Great game SL2 beats SL5

8

8up

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
APA scoring 9 ball. the sl2 needs 19 to the sl5's 38 points. To start this out I assure you there was no sandbagging involved. End of the 1st rack 9-1 end of the 2nd 19-1. end of 3rd rack 23-7. Now in the 4th rack the sl5 makes 4 balls and hooks himself. With bih the sl2 runs out so the score is 27-13. The SL2 breaks and makes 3 balls plus the 9 and the score is 27-18 with the SL2 breaking and he makes a ball on the break for the win. The SL5 thought he had it in the bag with the big lead and may have got sloppy leaving himself hooked. The SL2 had a freak snap of clarity and luck with the break.

This match was played in my basement. I am the sl5 and my son in law is the sl2 and my team mate. Most of our matches end very close.
 
When playing a low SL player...

I always say when playing a lower skill level player, never give them a shot. Always keep control of your cueball. When in doubt lock them up in a tight safety position.

Back when I was playing APA 9ball I was ranked SL7 and the team captain wanted me to play the opponents SL1. I told him it was a bad idea, he thought I was being chicken-shizer. I tried to explain the ball count was just so much to overcome, 14-55. He (SL5) decided he'd play the SL1. And proceeded to lose very badly. He just kept letting his cueball go and missing shots. If I recall correctly, the lady got out in just 3 racks. And that's with her not making anything on the break twice.

I didn't give him grief about losing to the "lowly" SL1, but I should have.
 
Low Levels

When i was playing APA 9-ball I was posted blind for a make-up match. Being a sl8 they posted a sl2 on me. So a 65 to 18 race!!!!

The very first rack, I break and make 3 balls but hook myself. I kick and make a good hit (almost make the ball) but its left in front of the pocket. The 2 ran the rack (most were ducks and no position was needed).

I'm sitting there 3 to 7 in what looks to be an impossible race. She breaks and doesn't make anything. I run a few and then miss a shot. She misses an easy shot and i Run out. 13 to 7. I break and run most of the rack, play safe and after getting bih i run out. 20 to 7. I break and run. 30 to 7. I break dry and she misses a long shot, i safe in return and with bih run the rack. 40 to 7. I think I snap the 9 and a ball or 2. 43 to 7. I break and scratch. She run 4 balls then scratches. I run out. 49 to 11. I break and scratch again and she makes a couple before missing. defense and then i'm out. 57 to 13. Break, make a ball but hooked, kick and leave her a shot, she run 3 before missing. I run out 64 to 16. I break and make a ball on the break for the win. but that match had me sweating the whole time, especially since she scored almost 1/2 her points in the 1st rack.

Posting low players in apa 9 ball where slop counts and its ball count not the 9-ball that matters is tough.

I also played in a tournmant that played 9 ball but with us racing to our handicap with the 9 being all that mattered. I was having an 8 to 2 race. I lost 2 to 0. I broke dry and the 9 was near a pocket. Then they broke and made the 9 on the break. Crazy!
 
cycopath said:
I always say when playing a lower skill level player, never give them a shot. Always keep control of your cueball. When in doubt lock them up in a tight safety position...
Click to expand...

^^^^this^^^^

It seems like the lower skilled players always "found" a shot, even shots that were low percentage.
 
It seems to me that there is a big difference between 8-ball and 9-ball when it comes to these higher handicap vs lower handicap matches. On paper, it doesn't seem significantly different, but the way the games play out, wow...

Let's use the OP as an example. SL5 vs SL2. In 8-ball, that's a 5-2 race in games won. Not easy, since an errant 8-ball early could tip the scales, but the SL5 can usually control the cue ball well enough that if/when he misses, the SL2 isn't likely to run out and win the game.

Contrast that with his example of a 9-ball race, 38 points to 19 points. Every ball counts now (and the 9 counts 2!), not just who gets the 8 in first. The SL5 has to be very, very careful not to leave an open table, because even though the SL2 might not be able to run them all (though in the LO's case he did!) he can make enough of them to add up, quickly!

I play as an SL5 in 8-ball, and an SL4 in 9-ball. I really enjoy "playing up" in 9-ball, moreso than in 8-ball. (It's always fun to play better players, but sometimes I'm talking about the team as a whole and what we need to do to win.)

My best friend is an SL7 in 8-ball (doesn't play 9-ball currently, so we "assigned" him a skill level of 7 for the sake of it) and when it's just us at the pool room practicing we play races. Even though my friend isn't a big fan of 9-ball in general (the slop/luck factor turns him off, and yes, we play call pocket for our 8-ball games in practice) I think he is really enjoying the challenge of having to work hard to beat me in our 9-ball races. And he doesn't do it every time, we split even the other night, 2 wins apiece. He wins our 8-ball races by a bigger margin, and more of those races.

Seems to me that it works, reasonably well. (I know, except for the sandbaggers, balh, blah, blah.)
 
