how are ya'll doing in league ?

BlueRaider said:
Won a pretty dramatic back and forth hill-hill match in 8 ball tonight. Then immediately got put up in 9 ball against a 3. I was still buzzing from the 8 ball match and quickly found myself in a big hole.

That’s what’s so tough about APA 9 ball. A missed shot here, a scratch there, and then hooking yourself on the break are brutal. Especially against lower skill levels.

The guy got to around 15 points by the third rack and I just went into give up mode. It was simply too big of a hill to climb, as I was maybe at 8 or 9 at that point and needed 55. Not to mention he was kicking, banking, and comboing everything in sight.

I fall into that trap against lower SLs all the time. I underestimate them, play too loose, and go from panic mode to give up mode. Which, to be fair, only takes them having a few good runs when they are going to 25 or whatever.
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I actually think APA is not bad at all with handicaps with their point 9 ball games, since the 9 is not a "WIN" but just 2 points. So if a good player happens to make most of the rack and the other player just makes the 9 or the 8 and 9, they don't get credit for a full win. In USAPL and BCA and TAP, a 9 is just an outright win. On the other hand, if the weaker handicap gets to shoot a few balls in the beginning, the stronger player making the 9 counts for less and it's harder to get out of an early lead by either player. The biggest issue I have with the APA is that there is just so much sandbagging it's very rare to get an actually even handicapped match. Just last night I was hanging around with a buddy and he was saying how the players on the other team were a 7 and 6s, I was watching them play and they all shot really well, ran out open tables regularly. But I forgot APA 9 ball went to 9, which makes those guys a level too low for how they were shooting.
 
I was going to post about my experience yesterday but then realized i had not posted about last weeks match.

Really not much to say about it. I played another 6 in 9 ball and won 46-41. Close game and probly could have went either way but mothing sticks out about how we both played. I did not play 8 ball.

Now on to yesterday....found out kinda at the last minute they were having a singles qualifier .after mulling it over a little i decided to go play.

Now i am not going to rag out how it was held because the current league operators do a much better job than the previous one. We went from hardly ever having enough to run a tournament to having a full field every time.

However it went just like i dreaded. It started at 2.00. I showed up at 1.30 and registered. It started pretty much on time. They were holding 8 and 9 ball at the same time. They also had different brackets for higher and lower handicaps.

Some players entered both 8 and 9. I entered 8 ball only. They decided to run 9 ball first. It was 5.00 before my first match. I sat there for 3 damn hours. Pretty much my experience 2 years ago in the last qualifier i played.

So....when i finally got up to play .....fellas i was on fire.. I faced another 5 and was up 2-0 in one inning. Well the guy ...who i had never even seen before much less played racked the third rack and decided to make a beeline for the tournament director complaining about my handicap.

I must say that everything was going great. Cue ball control..pattern selection...breaking out clusters. I could do no wrong.

Well i guess his complaing messed with my focus and he won the third rack. No complaints crom him but when he dry broke the 4th rack and i ran the table he started hus complaing again not only to the tournament director but to any one within earshot. I won the 5th rack to win the match 4-1.

So i sit and wait for close to an hour till my next match. First off we were told to make sure innings were marked. I said my first opponemt kept the scoresheet in front of him marking the score and i assumed he had been marking the innings also.

Well i dont know id it was the drama or the long wait...or both but i didnt play the second match no where the level i played the first one. Lost hill - hill vs another 5 after scratching on the 8 once and miscued several times during the match. Even failed to hit a rail one time trying a safe.

So i was packing up around 7.45. Single elimination here. On the bright side i was talking to a guy i knew and got him to joim my team. Pretty decent 4 to replace the darn good one i lost when i kicked 3 drama queens off my team the first of the session.

At 67 years old i just dont think these long waits at tournaments are my cup of tea anymore.

Oh yea. Before i left my first oppinemt flat out told me that i was not a 5. In 8 ball. Yall dont know how close i came to telling him he was not a 5 either because he shot like a damn 4 during our match. Then i figured as irate as he was i should not be fanning the flames. 😆
 
Well. Maniac's league play may be over, if not forever then at the very least for a few sessions.

ON 2/28 I went into the hospital for an ablation for my f*cked-up heart.Threw a clot while on the operating table and almost bit the big one.

At this point in time I'm not sure I'll ever be able to hold a cue again, but it's early and I'm hoping in time iwill heal.

You guys carry on and keep posting, I like hearing your stories..

Maniac ( down but hopefully not out.)

.
 
Maniac said:
Well. Maniac's league play may be over, if not forever then at the very least for a few sessions.

ON 2/28 I went into the hospital for an ablation for my f*cked-up heart.Threw a clot while on the operating table and almost bit the big one.

At this point in time I'm not sure I'll ever be able to hold a cue again, but it's early and I'm hoping in time iwill heal.

You guys carry on and keep posting, I like hearing your stories..

