Big fish little pond... dilemma

Me too...

I feel your pain. A local dive has a Friday night bar box 9 Ball race to 3 tourney and the pool hall has a Sunday 8 Ball tourney that is on good 9" Brunswick's and it is also a race to 3.

There is not much competition in this hick town, so I am giving them a break for awhile, so some one else can win.
 
o.g. (old guy) said:
That was mentioned earlier, I plan on trying that.
Click to expand...

It's not going to work. Lengthening your race will only result in you shooting more while beating them. They will like that even less. A lot less.

IMO you will be better served to make them only go to one. It will make you bear down and they will legitimately have a chance to win. And you will be challenged to perform. People I can beat in a race to two easily will not win any more games by the time I get to 4.

JC
 
JC said:
It's not going to work. Lengthening your race will only result in you shooting more while beating them. They will like that even less. A lot less.

IMO you will be better served to make them only go to one. It will make you bear down and they will legitimately have a chance to win. And you will be challenged to perform. People I can beat in a race to two easily will not win any more games by the time I get to 4.

JC
Click to expand...

You may have a good point there, that would probably be the fairest way.
 
just play left handed. otherwise even giving weight they will resent you if you win too often.
go and have fun. if you go and win the money it will soon be over for all.

pool is like some sports such as tennis or golf where the better player wins almost all the time. that is why you have to gamble with spots and handicap tournaments.
 
When I lived in Mississippi, there was this college bar in town that had a weekly barbox 8-ball tournament. There were two pretty serious players in town, pro level players or damn near close to it. From what I got, neither of them were banned from the tournament but they wouldn't enter. 1st place couldn't have ever been much more than $50, but it would have been easy money. Since then, I have elevated my game to a serious level (though not quite at their level), and I can understand them not entering this "banger" tournament more now. I would enter a time or two (okay, maybe three), but it would make me feel uncomfortable to consistently enter a tournament against "bangers" and dominate time in and time out. Now, dominating at a pool hall tournament? Another story altogether.

There is certainly nothing wrong with you entering this tournament every week, but you might get negative vibes from some folks and that sucks. I know I wouldn't want that.
 
JC said:
It's not going to work. Lengthening your race will only result in you shooting more while beating them. They will like that even less. A lot less.

IMO you will be better served to make them only go to one. It will make you bear down and they will legitimately have a chance to win. And you will be challenged to perform. People I can beat in a race to two easily will not win any more games by the time I get to 4.

JC
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with this post. FWIW, the local tourney that I used to play in before circumstances slowed me down had a rule that if you won the tournament one week, you had to sit out the next week.

To the OP....maybe you should dog a game every once in a while and give the other players some jollies. If you win the tourney once a month, you're still going to break even (or slightly ahead) on your entry fee. Maybe giving the other players some hope will bring back the ones that dropped out and save the ones that were thinking about it.

After all....it's all for fun isn't it? How can anybody take a tournament like yours seriously?

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
I absolutely agree with this post. FWIW, the local tourney that I used to play in before circumstances slowed me down had a rule that if you won the tournament one week, you had to sit out the next week.

To the OP....maybe you should dog a game every once in a while and give the other players some jollies. If you win the tourney once a month, you're still going to break even (or slightly ahead) on your entry fee. Maybe giving the other players some hope will bring back the ones that dropped out and save the ones that were thinking about it.

After all....it's all for fun isn't it? How can anybody take a tournament like yours seriously?

Maniac
Click to expand...

I have dogged some games and skipped some of the tourneys. At this point I think I'll just take a break from it for a while, although the 2nd best player will probably win most of the time. I guess this is just the way these small tournaments are. I really love this game and would rather do something to get more people involved and not drive them away.
 
Agree with just offering to play at a higher handicap, also if you have not done so, pick a few of the nicer players and give them lessons, teach normal rules. Helps a long way in getting a more solid base of players.

My Wed tournament goes 3-6 for handicaps, many are 3s with a 4 and me and my son are 6s, of the ones that play every week. I have come in 1st or 2nd often and last week told them I'll play as a 7. I got crushed LOL. I won maybe 7 games in 3 sets (we played a round robin with 4 players), and I lost all 3 of my matches, 2-3, 1-3 and 4-3. But I want to have a fair chance for the others to win, I'd rather they enjoy playing in the tournament and with me more than me playing and beating them.

Figure out a spot you would play with where you have to play at %75 of your top game to be hill hill or win, that way you need to focus more and they have a better chance against you.
 
Maybe have the owner consider changing the races to 1 for all. This may prove to be an equalizer of sorts. If not, you can go to 2 as others have suggested.

The only problem with going to 1 is that the tourney is over sooner so the owner may lose out on selling that extra beer or two. :)

Dave
 
Well I was going to suggest taking some time off from entering the tournament, but with weekly points structure they have, that gives some incentive to keep playing week after week.

