The room I play out of has 3 nights (BCA) play. Tuesday is more for beginners, Wed is Vegas league with stiff competition, and Thurs is more intermediate play. Never played APA but know several friends that have.
APA aha moment
- Thread starter tashworth19191
- Start date
it would make it a lil easier to meet the 23 rule.
every new player i get dont stay a 3 or 4 for very long lol.
APA 9 ball needs a 25 rule, handicaps range SL1 - SL9
i have been playing apa for 4 years now and have never had a 1 on any of my 9 ball teams.
i do have a 68 year old man that fluctuates between a 2 and a 3 every session. he is currently a 2 this session but the rules stipulate men are not allowed to be a s/l 2 ...or lower in playoffs or higher tournaments.
even with having a 2 during regular session its hard to play my 9 without sitting one of my 5's and 4's. its herd to field a competitive team when your lowest s/l is a 3 in playoffs....and a very weak 3 at that.
Yeah I have been checking into Skinny Bobs 9 - Ball and 10 ball tourneys... Will check out BCA leauge there.
I like that idea.... Now if APA would just listen to it's players.... Never happen though...
That would be interesting to see. I would think all the super 7's would pair up on teams and dominate the LVQ and Nationals.
I would be shocked if a sl2 was ever played in any playoff, LVQ or National event
Banks
Banned
That kind of sums it up. I'm trying to remember what was said once.. something like 75% of the APA is made up of s/l 4's and below? Either way, it was a pretty big number.
I've also had a lot of fun, but after 10 years and half of those bouncing around to various teams, I'm about ready for a change. Minimal play during the Spring session and then, if we qualify for Vegas, summer if necessary.
I think that the APA sending a questionere out to its members maybe a sign they realize that the higher skill players are getting the shaft and moving on. Higher skill players are more serious and will continue with or without the APA. Higher skill players will be more loyal to a league that is fair not only to lower skill players, but the loyal higher skill players that want to continuously improve their game.
Send me a pm if you would like any of the particulars concerning league nights at Skinny Bob's. There also are other BCA leagues locally if you would prefer to not play somewhere where smoking is allowed. For example, I play BCA 8 ball at CLicks on Wednesdays.
I don't think that would fly, given that 9-9-5-5-5 is a pretty strong combination, especially if you get the right 9's.
There will always be some sort of a cap, but I could see an argument for a soft cap. In other words, your team is allowed to go over the cap, but if you do you lose some points and your opponent gains some. If your opponent also goes over, you both lose points and nobody gains them. That would make it strategically advantageous to stay under the cap while allowing teams to exceed it occasionally.
I took a look at the skill levels of the active 9-Ball players in my area. 8's and 9's make up 3.6% of my active 9-Ball players, while 1's comprise 4.3%. 67% of my players are 4's or lower, so I would hate to implement anything that makes it strategically advantageous to play more of the higher-skilled players. At the same time, I would like to make the league more desirable for them as well.
What about this? Play whatever combination you want, but at the end of the night you subtract some amount for every point your team is over 23 and add some amount (not necessarily the same amount) for every point your team is under 23?
The EQUALIZER handicapping system is there to make it "fair"; so what's wrong with a full team of 7's taking on a full team of 4's? I never did understand the cap thing. Once all my buddies and I got to where we couldn't play on the same team in the APA anymore, we bailed and went somewhere we could all play on the same team....
APA aha ?
The only advantage for a great player to play regular 8-ball or 9-ball on a team is, as a "Super" 7 max.handicap in 8-ball or a "Super" 9 max.handicap in 9-ball, your play almost guarantee's your team one win (when playing post play to get to go to Vegas). If your team only needs 3 wins to win the match, your team is a 1/3 of the way done! FYI
The only advantage for a great player to play regular 8-ball or 9-ball on a team is, as a "Super" 7 max.handicap in 8-ball or a "Super" 9 max.handicap in 9-ball, your play almost guarantee's your team one win (when playing post play to get to go to Vegas). If your team only needs 3 wins to win the match, your team is a 1/3 of the way done! FYI
People make that mistake all the time, trying to separate the cap from the system, when in fact the cap is a very important PART OF the system. The races aren't long enough (and can't be, due to time constraints) to give the lower-skilled player an equal chance, so you need something besides skill levels to implement a system that's fair. The cap is APA's answer. We acknowledge that the higher-skilled player still has a small advantage in an individual match, and we have a cap to ensure that you can't construct your team to get that advantage in every match.
All teams recruit their own players and know who they are signing to their roster. No LO can force a player down your throat and make a team take on a stranger they don't want, thereby creating "23 Rule" problems for you. If a team finds itself with "no way to make the 23 Rule" it often just means they can no longer play their favorite 5 player combination but now have to play some of their weaker players. THAT IS WHAT THE APA WANTS YOU TO HAVE TO DO! It does not want to be a league of power players in all 5 spots who get to mow down the opponents every week. It is not a secret. Every team has to put up some lesser skilled players at some point during the night. That is the APA's point.
Comments like "that damn LO raised our numbers so high that we have to split up, therefore he must have done it on purpose to make us split our team, blah, blah,blah." are total gibberish. If a team/player concludes "this sucks, we quit" there is not a thing the LO can do about it. Yes, he will encourage you to find some replacements but THAT IS YOUR decision, not his.
