APA 9 Ball Players...What's your handicap

[pharaoh68]

I'm kinda new to the forum here and I just wanted to get a gauge on the level of talent that is here. Also, how do you feel about the 9-ball handicapping system. Basically if you are an SL9 do you feel that more you have a fair chance to beat an established SL1 and vice versa.

APA 9-ball is ridiculous.

I mean, I'm not trying to knock you and your thread, but the way score is kept is retarded. Might as well be a straight pool league. If it were, I might play again.

 

[The Magician]

APA 9-ball is ridiculous.

I mean, I'm not trying to knock you and your thread, but the way score is kept is retarded. Might as well be a straight pool league. If it were, I might play again.

I disagree. Ruling wins by the game would get far lopp sided, and make sand bagging extremely easy. With only one ball deciding a win or a loss, by-the-game would never create a good means of sizing up the players, and therefore the handicaps.

I'm a lackluster all around 5. I'd get somewhere if I could play more than 5 games a week...:frown:

Dan

 

[Wazuela]

I just moved up this week to an 8.
Played my first match as an 8 against another 8.
Won 16-4.
Didn't play all that great though.
25 innings, 11 games, 5 safeties.
Nonetheless, a win.

 

[poolpro]

I played 2 sessions ago. I was an APA 7 in 8 ball , and an 8 in 9ball.


I have played a 1 as a 7 in 9 ball, and won. I did feel a bit of pressure with that much weight on a small table. I mean if you give up a shot and then he makes another, it can get scary. I mean a 3 ball run and the guy almost a quarter of the way there! Like has already been said, you just have to control the table. A true 1 should have no real kicking ability at all.



One thing that I think is odd is that the team limit is still 23! You have 2 higher skill levels in 9 ball, but you have the same team limit. Why is that? It should be at least 25 for 9 ball. It makes it much harder to find a team to play on.

 

[PaulAlex7000]

I am a skill level 8 and I find that the opposite is true in my matches. I would rather play an established 1 or 2 over a 4, 5 or 6. Yeah you are giving up a lot more weight and a 1 or 2 can luck in a few balls but as long as you are controlling the table well it's A LOT easier to protect a lead against a lower skill level player. They are easier to play safes against--sometimes just leaving a lot of distance between the balls can be a safety against those players. When you play a decent 4 or 5 they are much more likely to run 3 or 4 balls a rack and that's all they need to beat you.

When i first started playing APA 9-ball I thought I would not like it because the objective seemed to be a little different than traditional 9-ball but it ended up really helping my game. It taught me to really control the table when I didn't have clear run outs.

Well said. On occasions, I'll get beat by a SL4 or SL5 (I'm a 7) and my very fleeting thought is to think that they played very well (which they did) and got lucky rolls, they're better than their ranking, blah blah, blah. But what it comes down to, as you mentioned, is you have to play smart. Don't go for low-percentage shots instead of playing safe.

The thing about APA 9 Ball when playing a lower-skilled player is you can't do that, since it's all points driven.

Play smart, you win. I had that philosophy in mind when I played a SL3 and won 55-2 (well, 55-6 because twice I scratched on the 8 and gave her BIH on the 9). When I was playing, I knew I had to bear down. Had the attitude of not letting the opponent have one single point.

What really sucks is the lack of push-out. If two SL7's or higher are playing, and each of them needs only 3 or 4 points to win, and someone breaks and comes up dry...

 

[IbeAnEngineer]

I have not played APA in several years. However, my 9 ball ranking at the time I quit was 9.

 

[FeltMaster]

If I am correct there is also a 3 man SL limit in APA 9 ball of 18?...someone chime in, I am not 100% on the number.
I know you can't play 8-7-6-1-1.
I have played 9 Ball Scotch Doubles in Vegas a few times, best finish was 5th. The winners the last two years were a two lady team with SL's 2 and 3.....and they only have to make 19 balls.....a little over-handicapped. This combination usually has to make 25 balls (2.50 rounded up to 3.00...not down to 2.00!!)
I feel the handicapping is aggresive all the way around in APA 9 ball (IMO).

 

[tigerseye]

I am an APA 7 and 9, but if you are looking to see if that is determiner of talent on this forum you are aiming a bit low. I don't think because someone is a 9 in APA 9 ball that they have to play any good comparative to some of the "real" talent this forum has to offer.

I guess in the end "talent" is subjective.

What I am trying to say is that this forum has some players on here with the ability to well surpass your average 9 in the APA.

2 cents!

girlwon1

Please don't tell on me...=)) Just kidn' I need the 8 and the break from any and everybody.......:bow-down:

 

[JDB]

If I am correct there is also a 3 man SL limit in APA 9 ball of 18?...someone chime in, I am not 100% on the number.
I know you can't play 8-7-6-1-1.
I have played 9 Ball Scotch Doubles in Vegas a few times, best finish was 5th. The winners the last two years were a two lady team with SL's 2 and 3.....and they only have to make 19 balls.....a little over-handicapped. This combination usually has to make 25 balls (2.50 rounded up to 3.00...not down to 2.00!!)
I feel the handicapping is aggresive all the way around in APA 9 ball (IMO).

APA has a rule for 9 ball that only (2) senior skill level players can play on a given night. A senior skill level is defined as SL6 and above. Therefore, you cannot play something like 6-6-6-3-2 because (3) of the players must be SL5 or below. This would also apply to your example above.

I could not find the 3 man SL rule that you allude to above; however, this in essence would make it that way because if you played (2) SL9's you would have to play at least (1) SL1 by default in order to stay under 23.