APA 9 ball Rules

Jeff

Jeff

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
OK. I have played a lot of 9 ball over the years and always wanted to join a 9 ball team if the chance ever came up.

So last week a guy at the 8 ball league game said he needed a player on his 9 ball team and I said sure.

So last night I show up and the first player he calls is me. No problem, I was ready.

well, me and this guy are playing and it's a pretty even match. I'm hooking and laying up and all my plans are for getting to the 9 ball and winning. I'm a game ahead but he wins this one game and after I rack, I go sit down and the girl keeping score says, "If he makes a ball on the break, he WINS".

Well, I was stunned for a sec, then said "WHAT".

She saw I was not getting what she just said and she says, "You didn't know". I say "know what". She proceeds to tell me that the score is how many balls you make, not who wins the games. 1 point for each ball and 2 points for the 9.

:D :D

Well, he made a ball on the break and won. :) But I was shocked as I had been playing and laying up when I could have made some balls because I was looking at the end game of winning (making the 9).

Next week, look out.....:D :D
 
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I should sign up for that. I am REALLY good at breaking...making a ball and running up to the 7 or 8 ball, screwing up and selling out cheap.
 
Jeff said:
Well, he made a ball on the break and won. :) But I was shocked as I had been playing and laying up when I could have made some balls because I was looking at the end game of winning (making the 9).

Next week, look out.....:D :D
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Jeff,
Tough situation.

It occurs in the VNEA 8-ball league that I recently joined. You get 1 point for every ball made, 3 points for the 8-ball. For a very tactical game, played by excellent players; this is STUPID. League play has a lot of drawbacks.
 
too bad

thats what you get for "laying back" as you call it. why dont you just play to your potential? i hate sandbaggers!!
joey
 
he said "laying up" which is slang for playing safe.

JOEY said:
thats what you get for "laying back" as you call it. why dont you just play to your potential? i hate sandbaggers!!
joey
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Jeff, someone on your team should have explained the rules and the scoring to you, before you played.
In APA 9-ball, don't worry about making the 9. Run as many balls as you can. When you see your run coming to an end, look for a good safety to play.
If you can't run out, run and hide. :D
 
Dead Money said:
I should sign up for that. I am REALLY good at breaking...making a ball and running up to the 7 or 8 ball, screwing up and selling out cheap.
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This is EXACTLY how to win in APA 9-ball
 
Rich R. said:
Jeff, someone on your team should have explained the rules and the scoring to you, before you played.
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You would think wouldn't you. :) But then again I guess I could have asked.

Ain't no big deal. I joined just to get out another night and have some fun. The 8 ball team I play on we get too serious sometimes and I missed just having fun with it.

I played 8 ball tonight and played a 7.....skunked him. Felt good. :D :D
 
oops my bad!

i thought he was refferring to sandbagging. my apologies. GREGG, my team took first in our APA 9ball last season, so yes, i do know the rules.
jeff, sorry for my bad interpretation.
joey
 
JOEY said:
i thought he was refferring to sandbagging. my apologies. GREGG, my team took first in our APA 9ball last season, so yes, i do know the rules.
jeff, sorry for my bad interpretation.
joey
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No problem. I'm happy tonight. I felt good on the table tonight and the Cardinals just won. :D :D
 
Jeff said:
OK. I have played a lot of 9 ball over the years and always wanted to join a 9 ball team if the chance ever came up.

So last week a guy at the 8 ball league game said he needed a player on his 9 ball team and I said sure.

So last night I show up and the first player he calls is me. No problem, I was ready.

well, me and this guy are playing and it's a pretty even match. I'm hooking and laying up and all my plans are for getting to the 9 ball and winning. I'm a game ahead but he wins this one game and after I rack, I go sit down and the girl keeping score says, "If he makes a ball on the break, he WINS".

Well, I was stunned for a sec, then said "WHAT".

She saw I was not getting what she just said and she says, "You didn't know". I say "know what". She proceeds to tell me that the score is how many balls you make, not who wins the games. 1 point for each ball and 2 points for the 9.

:D :D

Well, he made a ball on the break and won. :) But I was shocked as I had been playing and laying up when I could have made some balls because I was looking at the end game of winning (making the 9).

Next week, look out.....:D :D
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Though I'm sure the purists will disagree with me, I much prefer APA 9-ball over standard 9-ball and even over APA 8-ball. I think it lends itself much more to a team mentality. Even if you don't win straight up you get credit for your relative performance for the TEAM score.
 
