How do you rate yourself as a player?

C

cwilmeth

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
All the rated tournaments I go to that don't know me ask me how I play.
Honestly it depends on what day of the week it is. Somedays lights out. Somedays I play like the lights are really out. Can't make a ball.
All joking aside, how do I find out what speed I play? I'm inconsistent to a point. If my my breaks are going good then I play pretty good but if not then I'm off a bit.
In apa I'm rated a 9 in 9 ball and 7 in 8 ball. But the players that I play against aren't very good. The only time they do play is league nights.
When I first started playing the bigger tournaments I walked into the Billiard Palace in Tulsa with Charlie Bryant and they automatically assumed I was a player and rated me a 9. They never seen me hit a ball.
I've asked good players about this subject and some tell me that the pool rooms rate them based on tournament finishes. That doesn't seem right because I usually do good in the small bar events and finish just out of the money on the bigger events.
Some have told me to play the ghost 10 games of 9 ball and add up how many balls I make each rack then divide the total by ten and that will be a fair rating.
Guess I'm just looking for other ideas so when I go to a place I've never played and they ask me what I'm rated, I won't have to shrug my shoulders and say I dont know.
 
Have you played in a BCA league? At least in that league system your handicap rating can be higher than what APA and other similar leagues offer in their handicap levels. When I played in the league I was rated a 10. And at least in the BCA league handicap from my understanding of it its rating is more standard across the nation than how APA's rating works, which seem more local and regional oriented in its rating results.

Outside of the various league handicap systems to measure ability, the best test I know and recommend to give you a measured understanding of your skill set is to test yourself under the PAT tests.

Casually I tell people that I'm rated a D. I'm either really damn good, or really damn bad, depending on my day.

I also will tell people that I play good, but I also play lucky. :grin:
 
Take 10 racks of 10 ball. Take ball in hand and run out. An early 10 ball combo just counts as 1, and continue to run out as usual.
70-pro
60-69-open level player
50-59 A
40-49-B
30-39-C
20-29-D
Below that it would be like an APA level 2 or 3
 
Is this a commonly accepted way of approximating skill level? I'm gonna try this but my pockets are wicked small so I'll probably be a B. Thanks for the tip.
 
The problem with the ghost is the lack of safety play. What if you could make 70 balls but can't kick a lick, then what?
 
At higher levels safety play has much more effect on rating than making balls. Everybody and their mum can make balls.
 
DecentShot said:
Take 10 racks of 10 ball. Take ball in hand and run out. An early 10 ball combo just counts as 1, and continue to run out as usual.
70-pro
60-69-open level player
50-59 A
40-49-B
30-39-C
20-29-D
Below that it would be like an APA level 2 or 3
Click to expand...
fargo is another game that will give you a rating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHj6KUw8xzE

as mentioned above these ratings dont test how well you manage game situations but are a measure of ball running skills
which as an unknown can be used as a GENERAL answer to the question how do you play
 
I don't try to rate myself because it's entertainment and I don't do leagues. I've been playing about 40+ years and I enjoy transferring all that knowledge to the lesser players these days. If someone improves their game because of things I've showed them I am very happy.
 
Once you're at the highest league rating in APA or TAP it is difficult to self rate on the pro/A/B/C scale. I have also heard that the PAT test is the best way and the 10 ball ghost is good for a rough estimate.

Someone gave a very good breakdown in another thread I read here a year or two ago. It talked about league rating and 9 ball ghost performance and also some known players and put that against the pro/A/B/C scale. Based on that I had to realistically conclude I was probably about a C+. Better than the ball bangers but can't compete with real pool players.
 
cwilmeth said:
All the rated tournaments I go to that don't know me ask me how I play.
Honestly it depends on what day of the week it is. Somedays lights out. Somedays I play like the lights are really out. Can't make a ball.
All joking aside, how do I find out what speed I play? I'm inconsistent to a point. If my my breaks are going good then I play pretty good but if not then I'm off a bit.
In apa I'm rated a 9 in 9 ball and 7 in 8 ball. But the players that I play against aren't very good. The only time they do play is league nights.
When I first started playing the bigger tournaments I walked into the Billiard Palace in Tulsa with Charlie Bryant and they automatically assumed I was a player and rated me a 9. They never seen me hit a ball.
I've asked good players about this subject and some tell me that the pool rooms rate them based on tournament finishes. That doesn't seem right because I usually do good in the small bar events and finish just out of the money on the bigger events.
Some have told me to play the ghost 10 games of 9 ball and add up how many balls I make each rack then divide the total by ten and that will be a fair rating.
Guess I'm just looking for other ideas so when I go to a place I've never played and they ask me what I'm rated, I won't have to shrug my shoulders and say I dont know.
Click to expand...

An easy way to relay to them how well you play is to tell them how many balls you (on average) Miss in regards to shooting 100 balls during play...

1-5 misses out of 100 is World Class
6-10 misses is Pro Level
11-15 misses is Semi Pro
16-20 Regional Champ or Hi Level League Player
If you are missing on Average more than 20 out of 100 then you are just a good league player and below...

Simple and Easy to relay to someone who has never seen you hit a ball...

They will be able to size you up real quick with just this simple info...

HOW MANY DO YOU MISS OUT OF 100....???

Good luck and have fun..

Mr. J.
 
I have a nice and easy scale. When SVB is in town, i can get the following spots.

17-3 - 1 pocket
i get the 5 out wild playing 9 or 10 ball (i prefer he play the ghost though. and i bet on the ghost.)
and i don't even attempt to play him 8 ball.

I'm terrible in other words.

I will however throw quarters at the wall with him even...
 
For me it varies from month to month. If im playing all the time I play around an A to +A caliber. Right now with two jobs.. 10 and 9 year old girls... Baby boy (one on July 22nd) and a baby on the way.. More in the +B catagory :(

Here's a good system I found on here a long time ago and its pretty accurate from what Ive seen..


http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/ratings.html#A-D
 
That's a real good subject. All those pool league skill levels are very inaccurate.
I wonder if there's any system to check your real skill level? Maybe some drills that you do and figure your final score at the end? anyone know?
 
RunoutJJ said:
For me it varies from month to month. If im playing all the time I play around an A to +A caliber. Right now with two jobs.. 10 and 9 year old girls... Baby boy (one on July 22nd) and a baby on the way.. More in the +B catagory :(

Here's a good system I found on here a long time ago and its pretty accurate from what Ive seen..


http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/ratings.html#A-D
Click to expand...

Sorry, I missed this link before. Yes, seems pretty accurate. According to their system I play on a B level at the moment.
 
The best and funniest introduction I ever received was at Palace Billiards in Illinois.
John Abruzzo introduced me to someone and said, "Hey, I want you to meet Mike. He is the BEST player in his house!"

The guy goes, "oh wow! Really?!"

Feeling a little full of myself at this point.

Then John says, "Yep, his Wife doesn't play a lick!!!"

I laugh til this day thinking about that.

So I rate myself as "The best player in my house!"

Mike
 
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