how are ya'll doing in league ?

Playing league can be very frustrating. Earlier this season a had 2 weeks in a row where I had nothing but clustered tables. I can play a good safety game but prefer to try and run every table. This often leads to my opponents having easy tables after I fail to run out. Overall the opposition isn't that good so I still won 60+% but with low scores.

Our captain is the best player in our league and he has had a brutal season. Careless scratches and a few missed 8 balls. Also he has more break and runs against him then anyone on the team. Guys that only have 1 or 2 break and runs all season play like SVB against him.

The captain takes it serious and the rest of us just try and have a good time playing socially.
 
Tri Cup was yesterday. I somewhat redeemed myself for the poor performance on Thursday. Playing a 4, he got out ahead of me by 8-10 points, the first few racks. I kept my $hit together this time, plugged away, and eventually came back to win.

We were hill-hill, me breaking. I don't always get a ball on the break, and now I'm paranoid, so I line up in the middle of the table, gonna break square in the face, trying to minimize the chance of scratching. Made a good solid break, the 8 goes into the corner immediately...and then the 9 fell, too 😉 . 9-on-the-snap for the win! Bwahahaha

Sadly, the team lost. The last match, our player needed 4 before her opponent needed one, winner goes to states. She got one, then rattled the next one. Her opponent got out. Damned close. I'll take her in that spot any time, she's got great nerves, just didn't work out for us.
 
I play league here in Germany (I'm American), and I feel a little conflicted... I am playing "Bezirksliga", which is a lower level league, but even so.. There are ringers in the league who have finished races to 50 in 14.1 in 10-14 innings. I have no losses yet, with 10 matches played as the anchor for the team, but don't feel like I am playing especially well (although I did have a 10 inning race to 50 in 14.1 earlier in the season...). Much of this is due to getting older, not working out, and not practicing as much as I would like due to a 10 hour workday, 4 days a week.

I have oil heating in my house here in Germany, which is expensive, so my wife and I end up only heating up the rooms we hang out in, which tends to be only the living room and bedroom. It gets to be more of a hassle than it is worth to fire up the radiators in either the game room, or the gym.. So we've fallen into a routine of either laying in bed, or bundling up in the living room in a heated blanket all winter. Doesn't lend itself to getting in dead stroke during the main pool season. Given the time of the year for Derby, this is also a main reason why I don't really ever get into pure "dead stroke' for Derby, which is why I have decided to switch to attending the International Open instead, as it allows for practicing in Spring/Summer.

I have a set of adjustable weights at work, that I REALLY need to start using. I am having shoulder pain due to age/lack of exercise. If I could strengthen my shoulders, practice gets a lot easier. Getting older sucks.

But, in answer to the topic of the thread... Our team is leading the league with no losses, and we expect that we will end up graduating the team from Bezirksliga to Landesliga at the end of the season. After graduating from Kreisliga to Bezirksliga last season. COVID really did a number on pool in Germany, so there are fewer teams overall, so stronger players are likely to be found at any of the lower levels. Other clubs are in much the same boat as us, in a rebuilding phase, graduating lower level teams to Landesliga/Verbandsliga level, which is where you start seeing the solid 550-650 Fargorate level players. In years past when I was in better shape and practicing more, I feel I was in the 600+ range, so I have some work ahead of me to get back in shape.

A side note on our likely graduation at the end of the season.. It is gonna get a LOT more important for me to win ALL of my matches next season, as the rest of the players on the team are not quite at my level, even thought I am not playing particularly "great" right now.. And I need to try to find at least one more stronger player to anchor the team with me.
 
Last edited:
Currently playing in my local GAA club's pub league for our winter fixture. We've since transitioned from bog-standard pub rules to something very close to WPA blackball rules. But I'm playing like shite. Only won two matches so far out of the five I've played. Hoping I do better in the summer league. My cue badly needs retipping.
 
Well, one session down with my return to APA (CPA), and I've been freshly reminded of why I left in the first place. Won MVP in both 8 and 9 ball. Not much of a whoop there as the division I'm in is pretty weak. Would have been more of a retirement catalyst if I hadn't walked away with both. However the playoffs was where my interest fall apart. Due to the "rule of 23" or whatever it is. I didn't get to play at all.

