A Race to 2 is this a real tournament???

We have one about an hour from here and it's a 1 game 8 ball elimination tourny. No losers bracket! Attracts about 50 people believe it or not and its just brutal. Pays 300 to 350 for first which makes it a must but geeeez ... how brutal and frustating is this deal! If its a race to 7 ...I feel fairly confident I win but 1 game? Another poster here got it right.... noone wants to pay their dues anymore.... here I can't get a game for the time much less any dollar amount.

If Efren walked in today he'd get action from me a DOLLAR A BALL for life!

No this aint a tourny worth anything IMO
 
There's always some place around that has your stereotypical bar-style race-to-1 double-elim barbox tournament.

And yes, one game isn't what the vast majority of US would consider to be a "real" tournament, but the vast majority of the folks who play in them aren't one of US, either.

Don't assume that every other person out in the world with a cue stick in their hand should play and enjoy the sport the way YOU do or the way YOU think they should.

Anyone can win one game. *shrug* I've won bunches of these type deals, and lost bunches. I try not to go in with big expectations.

Usually, in my experience, the single-game format is due to logistics - the place having the tournament has too few tables to handle even a race-to-2 without making the tournament run into the wee hours of the night. I'm pretty sure that every single-game type tournament I've run across, there have been a grand total of TWO tables available.

One local tournament of this style back in Colorado, they would go race-to-two on the winner's side, but they had three tables, which meant the duration of the tournament as a whole wasn't thrown out of whack.
 
Bar box, ripped beer stained cloth, local watering hole, three man bracket...

8-ball, race to one, promptly touted as one of the most prestigious events in the history of the World, [The 1st] "Intergalactic Eight Ball Championships".

Yeah, it was for real.
 
Race to 2

Stix, here in Wichita, is having race to 2 8 ball tournaments on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights starting at 10 pm to get players in late in the evening. Good for business, and it draws a few beginners, lots of intermediate players, and a good amount of better players. They pay 150%, and the one on Saturday night pays 200%.

Then they have a race to 3 9 ball tournament at 8:30 pm on Sunday night that pays 150%. All these tournaments are just $5 entry.

They are pretty successful with them because: 1) Cheap to enter 2) Anyone has a chance 3) Starts late, so you can still play somewhere else earlier 4) Pays decent 5) Draws players 6) Doesn't take all night

They are drawing 15-22 players for these tournaments every weekend. It, as I see it, a win-win situation for the players and the room owner alike. Besides, another plus for the room owner, is that players will get use to going to Stix to play, which means they will go there at other times to play. Another plus for the players, is they serve decent food at
real reasonable prices.
 
about 30mins from where I live is the typical race to 2, BCA 8ball barbox tourny...typically brings in 32 guys ...

I played once, a few months ago when i was trying to get back into it, and went 0-2 and then sat around cuz my friend was rolling through guys... well towards the end of the nite a Newb was talking about how he hates the BCA rules, and likes bar rules....

So i tried to explain how the BCA rules favor you! and dont work against you like bar rules does... His response was, well I dont see you butt still playing..... I then said, well if you wanna play for 50$ a set you will,,, and he gives me the, well why you gotta be all like that... lol

But like my friend says, he could go 0-2 for the rest of his life at that tournament and still nobody would gamble with him....

While the tourny was fun to watch,,,,, its a pain, cuz I had a bye the first round so i didnt play a match for two hours,,,, and there was only 2 tables in the place...
 
I think they have their place too. I played in a double elimination/8 ball/ race to one event when I was up in Santa Cruz on business. It did draw mainly bar box bangers which was fine with me. But what I liked was it was over in 1 1/2 hours and I was back at my hotel at a reasonable hour so I could work the next day. Cheap to enter, $10. Plus free table time for an hour before the event.

Yes, not a hard core tournament but you still get some experience playing under pressure. Frankly I don't play in many tournaments because they take too long. I'm married with a family and would rather be with them. I just don't really want to still be in the pool hall at midnight on a Sunday for an event that started at noon - even if I don't have to work the next day.

So this "shorty" tournament was perfect for me that evening.
 
must-get-out said:
Hi
here in germany,we have once or twice tournaments a year in the southwest,9 ball,race to 1 but you plays everybody in this tournament.Much more fun!
Click to expand...


Hey were are you from and what tournament are you talking about??

In our three locations, our 3 weekly tournaments alternate between 8- 9- and 10-ball (8-Ball race to 2, the others race to 3, all double eliminiation till quarter finals, if we have more than 16 players, else its de till final)

It is well attended (always betwen 16 and 30 participants) and a lot of fn, because if oyu have a good day and the others have a bad one you might beat one of the big chaps, though in the end its usually the same group of guys to share the top three....
 
I for one, love em'.........

Here's are local scene. Every Friday I run a tournament at a local bar with 8 tables. Been doing it for almost 3 years now. $5 entry, the bar matches the pot. Pays out 8 places. Tables are OPEN. Mildly handicapped. You either go to 2, 3, or 4. Double elimination. Straight race to 2 on the losers side. Basically APA rules. There are loud bands there every week and it is pretty crowded. We get 40 to 55 people every week. During the summer, 25 or more players show up. We get a nice mix of low, middle and high handicap players. Decent players drive upwards of an hour to play in it because the field can be very tough and the payout is decent for the $. We have the same caliber of player win it just about every week for 3 years, the better players. But the whole reason we are successful is that the field is filled every week by average joes who feel that they get a lot of bang for their buck. I bet if I changed it to a straight race to 2 or 3 or raised the entry $1, if would slowly lose all the guys/girls who fill the field every week. The APA rules our area as far as leagues go so the field is all APA players who just consider our tournament another cheap night out playing the game they love. To the original question of the thread: As with anything in life, short race tournaments have their place. :)
 
The local moose does an 8 ball tourney DE race to 1 on Friday night, and 9 ball DE race to 2 on Saturday night. $5 entry pays to 3rd. Usually more than 25 in it.

Last weekend, I held a $25 9 ball tourney in the same place, set to pay to 6th with a full 32, race to 5 on the win, 3 on the loss, 7 for the final match. Payout was set to be $275 for first with a calcutta.
12 people showed up....:( I still ran a tourney, and paid down to 3rd. Almost everyone had a good time.

The biggest problem is the equipment. All 4 tables needing rails, cloth, leveling and new balls. A short race is tough enough, but to get 1 rack and have the equipment beat you is nearly intollerable. I've played regularly in both tourneys and have only won each one once in the 2 yrs I have been playing. They claim they are going to have all 4 redone with new balls and everything, but apparently you can't get rails for a valley bar box in Delaware...... At least that is the latest excuse. Truth is they just don't care, but pool is the reason most go in there, and they are the only game in town...:(


:cool:
 
We have a one pocket tourny best of 3 basicly the same race to 2 but the 8 counts on the break. and people want to speed the game up saying it takes to long.

Criag
 
n10spool said:
We have a one pocket tourny best of 3 basicly the same race to 2 but the 8 counts on the break. and people want to speed the game up saying it takes to long.

Criag
Click to expand...

Are you saying if you make the 8 ball on the break the game's over and you win? I've never heard of that before.
 
nbll01 said:
I just wanted to get some others opinions? I played in a tournament like this last night and just thought it was kinda lame. A race to 2 on the winners and losers side barbox 8 ball oh and the 8 dont count on the break. Seems to me you gotta get pretty lucky to stay alive with this format.........Dave
Click to expand...
Thats the point, it is geared for the weaker players to feel they have a chance. Ever notice the better players still seem to win though.
 
macguy said:
Thats the point, it is geared for the weaker players to feel they have a chance. Ever notice the better players still seem to win though.
Click to expand...

I understand the weaker players have a chance. I wouldnt exactly call the players that win this the better players. Consistently seems the better players get shown the door at this one.
 
Race to 2 tourneys...

Don't sweat the small stuff man, these are social events to put quarters in the bar boxes and drinks in eveyone! :thumbup: So enjoy the "fun" aspect of it and have a few cocktails during the course of the night! If ya win...it's good...if ya don't oh well, at least you had a good time and maybe...just maybe you might be able to scrounge up a little action with someone out of the situation. :thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top