Just joined the APA...

kaznj said:
The APA is a great league for people who want to get out and meet other pool players. It great for less experienced players who want to play a little pool.
The one big problem I have found is the sandbagging. People who miss on purpose to keep their rating down. Then when a big match comes up they play at their best. If you can get past this major problem you will have a lot of fun. Play the best you can. Learn from the more experienced players, and have fun.
Good luck.
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kaz,

Problem is, I see the same thing happen in BCAPL / VNEA / ACS. Not just an APA / TAP problem. One of our leagues more "respected" players intentionally missed a straight in eight ball after he locked up the round for his team. Other guy won and had his average raised while the perp's dropped. Happens everywhere and as long as we have a competition based society, it will continue to happen. JMHO.

Lyn
 
I started playing pool because of the APA. I had a lot of fun over the past 10 years. I have met some great people and made a lot of friends. I really wouldn't trade that for anything. The APA started my love for pool and I still play. I don't find it the most competitive league but it is fun.

Take it for what it's worth...good friends and good times. And you get to play pool to boot!
 
lorider said:
replied to you in my apa thread. :smile:
i play 2 double jeapordy and 1 8 ball travel division in apa every week. plus i play napa and an in house once a week. looks like as much as i play i would be more consistent night to night. sometimes i play like a 7 and other times like a 3. :frown:

sometimes i wonder if it aint too much. mostly i chalk up to how i play as to what kind of day i had at work.
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Let me tell you something: If you're getting a kick out of it and having fun, you cannot get too much of a good thing. Just be careful and recognize the signs of burnout if they rear their ugly heads. Then you may want to cut back a little. If you wait to late to act on the signs, you may give up a lot more pool than you want to.

As far as the consistency, I'll tell you what I tell a lot of my friends/teammates in the SL4 area: One day it's just suddenly going to all click into place. You will find/do something in your game that sends you up a level or two. It could be fundamentals, it could be aiming, it could be lessons, time spent hitting balls, drills or what have you. But something, somewhere will elevate your game if you stay with it at the pace you're going at it right now.

Give 'em hell, lorider!!!

Maniac
 
cardiac kid said:
kaz,

Problem is, I see the same thing happen in BCAPL / VNEA / ACS. Not just an APA / TAP problem. One of our leagues more "respected" players intentionally missed a straight in eight ball after he locked up the round for his team. Other guy won and had his average raised while the perp's dropped. Happens everywhere and as long as we have a competition based society, it will continue to happen. JMHO.

Lyn
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i have had my suspicions of a few players in apa that may be sandbagging but that is all i can say, just suspect.

however my in house money league under bcapl rules is another matter.

2 weeks ago i witnessed outright, obvious, undeniable sandbagging by 3 players on one team. we faced a team with 3 8's and 2 5's. the 3 8's slapped break and runs on me ( a 7 ) our other 7, and our 8. after getting up about 90 points ahead of us those 3 8's dumped to my gf who is a 3 and her son who is a 4. every one of them managed to go at a minimum of 7 innings against my gf and her son who neither can do better than a 2 ball run starting with ball in hand. they still won by 40 points against us after throwing those games with all of them averaging around 40 points so their handicap would not go up.

the following week my gf was raised from a 3 to a 5, her son was raised from a 4 to a 6. how in the hell can a girl who has played apa for 3 years, cannot make more than 2 balls in a row, has never got past a 3 in a slop league go from a 3 to a 5 in less than 9 weeks in the serious pool playing league known as the bcapl? by obvious sandbagging by her opponents thats how.

the worse part of that whole dang night was listening to her all the way home bragging about how she scored more points than me that night.
 
Maniac said:
Let me tell you something: If you're getting a kick out of it and having fun, you cannot get too much of a good thing. Just be careful and recognize the signs of burnout if they rear their ugly heads. Then you may want to cut back a little. If you wait to late to act on the signs, you may give up a lot more pool than you want to.

As far as the consistency, I'll tell you what I tell a lot of my friends/teammates in the SL4 area: One day it's just suddenly going to all click into place. You will find/do something in your game that sends you up a level or two. It could be fundamentals, it could be aiming, it could be lessons, time spent hitting balls, drills or what have you. But something, somewhere will elevate your game if you stay with it at the pace you're going at it right now.

Give 'em hell, lorider!!!

Maniac
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my gf and i have talked about we may be playing too much especially me. like i said i play 5 nights a week and she plays 3.

actually we did decide to drop our fri night double jeapordy and told our captain last session when it was time to register for this session. she said she understood when i told her i thought it was just too much.

well .... we wound up qualifying for the cities with that team. the captain said that team could not play in the cities if we quit due to not having enough eligible players. my gf and i talked it over and decided to keep playing for that team. now looking at other teams to drop off of.

maybe our in house league. see post 24 and you will understand why .
 