In the first round (evening), I was out of country but my teammates rallied and pulled out the win. However the SL2 on the team got her panties in a knot because she wasn't played, so she quit. Yep that's right. Quit after we won the first round...lol. So the following week is the final and I'm ready to go. Because of her departure and our SL3 being ill. The math didn't work out and I'd put us at 24. Which would have resulted in an auto-loss in the final match up. Gets better...

The debate is on if I should play anyway, and accept the 5th match forfeit. Nearly a given that I'd walk away with the 2-0, but a very strong chance that I'd pull out the 3-0 skunk and overall win, (based on opponents and current rack lossless streak). Ends up a 2-0 win would have given us the overall victory though, because get this... Our opponents only had 4 players. The last match up would have been a stalemate in forfeit....lol. The shitty part is the opposing team did not declare they were missing a player, and although my captain suspected it. He didn't push the issue at all.

So not only didn't I get to play. We lost the final because:
  1. The opponents didn't declare the short roster
  2. My captain was afraid to press the issue
  3. Our 2 acted like a typical whiny 2 and quit after we advanced
  4. Our 3 had the sniffles and didn't want to show (playoffs people)
  5. I'll have to assume my team didn't faith in my ability to close out yet another strong win.
Now I don't know the rules well enough to really place any blame on the opponents for not declaring their lack of players. However I have zero doubt they avoided the volunteering the info as a means to prevent my play. It's this kind of underhanded crap that drives me nuts about the CPA. Everyone seems driven by screwing the other guy, rather than coming out to enjoy competition.

I'm whining, I know. I should quit again, I know. I was on the fence after calming down. However last night I was given an update on the search for another SL2. During the conversation it was additionally explained to me that the 3 key players, 2 of which are required to allow me to play, will not be taking part in the summer session. So why the hell am I bothering...?...lol
 
The JV , I feel your pain dealing with teammates ! I play on two different leagues a city league and a seniors league with basically the same teammates in a small town so it's slim pickings for replacement teammates .
On both teams I'm the young guy on the team along with the only one now drinking alcohol because I'm on to many prescription drugs I'm on .
When I'm asked what they need to do to make the tough shot they have left themselves that will require english they all look at me as if I've got 3 heads and I'm speaking a foreign language ha ha

Like so many others who play pool in smaller towns it's a social event more than anything , which it is for me also but without any alcohol drank or the feeling that it's needed .
I'm there for the love of the game and to see how many people will say aww dam it I was hoping he quit playing or had a Dr's appointment out of town and couldn't be there for the games ha ha

As for myself , I've got the leaking blood veins plugged off which I've been feeling a difference in them for the good , both hands and wrists that are a thing up with arthritis the prescription for that has been sent and should arrive by the weekend so some relief is on its way !
Which has me on a rollercoaster ride depending on the weather we've had typical winter storms for Montana along with sub zero temps and wind chill so in turn my hands at times don't want to work like they should and making a bridge is difficult at best and I hate using a open bridge as I'm not as confident with it , I didn't play well at all without a win one night then after a weather change and warmer temps I won 3 of the 4 games played .
Oh the adventures tucked away in the game called pool ! Ha ha !
 
We're four weeks in to our new APA session. We play both 8 and 9 ball. I'm one win for the three matches I've played in each format, so not a great start. The 8 ball team is a good group and we all get along well. We have a range of players, three 3s, a 4, a 5, and two 6s. I try to keep everyone even with matches played, and both me and the other 6 will sit out more often when the numbers don't fit with us both playing. We could probably do better in the standings with more strategic matching of players each week, but keeping everyone's participation about even has been keeping it fun for us and we've been making playoffs doing that, so we'll continue that way.

Our 9 ball team is relatively new, and in it's second session. The team we had for a couple sessions prior, including people from the 8 ball team, just pushed ourselves apart by having our handicaps rise to where we seldom got to play. That is exactly how the APA business model is designed, and we formed new teams to continue being able to play, getting newer, lower handicap players involved, and making more weekly dues for the league operator. What is frustrating, is that the new 9 ball team has not yet found it's footing with the new mix of egos and personalities. Each week is an adventure. This is where I too have the similar experiences with teammates that are referenced in the prior two posts.

