APA Skill Levels

Hooper840

Hooper840

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have seen the "formula" for the APA's equalizer handicap system, but it really wasn't a formula at all. Just a general explanation of the process. Does anyone have any idea what it takes to go up in skill level in the APA? What about going down?

I know a lot of people hate the APA and leagues in general, but I hope somebody out there likes it enough to have some insight. Thanks in advance.
 
Hooper840 said:
I have seen the "formula" for the APA's equalizer handicap system, but it really wasn't a formula at all. Just a general explanation of the process. Does anyone have any idea what it takes to go up in skill level in the APA? What about going down?

I know a lot of people hate the APA and leagues in general, but I hope somebody out there likes it enough to have some insight. Thanks in advance.
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I've seen it in detail. I think it was actually included in the early player manuals. The innings and safeties play a big part which makes it fairly easy to sandbag. Just run up your innings in the games you win. (and many players do).

Keep in mind that the LO's can adjust the handicaps and override the Equalizer system.

I haven't played APA in several years so some of this may have changed.
 
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In a nutshell , it's a formula that creates an average innings per match "standard". Corrected for safety play and mean averaged over something like 20 games. The 'scorer' is an intregal part of the formula working and must catalog the rotation of innings , end game and shot selection accurately. That is actually one of the primary reasons the system breaks down, inacurate score logging.
 
I was a SL6 one week and played a 5. I had to go to 37 points to his ranking in 9ball. I won the lag and put a three pack on em and played a safe. He misses and I got BIH and ran out my remaining points to win the set.

Since I had 3 break and runs and ended the match on 2 innings I was bumped up to a 8!!! Reason being it was the innings that made my rating go up. The fewer innings you have in a match bumps up your rating. Not including safety play (I think) so if you don't want your rating to go up MISS A LOT!!!

After becoming a 9 and beating everybody every week I decide the APA wasn't for me anymore... Not that its a bad organization but I got nothing out of it competition wise...
 
OneIron said:
I've seen it in detail. I think it was actually included in the early player manuals. The innings and safeties play a big part which makes it fairly easy to sandbag. Just run up your innings in the games you win. (and many players do).

Keep in mind that the LO's can adjust the handicaps and override the Equalizer system.

I haven't played APA in several years so some of this may have changed.
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This is something I have been witness to. During the cities a girl on our team who was a 3 beat a girl who was a two 19-1. The girl immediately ran up to the desk to complain that she was ranked too low. She didn't mention anything about giving ball in hand 3-4 times in every rack she shot. The girl on our team was immediately made a 4...no questions asked.

Fast forward 6 months and the girl who was made a 4 has won a total of 2 matches and is still a 4. I send in a request to have her lowered and nothing happens.

Long story short it is apparently very very easy to raise your SL, but takes an act of God to have it lowered. I have also been told that you can only be lowered an absolute maximum of 2 SLs regardless of how bad you play. An example is you may have played as a 9 and quit playing for 20 years and decide to come back. Well until you get back into stroke you'll probably be getting your brains beaten in.
 
gunzby said:
Long story short it is apparently very very easy to raise your SL, but takes an act of God to have it lowered. I have also been told that you can only be lowered an absolute maximum of 2 SLs regardless of how bad you play. An example is you may have played as a 9 and quit playing for 20 years and decide to come back. Well until you get back into stroke you'll probably be getting your brains beaten in.
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Think it's worse than that. I think the Lowest Attainable Rule only lets you drop one skill level from your highest. So if you ever played as a 9, you can never go lower than 8. Makes it a little tough if you layoff for a while or go through a dry spell.
 
RRfireblade said:
In a nutshell , it's a formula that creates an average innings per match "standard". Corrected for safety play and mean averaged over something like 20 games. The 'scorer' is an intregal part of the formula working and must catalog the rotation of innings , end game and shot selection accurately. That is actually one of the primary reasons the system breaks down, inacurate score logging.
Click to expand...

The problem is that most scorers fail to count the safeties properly. If a player is padding innings, this is crucial since each safety counts against total innings. Unfortunately, many APA players don't recognize a safety when it occurs. If you don't intend to make the ball, it's a safety.
 
gunzby said:
This is something I have been witness to. During the cities a girl on our team who was a 3 beat a girl who was a two 19-1. The girl immediately ran up to the desk to complain that she was ranked too low. She didn't mention anything about giving ball in hand 3-4 times in every rack she shot. The girl on our team was immediately made a 4...no questions asked.

