I'm About to Join the APA......

Allen Brown

Allen Brown

Pool Whale
Silver Member
Do any of you have any suggestions? I've played BCA and in house leagues, but never APA. A good friend of mine wanted me to join so we could play in a scotch doubles tournament this weekend. I have a few teams I could join or start up a Masters team, which is probably what will happen.
 
Iirc, you mentioned a two or three pack when you gambled with your friend. I'd suggest masters, but the most fun i have is playing with an 8b team. There's also something fun about seeing others excited over the game, no matter their level, as well as helping them learn.
 
Sandbag your index....everyone else seems to do that in APA leagues at the local level and national competition as well.
 
Read the rule book, as there are differences in how both 8-ball and 9-ball are played and scored.

In your BCA league are you used to paperwork? If not, then be prepared to record every turn on the weekly score sheets. Good luck and enjoy!
 
Alright, this should be good, it's been a while since something has turned into an APA bashing thread....

You may want to play the remainder of a session (or a whole session) before you start a masters team. There are some rules that are a little foreign to many players, it might be a good idea to sort of have a handle on those before you move on to Masters.
Entering most APA tournaments would require that have ten or so league plays in so you have a mostly accurate S/L, but if no one there is concerned about that then no big deal.
Playing 8 or 9, or both?
 
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My Man, God, are you serious? Think of your children, your ex-wife, yours parents who adopted you right after the county orphanage burnt to the ground. Have you no shame?
No? Well alright then, what the hell, go ahead. Make us proud.
And, a word of advice. Use a condom. You never know when you'll need to play it safe.
Your pal, Tramp. :smile:
 
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Tramp Steamer said:
My Man, God, are you serious? Think of your children, your ex-wife, yours parents who adopted you right after the county orphanage burnt to the ground. Have you no shame?
No? Well alright then, what the hell, go ahead. Make us proud.
And, a word of advice. Use a condom. You never know when you'll need to play it safe.
Your pal, Tramp. :smile:
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I played in a league where my opponent pissed his pants at the table so take rubber gloves a mop and a mop bucket plus stuff to wipe the table down with because he scratched his balls too then wiped and rested his bridge hand on the table .


I refused to finish the game or set on that table and the match was marked as I forfeited.


.
 
mortuarymike-nv said:
I played in a league where my opponent pissed his pants at the table so take rubber gloves a mop and a mop bucket plus stuff to wipe the table down with because he scratched his balls too then wiped and rested his bridge hand on the table .


I refused to finish the game or set on that table and the match was marked as I forfeited.


.
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There was a thread about a guy that missed a shot during a tournament and was so "pissed" that he went up and did a number in a corner pocket. Pretty sure that was a BCA event
 
Allen Brown said:
Do any of you have any suggestions? I've played BCA and in house leagues, but never APA. A good friend of mine wanted me to join so we could play in a scotch doubles tournament this weekend. I have a few teams I could join or start up a Masters team, which is probably what will happen.
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I was never happier than the day I quit APA and went back to doing
what I fell in love with all these years ago, playing pool.
Was able to let go of the politics, the arguments, the scoring, the stupidity.....
All this is very individually based, all it takes is one, so your
experience may be fantastic, and I hope it is but please keep us
updated as to how it works out for you.
Maybe things are better now than they were a few years ago.
 
Take this from a 30 year veteran of the APA: Play the matches to increase your skills at the game. Ignore the other's handicap, team score or anything else. I have won 16 trips to Vegas and numerous other tournaments because I don't get involved in handicap concerns. Just play your match and do your best to learn and win. If you get beat by someone under handicapped...who cares. Move on and get better. Every week is still exciting to me.
 
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Celophanewrap said:
There was a thread about a guy that missed a shot during a tournament and was so "pissed" that he went up and did a number in a corner pocket. Pretty sure that was a BCA event
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I play pool to enjoy it 100% of the time.
Our team won the local league 8 years straight, we dis banned because of all the stupid crap that went on every year.
It was like getting ready to go get in some bar fight with a bunch of drunks.