On a more positive note, both me and my GF qualified last session for the MVP tournament, in both 8 and 9 ball, so we'll be playing in both of those in a couple weeks. I also qualified for our regional in 9-ball, but I'm now playing as an 8, and haven't had much success reaching my 65 balls first this session. It'll be nice playing someone that also needs to reach that number. It's going to be another "paying my dues" phase for me at this higher level, but it's what has to happen, and it'll make me better in the long run.
 
how does bca 9b league work? we are looking at setting one up here since it doesnt exist all 8b

how the 8b works
5 man teams, each player plays one rack wtih each player from the other team
10 points per win. some times handicapped and lower teams get points spotted
sometimes its straight up and the first to win 13 games is the winner
 
I took a couple years off from playing league. I still played/practiced at home, I just got tired of sitting around a tired sports bar on uncomfortable chairs waiting for my match. I came back to it in the Fall to find almost completely new people. Nothing bad about that, except I knew and liked the old crowd, now I gotta get to know new people.

Last session, my final record was (I think) 4-2. This session so far, I'm 1-2. There's been work at my house for the last two months and I haven't been able to access my table to practice. That's finally wrapping up and I'm looking to get back on track.
 
Our " City Pool League " came to the end they were going to have a end of the year team tournament but no one has heard anything about that as of yet .

The Seniors Pool League is still going but we took today off so we can spend the day / evening with our sweetheart . Happy Valentine's Day !
 
We had our MVP tournaments for both 8 and 9 ball this weekend. My GF and I made it for both formats.
Eight ball had more people overall, since most leagues are in that format, and that one was Saturday. I won my first match against a guy from my own league, then lost to a guy that works for, and plays out of the pool hall where the tournaments were held. That match started close, a 5-5 race, and we traded games for a 2-2 start, but he took the next two to break that cycle. We traded games again from there, so he got to 5 first. I'd frequently get myself down to the 8, and constantly over-roll my position. He played a couple good defensive shots that left me kicking two rails, and twice I scratched on the 8. Frustrating. Won my matches on the losers side, and was now back to the other side in the semifinal against another guy that plays in a league at this pool hall. I just couldn't connect the dots in that match, and lost 5-2. My GF won her first few matches and once she got past the point where a loss would put you to the loser side, she lost and was also eliminated.

Sunday was 9 ball, and I caught a bye first round. For this tournament, the LO grouped the 7s, 8s, and 9s together. I was moved to an 8 at the start of this current session, and have only played 3 matches at that level, so not too enthusiastic about my prospects. It'll be nice not have to spot people 20+ balls though. Anyway, I'm up with the big boys now, and ended up playing a 9 that is one of the top players in the leagues. He glided through the first two racks with me only getting 2 balls, and it felt like I was going to get a lesson in cue control. He got caught with some bad rolls after that and next thing you know, we're back within 10 balls of each other, which is the difference in the handicap. It stayed like that for the rest of the match, and he ended up winning in what turned out to be much closer than I thought it would be. Next match was a buddy, we play on the same 8 ball team, and were also on the same 9 ball team until our handicaps pushed us to other teams. (that APA business model working it's magic) We know each other's games, and are pretty close. He won our last match and I got this one, so still in it. My next opponent was a young guy that I've seen play a few times, and he's very good. His position play was right up there with that 9 I played earlier, and he is another guy that plays in a couple leagues out of this pool hall. We started with him taking almost the first two racks, something like 17-3 or 18-2, he seemed like he was on cruise control. I fought back and got it to us being tied at something in the mid 30s, but then he found that gear again. Seemed like he went back to playing aggressive and less defense, which worked, and despite me having to spot him 10 balls, he crushed me by over 10 when it was over. My GF did a repeat performance of her prior day, winning her first three matches, then losing when the move to the losers side was past.

So I like that my GF did as well as she did. She played completely without anyone helping, and she did pretty well. I'm going to have to remember that when I feel like taking a time out to change her strategy in weekly matches. I'll let her call the time-outs instead.

