Instead of having a league every week, why not just have a tournament?

[SoniDJ]

Tourney's are good. You can also set up a cash league starting with about 4 teams minimum, pay 5-10 a head with play offs paying 50% - 30% - 20%. The establishment might throw some in the pot. 100% payback at the end of how many ever sessions the captains agree on. Set your own rules, schedules and play to win money for the team.
You'll have to figure out how you play your handicaps. It is basically a 15-20 week team tourney.

 

[JoeW]

Our active retirement community has both. We have a tournament every day with 8 – 16 players. It is similar to a round robin with statistics kept for each player and posted at the end of the month No fees or money involved.

Then we have the inter-active retirement communities league. There are ten communities with a team involved. We play on Tuesdays at 1:00 PM . No fees for the players with six men per team in the league.

Many of these guys have been through hell and back a few times. Lots of good natured ribbing and the language comes from more than one sailor’s bar but it is a different group of men who have nothing to prove. Heck I am 67 years old and have learned some new cuss words ! Best of all we have the time to play whenever we want and we play a lot of pool. So we have both but little or no money involved.

It is not uncommon to see people play for money where the stakes are 25 cents a game.:sorry:

Me, I play about three hours a day. :grin:

 

[chefjeff]

I'll bite...

With all due respect, the majority of the players who are new to the game and spending money to support the pool industry are league players. Not tourney players, not gamblers but just plain old league players.

League players buy cues, use them for a year and leave them in closet only to have their place on the team filled by a new league player who will buy a cue and use it for a while and then leave it in a closet.

League players keep the rooms that we have left running. They are loud, they drink beer and liquor, they play the juke box but all of that is revenue in the owner’s pockets. That will play the bills and keep the room open for the serious player who wants to drink $1 sodas and has a tab of only table time.

Players can mock the league player, hate the league player and try to hustle the league player but I think before they try to remove the league player consideration needs to be given to what exactly he brings to the table, and I mean one thing, money.

Get off your horse, Cowboy. Remember who cue and case makers are making cues and cases for. Remember all those tables that need new felt every six months and all those sets of balls that have to be replaced.

Remember that in many ways, your pool world rides on the backs of league players who settle for low paybacks because they want to have a good night out with their friends and show off all the new equipment they bought.

Jered Allan,
League Player

BUMP.

Another reason I do leagues more than tourneys is LEAGUES ARE OVER BY 10 O'CLOCK and I can go home and get enough sleep to work the next day. Tourneys can run well past midnight if you place, and as my ex-girlfriend wisely advised me: Nothing good (outside the hall) ever happens after midnight.

Jeff Livingston

 

[Ctwitty]

bar closing

You are correct, but personally I like my FREEDOM. If I don't feel like going out on a x night, I can stay home. If I am committed to a League I am stuck.

Honestly tried League ONCE, it was poorly run, disorganized, and I hate the Bar we played in.

Too many DRUNKS BUMP in to you while you were trying to play Pool,, Too many YOUNG KIDS, Too Much Loud Music, and that Sign A Long, Kerioke was the final STRAW.

That was enough of the League thing for me. My favorite place for a Tuesday Night Bar Tournament JUST SHUT ITS DOORS, so I am staying home at night for a long while.

So the bar that had the regular tue. tournament has gone out of business. Imagine that, had they had a lot of league play there they may still be open. tournaments don't make bars and pool rooms money. Of course they must have their regulars that love to throw back the beverages but if they don't have leagues then most will never realize their full potential. I am sure you can find another place that just runs a tournament until they are gone too. Good luck

 

[chefjeff]

So the bar that had the regular tue. tournament has gone out of business. Imagine that, had they had a lot of league play there they may still be open. tournaments don't make bars and pool rooms money. Of course they must have their regulars that love to throw back the beverages but if they don't have leagues then most will never realize their full potential. I am sure you can find another place that just runs a tournament until they are gone too. Good luck

Good point.

If one loves pool and wants it to thrive and survive, joining a league is a good way to support the game, even if it requires the horror of a 2 hour weekly commitment (real pool players commit to nothing or no one ).

Jeff Livingston

 

[KRJ]

Hmmmm

BUMP.

Another reason I do leagues more than tourneys is LEAGUES ARE OVER BY 10 O'CLOCK and I can go home and get enough sleep to work the next day. Tourneys can run well past midnight if you place, and as my ex-girlfriend wisely advised me: Nothing good (outside the hall) ever happens after midnight.

Jeff Livingston

Oh Gosh, I'm gonna hate myself in the morning.... But Jeff, .... I ......
agree......100%......with..........the.........above ...........statement........
OK, it only hurt a little !!!

