APA Masters Division

stlerdave

stlerdave

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is anyone a part of this APA Division. They are putting on a tournament this weekend to show how it works. Heard from some that it is a tournament where you will be matched up with upper level players and instructed on your skills and how to improve your game.
 
in the VNEA the masters division is for folks who don't need any more help with their game.. the cream of the crop so to speak
 
softshot said:
in the VNEA the masters division is for folks who don't need any more help with their game.. the cream of the crop so to speak
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Everyone needs help of some form or another. That is why pro players have coaches. That is, unless the VNEA players are above the pros. :rolleyes:

I played in the APA Masters a few years ago and wish I could still fit it in my schedule. I loved the format and the competition. It is way better than the regular APA leagues.
 
I played APA Masters this year. It's not an instruction league. It's race to 7 with 5 games 8 ball and 8 games of 9. You can push after break and use jump cues. There are no handicaps and it is a four man team with three able to play.
 
stlerdave said:
Is anyone a part of this APA Division. They are putting on a tournament this weekend to show how it works. Heard from some that it is a tournament where you will be matched up with upper level players and instructed on your skills and how to improve your game.
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You're playing out of Newark? Me too. I may go to that Tourney on Sunday to check it out.
 
gunzby said:
I played APA Masters this year. It's not an instruction league. It's race to 7 with 5 games 8 ball and 8 games of 9. You can push after break and use jump cues. There are no handicaps and it is a four man team with three able to play.
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You have to call your shot too, If I'm not mistaken.
 
After not hitting a ball for several years they threw me directly into the APA Masters league. I am struggling a little to keep up but I will get catch up.
 
Rich R. said:
Everyone needs help of some form or another. That is why pro players have coaches. That is, unless the VNEA players are above the pros. :rolleyes:

I played in the APA Masters a few years ago and wish I could still fit it in my schedule. I loved the format and the competition. It is way better than the regular APA leagues.
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yes everyone can get a little better ... but

Shane Van Boening won the VNEA masters in Vegas 3 times..

just sayin
 
Pre-Flag Master said:
You have to call your shot too, If I'm not mistaken.
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You are mistaken. 8 Ball uses standard APA rules. IE slop counts and you get what you drop on the break, ball in hand rules and call pocket on the 8.
9 Ball is Texas Express without the 3 foul rule.

No handicap no coaching.

:cool:
 
They are doing a one time introduction here in Columbus. Invited all players SL5 and above. Im no big time player but would love to play those upper level players and not lose $$$$$$$. Just hoping to learn a thing or 2.
 
stlerdave said:
They are doing a one time introduction here in Columbus. Invited all players SL5 and above. Im no big time player but would love to play those upper level players and not lose $$$$$$$. Just hoping to learn a thing or 2.
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It's a great format and good fun. A lot less whining than the league in general. No crying about sandbaggers, arguements over rules on an other nitty shit. Just guys who want to play good pool.\


:cool:
 
DelaWho??? said:
You are mistaken. 8 Ball uses standard APA rules. IE slop counts and you get what you drop on the break, ball in hand rules and call pocket on the 8.
9 Ball is Texas Express without the 3 foul rule.

No handicap no coaching.

:cool:
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To paraphrase: APA rules by any other name still stink the same.

Only league I found with rules that match the WPA rules is the USAPL. There the Masters is a real Masters. Called shot even in 9-ball, rack your own, 8 ball played by real rules, open table until you make your first legal shot.

Pardon the bash, but forcing you to take what you make in 8-ball half the time is punishing a player for making a ball on the break.
 
Playing for the first time this season. The format's weird but not bad. At the start, the coin flip winner can get the first break, but the other guy gets to choose whether you start out with 8 or 9 ball.

After 5 games of 8 ball you switch to 9 no matter what happened in those games. Ditto after 8 games of 9 ball. But since it's a race to 7, if you get demolished in 9 ball you may never get a chance to play 8.

No coach no handicaps, jump cues legal, push out is allowed, but no 3-foul. Still dumb rules: Slop counts in 8 and 9, except I think the 8 in 8-ball. Take what you make in 8 ball.

There's no instruction that I saw, though some of the guys are pretty cool and would probably give you some help if asked.