On my side, I need to play more on better tables. Our league is all Valley and Great American tables, none are level, and the cloth is s-l-o-w on almost all of them. Add in dead balls, a few heavy cue balls, and rails that buzz and rattle when balls hit them, and you find yourself playing a different game. I guess I'm a banger on our league tables. I'm hitting everything way to hard on the Diamonds at the tournaments. Rattling a ball and leaving it in the jaws in 8 ball isn't as bad as in 9 ball, but it happened frequently in both. Can't get away with that playing good shooters. I also noted a few instances where my normal use of the diamonds for calculating banks and kicks was way, way off. Like off by half a diamond or more. I've read how the Diamond tables bank short, but that reality hit me hard this weekend. This single factor cost me games in both formats. I tried just moving my aim a half-diamond, and tried hitting with a tip of running english, but had no confidence in either.

Anyway, it was a good weekend of pool. We both won more than we lost, and didn't lose to anyone from our local leagues, so we'll take that as a bright spot. Our local leagues had 5 people make it through to qualify for Singles Regionals, so we were well represented. Got a chance to meet a few new guys that I've seen at these before, made some new friends, and had a fun weekend. My GF had pretty much the same feel for her time.
 
Last edited:
Tomorrow is our seniors pool league game then bright and early on Saturday morning my city league team and I are playing in the year end tournament which I was really looking forward to until I noticed a big red spot on my stomach where I had given myself my once a week Enbrel shot , my arthritis Dr get me in and immediately took me off the enbral because of the allergic reaction I was dealing with , now I get to wait and see if my insurance company will set me up with a new drug , time will tell .

This Saturday will be interesting to see how I do without any pain meds but I'll be on steroids so that should help .
 
I had a good night at league. I still don't like sitting around waiting for my match but I used it to help focus in my match. My opponent and I are pretty evenly matched but due to the vagaries of the handicapping system, he had to spot me a game in 9-ball. I won 4-3 with some nice runouts.

Couple things that I think helped (apart from just practicing in general)... I have been practicing 14.1 almost exclusively and I think that really helped my speed control moving from a slow 9' table to a fast 7'. Also, I had switched playing cues. I was given a nice custom cue as a gift and I felt guilty for not using it, but I just really don't like the balance or the smaller diameter shaft. I switched back to my other playing cue and felt a difference right away.
 
Bump
I did pretty well in League this past week winning 8 of 10 games I played, and I am amazed at how much this lifts me up the rest of the week. When I lose it's sort of the opposite, I get down on myself. I don't think it's necessarily a good thing to be so emotionally tied to winning and losing, but it seems to affect me somewhat.
 
The_JV said:
Well, one session down with my return to APA (CPA), and I've been freshly reminded of why I left in the first place. Won MVP in both 8 and 9 ball. Not much of a whoop there as the division I'm in is pretty weak. Would have been more of a retirement catalyst if I hadn't walked away with both. However the playoffs was where my interest fall apart. Due to the "rule of 23" or whatever it is. I didn't get to play at all.

In the first round (evening), I was out of country but my teammates rallied and pulled out the win. However the SL2 on the team got her panties in a knot because she wasn't played, so she quit. Yep that's right. Quit after we won the first round...lol. So the following week is the final and I'm ready to go. Because of her departure and our SL3 being ill. The math didn't work out and I'd put us at 24. Which would have resulted in an auto-loss in the final match up. Gets better...

The debate is on if I should play anyway, and accept the 5th match forfeit. Nearly a given that I'd walk away with the 2-0, but a very strong chance that I'd pull out the 3-0 skunk and overall win, (based on opponents and current rack lossless streak). Ends up a 2-0 win would have given us the overall victory though, because get this... Our opponents only had 4 players. The last match up would have been a stalemate in forfeit....lol. The shitty part is the opposing team did not declare they were missing a player, and although my captain suspected it. He didn't push the issue at all.

