That tactic is really just a form of a trap. You cannot lose unless you make yourself lose by falling for the trap.
I've seen it before. People go on and shoot all their ducks and balls that have available pockets, then get stuck by the blockers. During that process, the weaker player was cinching a ball here and there getting most of their balls off the table. What they are counting on is an end game situation, where they have 2-3 balls left, with 2 of them in front of pockets - and the remainder of yours blocked by those balls. So that in the last inning, they can shoot ducks and try and win the rack. Makes sense for them. They can't beat you any other way. So they have to slow you down and drag you out several innings, and get themselves close enough to try and take a shot at finishing the rack.
People who play fundamentally bad 8-ball, and who have no understanding of the basic laws or strategy of 8-ball are highly likely to get burned badly by such a trap. Most players, particularly the majority of APA SL5's and SL6's are dumb and cannot get it through their thick heads that it's not always a good idea to get up to the table and begin making every ball you can in 8-ball.
Perhaps the ultimate worst habit in all of 8-ball, the most fatal flaw to have, is to insist on shooting all the easy balls first, all the ducks and open shots - and leave the blocked or clustered balls last. In other words, starting a run - where no run exists or that the player didn't have a realistic chance of completing. Worst possible habit to have in that game.
That's why this lame trap works so well in the APA. There's plenty of suckers. Don't be that sucker. All it does is encourage these teams to continue doing this. It's ugly and it's really an aberration of the game. It's not how the game is suppose to be, or how it's suppose to look or play. That's why I said, better to quit the APA and not have to deal with people who need to do that incessantly, because they have no chance to beat you any other way.
If you played a much stronger player, would you want to do the same to them? No, you wouldn't. They would be running tables on you, and in turn - you should try to do the same, or play a good safe. Make an effort to win the game the proper way. Only that way can your game develop. These APA players don't develop because they are stuck doing stupid things like that for years. They don't like taking chances or being aggressive. You have to fail at first before you can succeed. Too many in the APA are scared to attempt an out. Even if it is a 3-4 balls. It's pathetic. I used to see safeties being played in situations where there's no need to play a safety. That is a total lack of confidence.
Pocket blocking is part of the game even at a higher level -- but it shouldn't be a player's sole strategy for trying to be competitive with another player who is much more skilled. If that's the case, then that's the wrong environment to be in. Play better players.
Yeah, but I wasn't up that late because of some APA league match. 