I have my own moral rule.... If I win two weeks in a row at a spot (handily) I will not play that tournament the third week in a row.

Put it this way, if you had to come on here and ask the pool world if what you're doing is alright, it would raise some questions in my mind about what I'm doing and who I'm doing it to.

The people that come to that local 10 or less tourney you clean up in, do they bring cues in? Are they the type of people that are actively trying to improve their pool game, or are they true bar-goers that just held a tourney for something to do.

Guess it all boils down to:
How bad do you want to walk into a place and get the "oh no here we go again" look from everyone shooting the tournament? (Which by your admission is dwindling lower each week)

How bad do you want/need that extra $120 or whatever it is a month you get from being the one who walks in and gets the "oh no here we go again" look? (Which is dwindling with the number of entrants each week).

Take a drive if you're better than all that. Sooner or later you'll find a spot where you can sit there, start playing and someone else is going to walk in and you're gonna think....... oh no, here we go again. <<Fact
 
Last edited:
hang-the-9 said:
Agree with just offering to play at a higher handicap, also if you have not done so, pick a few of the nicer players and give them lessons, teach normal rules. Helps a long way in getting a more solid base of players.

My Wed tournament goes 3-6 for handicaps, many are 3s with a 4 and me and my son are 6s, of the ones that play every week. I have come in 1st or 2nd often and last week told them I'll play as a 7. I got crushed LOL. I won maybe 7 games in 3 sets (we played a round robin with 4 players), and I lost all 3 of my matches, 2-3, 1-3 and 4-3. But I want to have a fair chance for the others to win, I'd rather they enjoy playing in the tournament and with me more than me playing and beating them.

Figure out a spot you would play with where you have to play at %75 of your top game to be hill hill or win, that way you need to focus more and they have a better chance against you.
Click to expand...

I have not really given lessons yet (although I have thought about it) but I do try to give some pointers along the way, most seem appreciative. There are about 3 other players that are capable of winning when they don't shoot themselves in the foot. I have shot myself in the foot a few times , it's not like I run out every game...

Personally I wish I could play better players, it's difficult to improve unless you do. Unfortunately everybody doesn't feel that way. I have entered quite a few tournaments where I knew I had little or no chance of cashing, just for the experience.
 
Tell the organizers and contestants that you will forgot the awards with the exception that your entry fee is returned if you win any money the equivalent of the entry fee. That way you get to play, show your ability, have fun and, perhaps, placate the local yokels.
Dave
 
Last edited:
DMM4342 said:
Tell the organizers and contestants that you will forgot the awards with the exception that your entry fee is returned if you win any money the equivalent of the entry fee.
Dave
Click to expand...

Good idea. Let 2nd and 3rd place split the cheese accordingly. That should get the people back.

Maniac
 
DMM4342 said:
Tell the organizers and contestants that you will forgot the awards with the exception that your entry fee is returned if you win any money the equivalent of the entry fee. That way you get to play, show your ability, have fun and, perhaps, placate the local yokels.
Dave
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea, something like that might work. I do enjoy competing, win or lose, and like others have said the little bit of money isn't that big a deal. Just have to figure out how to adjust the points. Maybe just have a drawing at the end of the session where you get your name in the hat equal to the points you earned.
 
Bigkat said:
Tournament should employ the proper handicap. Spot more balls or more games etc.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind that but I doubt the person running the tournament would want to. He really doesn't know anything about pool, it's just his job to keep as many people in the room as possble. I'll suggest it and see what he thinks. I appreciate everyone's suggestions, I knew others had crossed the same bridge.
 
DMM4342 said:
Tell the organizers and contestants that you will forgot the awards with the exception that your entry fee is returned if you win any money the equivalent of the entry fee. That way you get to play, show your ability, have fun and, perhaps, placate the local yokels.
Dave
Click to expand...

If you don't think the above will go over with the locals, I have another suggestion.
Let it be known that you would like a match between yourself and the winner at some kind of odds favoring the winner of their contest. You might hash out the game to be played, and the handicap by taking it up with the locals over a period of weeks, before you play the match. You like to play, so this is just another way of EVERYONE enjoying the game. Play for a beer or just nothing, it does not matter because you like playing. You could schedule it on some other night so it would not be a late match. Find someone who you think would be most open to such an event, buy him (or her a beer) and discuss it. Start with one and work your way up so you get a lot of folks on the side of
the event happening. It's not you against the locals, it's a handicap good natured pool event! Think win-win. Think from their side of the view; what would they enjoy seeing?

Dave
 
Last edited:
Best option to let others have a crack at winning and being happy is this.

Whoever wins this week must sit out the following week. This always ensures no one wins 2 in a row, let alone 3 or 4 and really annoying players.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top