So not only didn't I get to play. We lost the final because:
  1. The opponents didn't declare the short roster
  2. My captain was afraid to press the issue
  3. Our 2 acted like a typical whiny 2 and quit after we advanced
  4. Our 3 had the sniffles and didn't want to show (playoffs people)
  5. I'll have to assume my team didn't faith in my ability to close out yet another strong win.
Now I don't know the rules well enough to really place any blame on the opponents for not declaring their lack of players. However I have zero doubt they avoided the volunteering the info as a means to prevent my play. It's this kind of underhanded crap that drives me nuts about the CPA. Everyone seems driven by screwing the other guy, rather than coming out to enjoy competition.

I'm whining, I know. I should quit again, I know. I was on the fence after calming down. However last night I was given an update on the search for another SL2. During the conversation it was additionally explained to me that the 3 key players, 2 of which are required to allow me to play, will not be taking part in the summer session. So why the hell am I bothering...?...lol
Click to expand...
Ha, this gets better...

So after the debacle in my first session's playoffs as detailed above. I decided to pump the brakes on my involvement. I was extremely close to just quitting the league again, but the APA carrot of singles accolades did it's job and I decided to stick around for another kick at the "team" can. Knowing that in the worst case I could still enjoy single success. What I did do was set a target on minimal play with 8b and no play in 9b. In terms of 8b we had an ok team so a decent showing would have us tops in the standings and bypass session playoffs and go straight to the Vegas qualifying round. For some reason my team sucks at 9b, and the "equalizer" prevented me from playing unless we had a SL2 in the line up. So I couldn't play at all for the first half of the session and simply dodged it during the second half.

We had a solid 8b session and we did end up winning the overall, so we got the auto-spot into the regional event. As expected the team ended up deep in the bottom half of 9b and didn't even qualify for playoffs. So I played merely 6 nights of 8b and actually 2 of 9b. I was there for the 8b so I might as well....

I hadn't seen my "team" for a few weeks prior to regionals (vegas qual). Again, I was purposely avoiding 'extra' play. My ass was pretty chapped after the prior session and simply refused to invest more than what was required to ensure the standings. I get a text message about the upcoming tourney and confirmed I'll be there. However I was having a moral battle with attending. The whole point of joining this team was to achieve a return to vegas in August. (Since the Masters event shifted to April. Which subsequently made me leave that league.) The wife and I enjoy that trip, and it was typically a somewhat entertaining way to save ~$600 on the cost. However, I discovered that the regular team event overlapped a family trip we have planned. So, at this point even if we do win, I can't go.

So to recap. I'm done with my team's drama. (there's more back story but I'll spare my keyboard) The captains took over half a session of secure a SL2. Who just happens to be one of their girl friends who has been at every league night since I joined. I can't go to Vegas even if we win. Regardless I decide to play. I didn't want to be the guy that bails on the team when it matters most. If we happen to win, they can have a drink in my honour at the pool in Westgate.

Tourney day comes and my morning is gong show. Only manage to get there 30mins before it starts and feel like a dick about it. I mean come on. Everyone plays all year for this event. At least show up in time to get a decent warm up...., right? Well I scan the incredibly full room. I'm sure it's well beyond capacity. Manage to locate one of my teammates. Walk up and ask where everyone else is. Ends up we're the only 2 with 25mins to go. ...AND the dual captains decided not to make an appearance. Now that said, one of them was attending a funeral. Obviously there are things way more important than pool. This is clearly one of the them. However the other 'captain' who was also the guy that bailed on session playoffs decided he had something else he wanted to do. So here we are... a team of 4 as we start with our SL2 scheduled to show shortly after.

We're in for a long day. Although the the guys playing were having a strong session (SL comparatively speaking) we are running on a definitively weak side of our otherwise solid team options. We're 2 matches in, our SL2 is in attendance, and we may have been down a bit on score. I'm about to start my set and will get the win, with a strong shot at a 3-0 score line. Playing a 5 and I average 2.7 for the session. The opposing team captain comes up and tells us our SL2 can't play. She didn't have 10 matches lifetime yet and therefore cannot partake on regionals. LO confirms we're screwed, so we forfeit.

So ends my involvement with that "team". I may still reach out to those who have offered to maintain my singles qualification thru the summer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top