating lol. right now i have me and 3 other players from last years national team and 2 of them are the weakest players at their level in our division.

in 9 ball we have

1-9

1-6 just raised from a 4

2-5's one of them oughta be a 4 i swear to you.

1-4. the one who was raised from a 3 to a 5 and then to a 4 all in a 3 day span lol.

3-3's 2 of them are the weakest 3's in the league i swear. neither one of them can make 2 balls in a row starting with bih.

same team and same handicaps in 8 ball except for the 9 who is a 7.

dont get me wrong ... i love apa and really like my lo but like i said its just frustrating trying to play your best every week and some shit all way knocks you down and out.

lorider · Mar 13, 2014

DAVE_M said:
Thats the problem, he didn't hit it at warp speed. He hit it to pocket it and play position. Even if that was the one fluke, explain the 2 pack lol

i have had a 4 put a b&r on me and next rack make 8 and rattle the pocket on the 9. those players dont scare me too bad... when i get to the table i can make it up usually.

what scares me is a 3 in 8 ball breaks and runs all 7 ball of one suit. takes every thing i can do to keep him off the 8 ball. if he gets on that 8 before i run all my balls he is already on the hill. he makes 8 on the break next rack its game over 2-0 him. believe me i have seen it done.

justadub · Mar 14, 2014

Lost my 9-ball match last night. Can't explain it. I played really well the first 3-4 racks, then just started missing. Annoys the crap out of me. (My opponent played well, not taking anything away from him. Couldn't afford to miss,especially the easy ones that I did.)

Spimp13 · Mar 14, 2014

justadub said:
Lost my 9-ball match last night. Can't explain it. I played really well the first 3-4 racks, then just started missing. Annoys the crap out of me. (My opponent played well, not taking anything away from him. Couldn't afford to miss,especially the easy ones that I did.)

Shake it off brotha. That whole damn consistency thing can get ya in 9 ball.

My streak of rackless matches went to a halt as I won hill hill 5-1 vs a 4 that won the 5th game in 1 inning sheesh. Talk about tough to fade as a 7 playing a 4 on a 5-2 race when they have potential to run out like that. Most of the shots were ducks so it wasn't a stellar run, but still.

9 ball I got a 3 point break, but nothing higher...on the bright side I did snap 2 nine balls on the break, almost a 3rd. I (giggle) won 12-8...sigh, if I can only stay a 7 in that for a while!!

Happy Friday.

JBB2388 · Mar 14, 2014

lorider said:
what do you guys think? lets keep it civil....this has been a great thread so far.:thumbup:

I think he needs to get his head out of his ass. (That civil enough?)

There is very little objective criteria that he used to base his decision on and TONS of speculation. Two different leagues?? Playing drunk and not drunk??? I don't know. I'm having trouble seeing the justification.

lorider said:
who the heck dont bang balls going from a 7' to a 9; ?

((((Raises hand))))

Feel bad for you and your team bro. Good luck and hope it works out.

JuicyGirl said:
83% wins in 8 ball as a sl 4

83% lifetime as a 4?!?! How many matches played???

krupa · Mar 14, 2014

Well, I ended up not having to forfeit or miss my match. The stupid winter storm that came through NY cancelled NAPA (it seems that every storm has come through on Wednesday this year).

It was a hassle to reschedule but I ended up playing my match tonight and the rest of the team will play on Sunday.

So I lost a 4-3 8-ball race 3-1. I hadn't picked up a cue in almost three days and didn't warm-up before the match but that's not any excuse. The truth is, in each game, I had one crappy shot (either rushed it or just really bad stroke) and my opponent took advantage of it. He played great and I didn't.

how are ya'll doing in league ?

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