APA rating question

jh3rron

The Beard
I have never played in the APA. My first game was last week. I was started @ level 4 and first match was against a level 6. I won the match barely 3-2, there were 12 innings and running totAL was 4. So this week after just one game I'm a 5. My captain mentioned he has never seen anyone move up after just one match. Had a guy tell me it only takes one phone call to the league operator to get you screwed. By what I took from it I must've hurt the level 6s feelings prompting him to speak to LO. Then again dude may be full of it. I'M My question is should I have moved up rank's after just one game?
 
I have never played in the APA. My first game was last week. I was started @ level 4 and first match was against a level 6. I won the match barely 3-2, there were 12 innings and running totAL was 4. So this week after just one game I'm a 5. My captain mentioned he has never seen anyone move up after just one match. Had a guy tell me it only takes one phone call to the league operator to get you screwed. By what I took from it I must've hurt the level 6s feelings prompting him to speak to LO. Then again dude may be full of it. I'M My question is should I have moved up rank's after just one game?

I would say in the first two months of playing leagues your rating means nothing and you should not let it bother you if it goes up or down.

Yes people will always complain, yes they will call the l.o., yes it may have an effect on your rating.

Over time and a number of league matches it will plane out.

Will people still complain on any given night, yup.

Will people still cry to l.o.'s, yup

Is it your fault or problem, nope. Its theirs.

Just keep playing the best you can. Dont live and die with your rating and enjoy the competition.
 
I dont think that anyone called your LO. The computer can only rate you by the info it has about you.You beat a 6 on your first week so your lucky you didnt get raised to a 6. The first 10 matches you are going to go up and down several skill levels until you get some matches under your belt. Next week you could lose to a 5 and possibly go down to a 4 or a 3.If that happened then you wouldnt be on here thinking that someone called the LO to have you lowered. LOL Play Masters League in the APA and then you dont have to worry about sandbagging and ratings .If you dont win then you dont get any points.
 
APA 8-ball is a beginner/intermediate skill league, all men start off as 4, and all women start off as 3, unless they have a prior APA rating.

Win/Loss ratio ALONE doesn't always determine changes in skill level. Innings, safeties and the margin of win/loss also part of the equation. You lost 2/3, played 5 games with a total of 12 innings. Your average innings per game was 2.4. It takes at least 10 matches to establish your skill level track record, so your skill level will fluctuate. Some APA Captains use the number of balls you can run as a rough gauge. If you can run 5 before missing, then you're likely SL5.

Take this in stride, it took one match to determine you're not a beginner. Enjoy the league, and don't let the handicaps bother you.
 
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Trust me, if you play straight up and dont dog shots, you will be ranked exactly what level you are after the first full session.
 
@jh3rron after winning your first match im not shocked that you went up. You only had 12 innings in 5 games. A SL4 would never beat a SL6 in only 12 innings. That's why the handicap went up. I was raised by a LO during the middle of states for Aloha because "your stance is not how a SL3 would stand"....try to figure that one out
 
I have never played in the APA. My first game was last week. I was started @ level 4 and first match was against a level 6. I won the match barely 3-2, there were 12 innings and running totAL was 4. So this week after just one game I'm a 5. My captain mentioned he has never seen anyone move up after just one match. Had a guy tell me it only takes one phone call to the league operator to get you screwed. By what I took from it I must've hurt the level 6s feelings prompting him to speak to LO. Then again dude may be full of it. I'M My question is should I have moved up rank's after just one game?

Captain is misinformed. Your handicap can jump rather quickly due to it being your first time. You need 20 games to get stability. Don't believe any of the bs unless you've personally read it in the APA handbook.

I've PM'd you. Let's do an experiment.


What is "running totAL (sic) was 4"?


Freddie <~~~ doesn't believe anything
 
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Well, first if you beat an S/L 6 3-2, you didn't barely win, you pretty much put a beat down on him. He needed to win
5 games to your 3.

It's not quite this simple , but your S/L is an average of your played matches, for most players the
best 10 of their last 20, or your matches played until you accumulate 20. You've played 1 match and 12 innings in 5 games,
that's something like 2.2 innings per (do you know if any defensive shots were marked?) and you won 3 of those games.
I'd submit that medium to a high 5 is correct.

Even if a call was placed to your LO, it's pretty unlikely that your LO has the time or the inclination to "keep a close eye" on
any one player after only one match.

We can get in depth with the whole S/L thing if you like, but I think you'll be much happier if you just play and don't worry about it.
 
Captain is misinformed. Your handicap can jump rather quickly due to it being your first time. You need 20 games to get stability. Don't believe any of the bs unless you've personally read it in the APA handbook.

I've PM'd you. Let's do an experiment.


What is "running totAL (sic) was 4"?


Freddie <~~~ doesn't believe anything

^^^^ This.

We had a player go from SL4 to SL7 in one week. He wasn't SL7 ability, but he beat another established SL6 rather badly in his first match. He eventually settled in as an SL6, which was where he should have been.

WAY too many people like to say that so-and-so called the LO, or the LO has it out for someone, or such. While there are likely some LO's that aren't as reputable as one might like, most are simply running their businesses the way the league establishes, and can't be bothered with petty Skill Level foolishness.

Have fun, and don't worry about the Skill Level. The computer will sort it all out, and you'll see some stability after 20 matches or so. It needs that much data to get a proper gauge on where you should be.
 
I just moved up after one game as well. I started as a 4 and played a 2 and I won in 3 straight games but it wasn't the best pool and there were a lot of innings. I also moved up to a 5 and my team leader also said he had never seen that in 20+ years of playing.

