Finally I'm a SL6 in APA

[Banks]

Just checked my division roster, 10 teams total with 7 SL7 players. I do know some strong 6s are better shooters than some of the weak 7s but it seems the 6s are never moved up. not sure why.

It can take a while to go up, I think. I was a 6 for a couple of years, if I remember correctly, before I went up. I had a more or less flawless match against a 7, running out or D'ing up every turn, with the exception of maybe 2 dry breaks. I've always been one of those 7s that may not shoot as well, but I'll outplay people with breakouts, shot selection, safeties and creativity. The third time moving to a 9 was a charm, though.

A 6 that shoots well may not have the rest of the game down. Making shots can only take you so far in many games. If you don't have a good grasp of table management, you can shoot all you want and still lose. A mediocre 7, on the other hand, can still run racks more often because of their other skills in making the game easier. One post I remember reading said that the difference between a 6 and a 7 was that the 7 was more likely to address problems early on and run out or take a safe when they don't/can't. A 6 may think it smarter to leave the other person's ball locked up with theirs until the end and then try to break it out(and hope for a leave), only to be left hosed. It's not very often that you'll see a 7 that doesn't really appear to know what they're doing.

 

[Drew]

Quick, you have to start playing left handed so you can go back down to a 4. You're not doing your team any favors ranking up so high.

 

[justadub]

Gotta love all the wise-ass comments to someone who is actually proud of the Skill Level going up....

 

[scratchs]

Koolkiller
Congrates..its always feels good to see improvement.
Just remember..other will not see some of your add skills because there small.
Always remember to support those around you..keep your ego in check..not saying you don't...I'm speaking more of myself,more or less.my team mates are always trying to tell me what I need to do...drives me crazy..so I explain what I'm doing an why..then I nicely explain that they are disturbing my focus..I'm not sure when I'll get bumped up to a six..its one of my goals.I'd like to make it to vegas again to play in the team national..its been a few years..
Back to moving up..I've never been one in a hurry to move up in skill level..when I do..I would hope all aspects of my game is as strong,or stronger then those that compete at that level..
Once again..nice going.

 

[quadrary]

APA ranks players from 1 (weakest) to 9 (strongest). For some reason, men can never be an SL 1. It's all relative to the people you play against, but an SL 9 is expected to break-and-run with some (great?) regularity. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe SL 5's should be able to run-out in 8-ball with an open table.

The formula for determining the APA handicap is a trade secret but combines your win/loss results, total innings, number of safeties ("defenses" in APA-speak) and other stuff, less-objective stuff like the LO just thinks you should be a specific level.

During a league night, each team can only put up a total SL of 23 points over five matches and only two players on a team ranked 6 and above can play on any given night.

The goal, I assume, is to make things fair and encourage lesser skilled players to actually come out and play. However, because of the skill level caps and the fact that winning teams get free rides to Vegas, people game the system to keep their SL's low (sandbagging). I think sandbagging is a waste of time, personally (play to win or go home), but I don't like Las Vegas very much and only play APA because it's about all we have in my area.

one minor correction that only 2 six or above rule only applies to 9 ball you can play 3 sl6 in 8 ball

 

[KoolKiller]

You are talking like a team captain who relies on "handicap management" too much. IMHO, a good captain should know how to motivate less skilled players and help them to improve. Unfortunately I don't see that very often in my league.

I heard the exactly same comments from my C when I went up from 4 to 5. I said I won't sandbag but agreed to put in 4 games for the session so that I'm still eligible to play in city wide. That was the time I decided to find another league where I don't have to deal with issues like this. I also posted here to get some advices about this and I was lucky enough to join my current money league and helped the team to won the championship.

I was then asked by my apa team to play as many games as possible since the team needed all the points to be even qualified for city wide.
I practiced hard and kept a 90% winning percentage so far. Our team is now fighting for the last playoff spot and how is that not doing any favor for the team?

Quick, you have to start playing left handed so you can go back down to a 4. You're not doing your team any favors ranking up so high.

 

[KoolKiller]

thank you and I feel your pain of feeling disturbed during the match. One good way I found useful in my team is that I always try to repeat the issues with my teammates on practice tables after the match, either I was the coach or the one being coached. :thumbup:

Koolkiller
Congrates..its always feels good to see improvement.
Just remember..other will not see some of your add skills because there small.
Always remember to support those around you..keep your ego in check..not saying you don't...I'm speaking more of myself,more or less.my team mates are always trying to tell me what I need to do...drives me crazy..so I explain what I'm doing an why..then I nicely explain that they are disturbing my focus..I'm not sure when I'll get bumped up to a six..its one of my goals.I'd like to make it to vegas again to play in the team national..its been a few years..
Back to moving up..I've never been one in a hurry to move up in skill level..when I do..I would hope all aspects of my game is as strong,or stronger then those that compete at that level..
Once again..nice going.

 

[Celophanewrap]

Considering that in the 8 ball nationals they get 500+ teams competing and only one or two get disqualified for sandbagging, I'd say it works as it is intended.

IMO most complaints of sandbagging are nothing more than sour grapes because someone loses a match to a lower handicapped player.

Yea, mostly sour grapes, but really only one or two get caught. When no one gets dq'd then it will be closer to working

 

[DelaWho???]

Yea, mostly sour grapes, but really only one or two get caught. When no one gets dq'd then it will be closer to working

Never going to happen. ANY system can be gamed and there are always going to be those willing to try. The fact that they eliminate such a miniscule percentage at the national tournaments and that they are the biggest league there is means that most think it works just fine.

 

[OneIron]

Yea, mostly sour grapes, but really only one or two get caught. When no one gets dq'd then it will be closer to working

Agreed. Unfortunately, in some areas, the LO actually makes the problem worse by showing obvious favoritism to certain players and certain teams, which encourages more sandbagging. This puts a damper on participation.

All LO's are not created equal. And the national organization doesn't do itself any favors by giving LO's free rein. If you want to screw yourself and your team big time, report your LO to the APA. They will do nothing to improve the situation. And will actually make it far worse by simply reporting back to the LO the person who ratted him out.

Imagine if McDonald's allowed their franchisee's to compromise on quality and cleanliness. :frown:

 

[Wanderlust]

Congrats on making a goal and achieving it!