I've been on the APA off & on for 22 years, ever since it started in my area. Mostly it's been a lot of fun, when it stopped being fun at one point I quit for a few years. I love to play & always try to shoot my best but I also like to have fun while I'm doing it. I've been on a 9 ball team for a couple years now with my dad & my daughter, it's a fun night out that we all get to spend together every week doing something that we all love. We're also lucky it's not a travelling league, we play every week at Q Masters; Barry does & always has taken very good care of his players.
 
I personally am not a member of the APA, but I have some friends who have been playing on teams for quite a while and seem to enjoy themselves.
 
I read all the sandbagging stories here, and am always amazed.

I've only play for 3 years, and mostly in our little town out in the middle of nowhere, but I've never seen anything resembling some of the stuff I read here.

Now I'm not so naive to think that it doesn't happen, even here. All I can say is that if anyone here is doing it, they're doing it very poorly. :p

I play with these people a lot. While there might be a few folks who are under handicapped, its only by one skill level, and its usually a result of a losing streak. Those same people bounce back and forth between skill levels. If someone was really trying to sandbag, I would think they wouldn't want to jeopordize all that effort by playing better. Additionally, the end doesn't justify the effort. There hasn't been a team from our division go to Vegas in many, many years. Would these folks really be lying low session after session for more than 3 years? You would pay far more in weekly than you could ever win in Vegas.

Do i suspect a couple of folks might be padding their innings a little, yeah, I guess so. But nothing so obvious and outrageous as the stuff I hear here. And again, I could be falling into the trap of thinking I'm seeing something that really isn't happening.

Either way, its not anything that affects our division. I've been on winning teams enough, and other teams that have finished close, that I know how hard everyone tries to get there.

Of course, I may have a different opinion after we go to states this June. :p Though the previous two times that I've gone, I hadn't seen anything way out of the ordinary...

I love it, and look forward to my league nights each week. I've met so many great folks, and made many great friendships, learned a lot, and had a ton of fun.
 
Hey man, I just started APA as well. I play 9 ball and 8 ball starts on Wednesday. I have not played in a ranked format before now and mostly just hustled a bit here and there. Ive played a few tourneys both APA and walk in sign up bar format. My goal is to do the best I can through the season them try a more serious league. I have fun, but when I know I can beat a guy who beats me, it gets under my skin like my first match. I lost but my personal main problem is I was playing 9ball with the points thing in my head and it distracted my frame of mind. I'm used to playing 9ball by the rack or a race on racks. So the 31 points for my defaulted handicap put a different stress on my game.

I play at least 2-3 hours a day and 10-18 hours on the weekend. I've found being matched up with APA teams is more fun to me. Guaranteed on league nights I have an opponent versus going to the pool hall and running drills for hours, playing the ghost and not having an opponent.

My biggest thing is the rating system and the lack of organization. I played last Monday and the stats haven't been updated yet, but oh well.

Have fun and make of it what you will!
 
JT's cuerepair said:
(I have heard mainly negative things about the APA) Well then why did you join ? I personaly don't believe in the APA and never have, Been asked many times over the years to play but would rather break my cue in half then play in the APA. It's nothing but a bunch of sand baggers trying to win a free trip to Vegas. I hang out at a small private club where I play. There are a few APA teams that play there a few nights a week. I don't agree with the rules the APA has, You can play a shot like 5 ball streight on the corner and that 5 ball can go around the table touch every other ball hit all 6 rails and go in and it's a good shot. Thats not pool thats playing marbles ....
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so can any pro tournament as long as it goes in the called pocket. I think you will find a slop shot to be rare with the higher shill levels.
 
Sounds like this will actually be a good fit. I play in a very competitive private league, so this will be a nice change. There is only one other person on this team that is better than me. Everyone gave me the heads up that winning is a plus, but they are just there to play pool, have some drinks, and have a blast. Even if I see the sandbagging everyone is talking about, I don't think it will bother me that much given the vibe of the team I joined.
 
APA is good fun. I have done it for awhile in Maryland and Florida. Having a good pool hall is key. With an owner who takes care of the players, such as having practice tables, nice equipment, etc.

Great way to meet people because in pool leagues you meet people from all walks of life.

Only reason I don't play APA now is the late hours. From 7- midnight is tough during the week when you get up early. Sure, you can leave before the matches are over but I don't think that's right. No one wants to be left alone playing last.

Ed
 
What I would tell someone joining APA the most important thing to watch out for is falling into too conservative a mindset. The typical APA introduction for a beginning to intermediate player involves teaching them to make percentage plays. You know a guy has just joined a team when after every shot he gets told to hit the ball softer. Playing safe, controlling speed and shooting two way shots are all parts of becoming a better pool player. The danger is in losing the killer instinct. Many players when the shot for the win is right in front of them don't just make it but try to leave a difficult shot when they miss.

Like CJ Wiley says high level pool is a way to express yourself. Learn, play, have fun, improve, but stay yourself out there and don't be ruled by fear.
 
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