If I read correctly, both of these 2's ran out a table with 5 or more balls left. I didnt think a "2" should ever be able to do that ?
 
michael4 said:
If I read correctly, both of these 2's ran out a table with 5 or more balls left. I didnt think a "2" should ever be able to do that ?
Click to expand...

In 9-ball, with the proper table lay out, it doesn't surprise me. Say you have 2 or 3 of the five balls dead in front of a pocket, it's just a matter of the player making one good shot, and not screwing up the rest.

That having been said, if it happened regularly, you'd be right. Hell, I'm happy when I run 5 balls and out, as an SL4 :grin-square:
 
michael4 said:
If I read correctly, both of these 2's ran out a table with 5 or more balls left. I didnt think a "2" should ever be able to do that ?
Click to expand...

Why not? A high level SL2 with BIH and easy table has the potential to get out. People get better and it takes time for that to be reflected within the APA calculations. I know for a fact that we all play above our skill level from time to time.
 
justadub said:
It seems to me that there is a big difference between 8-ball and 9-ball when it comes to these higher handicap vs lower handicap matches. On paper, it doesn't seem significantly different, but the way the games play out, wow...

Let's use the OP as an example. SL5 vs SL2. In 8-ball, that's a 5-2 race in games won. Not easy, since an errant 8-ball early could tip the scales, but the SL5 can usually control the cue ball well enough that if/when he misses, the SL2 isn't likely to run out and win the game.

Contrast that with his example of a 9-ball race, 38 points to 19 points. Every ball counts now (and the 9 counts 2!), not just who gets the 8 in first. The SL5 has to be very, very careful not to leave an open table, because even though the SL2 might not be able to run them all (though in the LO's case he did!) he can make enough of them to add up, quickly!

I play as an SL5 in 8-ball, and an SL4 in 9-ball. I really enjoy "playing up" in 9-ball, moreso than in 8-ball. (It's always fun to play better players, but sometimes I'm talking about the team as a whole and what we need to do to win.)

My best friend is an SL7 in 8-ball (doesn't play 9-ball currently, so we "assigned" him a skill level of 7 for the sake of it) and when it's just us at the pool room practicing we play races. Even though my friend isn't a big fan of 9-ball in general (the slop/luck factor turns him off, and yes, we play call pocket for our 8-ball games in practice) I think he is really enjoying the challenge of having to work hard to beat me in our 9-ball races. And he doesn't do it every time, we split even the other night, 2 wins apiece. He wins our 8-ball races by a bigger margin, and more of those races.

Seems to me that it works, reasonably well. (I know, except for the sandbaggers, balh, blah, blah.)
Click to expand...

This is why I love APA 9ball. The handicap isn't based on number of games won but down to individual balls potted. This allows for a much more even race regardless of the skill level.
 
Particularly if the SL2 has an easy table with "anywhere on the table" position requirements, they can get out. Some 2's are straight shooters without a grasp of elementary patterns, some can't make a ball. Both are going to typically get a couple balls at a time, max, but leave the shooter a no-lose layout on a Valley table and it'll bite you!
When handicapped appropriately, I actually like APA 9 ball races.
 
RWOJO said:
When i was playing APA 9-ball I was posted blind for a make-up match. Being a sl8 they posted a sl2 on me. So a 65 to 18 race!!!!

The very first rack, I break and make 3 balls but hook myself. I kick and make a good hit (almost make the ball) but its left in front of the pocket. The 2 ran the rack (most were ducks and no position was needed).

I'm sitting there 3 to 7 in what looks to be an impossible race. She breaks and doesn't make anything. I run a few and then miss a shot. She misses an easy shot and i Run out. 13 to 7. I break and run most of the rack, play safe and after getting bih i run out. 20 to 7. I break and run. 30 to 7. I break dry and she misses a long shot, i safe in return and with bih run the rack. 40 to 7. I think I snap the 9 and a ball or 2. 43 to 7. I break and scratch. She run 4 balls then scratches. I run out. 49 to 11. I break and scratch again and she makes a couple before missing. defense and then i'm out. 57 to 13. Break, make a ball but hooked, kick and leave her a shot, she run 3 before missing. I run out 64 to 16. I break and make a ball on the break for the win. but that match had me sweating the whole time, especially since she scored almost 1/2 her points in the 1st rack.

Posting low players in apa 9 ball where slop counts and its ball count not the 9-ball that matters is tough.

I also played in a tournmant that played 9 ball but with us racing to our handicap with the 9 being all that mattered. I was having an 8 to 2 race. I lost 2 to 0. I broke dry and the 9 was near a pocket. Then they broke and made the 9 on the break. Crazy!
Click to expand...

apa or not slop always counts in 9 ball its the nature of the game. That is what makes 10 ball a better game but that said giving up a 30+ point edge in 9 is always a difficult hurdle tto overcome a sl 1 or 2 gets about 10 percent of their points anytime you wind having to juice a shot for a difficult distant position shot and jaw a ball you have now left a hanger that anyone can get position fron so you have given up 2 or more points.
 
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