a long race...or a big ahead set???

macneilb

macneilb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
so i'm at school (clearly not doing school work) when this question hit me; what do you guys think is better at determining a better player. if its for the cash, my vote goes to a long ahead set...IMO it tests how much grind you really have. what do you guys think?
 
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Race or........

gpeezy said:
Ahead to me will show more heart. Long race will show the more solid player.
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Uh UH uh Uh hell i forgot what to type after seeing that avatar:grin-devilish:

Nice assets!!
 
I am for

the long race. How long should be determined by the players.

And I will tell you why. When you have 2 20 somethings playing, it is even so to speak, but what if you have a 20 something playing a 55 year opponent.
The 20 something has the advantage being in better physical shape, and therefore favored to win a long grinding ahead set.

I quit playing ahead sets years and years ago, after playing one for 16.5 hours and ending up even. I just play races since then, at least someone usually wins something. I consider my time to be a commodity, and worth something, and I am not willing to waste hours, days, of it to just come up even anymore. (I always was more of a 'dash' man than a 'distance' man).

At 60, my stamina isn't what it once was, and I don't have any desire to play any longer than 8-12 hours anymore.
 
I prefer longish sets(race to 15 or 21) for ALL the dough. Reason being, every game means more, especially if it is tied at say 12-12 in a race to 15. An ahead set, wow, even, whereas in a race, someone is always a threat to dog it that close. I know I play bad, but I am hoping my opponent will too at the end. I just like to put pressure on people, but that is jmo
 
one reason i'd say a big ahead set would be the real tester is because when you have two guys (of the same caliber) going at it in a long race, and there neck and neck at the finish line, say one or two racks away, does the result really determine the better player, or just the guy who got the better rolls off the last 2 racks? thats just one 'for instance' though. the other reason i'd say a long ahead set is better is b/c when 2 killers are playing for say 12 hours, and they're still even, the one who doesn't frustrate, the one who's still got that killer instinct, is gonna show that he's the better player, hands down. just my .02:cool:
 
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Like SnapShot said, my time is of value (at least to me!). I too like a decent length race. HOWEVER, no one IMO should win the dough by winning by a rack - that could be too luck dependent. Depending on the length of the race, I like having to win by 2 to 3 (or more if it's a real long set).
 
macneilb said:
one reason i'd say a big ahead set would be the real tester is because when you have two guys (of the same caliber) going at it in a long race, and there neck and neck at the finish line, say one or two racks away, does the result really determine the better player, or just the guy who got the better rolls off the last 2 racks? thats just one 'for instance' though. the other reason i'd say a long ahead set is better is b/c when 2 killers are playing for say 12 hours, and they're still even, the one who doesn't frustrate, the one who's still got that killer instinct, is gonna show that he's the better player, hands down. just my .02:cool:
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First off - getting 'lucky' in games 98 and 99 of a 100 game race
is exactly the same as getting lucky in games 8 and 9.

Second - what do you consider a 'big' ahead set to be?

IMHO - an ahead race will more often determine the better player
IF there is a limit on how long you play each day - otherwise
it can easily become a test of stamina and determination rather
than a true test of skill.

Dale
 
An argument could be made for either; one requiring more stamina, and one possibly requiring more nerve.

Obviously, the one requiring more stamina would be the ahead set. The argument for the long race possibly requiring more nerve would be that there is a certain sense of urgency, even if the race is long, that doesn't quite exist in an ahead set. You can lose a few games in an ahead set and think, "no big deal. I can make those up." However, even though you could still win games and tie the set up in a race, every game your opponent wins puts them one game closer to the finish line.
 
6 of one - half dozen of the other. Same either way. The biggest difference is that at the end of a race one player will cross the finish line first.

Alex vs SVB round TAR to 100 proved that. If they were playing ahead sets then SVB would have won several of them. Alex's come from nowhere win on the final day was one of the true championship performances I have ever seen. At the end of the race SVB ran out of gas and rolls and Alex picked up speed.

So in this instance one could say that the long race proved the better player. Who knows?

I know this: In an ahead set when the opponent is on the hill the other player still has a chance to win. In a long race when the opponent is on the hill to ZERO which is the eqivalent to being on the hill in an ahead set, the chances to still win the race if tiny compared to an ahead set.

I know, it happened to me playing last pocket 8 ball in Germany for $1000. We played 5 ahead and I won four games and dogged the last bank shot. He won 9 games from there and beat me. I feel pretty confident that if in all of those 9 games he won I was still just one game away from victory it would have made a difference.

The reason?

When you are on the hill in a race then you are inches away from the finish line not only does your opponent have to get to where you are but he has to pass you.

In an ahead set every game he wins brings him closer to you and you farther from the finish line, he is in effect pulling you back while propelling himself forward.

So it's really about even in my book - both tests have different dynamics to overcome.
 
macneilb said:
so i'm at school (clearly not doing school work) when this question hit me; what do you guys think is better at determining a better player. if its for the cash, my vote goes to a long ahead set...IMO it tests how much grind you really have. what do you guys think?
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As long as the amount of games ahead is large enough to be meaningful, there is no question that an ahead set is the best way to determine the better player.

In a race, you only have to win the last game first. Even in a race to 1000, the final score could be 999-1000. Would you think that that proved anything?

If you want a test of only pure skill in an ahead set, you simply limit the number of hours played at a time or per day, and the player that displays the most skill will not only ultimately win, but will have won convincingly by "x" number of games. If you are trying to determine the player with the best combination of skill and stamina, then you put minimal, or no limits, on the number of hours they play at a time or per day, and the player that displays the best combination of skill and stamina will ultimately be the one that wins convincingly by "x" number of games.

Either way, the ahead set is the best test because it forces a convincing win.
 
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I believe that either method will determine the better player....As long as the race is to 100+ and the head set is at least 10+....
 
ahead. You know were you are at. With a race you don't no where to start trying to come back cause you feel like you have so much time.
 
tigerseye said:
I believe that either method will determine the better player....As long as the race is to 100+ and the head set is at least 10+....
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So if the score in a race to 100 was 99 - 100, you could say for certain that the winner was the better player?
 
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