APA handicapped system

There is the obvious: They use the information you provide on your score-sheet.

The not so obvious is how it's calculated. This is highly protected information. In otherwords, someone posts the trade-secret here and azbilliards.com will get a phone-call from APA lawyers in minutes. The fact is, the only reason why you would want to know more than the obvious is a desire to manipulate the system. The fact is, the prizes in the APA are not that substantial. If the weekly grind isn't entertainment for you, perhaps you should look elsewhere instead of trying to gain an unfair edge. If the trip to Las Vegas is that important (and I think, having won two trips there, I have the luxury to know this), go buy the ticket yourself. jetblue.com. It's ridiculously cheap.

Sigh. You just missed the whole point of playing competitive pool by asking such a question.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
If the trip to Las Vegas is that important (and I think, having won two trips there, I have the luxury to know this), go buy the ticket yourself. jetblue.com. It's ridiculously cheap.
.
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And to further this, you can always go to the BCApool Nationals in Las Vegas and play the singles against top level amateurs or amateur Masters without having to "win the trip." It'll cost less that the year long league session.

Fred
 
dooziexx said:
Its more than playing your best. I give it my all every match that I play. Im a SL7 and I when Im up against a sandbagging SL4 or SL5 that shoots like god, how is that fair? I have to spot these clowns 2-3 games in a race to 5... ridiculous...
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Good for you. When you end up in one of those unfair races against a sandbagger, make them earn it. You know they have an unfair advantage, so step up your game, buckle down, and give 'em what you got. If they win, at least it was good practice for you to really have to reach for it.

-Andrew
 
LOL Kevin...
i do play 2 teams.. my CT APA has a great new site with my stats on it too... i run 60% lifetime wins... kinda why i started really wondering how they figure it
 
that's not why i posted this... was curious... i know ALOT of sandbaggers.. all they care about is managing their handicap... i personally won regionals singles, went to vegas, have won all but 2 playoff matches in the past 5 years and am a 6. Will be a 7 soon i'm sure... i play on 2 teams, 1 i give it my all- we play 9 footers with some of the best local players, and the other is my original team from 6 years ago that's more a social time at dive bars on 7 footers...
not worrying about the system for sandbagging myself- just was curious if anyone really knows how the 'equalizer' system works... and if some of the guys i play with who sandbag are just way off on how they THINK their handicapps are figured
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
There is the obvious: They use the information you provide on your score-sheet.

The not so obvious is how it's calculated. This is highly protected information. In otherwords, someone posts the trade-secret here and azbilliards.com will get a phone-call from APA lawyers in minutes. The fact is, the only reason why you would want to know more than the obvious is a desire to manipulate the system. The fact is, the prizes in the APA are not that substantial. If the weekly grind isn't entertainment for you, perhaps you should look elsewhere instead of trying to gain an unfair edge. If the trip to Las Vegas is that important (and I think, having won two trips there, I have the luxury to know this), go buy the ticket yourself. jetblue.com. It's ridiculously cheap.

Sigh. You just missed the whole point of playing competitive pool by asking such a question.
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im not missing the point.. was wondering if anyone knew.. i play to be in the 'best of the best' every session and play to never lose when it counts in the playoffs <although my team never made it to vegas>
actually i'm bypassing one of my apa teams on monday nite to play in www.blufelt.com
a local a player started a league and all the 'big fish' are playing in it... this is where i'm going to improve my game- not in the APA...
 
Andrew Manning said:
How about just winning your matches whenever you can? If you're good enough, get yourself up to a 7. Be honored when you reach the top level of handicap. Then you never have to care about how the handicaps are figured, because you're not going up anymore anyway.

Oh wait, I forgot playing your best isn't the point for many people. Many of you want to have the nuts in every match that counts even if it means sacrificing your honor and any semblance of class to keep your skill level artificially low. I think it's pathetic. It's just the APA. Is it worth being such a sleaze?
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Good post, even with the bit of sarcasm attached. If you're truly committed to your pool game, then do your best to improve and learn. In the long run this will be better for you, and save you alotta heartache and pain. The best way to beat any handicap system is to improve. Since rating systems (whether computer or subjective) can only look at your past performance, if you're better now than you were in the past, then you will always have a competitive edge.

