"League Players LOL"
- Thread starter bankshot76
- Start date
PlayBCA advertizes heavily on the Billiards Network .....
i'd love to tell you what i do
by my best guess i do alot of the same things you've done. helped get in house leagues going, play in bca and apa, have played in tap. try to help all the new players on our teams learn as many aspects of the game that i can teach from my level. photocopy articles and pages from books i own. loan out dvds and books, i play in tournaments to support the rooms i frequent. my last three girlfriends, including my current, didn't play much at all and by time we were over they at least knew a little bit of how to play and who some people were. and like i said in my post, most of the people you try to reach won't get it. i hope for one out of ten. the other nine fall by the wayside, so to the people who broke your balls, ignored you and laughed it of - f*ck 'em. don't think about them. i am sure you have someone who you tried to help that has has listened, and that's the one you focus on. this is like religion to some of us as evidenced in this thread. that's where all of the passion and emotion comes from in these posts.
so there that's what i do, today and every day. and no i don't take brakes.
Pushout said:
by my best guess i do alot of the same things you've done. helped get in house leagues going, play in bca and apa, have played in tap. try to help all the new players on our teams learn as many aspects of the game that i can teach from my level. photocopy articles and pages from books i own. loan out dvds and books, i play in tournaments to support the rooms i frequent. my last three girlfriends, including my current, didn't play much at all and by time we were over they at least knew a little bit of how to play and who some people were. and like i said in my post, most of the people you try to reach won't get it. i hope for one out of ten. the other nine fall by the wayside, so to the people who broke your balls, ignored you and laughed it of - f*ck 'em. don't think about them. i am sure you have someone who you tried to help that has has listened, and that's the one you focus on. this is like religion to some of us as evidenced in this thread. that's where all of the passion and emotion comes from in these posts.
so there that's what i do, today and every day. and no i don't take brakes.
I have always though of league as a bunch of wasted time....That is until i became more outgoing and it has definitely been worth the 7 bucks a week...
I get to help others with thier game and laugh and joke about thier shots and mine. It really is a more comfortable aspect of the game. I actually have fun and can be competitive at the same time. I mean i don't wanna lose a match and i love to make the sandbaggers think they are asndbaggin but then hand them thier jaw when it hits the floor after losing...
That is some serious fun!
I get to help others with thier game and laugh and joke about thier shots and mine. It really is a more comfortable aspect of the game. I actually have fun and can be competitive at the same time. I mean i don't wanna lose a match and i love to make the sandbaggers think they are asndbaggin but then hand them thier jaw when it hits the floor after losing...
That is some serious fun!
i just posted this in another thread and ill say it again here. Leagues can be fun for new players but for me, ive never gotten any better playing in a league. It takes away practice time just to go out and play a few racks of barbox 8 ball. Im better off stayin home and playing the ghost on my 9 footer. but to each theyre own.
TXsouthpaw said:
you won't get better playing in a league...
you won't get better gambling with the local shark....
you won't get better WANTING your hardest to get better...
you only get better one way
you work your ass off.. or you won't get better... period...
at the end of the day that is the only universal law of pool...
skill=ego/work ethic
no one suddenly gets good at pool.. it takes several years and only a few ever make it there.. and coincidentally its always seems to be the ones who want it most...
the driving force that spurs you to work that hard can come from many different directions....
I will say this...... a league player who has hit a million balls is every bit as good as the gambler who has hit a million balls...
Shane . . . and handicaps don't mix.
In Rapid City, SD . . . one of the players on my 9 ball team just relocated from there and played on his team for several years! Said Shane is an awesome person . . . It wouldn't hurt to have some of these guys doing public service announcements (like Allison F. does for APA) to join other leagues like BCA . . .
Rich R. said:
In Rapid City, SD . . . one of the players on my 9 ball team just relocated from there and played on his team for several years! Said Shane is an awesome person . . . It wouldn't hurt to have some of these guys doing public service announcements (like Allison F. does for APA) to join other leagues like BCA . . .
For some, there are no other options
I live in a town of 35,000. We have one pool hall and quite a few bars. There are very few tournaments around here, so league is our only option. I started 6 years ago as a pickup player in a medium-low league and was instantly hooked. I went from being afraid to let my team down to helping win games. I quickly outgrew my team's (and league's) abilities and got invited to play in the top league. I practice 15-20 hours per week (would be more if not for the job), and I constantly try to improve my game. Although it is early in the season, we are in first place with only one close competitor. Most of the play at our level is competitive, but not many people practice. If you catch people at the beginning of the season, they don't have their game because they didn't practice all summer and they barely got to league on time the first night. I practice 2-2.5 hours before league starts. Our league system is segregated based upon ability (ability of the team, not neccesarily the players).
I play in a "small town league" put on by a few of the "one bar" towns in the area and it is great fun. I play with one of my teammates from town and 3 locals that like to get out and play pool one night. We are in 2nd, behind a team that has 4 solid players.