Maniac ( down but hopefully not out.)

.
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Hate to hear that maniac. Hope everything works out for you. Seems my heart problems are minor compared to yours.

Had a heart attack on jan 4th. They removed 2 blod clota and put in one stent. Was out of the hospital 3 days later and back to work a week after thst.

Again...hope your situation improves my friend.
 
Forgot to mention that they held a doubles qualifier also that started about 8.00 last night. Just found out from a team mate that her son and his girlfriend played in the doubles and didnt get home untill 7.30 this morming.

Damn glad i didnt play in that.
 
Maniac said:
Well. Maniac's league play may be over, if not forever then at the very least for a few sessions.

ON 2/28 I went into the hospital for an ablation for my f*cked-up heart.Threw a clot while on the operating table and almost bit the big one.

At this point in time I'm not sure I'll ever be able to hold a cue again, but it's early and I'm hoping in time iwill heal.

You guys carry on and keep posting, I like hearing your stories..

Maniac ( down but hopefully not out.)

.
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Keep the faith, Maniac.

By bro is going through a similar fate right now, too. It tends to make one a bit pessimistic, this heart trouble. But that doesn't last.

Nature could scratch in the side and leave ball in hand.


Jeff Livingston
 
My team lost all points in 8 ball this week because, even though we forfeited a match, our 4-player lineup couldn't have been at or under 23 based on who wasn't there to play. 🤦‍♂️
 
So today I didn’t play league but I did find out a new APA 9 ball rule that should be changed immediately. If you hit correct ball and it flies off the table it’s spotted and opponent doesn’t get ball in hand. If you send ball off table and make one it gets spotted and you keep shooting. Until the rule gets corrected that’s a new safety play for everyone.
 
lorider said:
Oh yea. Before i left my first oppinemt flat out told me that i was not a 5. In 8 ball. Yall dont know how close i came to telling him he was not a 5 either because he shot like a damn 4 during our match. Then i figured as irate as he was i should not be fanning the flames. 😆
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Next time win the lag, run him out 4 in a row, then hand him a $5 and tell him thanks for racking!😂😉
 
Willowbrook Wolfy said:
So today I didn’t play league but I did find out a new APA 9 ball rule that should be changed immediately. If you hit correct ball and it flies off the table it’s spotted and opponent doesn’t get ball in hand. If you send ball off table and make one it gets spotted and you keep shooting. Until the rule gets corrected that’s a new safety play for everyone.
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APA is in the same block as real pool, but not the same building ;)
It's like a hybrid between pool players and bar bangers rules,
 
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Just looked up my TAP stats for the session, not as good as I thought, 17 games won and 15 games lost, thought I had a higher win %. Last week I won 5-1 with two break and runs. Must have stunk the other games and just don't remember LOL
 
leto1776 said:
APA 3 in 8-ball. Played 10 matches this sessions, won half of them. Probably most disappointed about last weeks. Lost 2-1 to another 3 who I had killed for two hours straight just two nights before playing casually.

It's my third session.playoffs start next week. About 50% lifetime win average. Goals for next session are to break into the top 5 in my tier, win 60% or more of my matches! and to start playing more higher level players! which my captain has said he will if I want.

I think I've reached a plateau currently, and wanna start playing above my level,to see if it helps me.

Also play a Thursday night league, usually play one single and one doubles game per night. Doing well in singles, not so well in the doubles. Just joined this team and league this year, the team is made up of young,inexperienced guys. At 29, I'm one of the older guys who's there every week.

Looking into playing APA 9-ball next session,and I'll continue running my monthly tournaments.
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If you only play in the APA sessions, you will need a LOT of work to get past a 3 just doing that, playing better players won't help you too much going up from a lower level. From that I usually see, the issues that 2, 3s and many 4s and 5s have is the basics, lining up properly, standing still on the shot, hitting draw/follow at the right spot on the cueball. Playing with better players may help you focus and maybe see how they play, but you need to spend a several hours a week practicing fundamentals, stance, stop shots at different distances, etc... with a good player that can tell what may help you, along with learning on what the right shots and patterns are.
 
Played my first SL 9 in 9 ball tonight and won 55-64. I won on a 9 ball and had the break so even though he got me on points, I feel like I had a decent chance to win playing even if we were going to 75.

That said, it was a weird match. He had a few 8-10 point runs and I thought he was going to blow me out. But he never truly strung anything together and I kept coming back with a lot of 6-7 ball runs myself.

We also both made a lot of sloppy mistakes. It’s funny how it worked out score wise. My team usually doesn’t tell scores unless we ask so I assumed I was down big. I was shocked when he came over to shake my hand when the 9 ball dropped.

Happy to get the win but also wondering if I have what it takes to get to SL 9 myself. I think I may be the odd duck who stalls at SL 8, which may be around the corner for me.
 
