how are ya'll doing in league ?

Maniac said:
In my 16 years of APA experience, I've always felt the handicapping favors the lower skill-level player in 9-ball as opposed to the handicap in 8-ball.

If a SL4 plays a SL6 in 9-ball, the SL4 gets spotted 15 balls (a 31-46 race). If the SL4 gets a ball-in-hand, whether through a lucky hook or a good safety, they usually parlay that into a three-to-five ball run. If/when this happens early in the match, those three -to-five balls added in with the 15 ball spot makes it difficult to catch up. Then, if the lower skill-level player is shooting good on the particular night they are playing us, then it makes it even harder to catch up.

OTOH, in 8-ball, the lower skill level player only gets games on the wire. So a SL4 playing a SL6 only has to win 3 games to 5 for their opponent. In my own playing experiences, I've always found it much easier to make up spotted games than spotted balls. And, for some reason, it seems that bad luck has less of an impact in an 8-ball match.

Once again, these are just my personal experiences.

JMHO,
Maniac
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I agree. Winning at 8 ball at higher skill levels, even against low SL players, is much easier than in 9 ball. In 8 ball, all you have to do is prevent them from making the 8 ball, and each game is a new "chance." In 9 ball, there's so much more that can go wrong, and mistakes are punished much more severely because every ball adds up and the running total can quickly get out of hand and leave you in a hole you can't possibly climb out of.

Let's say I'm playing an SL2 in both 8 ball and 9 ball. And in both matches, I scratch on the break once, hook myself on the break once, miss three times total, and miss two kicks. In 9 ball, those mistakes can easily cost me the match. In 8 ball, they might not even make a difference in the outcome. As a higher-skill level player, losing in 8 ball usually comes down to going for the runout and missing late or hooking yourself on the key ball or the 8. Early mistakes vs lower skill level players and often even 6s and "standard" 7s can and often do go unpunished.
 
It is pretty obvious that 9 ball is favored by lower SL players. If they can get a hit a lot of good things can happen and they don't have to go far. There is no real penalty for hanging the 9 as it is just a ball rotation race in 9 ball format. It is not really 9 ball. In 8 ball they actually have to pocket their 7 balls and the 8 in a patched pocket. A much harder thing to do and presumable the better player can safe them into multiple BIHs. I actually enjoy playing lower ranked players as it is a challenge.
 
Texas Carom Club said:
Pft, playing a 2 in 8ball ain't no duck walk in any sense, cause they are wild fearless and don't know what a hard shot is,
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Nor should it be a duck walk. A low ranked player should have a good chance. Otherwise they would lose interest if they just got pounded LOL. I am not such a good player that I can roll over them every time. A higher ranked player needs to play deliberately and honestly lucky rolls happen and any 2 or 3 can string some balls together. I really enjoy it when you see the light come on and players improve. It is good for our game.
 
cjl0s said:
Nor should it be a duck walk. A low ranked player should have a good chance. Otherwise they would lose interest if they just got pounded LOL. I am not such a good player that I can roll over them every time. A higher ranked player needs to play deliberately and honestly lucky rolls happen and any 2 or 3 can string some balls together. I really enjoy it when you see the light come on and players improve. It is good for our game.
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It just chaps my ass though when they drill in 2 or 3 straight long shots 😂
 
Chili Palmer said:
I have always said, and will always confirm, the APA 9B scoring system is the best there is. Grab any two guys from anywhere in the country and score the match with the APA scoring system and I guarantee it will be more even then any other system.
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Yes the points will be closer, but the issue is that it's not a real pool game since winning gives you nothing more than a single extra point. If a communist or socialist came up with a pool game, it would be similar to the APA scoring LOL. I loved the USAPL rules where a win is 14 points, and the loser just gets a point for every ball they made, so a WIN is actually a WIN since you would have a 14 - max 8 advantage. Not if some guy runs 8, misses the 9 and all it cost them was 8-2 score in his favor.
 
Finished first session on an in-house Fargo handicapped league. We went in the playoff weeks 1 pt behind first, but since the playoff rounds count towards the overall standing as well the team won 4-0 (that had a forfeit in it since the team only had two players show up), that tied up with the other top team. We played that team this week and beat them 3-1, taking over first by 2 games. The way the league was done is that the overall top two teams get 70% of the league money, then the top two playoff teams play a final round during our end of session banquet/party and they play for the other 30%. I think my team is top in the playoffs also so we will be playing for a bit more moolah this Sat in the playoff finals.

On a personal note, I don't remember losing a single match in the league with mostly 5-3 or 6-2 races I was playing. I played a 6-2 race with a newish player in the playoffs that actually was not that bad, at 3-0 he got ball in hand a made a great off angle long combo on the 9 to go on the hill. On the hill hill game I ran down to the 7, got lazy on position and got a hard 8 ball shot, missed it, left him near the pocket with the 8 but the cueball was near the 9. He missed the jacked up shot, and I got the win. Then my lower player beat their lowest 4-0 in a 4-3 race sealing the session win for us.
 
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hang-the-9 said:
Yes the points will be closer, but the issue is that it's not a real pool game since winning gives you nothing more than a single extra point. If a communist or socialist came up with a pool game, it would be similar to the APA scoring LOL. I loved the USAPL rules where a win is 14 points, and the loser just gets a point for every ball they made, so a WIN is actually a WIN since you would have a 14 - max 8 advantage. Not if some guy runs 8, misses the 9 and all it cost them was 8-2 score in his favor.
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since its by points its not a real game?

better not bring that up in the 14.1 threads, oy vey
 
Texas Carom Club said:
since its by points its not a real game?

better not bring that up in the 14.1 threads, oy vey
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Since it's 9 ball done by points. Or 8 ball. Apples to Apples, don't think APA plays any game scored by ball count. We all know there are games scored by points, but not those. Many league players know nothing about any game outside of 8 ball, maybe 9 ball, and all those games are counted if you make the game winning ball not make the most balls. The APA scoring hides the pressure and focus needed to actually win the game. Which is great for keeping the scores closer but less great for good play. It sure would take the pressure off me if I was lining up for the game winner knowing if I miss it it won't cost me the game. But now we are not playing real games but some twisted form of pool that lives only in the APA league. Every other handicap systems you are still playing the game as it was designed to be played and actually winning the game has more weight. Even the USAPL league that still counts balls made as points, winning the game gets you the majority of the points even if you only made one ball the whole rack, if that was the 9, just like real pool outside of league.
 