Point is, there are some people that use league to get better every year. I placed 9-12 in our "state" tournament (you have to play for a coin op league to qualify for the tournament) because I put the time in. In a few years, I want to go to Vegas and play in nationals.
Most here are unhappy with the league operators though. They feel that too much money is taken out and not enough given back. When you can go to a 3 day tournament and win $700 to $900 for first in singles, people resent that. Also, they try to pay down too far so that the "at least I got my money back" person is happy. I play every tournament and league game to win for myself. I don't play for the money. If I need money, I'll work more. I play to prove to myself that I can get better and to prove that all of the practice is worth it. I would play in a no-payout tournament if there was one, but there are not many other people that would. Long live pool (8 ball)
bankshot76 said:
I live in a town of 35,000. We have one pool hall and quite a few bars. There are very few tournaments around here, so league is our only option. I started 6 years ago as a pickup player in a medium-low league and was instantly hooked. I went from being afraid to let my team down to helping win games. I quickly outgrew my team's (and league's) abilities and got invited to play in the top league. I practice 15-20 hours per week (would be more if not for the job), and I constantly try to improve my game. Although it is early in the season, we are in first place with only one close competitor. Most of the play at our level is competitive, but not many people practice. If you catch people at the beginning of the season, they don't have their game because they didn't practice all summer and they barely got to league on time the first night. I practice 2-2.5 hours before league starts. Our league system is segregated based upon ability (ability of the team, not neccesarily the players).
I play in a "small town league" put on by a few of the "one bar" towns in the area and it is great fun. I play with one of my teammates from town and 3 locals that like to get out and play pool one night. We are in 2nd, behind a team that has 4 solid players.
Point is, there are some people that use league to get better every year. I placed 9-12 in our "state" tournament (you have to play for a coin op league to qualify for the tournament) because I put the time in. In a few years, I want to go to Vegas and play in nationals.
Most here are unhappy with the league operators though. They feel that too much money is taken out and not enough given back. When you can go to a 3 day tournament and win $700 to $900 for first in singles, people resent that. Also, they try to pay down too far so that the "at least I got my money back" person is happy. I play every tournament and league game to win for myself. I don't play for the money. If I need money, I'll work more. I play to prove to myself that I can get better and to prove that all of the practice is worth it. I would play in a no-payout tournament if there was one, but there are not many other people that would. Long live pool (8 ball)
APA Commercial
I like watching the APA commercials. They promote it as a "get out and have fun" system rather than a "learn how to play pool like Allison Fisher". You see people on the commercial eyeing balls from weird angles (the one guy that gets his head down on the rail and eyeballs his shot slays me). In the commercial people are standing by the table while the person shoots and they are laughing and having a good time. That would not appeal to me in the least. At least in our leagues, your opponent has to be sitting in his chair while you shoot and coaching, rude behaviour, and cheating are penalized.
YaktyYak said:
I like watching the APA commercials. They promote it as a "get out and have fun" system rather than a "learn how to play pool like Allison Fisher". You see people on the commercial eyeing balls from weird angles (the one guy that gets his head down on the rail and eyeballs his shot slays me). In the commercial people are standing by the table while the person shoots and they are laughing and having a good time. That would not appeal to me in the least. At least in our leagues, your opponent has to be sitting in his chair while you shoot and coaching, rude behaviour, and cheating are penalized.
Beats me as to the problem. When I played in Ohio the very best players around wouldn't play in the league, but here in NC most of them do.
I played in APA for 3 years till I got a wonderful DWI. After that I figured that if I was gonna get caught driving it wouldn't be leaving a bar. I've been back for about a year now after a 10 year layoff of not only the league, but serious pool in general.
When I think of the first three years of APA I have to admit that it really did make me a much better player. I was a 5 and chomping at the bit to beat anyone rated a 5 or higher. Actually if there was a 7 on that team I requested to play that person. I didn't care if I went up in rating because that is exactly what I wanted.
Now that I'm back I don't really need that because I'm driven to beat what I consider I could be as far as shooting. Unfortunately for me that means the ol' lady is gonna be mad at me because when I get something in my head it consumes me. Thankfully she wasn't around when I played tournament softball and was taking BP at the tune of 400 balls a day.
I played in APA for 3 years till I got a wonderful DWI. After that I figured that if I was gonna get caught driving it wouldn't be leaving a bar. I've been back for about a year now after a 10 year layoff of not only the league, but serious pool in general.
When I think of the first three years of APA I have to admit that it really did make me a much better player. I was a 5 and chomping at the bit to beat anyone rated a 5 or higher. Actually if there was a 7 on that team I requested to play that person. I didn't care if I went up in rating because that is exactly what I wanted.
Now that I'm back I don't really need that because I'm driven to beat what I consider I could be as far as shooting. Unfortunately for me that means the ol' lady is gonna be mad at me because when I get something in my head it consumes me. Thankfully she wasn't around when I played tournament softball and was taking BP at the tune of 400 balls a day.