I agree with the above posts though that it makes sense your average would jump around while you have little for it to judge. That being said. How do safes come into play? How do they affect your score? How do innings affect your score. Mostly I ask because the league is pretty laid back and I don't think the score keepers keep very good track of safes but I also don't want to be the guy who is always checking and correcting his score sheet if it isn't that big of a deal.

Thank you.
 
I have never played in the APA. My first game was last week. I was started @ level 4 and first match was against a level 6. I won the match barely 3-2, there were 12 innings and running totAL was 4. So this week after just one game I'm a 5. My captain mentioned he has never seen anyone move up after just one match. Had a guy tell me it only takes one phone call to the league operator to get you screwed. By what I took from it I must've hurt the level 6s feelings prompting him to speak to LO. Then again dude may be full of it. I'M My question is should I have moved up rank's after just one game?

You got some bad information. Handicaps move all the time after the first game, and they will remain volatile till you have about 10 games.

Also, if you beat the 6 by 3 to 2 then you were ahead in raw game count when it ended, which is entirely consistent with going up to a 5. That's not winning "barely."

Play your best and have fun, if you obsess over handicap changes you'll enjoy APA less.
 
Also as others have already said, the inning amount matters a lot. If you're averaging 2-3 innings per match you're likely a 5 or better.
 
I've seen plenty of players go up after one match. Your going to fluctuate your first 10 matches. I doubt anyone called the league operator
 
I just moved up after one game as well. I started as a 4 and played a 2 and I won in 3 straight games but it wasn't the best pool and there were a lot of innings. I also moved up to a 5 and my team leader also said he had never seen that in 20+ years of playing.

I agree with the above posts though that it makes sense your average would jump around while you have little for it to judge. That being said. How do safes come into play? How do they affect your score? How do innings affect your score. Mostly I ask because the league is pretty laid back and I don't think the score keepers keep very good track of safes but I also don't want to be the guy who is always checking and correcting his score sheet if it isn't that big of a deal.

Thank you.

Let me.see if I can word this without it being taken out of context. Marking safes should be a big deal but it seems to me that most people dont see it that way.

During my time in apa so far I have seen it taken from one extreme to the other and every where in between..

You have people keeping score that

1. Have no idea what a safe is

2. Dont pay attention to the game by either...playing games on their phone or gossiping with team.mates

3.mark a safe on just about every missed shot

4..mark a safe just because they were not sure.....just to ne on the safe side

5. Deliberately not mark safes to run the offensive innings up.

I have seen instances of all the above . I have gotten to the point where I just have to believe in the system and every one winds up at their true handicap eventually.

Btw....i am.captain on 3 teams and keep score mow of the times and so mark every safe I see..you should have seen the pissing contest between me and another captain she he went to sign my scoresheet and he saw where I had marks 7 safes during his s/l.2's match. He refused too. Sign my scoresheet lol..

Needless to say...his 2 was not a 2 the following week.all.you can do.is do your part in making sure the scoresheet is marked properly..if it eases too mind.....always tell your score keeper when you play a safe..you did your part.
 
@lorider

I find too many times that people dont know how to mark safes. It's not just for "safety play" but the handbook states "any intentionally missed shot". This is the way we get the sandbaggers out of the league. If we'd pay attention and mark the shots they deliberatly miss it will catch up with them eventually just like you stated.
 
It's possible the 6 dumped knowing it was your first match and that you would automatically go up by winning.

Koop - seen it happen more than once
 
I have never played in the APA. My first game was last week. I was started @ level 4 and first match was against a level 6. I won the match barely 3-2, there were 12 innings and running totAL was 4. So this week after just one game I'm a 5. My captain mentioned he has never seen anyone move up after just one match. Had a guy tell me it only takes one phone call to the league operator to get you screwed. By what I took from it I must've hurt the level 6s feelings prompting him to speak to LO. Then again dude may be full of it. I'M My question is should I have moved up rank's after just one game?


The question is, are you a 5 skill level or a 4? If you get ball in hand how balls can you run out in 9 ball over an average of 10 racks? 3-4-5-6?

When I played in TAP, I was moved to a 7 (their max) after one set. Although different leagues, I went from no rating, to a 7. I was actually the top rated 7 in the region from my first match, I guess there is also a decimal number that the TAP insiders can see, so I was a 7.68 or something. After a few weeks I dropped to a 6 and stayed there.
 
Let me.see if I can word this without it being taken out of context. Marking safes should be a big deal but it seems to me that most people dont see it that way.

During my time in apa so far I have seen it taken from one extreme to the other and every where in between..

You have people keeping score that

1. Have no idea what a safe is

2. Dont pay attention to the game by either...playing games on their phone or gossiping with team.mates

3.mark a safe on just about every missed shot

4..mark a safe just because they were not sure.....just to ne on the safe side

5. Deliberately not mark safes to run the offensive innings up.

I have seen instances of all the above . I have gotten to the point where I just have to believe in the system and every one winds up at their true handicap eventually.

Btw....i am.captain on 3 teams and keep score mow of the times and so mark every safe I see..you should have seen the pissing contest between me and another captain she he went to sign my scoresheet and he saw where I had marks 7 safes during his s/l.2's match. He refused too. Sign my scoresheet lol..

Needless to say...his 2 was not a 2 the following week.all.you can do.is do your part in making sure the scoresheet is marked properly..if it eases too mind.....always tell your score keeper when you play a safe..you did your part.

I have seen people call a shot to a pocket blocked by 2 other balls instead of calling a safe, then move the cueball to the other side of the table behind another ball after this "miss". I mark is as a safe anyway. I don't deal well with cheats.
 
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