For some people, this might be fun. I'm having a tough time with it. In my other APA league I'm used to being the best player in the room, and haven't lost a match in a while. But in masters I'm not even top 5 and have already lost half my matches. One of our 6's has gotten crushed twice 7-1. To my knowledge they usually only accept 6's and 7's, not 5's... I would not recommend a 5 sign up unless other pool halls are a lot easier than the one in my area. In fact I wouldn't really recommend it for 6's either.

dave, you don't have to jump through any hoops to play strong players, you'd be surprised... if you happen to see one in a pool hall, just ask if they want to hit 'em around. Some of them might only be into gambling but plenty of players are willing to shoot just to pass the time, and to pass on what they know too.
 
hang-the-9 said:
To paraphrase: APA rules by any other name still stink the same.

Only league I found with rules that match the WPA rules is the USAPL. There the Masters is a real Masters. Called shot even in 9-ball, rack your own, 8 ball played by real rules, open table until you make your first legal shot.

Pardon the bash, but forcing you to take what you make in 8-ball half the time is punishing a player for making a ball on the break.
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Yes, I'm not a big fan of the APA either. But some people live in an area where that is the only choice for league play. I say no handicap and call your shot at least is a huge improvement. (I think the local APA I was in they played call shot in Masters. Must have been a local APA thing. It was a while ago and I might not be remembering it correctly tho.)
 
This might have already been mentioned, but the other improvement of APA Masters over regular APA is that you are playing actual GAMES of 9-ball - not that "one point per ball until you reach 63 (or whatever) points" bull crap.

If you have to play APA try Masters for sure. But if you have Valley or BCA or something else in your area, check into those as well. AS has been stated in this thread, APA has some messed up game rules.

Now here's a question; do any of the other leagues have "No handicap" play?

Fatz
 
CreeDo said:
For some people, this might be fun. I'm having a tough time with it. In my other APA league I'm used to being the best player in the room, and haven't lost a match in a while. But in masters I'm not even top 5 and have already lost half my matches. One of our 6's has gotten crushed twice 7-1. To my knowledge they usually only accept 6's and 7's, not 5's... I would not recommend a 5 sign up unless other pool halls are a lot easier than the one in my area. In fact I wouldn't really recommend it for 6's either.
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This is good advice IF the only joy you get out of playing pool is winning. Me, I just love playing the game and had rather lose to better players than to constantly beat players of lower skill levels. I went 11-1 last session in mini-Masters, so I moved myself up to "big boy" Masters this session and I expect to get my head handed to me a lot (I'm a SL7 in 9-ball and a SL6 in 8-ball). But....I'm going to enjoy it more AND probably learn a few things about playing pool from it all. I lost my first match of the session this past week 7-5, and I made a few mistakes and could have actually won the match had it not been for that. I was satisfied with my play overall and most of all, I had fun!!!

There is no reason for a SL6 to NOT play in APA Masters divisions. They will win a match occasionally and certainly be "in" some matches. Unless of course......you like being the "top gun" in your division and whipping-up on the lesser skilled players all the time. If winning is your main goal in pool, by all means stay away from the Masters division.

Maniac
 
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stlerdave said:
They are doing a one time introduction here in Columbus. Invited all players SL5 and above. Im no big time player but would love to play those upper level players and not lose $$$$$$$. Just hoping to learn a thing or 2.
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When I started a Masters division, it was really hard to talk 5s into trying it. But those who gave it a shot really liked it. So did one 4. And if most teams have a 5 on them, then a 5 will play other 5s some of the time. I.e., you don't have to go 0-12.

Compared to regular league, you will learn--from experience and watching, not from instruction.

Go for it!
 
It's a great format. The competition, locally, is pretty good. Our team qualified for the national tourney, this year. We finished middle of the pack. The competition at Nationals is pretty solid, higher level, amateur Pool.

Unless you play at a high shortstop level, where the only guys that beat you is a top player, then this is a good league format for you.

The post below, sums the format up nicely.


Eric

CreeDo said:
At the start, the coin flip winner can get the first break, but the other guy gets to choose whether you start out with 8 or 9 ball.

After 5 games of 8 ball you switch to 9 no matter what happened in those games. Ditto after 8 games of 9 ball. But since it's a race to 7, if you get demolished in 9 ball you may never get a chance to play 8.

No coach no handicaps, jump cues legal, push out is allowed, but no 3-foul. Still dumb rules: Slop counts in 8 and 9, except I think the 8 in 8-ball. Take what you make in 8 ball.

There's no instruction that I saw, though some of the guys are pretty cool and would probably give you some help if asked..
Click to expand...
 
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