I hate league pool.....

the420trooper

the420trooper

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I went out last night to a seedy little bar to play league, and this is what happened to me......


I had won my first two games, and had gone to the head.

As I was coming out of the bathroom, one of my teammates said, "Michael, you're up, on table 1". I went to the table, where a member of the opposing team was waiting. It was her break, and she broke dry. I ran out rather easily, and thought it was over. (Yay...a TR...Whoo.:rolleyes: )

After the game, the opposing team's captain started crying that our match wasn't supposed to happen until next round, they had gotten it out of order, and I was supposed to play a different member of the same team that round.

The captain of the other team said that we would have to replay the game next round, and the one we just played didn't count. (It was a PRACTICE game, he said.)

We had a bit of an argument, with me saying I've already beat her, and I shouldn't have to play her again. He was saying the game didn't count because it was out of order.

I argued that practice isn't allowed once league play starts. (That's what the RULE book says...) Also, it wasn't my fault, or the fault of my opponent, that we had played out of order. We both understood we were playing a league match, and whoever won, won. My opponent was in complete agreement with me, she knew she lost.... It was the team captain (who is also her husband), who kept saying the game we played was void.

I eventually got the decision in the matter, and my win was counted as a win, but the whole experience has soured me on the concept of leagues....I think this is my first and LAST session as a LEAGUE player.....
 
We have addressed this issue in our leagues and the idea of Leagues Are supposed to be played with Gentleman's rules. If you hadn't played that person yet, and still needed too, mark it down and continue. Obviously if you already played then the game didn't count for anything. And if rare leagues where you don't play everyone each night, it wouldn't count if they were not in your rotation.

People play out of turn all the time in league. I subbed for a team last night at the last second and they let me shoot all 5 of my games in a row.

It's league players/captains like this that make it not fun. We are all out having a good time, no serious money won on individual games. Just a few beers, handshakes and billiards.

I would address to the League Operator and I know it's petty, but they have to put the rule out there for the players to see. Include it on the standings sheet for a little while.
 
What makes it really bad is that the opposing captain knew he was wrong, and admitted it to me.

BUT.... we were ahead in points for the night and he said he was just "doing what was best for his team."
 
You should just quit now don't even give them the satisfaction of finishing the session, there is no reason you should have to put up with this. disagreements are absolutely unacceptable. As adults we should not be forced to communicate with other adults that have different opinions than us. Screw leagues, screw people. Find a nice cave, then you won't be forced to endure these morons.

lol. j/k. lighten up man.
 
Beware_of_Dawg said:
You should just quit now don't even give them the satisfaction of finishing the session, there is no reason you should have to put up with this. disagreements are absolutely unacceptable. As adults we should not be forced to communicate with other adults that have different opinions than us. Screw leagues, screw people. Find a nice cave, then you won't be forced to endure these morons.

lol. j/k. lighten up man.
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Believe me, I was ready to quit last night. There was no way I was going to replay a match I had already won, in a 1 game format.

The woman I beat plays pretty well, and I didn't want to play her again, and take a chance on losing. (I shouldn't have to...)

Although opinions differ, right and wrong, in most cases, is pretty clear....
 
In our TAP league we play multiple matches at once if there is a time crunch...

sounds like you don't have a problem with leagues, just ignorant people who make mistakes and refuse to own up to them.
 
Some league players will do anything within or outside of the rules that helps their team win. I've played some league matches where games were played out of order, and I've never heard anyone have the nerve to use this lame excuse to cancel out a legitimate loss. I've seen people do goofy things to get over, but this takes the cake.

Don't let one overzealous team captain discourage you from league play.
 
Sounds to me like the opposing team captain was just an ass.

I play in a little bar league on Tuesday nights. The only reason I play is because I am friends with a few of the guys on the team. Otherwise I would skip it. It gives me a chance to hang out with friends, but the pool sucks.

If you get no other enjoyment out of it, just quit!!!

Russ.....
 
Can you tell me about the exact format of your league games like type of games, race to xx, order of play

The discussion would be impossible over here in Germany as we have a very well worked out system
Team consists of minimum 4 players, can be more but this might lead to discussions in the team who plays and who not.

