I think thats a good idea... maybe I should look around to see what other options are in my area.ScottW said:
Goodbye APA, it's been fun...
- Thread starter KingCarom
- Start date
You don't have too many options, in the BAltimore area.Icon of Sin said:
To the best of my knowledge, there is a very small BCA presence in this area and I don't believe the VNEA is here at all.
Your only other option, for league play, is TAP, and there are more sandbaggers in TAP than in all of the other leagues put together.
If you want to play in leagues, in the Baltimore-Washington area, APA is the best choice.
Fortunately, if you are determined not to play in the APA, there are a lot of weekly tournaments around, if you don't mind going to a different pool room each night.
UWPoolGod1 said:
ACS is only 2 years old and theres quite a number of players in our area. Definitely cannot compare to BCA as far as members go but they are slowly growing. We just had our state championships over the weekend and we had probably a total of 660 players. There were 100+ in the open and quite a few in the Masters...
I've known how the apa equalizer system works for some time. It relies too heavliy on innnings. ..and discourages good play. A few years ago I played a 5 in Vegas 9 ball nationals. According to APA St Louis headquarters the kid I played put in a 9 score . I don't know what my score was but i got moved UP even though I LOST and so did my team. Meanwhile this kid team finishes 2nd in country in 9 ball and 3rd in 8ball that same year. I am not whining ..but it is funny what you can get away with in the APA. Its all about the innings.
First of all, I would never make the use of a jump cue as the deciding factor for anything. I don't care one way or the other. I have one and I can use it, but I don't have to.Gregg said:
In my area, I haven't seen any TAP 9-ball leagues, so I have no idea what rules they use. I wasn't aware that they had 9-ball leagues.Gregg said:
Also, I guess everyone has their own "traditions". "Traditionally", where I learned to play pool, the only shot you had to call, in 8-ball, was the 8-ball and there was no choice, after the break, if a ball was pocketed.
TAP always brings up the "call your shot" point when they are trying to convince people that their league is better. I play in the APA and, in fact, with players SL-4 and above, I haven't seen 5 balls slopped in, within the last year.
TAP would be a good league, if they attacked the sandbagging issue. There is definitely something wrong with their rating system.
When I played TAP, I saw one player go 13-0 and he was never budged from his SL-4 rating. BTW, he was rated at least an SL-6 in the APA. I also saw very good APA SL-7's playing as SL-5's in TAP. When you questioned them about the ratings, all they could do was laugh.
From what I saw, TAP is sandbaggers heaven.
I haven't read ANY oh the replies to thid thread, but..............I have played APA for years up to the time I quit two years ago, and I have to say that the APA sucks ass and is biased.
~DC
~DC
Snapshot9 said:
Explain how the handicap system in the BCA works. BCA teams play at the local poolhall all the time, and it's 4 vs 4 8-ball, each team member plays each opposing team member one game for the whole night and then they are done. There are no handicapps. Other nights they play doubles 9-ball and it's not handicapped either.
why be involved in the "same old same old?" forget the APA and forget the BCA they are one of the same, BIG DISSAPOINTMENTS, listen are you good? are you dedicated? are you serious about YOUR 8-ball skills, and do not care about your team mates? do YOU want to advance your enjoyment and you playing? if so, skip the BCA, and go right to the ultimate, go to www.internationalpooltour.com for as little as $100 you could be playing for millions of dollars with real rules, no handicaps, and no non sense, like team mates who are not on your thought waves, and who shouldn't be either, look god didn't put you here, to worry about team mates, fly on your own son, get involved in a qualifier, GO FOR IT!
pharaoh68
Banned
KingCarom said:
All I can tell you about the rating system is that there is a computer program that the APA uses which figures ratings based on various laws of averages. I have seen it. It takes all of the necessary information (rating of the opponent, number of inning, win or loss, number of games it took to win, etc.) and compares it to set "generic averages" for specific skill levels. That is how it figures your rating.
Though you are right. An individual's rating can be changed without the aid of the computer. If enough people complain, a division rep can be assigned to watch you during league play and you can be changed based on his observations.
But the problem is that this system can be easily manipulated. For example. I am a SL 6 in APA 8 ball. But I'm probably a better player than 90% of the SL7s in my area. And when it comes to APA 9 ball, I went in as a six, deliberately lost the first few matches, and now I'm a five! I can play with the likes of 7s, 8s, and 9s, and win with ease because the handicap is enormous!
But ultimately, you are right. The APA will not challenge you and it is a joke. Leave! I did!
They are team handicaps
They are team handicaps, not individual handicaps, and BCA doesn't figure
to a 4. BCA averages are based on 1-75 for 5 man 8 ball teams. The games are scored a 15 for a win (5 games times 15 = 75), and the loser gets the number of balls he made. 4 man teams, the averages range from 1-60 (4 games times 15 = 60). Perhaps you aren't in the league you think you are.
In VNEA, you get 10 for a win. And APA, who the hell cares?
The point being, the BCA has the most finite scoring rating system for averages, which is the most accurate for skill averages. The VNEA here
was originally 10 possible handicap system, went to 11, and now is at 13, which is second best, the APA is at 7, which it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that more sandbagging will occur with fewer handicap levels, and the least with more hanicap levels.
cuetechasaurus said:
They are team handicaps, not individual handicaps, and BCA doesn't figure
to a 4. BCA averages are based on 1-75 for 5 man 8 ball teams. The games are scored a 15 for a win (5 games times 15 = 75), and the loser gets the number of balls he made. 4 man teams, the averages range from 1-60 (4 games times 15 = 60). Perhaps you aren't in the league you think you are.
