How far can you go without joining a league?

Surly

Surly

This is it.
Silver Member
I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?
 
of course

Surly said:
I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?
Click to expand...

There are other routes, leagues are a fairly new development. Practice, playing with others and playing every cheap tournament you can are all good. If you go in bar rooms there are lots of bar room weekly tournaments for less than top level players and most pool halls have a weekly tournament or two that are restricted to avoid the top players taking it every week.

Don't be shy about competing now. It is a good way to sharpen your skills and mental game and meet fellow pool players too.

Hu
 
Surly said:
I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?
Click to expand...


Mosconi and Lassiter never played in a league and I seriously doubt Efren ever has.
 
I agree with Hu. I've known many good players who have never played in leagues and I haven't played in one myself for over twenty years. From what I've seen, a lot of leagues are what I would consider to be detrimental to the game. Leagues have now become a social thing, more so than a tuning of one's game to get it to higher levels. If you want to advance your game, you need to play regularly with like minded individuals.
How far can you go? How far do you want to go? You can go as far as you want/are capable of.
 
Leagues have their flaws, but don't listen to all the bashing. Try it out for yourself -- most of the players that I know play to win, so it's good competition.

Of course, you can obviously go as far as you want without joining one.
 
LEAGUE SUCKS! You are limiting your potential!!!!!

The only league that is worth anything anywhere, might be a straight pool league, but they are to far and few in between.

9ball and 8ball leagues will keep you at a lower level. Get out there and spend every dime you might invest in a league, and practice and match up instead. You will go WAAAAAY further in pool.
 
ShootingArts said:
There are other routes, leagues are a fairly new development. Practice, playing with others and playing every cheap tournament you can are all good. If you go in bar rooms there are lots of bar room weekly tournaments for less than top level players and most pool halls have a weekly tournament or two that are restricted to avoid the top players taking it every week.

Don't be shy about competing now. It is a good way to sharpen your skills and mental game and meet fellow pool players too.

Hu
Click to expand...
If you get involved in the local tourny scene you will be able to find tourny's at all levels. Most states have some kind of an amateur state championship tournament. The ones that I have played all had several open qualifying tournaments at various locations it varied but it seems like if you finished 1 or 2 in a qualifier then you were eligible to play in the show. I don't remember but it seems like it was usually $25 - $125 entry and anywhere from $1500 to $10,000 added. 1-5 made money 6-9 got entry back or similar. The last one I played in was for Utah and it was played in a Casino in Wendover Nv. It had all the trimmings of big tournaments. Some places have money leagues I was in St Louis for a while and they had some money leagues that cost and paid enough that people put together some tough teams...
 
Last edited:
Surly said:
I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?
Click to expand...


All the way to the Pro-tour!!!!!! and beyond, it is all up to your dedication, and personal abilities.
 
Yeah, I also agree that not only can you become great without the help of leagues, but am also of the opinion that for those that take the game very seriously........................leagues might not be all that great of an idea.
Not to bash leagues, because if there were one in my area, I would most likely be interested as long as it was NOT handicapped.
I am of the opinion that pool is an extremely intense individual sport, where the serious player would likely find a hard time finding players that match (hi or low) their level of seriousness. I think that pool players are the loner type who become good because they've mastered the skills required to take care of "me" and nobody else. A team situation could (but not always) be nothing but a source of frustration.
dave
 
Call all the good halls within driving distance. Many of them have fairly frequent regularly scheduled tournaments.

I agree, I don't think leagues generally are for developing talent. Practice, tournaments and action matches are.
 
I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss league play. There are some flaws in most leagues, but they also offer some pretty nice benefits. Even if you just play league for 2 or 3 sessions, you will get some pretty good competition. Don't worry about handicaps...just play your best game every time you get to the table.
You will have the opportunity to play many different players of different skill levels. Learn from every match you play.
The team format of leagues is very good to learn how to handle a different kind of pressure. Unless you are a total ass and don't care at all about your team, you will quickly realize that you aren't just playing for yourself, but for all your team mates. While this isn't something you deal with in tournaments, pressure is pressure, and learning to handle it is pretty important.
Practice time on league night is also helpful. You can match up with the better players on your team at the practice table, and learn quite a bit.

