b player?

[seymore15074]

First, earlier I meant to say "break and run a rack". Your
federation rating system seems totally different from what
I'm accustomed to hearing around here. Maybe we are talking
about completely different uses of the A-D rating system.

That's even worse! C players do not break and run a rack or two every 2-3 hours...

Edit: Wait a minute, I just thought that maybe we are thinking of completely different things... I'm thinking 9-ball on a 9-foot with 4 1/2" pockets, just to clearify.

 

[whitey2]

I stand my ground!

OK, 5 inch pockets most likely. Both places closed around here
that had the B/C tournaments, so I can't measure them. But
I am speaking about 9 foot, Gold crowns at both places.

I still think that players I would consider a C would most likely
break and run a nine-ball rack, during 2-3 hours of play. And,
sometimes more than one rack. A high C.

Ok now for a pun, give the "C-MORE" credit, Seymore!

 

[GADawg]

If "a night" is say, 2 or three hours of playing, and you are
running 1 or 2 racks, I would say C.

Again, these A/B/C gradings vary widely across areas.

I've been told a B player runs a rack about half the time, and
a C player runs a rack occasionally. (Nine Ball)

I haven't really counted, but I don't think the pros break and run much more than half the time.

 

[rackmsuckr]

Not a bad yardstick. Maybe a little low on the A and B player. My feeling is that a B player (me) should run out about half the time with an open rack.
Maybe a little more, particularly if they are shooting at any ball above the four. Then it goes up as high as three out of four racks, when shooting at an open rack with six or fewer balls on the table.

Bottom line, if you can't get out frequently, you are not a B player (or a Shortstop).

Are you trying to get a game, Jay?

My understanding of a C player is that they cannot break and run a rack...almost never. My understanding of a B player is not the same as a short stop as you alluded to in your post.

D - Ball banger - no strategy
C - Rudimentary strategy and pocketing skills, can run 5 or 6 if they are all laying there. They are usually ball-makers.
B - Can break and run back to back racks occasionally.
A - Consistently runs out and is almost always in the money in a regional tournament, usually high money.
Short stop - High A player that is consistently in the top money regionally and can occasionally beat the pros
Pro - with several levels here, obviously

 

[whitey2]

just noticed...

I just turned on ESPN Classic, and there is a match between
Corey Duel and Danny Basavich. Anyway, the score
is 3-4, and it said with 7 racks, there were 5 break and runs.

EDIT: This is "Billiards - 2005 UPA Pro Tour Championship, Qualifying Rounds"
The break and runs keep coming, how coincidental! I can't tell
from the TV listings if this will be re-aired, but I wish I taped it.

 

[mailman]

150 is a perfect score, 140+ on a consistent basis makes you more than a B player.

Nope! The part of the Equal Offense rules Selftaut forgot to tell you about is:

a. You run the first 10 balls in ANY sequence, and any combination of stripes and solids, including the 8-Ball. You score 1 point for each of these balls made.

b. You play the remaining 5 balls on the table IN ROTATION; that is, you shoot them off the table by ALWAYS playing the LOWEST-numbered remaining ball -- kinda like playing a rack of 9-Ball when you're "saving" balls on a coin-op table. You score 2 points for each of these balls made.

So, a.] 10 balls x 1 point = 10 points for the first 10 balls; and b.] 5 balls x 2 points = 10 points for the last 5 balls; for a possible total of 20 points/rack. Therefore, the possible total for the requisite 10 rack exercise is 200 points, not 150.

This means that a 120 is an 11 ball AVERAGE over 10 racks and a 140 is a 12 ball AVERAGE over 10 racks. Personally, I would say either of these is a little high for a B-player, although I'm not sure exactly where a B-player should fall in this system.

Maybe I should go out and do this on my table for a few days and find out ... ;->. I HAVE futzed around a little with this from time to time and have the hardest time in the beginning when everything is still all cluttered up but, if I can get beyond the initial clutter, I can usually get well into the "rotation." Problem is, the short-stopped games pound the heck out of the "rotation" scores and tend to keep my average lower than I ***think*** it should be.

However, the REAL fact is, I have never done this for score (no patience or commitment), so I'm just telling you ***what I feel.*** I consider myself a solid B-player on my worst day and, usually when the chips are down for my team in a critical situation, I will nearly always perform at a solid A-level and run out EVERYTHING in sight! -- LOL -- the exact OPPOSITE is true if MONEY is on the table (I suddenly become a WEAK C-player!).

At any rate, I feel a 120-140 Equal Offense average is in the range of A-players, but below Short Stop, Semi-Pro or Pro ability, and is slightly above my own ability -- time will tell ...8-].

Mike Collier
Oak Harbor, WA

 

[whitey2]

some info from "Play Your Best Nine Ball"

Well, this subject prompted me to dig out my copy of
"Play Your Best Nine Ball", and I found the following on
page 40.

"B players can break and run the easier racks with a fair
degree of consistency".

"At the C player level, break-and-runs rarely happen."

Both of these quotes are somewhat flexible though, since
the terms "fair degree" and "rarely" are a little vague.

 

[PW92174]

I found this on another site and thought that it was a very good representation of skill levels:
This is an excerpt of an article by Bob Cambell in All About Pool magazine (December, 1997) giving guidance on handicapping nine ball players in a race to seven:

D- Player
>will not run a rack
>average run is about 3 balls
>with ball in hand, will get out from the 7, one out of 3 times
>rarely plays a successful safe

C-Player
>will probably run one rack, but usually not more than one
>avg. run is 3 to 5 balls
>with ball in hand, will get out from the 7, two out of 3 times
>mixed results when playing safe
>inning ends due to botched position, missed shot or attempting a safe.

B-Player
>Able to run 1 to 3 racks
>avg. run is 5-7 balls
>with ball in hand will get out form the 5, 2 out of 3 times
>most of the time a "B" player will play a "safety" which maybe hit easily 2 out of 3 times
>a typical inning will end with a missed shot, a fair safety, or a won game

A-Player
>will string 2 to 3 racks
>avg. ball run, 7-9
>with ball in hand, will be out from the 3 ball, 2 out of 3 times
>typical inning will end with a well executed safety or a win.

OPEN-Players
>average 8+ balls
>string racks together more than once in a match
>is a threat to run out from every ball, from every position, every inning
>typical inning will end in excellent safety or win

Most pros have run at least 150 balls in straight pool, many significantly higher, and many will run 80 balls or so fairly often.