You were the first player to shoot on your team and you would lose as soon as your opponent made a ball? Wow, you guys must've been giving up a lot of handicap points per round.
 
catscradle said:
Though I'm sure the purists will disagree with me, I much prefer APA 9-ball over standard 9-ball and even over APA 8-ball. I think it lends itself much more to a team mentality. Even if you don't win straight up you get credit for your relative performance for the TEAM score.
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Some of my most memorable and fun matches have been APA 9 ball league matches. They can be both frustrating and fun at the same time.

I will say, in the grand scheme of things, APA 9 ball, when it comes to strategy, really does not lend itself to any other game. Winning and losing has little to do with a real set of nine ball.
 
RedGuru said:
You were the first player to shoot on your team and you would lose as soon as your opponent made a ball? Wow, you guys must've been giving up a lot of handicap points per round.
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The match had been in progress for a while. The other guy was on his LAST ball.

Because reading is hard. :P
 
Jeff said:
I could have made some balls because I was looking at the end game of winning (making the 9).

Next week, look out.....:D :D
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I can't imagine how this could be a good strategy under any set of rules. Either you make balls or you keep your opponent from making balls.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
I can't imagine how this could be a good strategy under any set of rules. Either you make balls or you keep your opponent from making balls.
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As I said previously in this thread, APA Nine ball does not lend itself well to any other pool games. You have to understand the rules before you make assumptions like this.

With APA nine ball; making the nine on the break is = 2 points. Break and run = 10 points (two for the nine plus one point for each ball made). Or you could knock off some balls, and then make the nine combo. Balls left on the table after the nine ball is pocketed are "dead balls" and do not count toward your points total.

Even if you have a strong break, you may be snookered off the break, and there is no pushout rule. You have to kick. Happens often on bar tables that many APAers shoot on.

Lots of times you are looking at a nine ball hanger or combo, OR if you should knock off some balls before the nine. Depends on the layout, clusters, going up down table, etc.

Sometimes it's good to make a ball, scratch on purpose, to let someone else deal with a cluster. Sounds crazy with regulation U.S. Open nine ball rules, but is good strategy in certain situations.
 
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Gregg said:
As I said previously in this thread, APA Nine ball does not lend itself well to any other pool games.

You have to consider this with APA nine ball; making the nine on the break is = 2 points. Break and run = 10 points (two for the nine plus one point for each ball made). Or you could knock off some balls, and then make the nine combo. Even if you have a strong break, you may be snookered off the break, and there is no pushout rule. You have to kick. Happens often on bar tables that many APAers shoot on.

Lots of times you are looking at a nine ball hanger or combo, OR if you should knock off some balls before the nine. Depends on the layout, clusters, going up down table, etc.

Sometimes it's good to make a ball, scratch on purpose, to let someone else deal with a cluster. Sounds crazy with regulation U.S. Open nine ball rules, but is good strategy in certain situations.
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Greg, please understand that I do not know your ability and do not want you to take offense to what I have to say. What you say would not be considered a winning 9-ball strategy. I understand there are instances where racks can get tricky and one player will rely on another's short-comings to allow for a final turn at the table but I wouldn't consider this advice worth noting.

I don't care if it's the U.S. Open, $50 sets at the poolroom or league night; in 9-ball, you either pocket balls or play safe. Outside of an extreme example, I really can't think of a routine situation where allowing your opponent a shot is good strategy.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
I can't imagine how this could be a good strategy under any set of rules. Either you make balls or you keep your opponent from making balls.
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There are lots reasons to lay up. Say you can make the 3 (but tough to get in the right place for the 4) but you have to make the 4 and break the 5 out of a pack. Do you make the 3 and hope to get in the right place so you can make the 4 and get the breakout you want, or do you make the 3 and try to hook the 4 if you don't get in the right place?

If you have a better chance of hooking him on the 3 rather than the 4, then why make it and screw yourself if you don't get in the right place. Even if you don't hook him, you're going to put it in a place that will make it tough for him to put a run together.

If the ONLY objective is to make the nine, then it doesn't matter how many of the other balls you make. I don't care if the other guy makes seven or eight balls as long as I make the last one.

At least that's what I was thinking. Turns out it's better to make the 3 and 4 even if you don't get in the right place because that's two points.
 
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