We have an official sheet where all the games are noted and first the captain of the hometeam fills in the players names and covers it. Then the guests have to fill in their players names and the matches are announced then
It's usually
race to depends on the league you play in
14.1 (to 40/50/75/100/125/150)
8-Ball ( to 3/4/5/6/7)
8-Ball / 9-Ball depending on the league you play
9-Ball (to 4/5/6/7/9/11)
Halftime
The 2nd half is written down like above, but no player can play the same discipline. A player might be replaced though if you're with 5 in the team
Order of play
14.1
8-Ball
9-Ball
9-Ball

You get one point for each match won and also the games of 8-Ball and 9-Ball are written down in case two teams finish the season with equal points.
Overall win is 3 points, draw is 1 point each - no points for a loss - like in most european soccer leagues
Relegation and promotion through the league system so that you'll mostly have fairly even leagues.

I love that system and can't wait until it's matchday again - also a very nice thing is that all results and statistics are online even for the lowest league, so you can make the order of play work for you like avoiding putting your best straight pool player up against the opponents best if you know he has no chance to win - rather give away your weakest overall player for it and let the better one score a safe point - that's why so many germans play all 3 major games pretty well
 
IMHO leagues are a beating.....again, just my opinion....I have played TAP and APA.....there is just too much sitting and not enough playing.....I'm sure there are better leagues out there, and I know a ton of people like them and that is great.....I just don't....I wish I did.....too many bad experiences, just like yours, that just don't make it worth it....I am getting out after this season as well....

The most fun I did play was a league where we played both 9 and 8 ball matches in the same night....there was more actual playing, I was lucky to be on a team of characters that made it fun....unfortunately, the same crap the OP discussed came up, but overall it was more fun and more play....

I feel your pain....going forward, it's practice, matching up, or tournies....no more league....
 
My opinion is that no matter what format (league, tourn) you play you will run into some sort of variation of issues like this.
 
The Apa puts some money into the Pros pockets other than that I think pool leagues are the worst building blocks in any game I have ever played..

BAD enviroment ( mostly played in bars ) BAD equipment ( in most bars ) STUPID rulz ( in the APA for sure ) and most of the players have no clue what real pool is even like (WHINNERS out the A**)
 
Well I am on the other side of the fence. Living out in the boonies my whole life I wish I had such problems. I am not complaining but it's about 100 miles to the nearest league so I sit at home and play the ghost on a table that is meant to have 100 games a day played on it. I realize that it must be frustrating at times with some leagues but I have friends on the front range that play in very competitive leagues, and end up going to regional and national tourneys together. I guess the cloth is always greener on the other side.:wink:
 
I definitely think Leagues are good building blocks for the sport. Obviously it doesn't work for everyone and everywhere because of the other reasons mentioned above. Bad equipment and bad players together probably don't build on much. But good leagues, different divisions, on subpar equipment can really grow the sport.

Personally I've seen almost how every league system works. And I find the BCA league to be top notch. APA is for persons who just like a little friendly competition once a week, but once you get hooked and improve your game you need a stronger league.

And you need involved caring League Operators. Not people out to make a few bucks on it, or have their own interests first.

One question we didn't ask, when you played her the next round did you win again? Sounds like you didn't.
 
I agree... BCA is the ONLY way to go if you want great competition and little or no B.S. According to our "rules" if you play a match out of order, the score still stands. you just mark it up where the players "should" have played later in the match. we DO NOT replay matches that were called out of order. I guess that's something you might find in an APA league or something similar. Not picking a fight here but there's a reason the BCA has THE BEST PLAYERS BAR NONE ( and it's not just my "opionion") :D The BCA has better rules and better players because of it...
 
