Frustrated with league play....(BCA 8-ball)

Rackemep · Jan 14, 2014

I just cant seem to buckle down and play...I'm holding within the top 10 players in my league (currently 7th) but I'm loosing games to lesser players that I should not loose to...I don't mean that to sound conceded or anything but its just the way I feel...I dont know if all BCA leagues are the same format or not but the way ours go's is we have 4 man teams and you play each player on the opposing team one game (total of 4 games per night) now I know that anything can happen in a race to one but I feel like I never get a chance to get rolling (play one game wait 30-40 minutes then repeat) ...Now in our little weekly tournament (same rules but race to 3) I consistently win it even against the top 3 players in the league...What can I do to improve my focus and drive for league play?

RiverCity · Jan 14, 2014

You have to just laugh off the losses and congratulate the winner.
If you truly feel like you should have won, that means you made enough mistakes to let them win. Evaluate what your mistakes were that let your opponent at the table, and work on avoiding them in the future. If we are talking a 2 inning match, you miss they run out... Not much you can do except don't miss. If each of you are having multiple innings, work on cutting out the productiveness of their innings by playing lock up safes if you don't have an out. Knowing how to win is more than just knowing how to run out, it's knowing how to play your opponent. This is especially true in multiple inning games.
Chuck

osama · Jan 14, 2014

I believe you should get a table on the side and keep yourself there until your tunes come to the match table. This might sound silly, but I do it all the time. :grin-square:

Rackemep · Jan 14, 2014

A big part of my problem is I have a tendency to play to my apponent speed during league...I lead the league in break and runs but I dont get out when playing against lesser players..I just dont get it...during tournament play I steam roll the same players...

I'm torn on this...during tournament play this is exactly what I do...I just kick back in the corner and wait for my match's but during league play I try to be part of the team weather its keeping score or sitting there "cheering" for my teammates...I feel like if I go sit away from everyone and keep to my self that I'm some how abandoning my team...

cuesblues · Jan 14, 2014

The weaker players in leagues like yours play not to lose, and play to get points.
If you get too aggressive and screw up, they are typically smart enough to hide, and at that point anything can happen.
One bad shot selection can get the whole thing rolling against you.
It's frustrating when you play smart enough to win, make a mistake, and lose to a lower ranked player, but again it's a race to one.

Shannon.spronk · Jan 14, 2014

While I cannot say I am a top ten player in my league I do know exactly how you feel. My first game Monday night I broke and I was off running. Getting the perfect shape that I wanted. I shoot the ball before the 8 and the cue was slowly running up the table to the exact position that I wanted. Well table roll took over and the cue ball curved about 2 inches directly into the side pocket. I just immediately started laughing. My opponent looked at me funny when I started laughing. I knew at that point I didn't feel that I could have done anything any better. My opponent took ball in hand and ran the table. I played it perfectly and lost.

Other times I have probably been on the other side of it and had the rolls go my way. What helps me the most is that I need to remember to play my game. When you are at the table it is not you against anyone. Do not beat yourself.

lorider · Jan 14, 2014

your post is exactly why i prefer a race to your handicap as in apa or napa.

there is not anything you can do when you only face a person once and they put a b&r on you.

hang-the-9 · Jan 15, 2014

Isn't this a handicapped league? So in theory, the handicap will allow lower players to beat the higher level players due to the spot. Nothing wrong with you losing to worse players unless you are losing playing even, and losing often.

JAlan · Jan 15, 2014

As others have mentioned, this is also the reason I prefer a race based on skill level league such as APA. I've tried the BCA format leagues before and like you I just can't seem to get in stroke when I get to play one game, then sit for 20 minutes before I play another.

With that said though of course, others seem to be able to do fine with it. Just aggravating to me....

CreeDo · Jan 15, 2014

The BCA system is a little funny.
As you say, race to 1 is too short.

On top of that, BCA rates players based on how many balls they have left.
For non-runout players, that number might make sense.
For runout players, it's dumb. If I run out on you in our race to 1, and beat you 10-1,
it doesn't mean I'm "ten times better than you", but that's what the numbers show.

Or if you are someone who almost runs out a lot, getting 6-7 balls, and the best players actually finish the rack,
they get scores like 10-1, 10-0, 10-2... while your scores are more like 10-6, 6-10, 10-4.
The gap between you and those top players is small, but it looks bigger because you give
the opponent an inning where he gets to make some balls. The runout players don't give away that inning.

My only advice is: you should only be thinking about the runout while at the table.
Play to run the whole rack unless you see an easy situation where you can run some,
then play an absolute lockup safety.

The way the league is set up, it effectively gives a big point bonus for runouts.
So play to hit that bonus as often as you can, maybe more aggressive than you're used to.