The APA system is designed for the lesser skilled group of players that frequent the host locations with alcohol and pool tables. You higher skilled players (about 90% of this MB) are welcome to play APA, but know the system is not tailored to your higher level of play. The 23 rule, SL chart, no jump cues, etc are all designed to reduce your advantage over the lessor skilled players. It's no secret. Approx 66% of APA players are SL 4 and under with usually only 3-5 % are SL 7. So obviously the APA will go with rules to help the larger group of lessor skilled players, not you readers of this MB. In most cases, some exceptions obviously.
Ask your bar owner - which group gives your cash register the most business on league nights? The 65% of SL 4's and below OR the 3-5% of SL 7s? Majority of the noise, crying and complaints do come from the higher end of the spectrum - I agree there. But the location owner makes more money (which is his point in being in business, in the first place) from the weaker players. BECAUSE THERE IS MORE OF THEM !
And YES there will always be other leagues out there with rules and formats for you higher skilled players. We know this. At last count the APA had around 250,000 players. At last count the other national organizations did not have that many when all were totaled together. Doesn't mean either group is better than the other. Just two different marketing plans directed at different segments of the pool playing community.
FULL DISCLOSURE - I am an APA league operator (since 1980) and I do make my living at it. Part of that $6 you put in the weekly envelope is my profit. Just like part of the $3.50 you spend for one beer ends up in the pocket of your location owner as his profit. Do you complain about that as vigerously as the match fee you pay for APA? The APA offers a service to you players and you players ultimately determine how successful any LO is. Just like you determine how successful any host location is, by virture of your patronage there. It's not complicated. Approx 250,000 of you feel you get your monies worth from playing in the APA. Thank you.
And we don't play favorites (makes no difference to me who gets to go the Vegas), don't raise your SL just to "get even" (would cost me money) and can't be in a dozen places at once on league play nights. If you don't record safeties on the front but complain on the back about an opponent's sandbagging skill you really are giving us very little to go on when policing the cheaters. Sloppy score keeping only helps the cheaters, who you will have to play at least one more time per session, etc.
Rant/sermon over. Good luck to all in your next APA match. And if a safety happens, mark it down.
Comments like "that damn LO raised our numbers so high that we have to split up, therefore he must have done it on purpose to make us split our team, blah, blah,blah." are total gibberish. If a team/player concludes "this sucks, we quit" there is not a thing the LO can do about it. Yes, he will encourage you to find some replacements but THAT IS YOUR decision, not his.
The APA system is designed for the lesser skilled group of players that frequent the host locations with alcohol and pool tables. You higher skilled players (about 90% of this MB) are welcome to play APA, but know the system is not tailored to your higher level of play. The 23 rule, SL chart, no jump cues, etc are all designed to reduce your advantage over the lessor skilled players. It's no secret. Approx 66% of APA players are SL 4 and under with usually only 3-5 % are SL 7. So obviously the APA will go with rules to help the larger group of lessor skilled players, not you readers of this MB. In most cases, some exceptions obviously.
Ask your bar owner - which group gives your cash register the most business on league nights? The 65% of SL 4's and below OR the 3-5% of SL 7s? Majority of the noise, crying and complaints do come from the higher end of the spectrum - I agree there. But the location owner makes more money (which is his point in being in business, in the first place) from the weaker players. BECAUSE THERE IS MORE OF THEM !
And YES there will always be other leagues out there with rules and formats for you higher skilled players. We know this. At last count the APA had around 250,000 players. At last count the other national organizations did not have that many when all were totaled together. Doesn't mean either group is better than the other. Just two different marketing plans directed at different segments of the pool playing community.
FULL DISCLOSURE - I am an APA league operator (since 1980) and I do make my living at it. Part of that $6 you put in the weekly envelope is my profit. Just like part of the $3.50 you spend for one beer ends up in the pocket of your location owner as his profit. Do you complain about that as vigerously as the match fee you pay for APA? The APA offers a service to you players and you players ultimately determine how successful any LO is. Just like you determine how successful any host location is, by virture of your patronage there. It's not complicated. Approx 250,000 of you feel you get your monies worth from playing in the APA. Thank you.
And we don't play favorites (makes no difference to me who gets to go the Vegas), don't raise your SL just to "get even" (would cost me money) and can't be in a dozen places at once on league play nights. If you don't record safeties on the front but complain on the back about an opponent's sandbagging skill you really are giving us very little to go on when policing the cheaters. Sloppy score keeping only helps the cheaters, who you will have to play at least one more time per session, etc.
Rant/sermon over. Good luck to all in your next APA match. And if a safety happens, mark it down.
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We rarely have issues playing 7's in 8-ball, if you build your team correctly.
Meaning, if you are going to have a 7, have two or three sl5's, and a few (female) sl3's.
If one of your 5's go up, you can still field a competitive team and play everyone, the 7 & the 6 will have to alternate most weeks.
I had a 7 for more than the last two years, and played him the majority of the time. He was my best player, of course I'm gonna play him... No sandbagging either.
Meaning, if you are going to have a 7, have two or three sl5's, and a few (female) sl3's.
If one of your 5's go up, you can still field a competitive team and play everyone, the 7 & the 6 will have to alternate most weeks.
I had a 7 for more than the last two years, and played him the majority of the time. He was my best player, of course I'm gonna play him... No sandbagging either.
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That is why I say the APA is brilliant. Everyone that plays for any length of time will get better. So eventually the team will be too strong and the higher SL players will be forced to quit the team and start there own if they want to play in the APA. This is why I say it is a pyramid scheme. The higher SL you get the more likely you are to have to start a new team and find some weak players.