how are ya'll doing in league ?

BlueRaider said:
I’ll be playing in my first ever APA Cities this weekend in 9 ball.

Anyone got advice for a first-timer? It’s at a pool room I’ve never played at before, so I definitely plan on practicing there a couple times this week to get a feel for the tables and speed.
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Don't worry about your opponent, their skills are irrelevant when you're shooting. Shoot the percentages, if you're on a ball you have a 80-90% chance of making then don't shoot it, play a safe. The percentage is your call ;)

Play the table, not your opponent.
 
Maniac said:
I'm going to assume you meant to say 80-90% chance of NOT making it, right?
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Nope, If it's not a near 100% makeable then don't take the shot, play safe. There are times where no shot is possible so you do what you can but in general there's always that one right shot and if it's not a m=95% makeable shot then there's got to be better way to play the shot.
 
Chili Palmer said:
Nope, If it's not a near 100% makeable then don't take the shot, play safe. There are times where no shot is possible so you do what you can but in general there's always that one right shot and if it's not a m=95% makeable shot then there's got to be better way to play the shot.
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If I can make a shot 90% of the time you better believe I am shooting it! You must play a shit ton of safes lol
 
Chili Palmer said:
However, in competition, you need to play the percentages, the percentage you pick is up to you ;)
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Many times the safe isn't a 100% proposition. I shoot my share of safeties, but if my probability of making the hot is 90%, I'm shooting that shot unless the "lock-up" safety is a 100% probability. If it is just a "containment" safety, then I'm going for the shot every time.
 
Maniac said:
Many times the safe isn't a 100% proposition. I shoot my share of safeties, but if my probability of making the hot is 90%, I'm shooting that shot unless the "lock-up" safety is a 100% probability. If it is just a "containment" safety, then I'm going for the shot every time.
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Agreed and again, that 90% was just a figure I threw out, your choices may different.
 
Willowbrook Wolfy said:
Safeties are good…..
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Played 9-ball last night, APA SL5 (me) v SL6. Ugly, ugly match to watch. Neither of us played particularly poorly or well. Thirty-six innings! But, between the two of us, we recorded a legitimate 19 safeties, nearly all of them effective in preventing an offensive shot. NINETEEN!

I ended up winning by two balls. A real nail-biter.

My glory shot was an Efren-esque “Z” shot that spanned 6 diamonds lengthwise. Yes, the OB was only 3” from the pocket, but I even impressed myself. 😁
 
I decided to take a break (probably permanent) from TAP.

Just when I started to get into playing pool covid hit and the APA league I was in did not survive. A TAP league jumped in to fill the void, so we joined up. I liked it much better than APA, but the drama, cost, and how the handicapping is handled became a big drain on the fun. I really like my team, but the aggravation has become too much. Once I announced that I was leaving I found out 4-5 others were also not planning on returning.

All is not lost though. I also play on the Gold Coast league, which does not suffer these problems. I have a lot of fun, it is very challenging (no handicapping), and much cheaper. Of course, there will always be some small problems here and there, but overall, a much better experience.
 
Maniac said:
Give 'em hell, Dub!!!
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well... hell was involved...as in my game has gone to hell....lololol

Gotta get it back in my brain to not hit everything soft when playing 9...i'd miss and leave the ball right there for my opponent. Still, as badly as we both played, I only lost 13-7, so it wasn't completely horrible
 
Lost my Cities match today to an SL 6. There were basically 3 mistakes that cost me the match. A scratch on the 7 ball, a miss on the 9 where I was trying to beat a scratch, and a missed carom on another 9 ball. Combined, those mistakes were probably a 15-20 point swing.

And of course, there was the usual “opponent breaks dry and hooks me” which happened multiple times, but that’s just pool.

But overall, I thought I played well. I came with some good shots and didn’t have any truly bad misses or positional blunders, but mistakes get punished so easily on small tables where shotmaking is pretty easy all the way down to the SL 2s.

I’m looking forward to a change of venues and playing on 9’ tables moving forward.
 
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BlueRaider said:
Lost my Cities match today to an SL 6. There were basically 3 mistakes that cost me the match. A scratch on the 7 ball, a miss on the 9 where I was trying to beat a scratch, and a missed carom on another 9 ball. Combined, those mistakes were probably a 15-20 point swing.

And of course, there was the usual “opponent breaks dry and hooks me” which happened multiple times, but that’s just pool.

But overall, I thought I played well. I came with some good shots and didn’t have any truly bad misses or positional blunders, but mistakes get punished so easily on small tables where shotmaking is pretty easy all the way down to the SL 2s.

I’m looking forward to a change of venues and playing on 9’ tables moving forward.
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Do you play in Tarrant County (TX) APA? We may know each other.

Maniac aka Tony Metz
 
Another shot is sticking out in my mind as a big missed opportunity.

Opponent scratched on the break, but the 1 ball only had 1 pocket. That pocket allowed me shape on the 2 ball, but no subsequent shape on the 3. I immediately thought to play safe on the 1 and send it down near the 2 in order to have shape on the 3 (or at the very least an easy lock-up safety on it), but instead I recklessly made the 1 and 2 and ended up having to kick at the 3, which became makeable, and my opponent ran out.

The safety was by far the smartest move, but in the heat of the match and with many eyes on me, I felt weird about playing a safety when I had a clear shot. I know that's irrational and you should always go for the best option, but for some reason I could not convince myself to actually play the safety in that specific situation. Lesson learned, though.
 
I decided to sign up for summer league. This is something I have done only once before.

I was on the fence for a short while, but in the end decided to have some fun with the wife and some other couples and jump on a team. One major caveat. I'm taking the season to learn to play with my off hand. It's been comical so far. Did win my first game though.

Old dog, new trick. Really just hoping to end up with a winning average come the end of the season.
 
the other week i beat all of the players on the best team, and started with a bnr on the league operator,
we still lost but eh, was a good night for me

then won all my game on the following night, beating same lo in a strategic game

one of my main nemisis from bca nights, forced me to jump near full table, i made my ball but it jumped off table to a guys bellys who was watching the hit. youd think his belly would have bounced the cb back on the table for me to win since i deserved it after a great jump, but no. hit the floor, i lose lol
we all had a good laugh though


thinking back i should have just shot the 8 into my ball, dropping it, and leaving the 8 in the mouth since his 2 balls were just outside of the pocket, making it impossible for him to shoot them in that pocket.
 
Texas Carom Club said:
i shoot left handed every chance i get and developing that extra tool really well for when needed.
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Right on. I wish this was something I did very early on. I'm extremely comfortable/proficient with a mechanical bridge so it's a rare occassion where being ambidextrous has an advantage. That said, I just want to be able to do it.

I've already ran into multiple situations that switching back to my dominate hand would have made especially awkward shots easy. Flat out refuse to use my 'correct' hand though.
 
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