Those who automatically dismiss league play without considering all the advantages are missing out on a great opportunity to play a lot of different people under a lot of different circumstances. League play is what you make of it. If you think it sucks, it sucks. If you approach it as an opportunity to play, have fun, and learn something, that is exactly what you will get out of it. It's up to the individual to make the most of every opportunity to learn and improve.

Steve
 
Surly said:
I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?
Click to expand...

that all depends on what you mean "how far can you go?". what is it you think that the league can do for you that playing on your own time can't? league is a good way for people to compete in a friendly environment.

i played on my own and never really thought much about a league until i joined one. you can get far enough to refine your stoke and learn patterns. imo a lot of the patterns that i see played in league are wrong. mostly because the patterns are played by inexperienced players on bar tables (meaning you can get away with more)
 
pooltchr said:
I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss league play. There are some flaws in most leagues, but they also offer some pretty nice benefits. Even if you just play league for 2 or 3 sessions, you will get some pretty good competition. Don't worry about handicaps...just play your best game every time you get to the table.
You will have the opportunity to play many different players of different skill levels. Learn from every match you play.
The team format of leagues is very good to learn how to handle a different kind of pressure. Unless you are a total ass and don't care at all about your team, you will quickly realize that you aren't just playing for yourself, but for all your team mates. While this isn't something you deal with in tournaments, pressure is pressure, and learning to handle it is pretty important.
Practice time on league night is also helpful. You can match up with the better players on your team at the practice table, and learn quite a bit.

Those who automatically dismiss league play without considering all the advantages are missing out on a great opportunity to play a lot of different people under a lot of different circumstances. League play is what you make of it. If you think it sucks, it sucks. If you approach it as an opportunity to play, have fun, and learn something, that is exactly what you will get out of it. It's up to the individual to make the most of every opportunity to learn and improve.

Steve
Click to expand...

Steve I totally agree that Leagues are a good thing, however, in my opinion they are for beginning players. I live in Washington State, in a city called Lakewood, and I own a small pool room. In my area we have TAP, APA, and BCA pool leagues, both in house for a business like mine, and the normal traveling League. I have 6 APA and 5 BCA teams that play out of my room, and I support them completely.

Good Post Steve!!
 
manwon said:
All the way to the Pro-tour!!!!!! and beyond, it is all up to your dedication, and personal abilities.
Click to expand...


I agree with an emphasis on dedication...

but that person will succeed league or no league...

some folks could be like me where the league sparks an interest that blossoms beyond the league that spawned it...
 
Pushout said:
I agree with Hu. I've known many good players who have never played in leagues and I haven't played in one myself for over twenty years. From what I've seen, a lot of leagues are what I would consider to be detrimental to the game. Leagues have now become a social thing, more so than a tuning of one's game to get it to higher levels. If you want to advance your game, you need to play regularly with like minded individuals.
How far can you go? How far do you want to go? You can go as far as you want/are capable of.
Click to expand...

Eh being in a league is what you make of it. If you are in a league and you treat it as a social thing then you would most likely treat it the same way if you weren't in a league. If anything being in a league may push you to be a better player by making you want to beat particular players.
 
SUPERSTAR said:
LEAGUE SUCKS! You are limiting your potential!!!!!

The only league that is worth anything anywhere, might be a straight pool league, but they are to far and few in between.

9ball and 8ball leagues will keep you at a lower level. Get out there and spend every dime you might invest in a league, and practice and match up instead. You will go WAAAAAY further in pool.
Click to expand...

Leagues don't limit your potential....you do it to yourself.
 
Never really understood the bashing of leagues. My experience with leagues is that I have met quite a few very knowledgeable pool players playing in the league. Yes I have also met quite a few people who only see a pool table on the night they are playing in the league, but those people would treat pool the same way with or without a league.

If anything the impact of leagues is far more positive than negative. I'd be willing to bet that pool halls make more money on league nights than any other weekday night. To a degree leagues keep these halls open.....I'm quite sure they keep one of the places I go to open because they have league nights on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
Back on topic
Your potential to move forward is depending on how far you want to go and limited only by your drive to make that happen. The internet does make it much easier as you can look up resources at the click of a button. You can look up books, video clips, billiard supplies, instructors etc etc etc.
 
Truthfully, I don't think leagues do anything to build your game and in a lot of ways I feel like it can hold your game back. I prefer tournaments myself or just practicing. There is nothing better you can do than practice by yourself and do drills.

I need to take some of my own advice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top