I've played in leagues since before I was old enough to even go to Vegas once we won the trip. I've played in Louisiana, Virginia and Texas and I've had a good time in each of them. Leauge for me is relaxing from the normal pool hall grind of trying to match up and arguing for hours only to not even play. I've gotten almost every good player in my town to play league with me and you wouldn't believe the result. Almost all of them like it and it's actually helped their game out.
Most of the 9-ballers here really let the cue ball loose and went more rails than necessary to get shape. On break out shots, it was hope and pray as to whether they would have shape afterwards. Playing 8-ball the right way teaches you the proper way to break out balls where you'll have a shot afterwards. Your cueball control on a bar table has to be much more precise. Your patterns will help determine how often you runout.
I've never played in a league like the ones here though. The players pay NOTHING lol. The bars you play for pay the initial $100-200 fee for your team. We have trophy leagues and a money league. The players invest nothing and can win up to $700 per person after only 14 days of play. 14 weeks and one night a week. Trust me, broke pool players will go to the pool hall before the playoffs to try and get that money. The real kicker is, if you put together a really good team sometimes the bars will pay for your drinks too. I've had free drinks on my pool teams for the last 5 years. I don't play anymore due to work but it was alot of fun and it got me to actually play pool and even enter some tournaments since I wasn't completely out of stroke.
Most of the 9-ballers here really let the cue ball loose and went more rails than necessary to get shape. On break out shots, it was hope and pray as to whether they would have shape afterwards. Playing 8-ball the right way teaches you the proper way to break out balls where you'll have a shot afterwards. Your cueball control on a bar table has to be much more precise. Your patterns will help determine how often you runout.
I've never played in a league like the ones here though. The players pay NOTHING lol. The bars you play for pay the initial $100-200 fee for your team. We have trophy leagues and a money league. The players invest nothing and can win up to $700 per person after only 14 days of play. 14 weeks and one night a week. Trust me, broke pool players will go to the pool hall before the playoffs to try and get that money. The real kicker is, if you put together a really good team sometimes the bars will pay for your drinks too. I've had free drinks on my pool teams for the last 5 years. I don't play anymore due to work but it was alot of fun and it got me to actually play pool and even enter some tournaments since I wasn't completely out of stroke.
Something all the "serious players" seem to be forgetting about a majority of the leaguers is that they are doing it recreationally. When you do something recreationally or for a night out with friends shooting some pool and drinking some/many beers, why should they want or try to get better?
Yeah, the serious pool players may look down on this non-chalant attitude about a game at which they excel and strive to better themselves, but that is wrong. How can you project your beliefs/feelings about pool on someone else? Stereotyping league players because some guy smacked his wife around in the parking lot? How in the hell can you possibly develop a bad image of league players because of the actions of one idiot? Pretty stupid huh?
Categorizing and putting down leaguers because of how much they smoke? You have got to be kidding me...........
If leaguers have such little repsect for the game and etiquette, that is more a failing of the senior players and the leagues themselves more than the individuals. People who have done nothing but play bar pool, whether they are in a league or not, aren't going to have proper etiquette.
Comparing your all-knowing-pool-playing-league-hating-selves to leaguers and leagues is like comparing apples and oranges. Both are fine in their own worlds but don't try to combine or compare them.
League players spend a lot of money on equipment, at pool halls, in bars and provide a base for many potential great players or fans to come from. Knocking leagues and league players like many of you do is assinine.
Hell, Mika Immonen plays in a 9 ball league in NYC. I guess his game and pool etiquette sucks, huh? That is a fair question considering some of the generalizations people made, on page 1 of this thread alone, about league players.
Yeah, the serious pool players may look down on this non-chalant attitude about a game at which they excel and strive to better themselves, but that is wrong. How can you project your beliefs/feelings about pool on someone else? Stereotyping league players because some guy smacked his wife around in the parking lot? How in the hell can you possibly develop a bad image of league players because of the actions of one idiot? Pretty stupid huh?
Categorizing and putting down leaguers because of how much they smoke? You have got to be kidding me...........
If leaguers have such little repsect for the game and etiquette, that is more a failing of the senior players and the leagues themselves more than the individuals. People who have done nothing but play bar pool, whether they are in a league or not, aren't going to have proper etiquette.
Comparing your all-knowing-pool-playing-league-hating-selves to leaguers and leagues is like comparing apples and oranges. Both are fine in their own worlds but don't try to combine or compare them.
League players spend a lot of money on equipment, at pool halls, in bars and provide a base for many potential great players or fans to come from. Knocking leagues and league players like many of you do is assinine.
Hell, Mika Immonen plays in a 9 ball league in NYC. I guess his game and pool etiquette sucks, huh? That is a fair question considering some of the generalizations people made, on page 1 of this thread alone, about league players.
Last edited: