ABC Series 6 outlook

Joe T

Joe T

Well-known member
Here’s the list of rooms that are helping us build it up;

New room in Canada :) via Barry Heatherington at Petrina’s and he’s also working on a second group of 10. 1

Ottawa has consolidated into one tough group of 10 players and will be participating in our Fantasy Billiards contest (that is running a little late due to 2 people who are pretty busy) We had both Gerry Williams and Roger Miller qualify from Ottawa for Derby finals and it was a blast hanging out with them after the finals. Especially at the steak house Gerry, God bless our American Rotation Ghost Drill ;) 2

Talked with Jim Wych of the new Corner Bank in Toronto. He’s still very busy opening and such. Maybe we’ll gettem on board but I’m thinking more like Series 7 for them.

Grand China in Salem NH is coming back on board after having a rough Series 5 with scheduling problems. There are some great people up there and they just have to get use to scheduling matches between each other. Which can be very tough due to the amount of league and tournament play those players are participating in but I think they’ll do it, 3

Amazing Billiards Boston had a meeting this week with 8 players and are confident they’ll have 10. 4

Stix & Stones Abbington MA I was at the other night and they have a great group. Their poster child Joe Dupuis is away for 3 more weeks but with the flex schedule he’ll still be in. 5

Snookers Providence RI is also testing the flex schedule to the max with Mike Dechaine and Jarrod Clowery away doing some exciting things in NYC until April (Good luck guys) but Snookers will get it done. And will also participate in the Fantasy Billiards contest for both the Men and Ladies division. 6

Bo’s Billiards Cranston RI ran 2 groups of 10 last Series but 1 didn’t finish in time so we’re going to go for 1 solid group for Series 6. 7

The RI MENS Group lol I’m not quite sure what to call these guys but they contacted me asking if they could play out of their home tables and their Elks Club? ABSOLUTELY ;) 8

Over to Eastern MA and Central CT we have Ivory’s and Pool Table Magic. I’ve been so focused on far away rooms that I’m sure on their status right now but will check in with both this weekend. But we’ll call it 9

NYC! Unbelievable that they don’t have a men’s or women’s group yet but Gotham City Billiards is ready willing and more than able to host a group of 10. What a nice place and a 10ft table ready to for streaming right up front and rearing to go. Kevin & Isabel want to help but ultimately it’s up to the NYC players to form their group of 10. I think they’re all afraid of each other?

Fat Alberts in Somerdale NJ likes the new 10 player option and is a big BCAPL room BUT they’re in the process of a pretty nice expansion so we’re going to count them for Series 7.

Down to Baltimore for Magic 8 Cue Club. I thank George Hammerbacher for taking me there on a day trip. I hear we have another Professional player hopping on board to play there? SW? 9

Over to NVA First Break Sterling VA where Brandon Shuff is still working on the group of 10. I think he might have scared some off the first time around with some gr8 play? Hats off to those who do and did step up at First Break.

I got to meet up with John Mitcheltree and Chris Futrell at Q Masters about 2 days before we lost Craig Pineapple Morris :( Craig is the one that motivated us to get two groups going in that area while we were having our finals at the US Open. He was a great guy and I spoke with him on the phone just 2 days prior to his passing, I could tell something was wrong, it definitely wasn’t the Craig I was use to. Thank you for everything bud.
Chris Futrell is in a sling after shoulder surgery but is still going to try and get a group together. John Mitcheltree is confident between the two they should get at least one strong group going. 10

The Rock of American Rotation Series, Gate City Billiards NC. These guys are great and have been since day one. I almost forget about them because they run so smoothly. Big shout out to Gate City who believe our sport should have a national non handicapped tour. 11

A little down the road in Charlotte we have another great room with top notch equipment and conditions. Randy Hatton helped us get The Press Box on board for Series 5 and he did so in a very generous way that offered a pretty big spread of the money that helped get everyone involved. Randy helps in a lot of other ways too because he just can’t help it, he loves pool as much as anyone. Randy thanks for the heads up last night on the Scoring App being down, Loved working that out with Google Play at midnight! ;) 12

Stopped at Grady’s in SC and spoke with Crystal & Jay for a while. Hats off to Jay who has financial interests in another league but sat right there encouraging and offering assistance. TOO many times have other league operators or tour directors acted like we were trying to steal their girlfriends while we were simply looking for 10 players in a 50 mile radius to get on board. Had one room owner tell me local league operator had him by the balls when it came to running other leagues out of his own room! Jay it was nice meeting you and thanks for the help.

Port City Billiards Brunswick GA! Georgia Joe. Played all Series 5 thinking they were in SC. They pulled it off last Series which really was a pleasant surprise and they’re back in for Series 6. 13

Marietta Billiard CLUB :) House Pro Tommy Najar from NM reached out and got the club on board. Also a shout out to Marcus and Jp Roberts who helped get this famous club on board. I don’t think Johnny is one of their 10 this time around but sure would like him to be. This was my 4th time back at the club trying to get them on board, Thanks Tommy. 14

Now big goings on down there in South GA. My wife has been talking with Faith Thompson and Faith is shaking things up down there. Faith started looking to form a women’s group and ended up with an open division maybe two out of the Classic Cue Fayetteville GA Welcome and thanks yall 15

Jacksonville Fl Players taking charge of themselves. Met with Chris Lear, Rollie Dixon and Bobby Garza on a Sunday, which by the way they were playing in a rare weekly event with races to 7 and 5 with NO handicaps, extremely rare in my travels the last 2 yrs but this attracts 20-30 players each week. Anyways these guy formed their own FB group page and have rounded up 10 players and they’ll be playing out of Park Avenue Billiards 16

Wayyy down to Miami where Raymond Linares has been running a group out of Sharp Shooters. Last Series they ran late and actually tried to pull off their playoffs like 2 days before our nationals, nice try guys but lets give the Champ a lil more time this time around to make travel arraignments. Players meeting scheduled for Tuesday, don’t be late. 17

FL we’re missing Slates in Boynton Beach, Strokers Palm Harbour, Capones Spring Hill, Diamond Billiards Ocala, different Diamond Billiards Cape Coral and I’ll say Zingales Tallahassee. Wouldn’t mind seeing XtremeBilliards get a lil group together to play on those beautiful 10 footers? Seems like handicaps have FL by the balls, nobody seems to want to play even up and the best house pro in business can’t even corral 10 players out of Strokers and its not from lack of effort, thanks Ro.

Talked to a few people Norlins way and South Alabama but unable to get Lacy’s, Buffalo, Emeralds, White Diamonds and a couple of other rooms on board. I have not personally been able to visit that area and I apologize for that. We’ll keep trying and should get at least 1 or 2 groups to represent that great pool area, I know they have the heart, just need the cooperation.

If I keep heading West we do have DALLAS TX The Billiard Den where Doc Reyes OB Cues office manager runs a great group of 10 players for us each Series. Their schedule just went up and I believe we’ll be using them for our Fantasy Contest. Wouldn’t mind seeing CJ or JJ join in on that group one time. 18

We have one individual in Dallas rounding up 10 players on his own AND working to get them all sponsored :) that’s a goal of mine that I simply haven’t had time to work on. I believe once we have 10 players in 64 different areas we’ll be able to come up with a way those 10 players can help local businesses more than the local businesses are helping them in forms of sponsorship in the neighborhood of 10 players for 10 weeks for $2k. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to throw them out there.

Heading back towards the middle we have Bumpers Billiards Huntsville AL (19)who has been on board since day one and we thank you all for being so. We like all the players there but they have lost 2 that have been EXTREMELY helpful when it comes to promoting Amro. Cathy & Brian McDaniels have moved North and man are they getting a taste of it in Chicago this year lol. Cathy helped form the first ever Women’s division in AL which ended up getting my wife out of retirement, thank you very much Cathy, not lol Anyways that lead to 40 women here in NE having a NE Amro Championship, well done. Cathy is now up in IL promoting yet once again. She’s looking for ladies but also found an open group that is going to play out of the Pyramid Club (20). Brian got us an actually Wikipedia page which was no easy task; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_rotation Brian had some fights trying to prove he wasn’t me lol Brian also was part of the original group playing out of Bumpers and will play again once the new job and house settle in, we know he isn’t golfing ;)

Right next door very Happy to report Red Shoes (21) getting on board thanks to our own J Flo Dmgwalsh and John Lavin. I’ve wanted this room since day one, never been but have heard nothing but good things AND I love the name. Welcome and thanks guys.

See next post for rest of the report;
 
Sliding down to Corbin Kentucky to White’s Pro billiards :) Met Brandon and his Dad while at the Derby finals and had a very thorough meeting. Happy to report the American Billiard Club plan passed with flying colors. Brandon is a police officer and the pool room had 6 tables AND closes at 8! I had to ask, How do you do it? And was met with the answer, it’s the Chili! IDK and still am not sure but what I do know is they have 10 players, there chart is up and Brandon is trying to get the streaming in and up. Awesome to get a small old fashion but up to speed room like this on board. 22

John Waynes/Brickyard Billiards. This guy Joseph Watson Jr has been helping us for about as long as we have been helping ourselves. He tried to get a group going for over a year before he finally succeeded, he went above and beyond the call. He ran Lags Billiards for us and is now getting a combined group of players from John Wayne’s and Brickyard, he has a few strong ones so he’s having a tougher time getting the last 2 but I have faith. Joe did a lot of streaming matches from Lags and has taught me some short cuts in the streaming area, I just haven’t had time to put those tips to use. Joe thanks for that and everything else you’ve done, 23

Teachers St Louis. Here’s a proactive room owner that loves the game and put it to me like nobody else ever has; He said we have to steal back our game, it has been prostituted for a quick buck and has been sidekicked to making a profit off booze. If we can get the players to love the sport again we can create a better future for it. STEAL BACK OUR GAME. Very happy to have this room. They’re running the MO state bar box this weekend and I love how they’ve done preregistration, round robin and formatted all the way out. I believe we need more structure like that. 24

Up to Des Moines and Big Dogs. These guys are pretty great also. They hopped on board with 12 players in Series 5 and provided us with my highlight of the Series, Jody Mclaughlin, working/family man that put on a show at our finals in Derby by almost edging out our superstar Mike Dechaine who’s won 3 in a row going for 4. Going into the last rack it was Mike 122, Jody 118. Mike scratched on the break giving Jody 2 points and Mike now needing them all, he got them all as he did in Series 4 Finals against Jerry Calderone. Well this time around they’re in again and may be working on a second group? 25

Happily going north and kind of glad I didn’t have to make this trip we have Fargo Billiards & Gastropub. Our Man Mike Page has been meaning to get the group together for a couple of Series now and pulled the trigger this time around. Mike hopefully we can spend a little more time together in Vegas. I have a lot of respect for this man’s overall feel for pool and would like to pick his brain for a day or two. Fargo also partaking in the Fantasy contest, this should be interesting. 26

DENVER, Jeremiah Gage the inventor of Bullseye Billiards training book/game had ran a group for us in New Mexico but due to new job had to relocate to Denver but he didn’t skip a beat meeting up with Samm & Marc Vidal Claramunt who have shown him around and introduced him to some players. I believe they have had 8 players from the get go but are having a tough time getting the final two. If you know any Denver players please turn them on to this group and help put them over the edge and get them on board; http://denverar.leagueapps.com/events/42484-american-rotation-series-6
Ps I believe Bullseye Billiards will go down as one of the best pool instructional books ever. Main reason being it gets the student right to the table executing specific and very useful skills in a fun manner; I see good things for this book. 27

Unfortunately :( this brings me to our last but far form least solid room and our only California Club :( Hard Times Bellflower baby :) I’m suppose to be impartial but hey, this is my favorite group. Originally started by I believe B & C level players who were actually begging the better players to join them. These guys AND now 2 girls are great. They have a constant group facebook conversation going on, they communicate and cooperate with each other when it comes to some very busy and different schedules and they paypal their Series Fees. Last Series they invited new Filipino player Edgie Geronimo to play with them, Series 5 they sent Aaron Remijo to our finals in VA and his first US Open (with his Mom and Girlfriend Geraldine) and this Series they are joined by the Ernesto & Oscar Dominguez! Everyone in the group has been helpful and a joy to work with. Two weeks ago they had the first ever American Rotation monthly tournament that went great and to top it off Daniel Bush of Pov Pool has now produced the Amro Show lol Streaming challenge matches, weekly league matches and the monthly tournament. To all of you I send a BIG FAT THANK YOU and hope to see all of you in Vegas. 28

That is about it for solid looking clubs that have joined. I have another 50 or so clubs right here to my right that I’m hoping will join the family in the near future.

The bottom line is this; With 640 united players and 64 clubs spread throughout the nation we will have something that not only never has to go away but we will have a marketable product that we can approach real sponsors with. A 64 Club base offers us the opportunity to live stream up to 600 HOURS of content a week for these potential sponsors. 64 Clubs each playing just one match per night Mon-Fri can offer us both free and paid fantasy billiards contest DAILY, this may give fans a reason to give a dam who’s playing, who’s winning and maybe research a player or two. I know that sounds like a fantasy plan to some of you but I know it’s all doable so let’s just keep moving towards it, together. 10 players in your local area can and will make a big difference. Let’s steal our game back ;)
 
Where's the AmRo in the Tournament Talk section on AZ ?....

IMO We need a bulletin board for big regions across the US (ie NE, SE, South, Midwest,etc) here on AZ so rooms (tournament coordinators) can post about sign ups/ bracket info/ playoff info in their area and provide related links and ideas from everywhere...

AmRo Weekend tournaments could be posted there as well.

There's an idea.

Randy
 
American Rootation Series 6. (ABC League)

Joe Tucker is a beast. I am proud ( and so is Don Owen) to be a part of ABC League. The game is American Rotation and this program is the future of 9' table play in the US. It will redefine who the best player is. It will provide a financially feasible way for a player to play locally and try to qualify for a national championship. It you have to travel, it is paid for.

If you want to play, all you have to do is make a commitment. No handicaps, flexible schedule, round robin format. Once we get 64 rooms, and have 4 events a year or so, the total purses could approach $360,000. And that is without any outside sponsorship!

This will evolve into the premier pro pool tour - and we have some surprises for you coming down the road. So get involved. Without the players support it will fail.

You don't have to be the best, you just need to want to improve. But the future will belong to those that participate!

Mark Griffin
 
Thanks Joe

Joe,
I appreciate the time you spent with me awhile back. I was still working at the time and have since retired from Public work, but I do work for myself. I didn't find that I don't have much to do at all but I have not forgotten American Rotation.

I was pretty burned out from my public work and have needed some time to clear my head and I found that during this time its just not good for me to make any commitments whatsoever so I haven't but that doesn't mean I wont when I get my head back together from the stress I left behind.

I am starting to find a craving for some competition and as soon as I feel freed up enough to commit I will play some AR. I know of at least one other that has expressed an interest. I have played some AR and I really like the game with 15 balls on the table. It's a very cerebral and exciting game. As you suggested I will look to Mocksville to see if I can get some interest there and I will call on Randy to help get it organized.

The concept of a self supporting system of play that would allow people to advance to Professional Ranks is awesome and something Pool really needs and I think that this concept is something that should be supported by those that can. In my small way I try to do the little things I can to help bring people along into enjoying the game and I really appreciate what you and Mark are doing with AR although I have to apologize for not participating up to this point. At some point I will meet with Randy and find out the details on what it takes to organize. All of this that you are doing is a step in the right direction and I think its great.
 
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336Robin said:
The concept of a self supporting system of play that would allow people to advance to Professional Ranks is awesome and something Pool really needs and I think that this concept is something that should be supported by those that can.
Click to expand...

I really like how you phrased that and love seeing it come out of someone else's fingers.

No apologies required my friend, we're all at different spots and times in our lives and I know we can't all chip in at the same time. Your willingness to even attempt to help is pretty much all I could ask for. I really enjoyed that Mocksville spot and can see 10 players coming out of there.

I'm not sure if you get over there but Don from Gate City had referred me to Randolph's in Hickory. I couldn't make it back there but they're interested so if you see Randy please tell him I'm sorry I couldn't get there on this last trip but love to have them involved.
 
What a lot of average pool players do not understand is how this game will improve all your games. It has definitely helped mine.
banks
kicks
safeties
Without two way shots, helps commit to one specific shot/goal
End game/Pressure with the last 5 balls being worth more than the first 10
Everyone gets their opportunity
The Break isn't the main factor

I am really excited that Mike Page added this at Fargo Billiards.
 
robsnotes4u said:
What a lot of average pool players do not understand is how this game will improve all your games. It has definitely helped mine.
banks
kicks
safeties
Without two way shots, helps commit to one specific shot/goal
End game/Pressure with the last 5 balls being worth more than the first 10
Everyone gets their opportunity
The Break isn't the main factor

I am really excited that Mike Page added this at Fargo Billiards.
Click to expand...

Me too Rob, I'm looking forward to feedback from Fargo.

The game has been accepted as good as we could have possibly hoped for. I think the people that are seeing the biggest benefit so far are actually the ladies of New England. Lots of them play in other leagues and are lower handicaps who quite often don't get a lot of heads up table time, even in their weekly matches. Here they know they're going to be at the table for 2-3hrs at a game that forces improvement and many have reported how its carrying over to their other competitions and improving for the first time in years :)

For the higher level players they'll have to play a lil more often than 1 match a week to see the benefits but I have heard this quite a few times " I play 1 or 2 games of Amro and when I switch to 8 or 9 I just feel so much better"

We just have to keep mining for people who love pool, get use to organizing ourselves and we'll be in good spot.
 
I just watched a few pros playing each other. What a great game it is. I'm sorry my health won't allow me to make a commitment to play a season. I don't get why this game is not filling 64 rooms by now. Maybe a lot of non-pros feel they have no chance at the big money. To me it would be to compete in this cool game, not about the money. This game is easy to practice by yourself also. Like everything Joe T have done for pool, he got this 100% right too. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
I just watched a few pros playing each other. What a great game it is. I'm sorry my health won't allow me to make a commitment to play a season. I don't get why this game is not filling 64 rooms by now. Maybe a lot of non-pros feel they have no chance at the big money. To me it would be to compete in this cool game, not about the money. This game is easy to practice by yourself also. Like everything Joe T have done for pool, he got this 100% right too. Johnnyt
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I sure wish you could play too Johnny but its not the only way you or anyone else can help us get up to 64 Clubs. Simply spreading the word about the entire mission to everyone you know can make a huge difference. I'm glad you like the game but the most important thing is the unity, structure and product we can create for the sport and future players.

So tell your pool buddies about American Rotation and yes, have them play some. Tell your local club owners that the American Billiard Club is doing something good for the game and that they should be one of the 64 founding clubs.Be involved online, offline and anyway you think you can, it all matters bud.

If we all just asked our local room owner if they were apart of the American Rotation Championship Series it would make a huge difference.
 
I'm super excited to finally be an official participant in this league! First match tonight! Regardless of what the turnout happens to be, I'm just happy this thing is gaining so much momentum! Me and my practice partner were probably the first pair of guys to play AmRo more than a year ago around here - and people had no idea what we were doing then. lol Now there's a full league - and on Diamond tables no less! (a rarity in these parts)
 
Just played my first match last night and I have to say, I REALLY like the game! I've never played anything like it and realize I have to put a lot more thought into my shot selection. But I can see that this is going to help my game progress much more than just playing 9-ball and 10-ball.

We all have busy schedules and it's sometimes hard to commit too much, but really, the commitment for AMRO is minimal: Just one match per week for 9 weeks, and you don't have to do them on the same day or time. Just figure out a schedule that works for you and your opponent in a given week and then play!

One thing I really like is how everything is scored and tracked. It's great to see how the matchups are going in our group, the First Break Group (Sterling, Virginia), as well as other groups--past and present. The Challonge software is great for this.

Thanks Joe Tucker for developing the game and Brandon Shuff for taking the lead with First Break AmRo 6!
 
beetle said:
Just played my first match last night and I have to say, I REALLY like the game! I've never played anything like it and realize I have to put a lot more thought into my shot selection. But I can see that this is going to help my game progress much more than just playing 9-ball and 10-ball.

We all have busy schedules and it's sometimes hard to commit too much, but really, the commitment for AMRO is minimal: Just one match per week for 9 weeks, and you don't have to do them on the same day or time. Just figure out a schedule that works for you and your opponent in a given week and then play!

One thing I really like is how everything is scored and tracked. It's great to see how the matchups are going in our group, the First Break Group (Sterling, Virginia), as well as other groups--past and present. The Challonge software is great for this.

Thanks Joe Tucker for developing the game and Brandon Shuff for taking the lead with First Break AmRo 6!
Click to expand...

And thank you for jumping in. We're trying to create a format that solves a lot of past problems and helps all involved. The First Break group is a good example with Brandon being the obvious favorite. He makes the effort to organize the group and helps his sport form a national tour, you guys get quality playing time against tough competition in a game that can help you improve. And all of our qualified players are helped with their biggest problem, expenses to national events.

In the future we see EVERY match being live scored by logging into our site for your match so our fans can participate in fantasy billiards contests on a daily basis, give them a reason to care who's in, who's good, who's up and coming and who wins ;)
 
How do players usually keep up with scoring? Do they keep score for themselves? Or do the opponents do it for each other?

Or is there usually a 3rd party keeping track of it?
 
sounds like you just created the next Pro Tour!

Ernesto, Oscar, Deschaine, Archer, Shuffett, etc

$220/session & no handicap & always go for the combo 11-15.
 
fathomblue said:
How do players usually keep up with scoring? Do they keep score for themselves? Or do the opponents do it for each other?

Or is there usually a 3rd party keeping track of it?
Click to expand...

There are a couple different phone apps. I've only tried the one called American Rotation Scoreboard. Very easy to use. remembers past matches, nice link to the rules.

When my opponent makes the 11,12,13,14,and 15, I just tap on "11," "12,", "13," "14," and "15" on his side. Easy because they will be the only balls lit up...
 
fathomblue said:
How do players usually keep up with scoring? Do they keep score for themselves? Or do the opponents do it for each other?

Or is there usually a 3rd party keeping track of it?
Click to expand...

Whether using the scoring app or paper score sheet it is best for players to score for each other. Can cause confusion when going back to the chair and try to figure out what you made and then you have to stop your opponent to ask, etc.Another good way when playing on ball returns is to pull the balls as they do in One Pocket and total at end of the rack. Doesn't work so well on drop pockets though.

Just got off the phone talking with someone who is working on live online scoring/standings for Amro matches. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks we'll be experimenting with it from Snookers.
 
PINKLADY said:
sounds like you just created the next Pro Tour!

Ernesto, Oscar, Deschaine, Archer, Shuffett, etc

$220/session & no handicap & always go for the combo 11-15.
Click to expand...

I like to think of it as a nice bonus to a whatever pro tour we have going but do see it growing onto a National Qualifying tour. 9 matches at 20 a pop = $180 per Series, its like paying for table time with tough competition at a tough game while helping your sport take a positive step forward.
 
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