Fast forward 6 months and the girl who was made a 4 has won a total of 2 matches and is still a 4. I send in a request to have her lowered and nothing happens.

Long story short it is apparently very very easy to raise your SL, but takes an act of God to have it lowered. I have also been told that you can only be lowered an absolute maximum of 2 SLs regardless of how bad you play. An example is you may have played as a 9 and quit playing for 20 years and decide to come back. Well until you get back into stroke you'll probably be getting your brains beaten in.
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i think some of the problems with adjusting players s/l has to do with the lo not doing their job. i had the same problem as your teamate after beating a lower level quite badly. i was raised the next week and lost every match the rest of the session. that was 10 matches in a row.

at the end of the session while we were in the playoffs i spoke to the lo and asked him to review my session record. i told him i wasnt asking to be lowered ,just to review the scoresheets and make a determination if i was handicapped correctly. the following week i was lowered and he apologized for not adjusting it sooner.

in all fairness he had only been on the job for a few months and since then i think he has done an oustanding job of reviewing every players s/l quite a bit closer.

i have been raised and lowered 2 times in the last 3 sessions and i agree with his assesment each time. btw the 1st time i talked to him about my s/l is the only time we discussed it.
 
lorider said:
in all fairness he had only been on the job for a few months and since then i think he has done an oustanding job of reviewing every players s/l quite a bit closer.
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Seems like the Equalizer system breaks down in a lot of cases. Takes a lot of oversight by the LO's...
 
lorider said:
i think some of the problems with adjusting players s/l has to do with the lo not doing their job. i had the same problem as your teamate after beating a lower level quite badly. i was raised the next week and lost every match the rest of the session. that was 10 matches in a row.

at the end of the session while we were in the playoffs i spoke to the lo and asked him to review my session record. i told him i wasnt asking to be lowered ,just to review the scoresheets and make a determination if i was handicapped correctly. the following week i was lowered and he apologized for not adjusting it sooner.

in all fairness he had only been on the job for a few months and since then i think he has done an oustanding job of reviewing every players s/l quite a bit closer.

i have been raised and lowered 2 times in the last 3 sessions and i agree with his assesment each time. btw the 1st time i talked to him about my s/l is the only time we discussed it.
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I can't really blame our LO. I play in Charlotte Metro APA which is the second, or maybe the biggest league in the country. With so many players to keep track of it's understandable. When I made my request it was sent to the front office and not the local APA from what I understand since I did it online.
 
brophog said:
Oh, God tried once. But the LO told him to sit back down or he'd make him a 7.
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I have no doubts about that. I should also mention that the girl who complained also complained about 5 other people during that day and she only played one of them.
 
A long time ago I played a guy in league and beat him 19-1. He whined and complained about me being rated too low and I agreed with him. I told him that I don't care if I get moved up, but I keep winning and they seem to keep me the same rating.

The next session they finally moved me up and I play the same guy again. This time I beat him 20-0 and he actually never came close to making that 1 point.
 
gunzby...Where did you get that information? ASFAIK, Charlotte may be in the top 10, but is nowhere near #1 or #2. Atlanta has more...Baltimore has more...S MD has more. There are others...

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

gunzby said:
I can't really blame our LO. I play in Charlotte Metro APA which is the second, or maybe the biggest league in the country. .
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Scott Lee said:
gunzby...Where did you get that information? ASFAIK, Charlotte may be in the top 10, but is nowhere near #1 or #2. Atlanta has more...Baltimore has more...S MD has more. There are others...

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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To be honest a random league member told me. I assumed this to be pretty close to correct looking at the cities considering it's played from Tuesday through Sunday on 80 tables.

I suppose I was wrong ;)
Certainly wouldn't be the first time.....just ask my fiancee'
 
IIRC, I believe Charlotte has between 300 and 400 teams...a large league area, but not tops. The BIG areas have 700-1000 teams.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

gunzby said:
To be honest a random league member told me. I assumed this to be pretty close to correct looking at the cities considering it's played from Tuesday through Sunday on 80 tables.

I suppose I was wrong ;)
Certainly wouldn't be the first time.....just ask my fiancee'
Click to expand...
 
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