In VNEA, you get 10 for a win. And APA, who the hell cares?
The point being, the BCA has the most finite scoring rating system for averages, which is the most accurate for skill averages. The VNEA here
was originally 10 possible handicap system, went to 11, and now is at 13, which is second best, the APA is at 7, which it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that more sandbagging will occur with fewer handicap levels, and the least with more hanicap levels.
Rich R. said:
No doubt. I have seen guys ranked literally all over the place. Current APA SL6 shooting as an SL3 in TAP, and one guy who seemed to be born an APA SL7 shooting as a SL5 for a few sessions before finally being moved up to a TAP SL7 (not many of those in TAP, mind you).
You get it bad at high level tournaments and money tournaments. You can see how they got there in the first place.
I put it this way with TAP vs APA; A weak SL4 in TAP will be completely out skilled by a strong SL4. In APA, the weak vs. strong SL4 will still have a chance. That's just my opinion.
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hustler said:
That is an oxymoron. You can't know how it works if you don't know why you lost and went up.
No love for the APA here
I've seen too many SL4's beat 6's and 7's easily. One guy wins MVP almost every session for APA, goes to Vegas and is still a SL4. Ridiculous! I quit playing APA about 6 years ago. Many of the players and teams in my area left APA and play ACS, VNEA, or a few independent leagues that formed as alternatives to APA.
I play in the ACS 8-ball (5 players). The handicap is figured in the individual level, then added together for a team handicap. The difference between the two team's cumulative handicaps is spotted to the lower team divided over the 5 rounds of play. A game won is worth 10 points, the loser gets their ball count. An individual's handicap is figured by adding their scores and dividing by the number of matches played. I like this format, because it's easy to see where you're at in the handicap system. No mystical reviews and bumps up or down for unknown reasons.
I've seen too many SL4's beat 6's and 7's easily. One guy wins MVP almost every session for APA, goes to Vegas and is still a SL4. Ridiculous! I quit playing APA about 6 years ago. Many of the players and teams in my area left APA and play ACS, VNEA, or a few independent leagues that formed as alternatives to APA.
I play in the ACS 8-ball (5 players). The handicap is figured in the individual level, then added together for a team handicap. The difference between the two team's cumulative handicaps is spotted to the lower team divided over the 5 rounds of play. A game won is worth 10 points, the loser gets their ball count. An individual's handicap is figured by adding their scores and dividing by the number of matches played. I like this format, because it's easy to see where you're at in the handicap system. No mystical reviews and bumps up or down for unknown reasons.
BillyKoda said:
Sorry for not being more clear. The loser gets their ball count up to 7.
No Local Bca? Be Your Own Bca Operator-free Locations
I AM RESPONDING TO SOME OLD POSTS WITH PLAYERS UNHAPPY WITH THE APA AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN BCA . IF YOU HAVE NO BCA IN YOUR AREA, YOU MAY PHONE THE BCA NATIONAL OFFICE IN NEVADA AND APPLY TO BECOME AN OPERATOR FOR YOUR AREA. THERE IS NO FRANCHISE FEE AS IN APA. PH. 866-USAPOOL TOLL FREE. ASK FOR BILL STOCK AND TELL HIM LJ MOSS TOLD YOU TO SPEAK TO HIM.
BCA HAS A NICE STRUCTURE WITH A FREE LEAGUE SYSTEM FOR TRACKING YOUR PLAYERS AND DOING YOUR LEAGUE REPORTING.
THE BCA IS STRONGER THAN EVER SINCE MARK GRIFFIN PURCHASED IT A FEW YEARS AGO FROM THE BILLIARD CONGRESS OF AMERICA.
THE NATIONAL 8 BALL TOURNAMENT HOSTS IN EXCESS OF 7500 PLAYERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
BESIDES BEING AN AVID PLAYER I BECAME A BCA OPERATOR 3 YEARS AGO AFTER PLAYING APA FOR 14 YEARS. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS YOU MAY FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME ANYTIME.
LJMOSS
LJMOSS@AOL.COM
I AM RESPONDING TO SOME OLD POSTS WITH PLAYERS UNHAPPY WITH THE APA AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN BCA . IF YOU HAVE NO BCA IN YOUR AREA, YOU MAY PHONE THE BCA NATIONAL OFFICE IN NEVADA AND APPLY TO BECOME AN OPERATOR FOR YOUR AREA. THERE IS NO FRANCHISE FEE AS IN APA. PH. 866-USAPOOL TOLL FREE. ASK FOR BILL STOCK AND TELL HIM LJ MOSS TOLD YOU TO SPEAK TO HIM.
BCA HAS A NICE STRUCTURE WITH A FREE LEAGUE SYSTEM FOR TRACKING YOUR PLAYERS AND DOING YOUR LEAGUE REPORTING.
THE BCA IS STRONGER THAN EVER SINCE MARK GRIFFIN PURCHASED IT A FEW YEARS AGO FROM THE BILLIARD CONGRESS OF AMERICA.
THE NATIONAL 8 BALL TOURNAMENT HOSTS IN EXCESS OF 7500 PLAYERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
BESIDES BEING AN AVID PLAYER I BECAME A BCA OPERATOR 3 YEARS AGO AFTER PLAYING APA FOR 14 YEARS. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS YOU MAY FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME ANYTIME.
LJMOSS
LJMOSS@AOL.COM