Plus: If you get home before 10pm, you can thwart any government conspiracy because they won' t be able to "nab' you after midnight... haha.... U know I kid !!

 

[gdc25]

I'm one of those "league players". I've never enjoyed gambling in any fashion (My wife on the other hand, could go through a pay check on a slot machine hoping for that one "big score").

As I've stated in the past, when I started playing a few years ago, it was as a favor to a friend who needed a low handicap player on his team. Since then I've found that I spend more time at my home table working out a scenario that I watched a high SL player run out than just banging balls and that I've switched from that pitcher of whatever "beer" is on special to a large, cool, glass of water. (the waitress still gets her tip, btw)

I've read every thread to now now and from my vantage point I can see good things from every argument. I enjoy the one night a week out of the house, and the chance to BS with all of my fans ( ). Our league is an established league so lots of us have battled several times in the past. I especially enjoy the opportunity to play those return matches. However I DO NOT enjoy the smoke, drunks, and OH MY GOD, KAREOKE!!

So what am I saying? Hell I don't know I just like to type a lot. Competition is in my blood and since I'm my body won't take the abuse of my first true sporting addiction, I'll take this one.

I do know that the Cowboy and others are making retirement look awful damn good with the pictures they are painting.

 

[KRJ]

Hmmmm

I almost always enjoy tournaments. But there are good and bad to all things.

Ya gotta understand, at least for me, that there are (3) modes for me.

1.) Leagues are not real pool to me. They are played on bar tables, and lets just say to reach some goals it isnt about winning each match..:wink:. Our leauge plays on 18 GC covered in Simonis and are in great condition and we are not APA so no sandbagging.

2.) Tournaments. Well these usually are more of a marathon than good pool, I mean you play a match and then wait, then play and wait. Even if you go two and out, its still a long evening or afternoon. The advantage is you get to play some better players, most of which wont gamble cheap (which I enjoy) or gamble at all. For those folks that are pretty good, I get to play them at least a match. Almost all of the teams have at least one Master Player, and many players are as good as any Master but they just don't play in any tourneys to obtain that title.

3.) I much prefer just matching up playing by the game either 1 pocket, or 9 ball. I play cheap, and I can decide how long to play. I always play my best pool in these sessions and actually the guys I play, play their best too. I have given spots and I have got them, I have played even when I have had the worst of it and I have gambled where I have the best of it. For those who do not gamble cheap but want to play in leagues or tournaments baffle me. Because our league is a money league, and 18 teams competing, and bragging rights on the line for being the best team in the best league in the state. PLus, as many good players there are here, you can never let your guard down.


ChicagoRJ: Somedays I wish I played more tourneys, be nice to have a little break from all the Masters I get "stuck" playing everyweek in league!!!!

BUt maybe we are just lucky, and there are no other leagues like we have?? Anyone else got some good leagues in their area? Also, IL is smoke free (no teams dropped out when it went smokeless) and drunks don't happen because the bar and the pool tables are in separate areas so no problems there. Great Food,(the place is really a nice restaurant that happens to have 18 pool tables) nice eye candy walking around, and great selection of beer on tap!! Free Pool before league as early as 4pm, until close at 1:00am, all for $12 per player. ($4 per person goes to house, rest in pay back to players) House even provides a banquest for all the players after each session !!!This is a House League but sanctioned by ACS so we can play state and nat'l tourneys. ( yearly fee of $10 per player, ACS gets no cut of the league dollars) THe good players stay afterwards and usually play some 9 ball, or ring games for a couple of bucks...

 

[gunzby]

Because you won't get near the amount of people playing tournaments as you will leagues. Luckily my league day is the same day as tournament night so right after playing league I hit the tournament if I have time.

 

[IbeAnEngineer]

Speaking for myself, a league makes more sense on a regular weekly basis. Tournaments, while I love playing in them can be a bit erratic as to the number of players playing and the amount of time they take. This can lead to some nights not getting home until well after midnight. When you have to be out the door to go to work at 6:00 am getting home that late is not really desirable. With league I know we will get started at 8:00 and I will be on my way home by no later than 10:30. Plus, I like to going to Vegas every year in May and playing in the BCA and VNEA tourneys.

 

[Georgia Boy]

IMO both have their place and I enjoy playing both League and Tournaments. Leagues are a great night out with friends and can be a good grounding for new players. We also have a great league compared to many, the OP is genuinely more concerned about having a great night out than making bucket loads of cash, thanks Terry!

A number of people I have spoken to find that Tournaments can run too long (for them) and can at times be pretty solitary places to be, again not for them.