Understand that the APA system has many years of experience and evolution. So there are many correcting factors in the system that many people are unaware of. In other words, if you play 7 matches really strong and 7 matches really weak, that does NOT mean you are safely NOT gonna get raised. Or if you win 7 matches and get raised, then lose 7 matches, does not guarantee you'll get lowered again. It'll always tend toward your better performance, for obvious reasons. Once again, this favors the player who has consistency and improvement.

Overall, the system works, that's why so many people play in it.



P.S.
In any systems with so many people, there will always be naysayers and there will always be people trying to cheat the system. Most of them won't get away with it, just listen to them rant and rave and recognize those for who they are, don't buy into it. Then just operate with your own honor and class (mark safeties where appropriate especially on opposing teams even if they disagree, and handle any complaints with your league representatives - with class - so that it weeds out the bad, and keeps the rest fun for all).
 
Cornerman said:
And to further this, you can always go to the BCApool Nationals in Las Vegas and play the singles against top level amateurs or amateur Masters without having to "win the trip." It'll cost less that the year long league session.
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Some of the payouts for the BCA tournaments are ridiculously lower, especially in relationship to their entry fees. Not even counting the big team events. But looking at the other events like singles, scotch doubles, 3 man ...

Of course this thread was not about that topic, so respectfully, it'd be better to offload that subject to a different thread.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
There is the obvious: They use the information you provide on your score-sheet.

The not so obvious is how it's calculated. This is highly protected information. In otherwords, someone posts the trade-secret here and azbilliards.com will get a phone-call from APA lawyers in minutes. The fact is, the only reason why you would want to know more than the obvious is a desire to manipulate the system. The fact is, the prizes in the APA are not that substantial. If the weekly grind isn't entertainment for you, perhaps you should look elsewhere instead of trying to gain an unfair edge. If the trip to Las Vegas is that important (and I think, having won two trips there, I have the luxury to know this), go buy the ticket yourself. jetblue.com. It's ridiculously cheap.

Sigh. You just missed the whole point of playing competitive pool by asking such a question.
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I find your posts a ripsnoting good read, and can't wait for the next one!

You stand on a soapbox, belittle the common man, tell him he ain't nothin, and all the while I can't step away, waiting for more!

Kudos!

On a side note, if you think sandbagging occuers at the APA nationals, you ain't seen nothing until you've been to the TAP.
 
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Gregg said:
I find your posts a ripsnoting good read, and can't wait for the next one!

You stand on a soapbox, belittle the common man, tell him he ain't nothin, and all the while I can't step away, waiting for more!

Kudos!

On a side note, if you think sandbagging occuers at the APA nationals, you ain't seen nothing until you've been to the TAP.
Click to expand...


Thank you?
 
CueJunkiee said:
im not missing the point.. was wondering if anyone knew.. i play to be in the 'best of the best' every session and play to never lose when it counts in the playoffs <although my team never made it to vegas>
actually i'm bypassing one of my apa teams on monday nite to play in www.blufelt.com
a local a player started a league and all the 'big fish' are playing in it... this is where i'm going to improve my game- not in the APA...
Click to expand...


So then what was the point of asking the question?
 
Varney Cues said:
I know this much...if you play on two different teams, and win on one....dump on the other. Then you'll always be .500 and its hard for the computer to want to move you up.
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The league operators in our area post "Top Gun" standings online and you can easily compare an individual's performance from one team to another so this strategy wouldn't work very well here. Maybe the computer might not catch it, but any dilligent onliner could.

Man, I totally respect you as a professional cuemaker and an awsome poster here, but that had to be embarrasing when you got booted. :o

As far as the original question goes, I feel I have a very good handle on how the system works, but generally, trying to shape your play, or your teamates play, based on the handicap system can completely backfire and is not worth the risk. As demonstrated by our illustrious cuemaster. :)
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
So then what was the point of asking the question?
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Maybe he just wanted to know? One can pursue knowledge without having a sneaky agenda.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Ok.


DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO LOAD A GUN? Just curious.
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I know very well how to load a gun! And.... I can UNLOAD it even faster than I can load it;) !!!

Maniac
 
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