It's understandable if you think the race to one is bullshit, I can't disagree, but you can't let
that feeling of unfairness poison your thinking, and cause you to play a little mad or
play like you half gave up. You can't think about that stuff at all. If you get the table at all,
you just think about running out and nothing else.

jburkm002 · Jan 15, 2014

What's your rating and what do you consider a lesser player. If you score like most BCA leagues I believe the max would be 40 points with 4 players.

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Cornerman · Jan 15, 2014

Just get mad; it helps.

Freddie <~~~ helpless

Rackemep · Jan 15, 2014

They rate us on a 1-10 scale

1= Should look for another hobby like stamp collecting or something.
10= Short stop speed...but its subjective (it gos off your win percentage...if you win 100% of your games your a 10...90% your a 9 so on and so forth)

I'm rated an 8 right now ....I have lost a game to a 3 and most of my losses have come from 5's and 6's

You play the one game heads up against your opponent and the handicap is for the whole team for instance right now my team has a 6, a 7 and two 8's so if you add all of us together our team handicap score is 29 (6+7+8+8) now say we're playing a team with two 5's, a 6 and a 7 they would have a team handicap of 23 that means that our team as a whole would have to spot them 6 points per round (a total of 24 pts over the match)...it doesnt handicap the individual but if we barley squeak out a win over them then the team handicap will get us and they will get the win...we would have to beat them by 25 points to win...

j_zippel · Jan 15, 2014

I found it tough to get into rythem playing BCA. I'm not fond of playing APA either but I stick to TAP league. We have a fun team, rules are good my me and we can play individual matches so incase you have to leave early you can play and take off if needed

Rackemep · Jan 15, 2014

I have never been much of a league player but other than league and a couple of small tourneys there isn't much a pool scene out here...its weird because there are players but no pool hall...seems like everyone has a table at home or something because the only nights you'll find any of the players in public is during league or at the tournaments...

Shaun <----this guy says that Kingman is a strange place

Cornerman · Jan 15, 2014

Okay, here's my real answer. This is league. It's a one game match-up. Sometimes you're going to lose.

Completely anectodal, but here goes. When I played BCAPL from about 2000-2005 heavily (okay, once a week, but that's as heavy as it gets). I was consistently the #1 or 2 player by stats in my small pond on every statistic they kept track. But, guess what? I still lost games. That means just even being the "#1" player, I lose to "lesser players". That's what being an amateur is all about. Was I supposed to have won 100% of my games? That' would have been an impossible feat considering it's alternating breaks!!

So, no matter what skill level and position you are in, on the one-game matrix match on team play in leagues like BCAPL, ACS, and VNEA, you're going to lose some to people who are lesser skilled. And you're going to win some against higher skills. That's pool.

Freddie <~~~ currently #1 from the bottom

bmccaslin · Jan 15, 2014

The way that I look at BCA League is that it's the best practice for learning how to focus on the importance of 1 rack.

All too often in tournaments or APA League, you can get the attitude of, "I lost the first rack but it doesn't matter; I'm still in the game". With BCA League, you don't necessarily have that luxury (if you'd call it that). For me, the BCA has really helped with my ability to focus on every rack. This means laying out my plan from the first ball down to the 8-ball. If I don't see the out from the get go, I'm thinking of a way to play safe to get me back to the table with an advantage.

I've found that this approach greatly helps my match play as I don't get in the situations where I might give up on a rack. And not giving up on a rack can be frustrating to your opponent, which is also a good thing. :grin:

But since you're cleaning up in tournaments, I wouldn't put too much weight on the fact that you lose to lesser players in league. As Freddie says, it's gonna happen no matter how good you are.

-Brian

Rackemep · Jan 15, 2014

Thanks for the replies...I guess I just have to figure out how to play with more focus during my one game races...

jburkm002 · Jan 15, 2014

If your an 8 then your winning 80% of your matches. If I understand your format properly. Pretty impressive. I would be happy with that.

Rackemep · Jan 15, 2014

The frustrating part is that my losses are to players that I don't feel I should loose to...Its like I loose focus and relax when playing them or something...Again I don't say that to sound cocky or anything but it would be like me steeling one from (insert really good players name here) ...I understand that it happens but it doesn't make it any less frustrating...I still smile, shake their hand and tell them they played a good game.

I guess my problem is that I don't know how to turn the "switch" on at will...Playing a good player I know that I have to play or I'm going to come out on the loosing end and for some reason in my subconscious mind the "pool switch" turns on...Then I play someone that I don't really percieve as a threat but I know I still have to beat them the "pool switch" switch wont turn on...Thats really the best way to describe my frustration...

Frustrated with league play....(BCA 8-ball)

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