ugotactionTX said:
I agree... BCA is the ONLY way to go if you want great competition and little or no B.S. According to our "rules" if you play a match out of order, the score still stands. you just mark it up where the players "should" have played later in the match. we DO NOT replay matches that were called out of order. I guess that's something you might find in an APA league or something similar. Not picking a fight here but there's a reason the BCA has THE BEST PLAYERS BAR NONE ( and it's not just my "opionion") :D The BCA has better rules and better players because of it...
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At least in our area anyway!!!!!!...randyg
 
ugotactionTX said:
I agree... BCA is the ONLY way to go if you want great competition and little or no B.S. According to our "rules" if you play a match out of order, the score still stands. you just mark it up where the players "should" have played later in the match. we DO NOT replay matches that were called out of order. I guess that's something you might find in an APA league or something similar. Not picking a fight here but there's a reason the BCA has THE BEST PLAYERS BAR NONE ( and it's not just my "opionion") :D The BCA has better rules and better players because of it...
Click to expand...

:D

I am on a BCA league. I couldn't play with slop rules.

It probably wouldn't be bad at all if the other people involved with the league weren't so selfish and dishonest.

Beware_of_Dawg said:
Screw leagues, screw people. Find a nice cave, then you won't be forced to endure these morons.
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This one made me laugh...
 
You will ALWAYS run into people like that. The league I play in we are fortunate enough to have people that know the rules, and can act like adults. This is not a bar, but a family owned pool establishment. There are a cpl of people that just do some things to try and get under your skin to beat you, but that is sometimes how it goes. Be the better player and dont let that stuff bother you.

My team went to play in the Sooner State Games in Sand Springs and we played a team that were just absolute jerks. The captain was a girl, and yes, she was really good (she is a 9). We were racing to 9 games (I am a 9 as well). She got up and broke and didnt make anything, I ran the table, I broke and ran out, broke and ran out again...I broke again and on my first shot, she got down in my sight and started saying vulgar stuff. So I just stepped back and asked told her when she was done she could sit down and let me shoot, she scraped the 8 into the hole and ran off cussing like a sailor...needless to say, she was ejected from the tournament.

Sometimes your going to run into people like this, ESPECIALLY if its a bar, since Beer and Stupidity somehow seem to mix very well. be the better man, and pool player and dont fall for it. In this particular situation, I would have politely argued my point, and after everything was said and done, I would have shook the womans hand and thanked her for being honest!
 
Like others have said this doesn't sound like a league problem. Instead it sounds like a husband made a mistake (i.e., he did authorize the game at first as a league captain?) and then starts trying to shark you and your captain.

I would have just asked him flat out if the shoe was on the other foot (i.e., if his wife had won) would he honestly be demanding that the game be played over. If he said no, end of discussion. If he said yes I'd say I don't believe you and then refer it to the league officials for a ruling (no ifs, ands or buts).

I don't know about your league but in ours any dispute is referred to the officers for a decision and I would gladly take my chances with them given your circumstances. The worst that could happen would be that you would be required to play the game over at a later date. If you win the decision, then the the other team captain then gets a (deserved) bad rep that can be communicated to the other captains/teams and he will hopefully modify his behavior in the future. IMHO, the worst thing would have been to let this type of behavior go unchallenged.

League play is what you make of it. Would hate to see you be put on tilt by over reacting to some wiseguy's sharking. Just let the B.S. roll off you like water off a duck's back; and, increase your focus on quietly kicking a$$ and having fun in the process of doing so.

In our league the captains usually try to reach an informal understanding before each match proceeds. Are we going to play strictly by the rules or play loose and let the other team generally get away with minor fouls/rules violations (for example touching an object ball when shooting or barely touching the cue ball with the tip of your stick before shooting and the cue ball rolls an inch or two). Usually, the captains agree that we are all there to have fun and that minor rule violations are generally to be conceeded to the other team. That alone sets the tone of the match from the get go, mellows things out since we usually agree to play loose and, in the situation that you describe, the team captains would probably never even consider making an issue out of something that was their mistake in the first place.

Edit:
P.S.: In our league the officers all play and we all play at different places at the same time and the phone numbers of all the places we play at are listed on the schedule. Therefore, if a problem arises, it's usually possible to call an officer or two (i.e., the ones who would be ruling on a formal complaint) where they are playing and get a quick informal opinion before going ballistic and resolving to file a formal complaint.
 
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