I don't drink and never care to be around program drinkers and people who will do anything to win.

My wife used to go to every pool event I went to until some guy had his girlfriend strip in front of me while I was shooting hoping to throw my game off.
Everyone thought it was funny except my wife and she has never stepped foot in a bar sense and never gone pool playing with me from that moment on.
And personally who would blame her.

Who wants to be around program drinkers who the only reason they joined the league is to be a drunken @ss hole and have people to drink with..

I don't need the league to have fun.
I can play and make more money betting on games then the league ever pays off.
And I have a much better time playing pool with the people who are not stupid drunks.
 
Everyones APA experience is different, and every APA territory is different. Both for the better and for the worse.

My best advice to you is this....have fun. If it's not fun, don't do it. This obviously isn't for everyone, tho it is a good time for an awfully large number of people.

I really enjoy it.

Are there elements that are less-than-fun occasionally, yes. But those times are vastly outnumbered by the good times I have, every week.

Good luck. I hope your experience is as good as mine is.
 
mortuarymike-nv said:
I play pool to enjoy it 100% of the time.
Our team won the local league 8 years straight, we dis banned because of all the stupid crap that went on every year.
It was like getting ready to go get in some bar fight with a bunch of drunks.

I don't drink and never care to be around program drinkers and people who will do anything to win.

My wife used to go to every pool event I went to until some guy had his girlfriend strip in front of me while I was shooting hoping to throw my game off.
Everyone thought it was funny except my wife and she has never stepped foot in a bar sense and never gone pool playing with me from that moment on.
And personally who would blame her.

Who wants to be around program drinkers who the only reason they joined the league is to be a drunken @ss hole and have people to drink with..

I don't need the league to have fun.
I can play and make more money betting on games then the league ever pays off.
And I have a much better time playing pool with the people who are not stupid drunks.
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I hear stories like this all of the time. Don't do it. What's wrong with leagues in your local poolroom. APA seems more of a social or should I say unsocial club.
 
Well Said!

Banks said:
Iirc, you mentioned a two or three pack when you gambled with your friend. I'd suggest masters, but the most fun i have is playing with an 8b team. There's also something fun about seeing others excited over the game, no matter their level, as well as helping them learn.
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You make some good points. I just started playing APA last week.., I played BCA a couple of times, all I can say is play your game and play with people you like.
 
What's the worst that can happen, you might like it. I play several nites per week and while it is far from perfect, it has been decent enough.
I'm not a fan of ball count scoring in 9 ball or slop 8 ball, but it's still pool. Met some nice people and some a**holes like anywhere else. There are plenty of players better than me and I watch, learn and try to beat them.
Trouble is, if you get to 6 or better it gets harder to play because of the cap. I don't think we have masters division near me but for now I'm a 5 now so plenty of games...
 
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Listen to the bartableman. Remember not playing apa masters is all about the lower players getting introduced to the game.

I know many who enjoy this format although, it is not for me.

Sandbagging is an excuse used by people who dont play that well and are looking for a way out when they make mistakes or have very pathetic morals.

Most importantly have fun with your friends playing the game.
 
mortuarymike-nv said:
.... some guy had his girlfriend strip in front of me while I was shooting hoping to throw my game off.....
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God bless the APA...

We've all face people and teams like the that, and we've all faced people and teams that just want to play pool and have a good time and also people and teams at every point of the spectrum in between, it is what you make of it, and that goes for every league. You can whine about it or you can play and not worry about it. There are a variety of people out there, some play pool, some drink, some strip, and so on,. I do what I do and they do what they do, if I don't enjoy them for the time we're in the same place I ignore them. If they strip and my wife is there we probably both watch the show, but I can't say that anyone has ever offered their stripper girlfriend to me so they might win, winning a match just never seemed that important, I guess. I like to play pool, I like the time with my friends, what's the problem?
 
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