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hang-the-9 said:
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Is this APA rules? Really there should be no difference in game play in APA 9 ball vs 8 ball past playing position in 9 ball better due to only having one ball to shoot at so no "safety balls" to go to if the position is not there. The points are just the points in APA. Now in normal 9 ball games, it's very easy to lose on the last few balls because you are playing the same balls, you run 7, you left the other guy 2. In 8 ball it's a lot more forgiving at the lower levels to win often when missing your last few balls since the other player still has to run his suit out to win. If you are losing in 9 ball, you may need to work on your position and end game planning and maybe nerves when getting towards the 9.
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Yes its apa and i respectfully disagree on there not being much difference in 8 ball vs 9 ball. My opinion is based on the majority of 4 's and below in my area ....and some 5's i know that resort to smack at warp speed and hope something falls somewhere. Now i know this tactic does not work all the time otherwise they would not stay at lower levels for years . sometimes it seems like they just save up their lucky days for when they play me. 😆

These same players never resort to any type of hail mary shot in 8 ball for fear of making an early 8 or wrong pocket 8. Like i stated earlier...i play both 8 and 9 ball the same night and many times i face the same player in both formats.

Here is an example of how some nights go.

I faced a 4 in 9 ball a while back and lost bad..something like 31-25 in a 31 -46 race.

How did i wind up losing that bad ? Well its like this. She smacks the 3 ball at warp speed and it goes flying around the table and 2 other balls fall. She is good on the 3. She pockets it and has no pocket for the 4. She smacks it at warp speed and something else falls. Again no shot but smacks it at warp speed. Nothing falls and i am hooked. She gets bih..pockets it and has no shot on the next ball. Again smacks at warp speed...something falls and again no shot. She smacks it at warp speed ..nothing falls and i am hooked. Bih again..now i am just standing there shaking my head all the while her while team is laughing and cheering her on during the entire match.

We later face each other in 8 ball where i win 4-0 in a 4-3 race. Why did i win 4-0.? Because she does not have the cue ball control i do or the experience to play the proper pattern and can not resort to the crap ahe played in 9 ball for fear of making an early 8.

Admittedly i do need to develop mental toughness when facing such situations in 9 ball and not going full tilt and lose all semblance of any type of focus.

Btw. I am a 5 in 8 ball and a 6 in 9 ball. Going by my handicap it would seem that i am capable of playing 9 ball at a lil higher level than i do 8 ball. There are nights when i do pretty fair at 9 ball but i am so much more consistent at 8 ball.

I am undefeated at 7-0 in 8 ball so far this session.
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hang-the-9 said:
Since it's 9 ball done by points. Or 8 ball. Apples to Apples, don't think APA plays any game scored by ball count. We all know there are games scored by points, but not those. Many league players know nothing about any game outside of 8 ball, maybe 9 ball, and all those games are counted if you make the game winning ball not make the most balls. The APA scoring hides the pressure and focus needed to actually win the game. Which is great for keeping the scores closer but less great for good play. It sure would take the pressure off me if I was lining up for the game winner knowing if I miss it it won't cost me the game. But now we are not playing real games but some twisted form of pool that lives only in the APA league. Every other handicap systems you are still playing the game as it was designed to be played and actually winning the game has more weight. Even the USAPL league that still counts balls made as points, winning the game gets you the majority of the points even if you only made one ball the whole rack, if that was the 9, just like real pool outside of league.
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No game that can be won by shitting in a single ball I could ever call a real pool game.


The real games are those that you have to work to win, snooker, 14.1 , Carom ,8ball, English billiards, pyramid

No single or couple shots will do it
 
Heavy sigh. My team is competing in the APA World Qualifier just 3/4 mile from me and here I am sequestered in my man cave watching F1 practice. Exposed to that damned bug Saturday, tested negative Thursday but positive this morning. But other than a runny nose, I’m fine. I hope it stays so.

Out of respect for my team and competitors, I am home. Timing SUCKS!!
 
I pulled up our local apa facebook page this evening. Something i rarely do as i dont care for facebook at all. I was just interested in the results of our 9 ball world qualifier monday night.

Came across an interesting letter addressed to our members. It seems our local office was inudated with phone calls lately about efforst to revive both bcapl and napa in our area.

According to the letter our league operators have no issues with any apa players joining other leagues and have no problem with members playing on more than one league simultaneously.

Nothing new there as i had previously played apa ...usapl and tap all in the same week ...as did many other apa players.

However....our league owners will not allow competing league owners to play apa.

Our previous league owner had no issues with other league owners playing apa. Both league owners of previous napa and usapl leagues also played apa masters every week.

I guess i can understand their reasoning but still not sure what to make of this new rule.
 
dquarasr said:
Heavy sigh. My team is competing in the APA World Qualifier just 3/4 mile from me and here I am sequestered in my man cave watching F1 practice. Exposed to that damned bug Saturday, tested negative Thursday but positive this morning. But other than a runny nose, I’m fine. I hope it stays so.

Out of respect for my team and competitors, I am home. Timing SUCKS!!
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How’d your team fare?
 
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