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Won 9 ball today. Pretty mad about it though. Missed 2 easy break and runs. Ran the 2 ball down the rail nice and clean and it just hung on the shelf. That table was wide open for the taking after breaking 2-3 in. Then did the same on a 6 ball my next break. The 7 was gone and 8 an inch from corner. Oh well. It happens.
 
I decided to enter another singles qualifier again this weekend. I was preparing for another torture test and was pleasantly surprised this one started on time ...was well organized and the husband/wife tournament directors worked tirelessly to keep it on track.

I elected to play only 8 ball again and sure enough 9 ball started first again..it only took an hour for my first match to start this time. Not too bad at all..

I faced another 5 who i have never seen before. Too make this post as short as i can just gonna say it went back and forth to hill - hill. I rattled the pocket on the 8 and he ran his last 4 balls and out to win.

Next match was vs another 5 and i won 4-0. I have kmown this guy for years and have always considered him a weak 5.

My next match was vs a 4. Lemme tell you guys...it would not take much for this dude to be a 5. I was fortunate to win hill - hill.

So i reached the finals..yay ! As i was sitting there the tourny director came up amd told me my opponemt would be there as soon as his finals in 9 ball was over which was currently in progress. I said no problem.at all.

So after about 35 minutes my opponent who i had never seen before shows up. Turns out he won his final roumd in 9 ball.. He is a 5 in both 8 and 9 he said.

I win the lag and get out to a 2-0 start in 2 innings..i break the 3rd rack and the rack parted like the red sea and the cue ball made a bee line for the corner pocket. Fellas i never seen anything like it before. He runs the table..

This guy really caught a gear and won the next 4 in a row to win the match 4-2. I gotta learn to resort to playing safe more often instead of getting into a shootout with these younger guys. Especially when they are running out from eveeywhere like this guy was.

I didnt play bad at all but didnt play well enough to be accused of being a sandbagger like last week 😆

Well like i always say. There is always next time.
 
TLDR: disgruntled pool player and team captain complaining.

UGLY: Last week I had a meltdown. In spite of promising to take poor performance in stride, I lost it. After missing nearly every shot except ducks, I was down 3-0 in a 3-4 8-ball race. To save time and because I totally lost it, I broke down my stick after the third rack, the second rack in a row where I miscued and set my opponent up with BIH while he was on the 8. I was inconsolable.

Later I discovered that in APA, conceding the last rack meant I forfeited the entire match. So the score was 2-0, not 3-0 when my opponent inevitably would have gone rackless. The next day I called the opposing team captain and my opponent and apologized. I was thoroughly embarrassed.

Last Thursday morning I tried just throwing balls out on my table, shooting them randomly. In the past this has helped me relax and find my stroke. Took me 34 shots to clear the table. THIRTY-FOUR SHOTS!!!!! THAT'S how screwed up my game had become.

GOOD: I recorded myself and figured out what I was doing wrong. I'm back to merely mediocre, playing about like my SL4/SL5 ratings. Last night I won both 8- and 9-ball in tight matches. Luckily my opponents struggled a bit.

BAD: Last night in Double Jeopardy league, my 8-ball captain could not attend, so I captained both 8- and 9-ball. Core players did not attend. With four members (not the same roster for 8- and 9-) in attendance for each team, I juggled:
- Two makeup matches
- One replay match
- Scheduling around 8-ball team member on a different 9-ball team
- Scheduling around 9-ball team member on a different 8-ball team

I often had three or four matches going on at the same time.

This is with only one other player willing and able to help keep score. (Yes, I've shown them. The members, four of them common to both teams, who were out last night usually all help keep score). Luckily my opposing captains were very gracious and unilaterally scored some of the matches. When I wasn't playing I was chained to my chair.

One of my "team" members (I use "team" lightly) complains he works early in the morning. I always schedule him first so he can leave. He never scores. He sits at the bar with his GF, never interacts with the team the whole time (we've mentioned this to him numerous times, as had the LO). I didn't even know he was there until my opposing team told me he was. I had to go find him to play his first match.

Later, given I was shorthanded, my opposing captain suggested a replay. Around 10pm I asked this member to replay. He declined citing he had to get up early in the morning. I told him we'd forfeit the last match. He reluctantly agreed to play. Afterwards, I asked him for his $10. He was incensed telling me, quote, "I have to pay? YOU asked ME to play!"

Oh, and that early morning? He was still at the bar with his GF - at midnight.

I need a break. I'm taking at least the summer session off.
 
So Wolfy said f it I’ll actually play today. I broke and ran 1 in league and followed it up with the 9 on break for the mini slam….Then went rackless on 8 after freezing lag to the rail. It was a good day.
 
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We had our city pool league tournament this weekend it's singles 8 ball on yes bar box tables , anyway we made it to the second match and lost both games taking us out of the tournament I know imagine that in Montana .
Over all I felt I played well winning 6 of the 8 games I played my teammates didn't fare as well .
Seniors pool league is all that's still going on then a summer league .
 
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