Leauges or Tournaments ??

Matt90

Matt90

Trust the Process
Silver Member
Which is better for your game ? I am getting more to where
leauges are a pain in the butt. I seem to enjoy tournaments
more even if I go 2 n out . So I may drop everything but one
APA team and besides that just play tournaments .
Just wanted to see what all you folks think about this ,I
even had a guy tell me a long while back that leauges can
ruin a good player because of the short races and handicaps ?
 
League play drives me nuts! I really don't enjoy beating up on the helpless or putting up with the sandbaggers.

The only reasons I do it is for the social aspect with my friends and to qualify for 10 days in Vegas every May.

Tournaments are fun if run well and the matching up after the tourney is where it's at for me. Even being a railbird has its moments if great players match up.

Stones
 
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Stones said:
League play drives me nuts! I really don't enjoy beating up on the helpless or putting up with the sandbaggers.

The only reasons I do it is for the social ascept with my friends and to qualify for 10 days in Vegas every May.

Tournaments are fun if run well and the matching up after the tourney is where it's at for me. Even being a railbird has its moments if great players match up.

Stones
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I agree,league pool to me is more of a night out,networking and playing as a team,it wasnt for me and i didnt enjoy alot of the equipment and the way some of the players acted,drunk,pains in the ass,bad sportsmanship.I prefer tournament play,its you against the world and its fun to play alot of different players in one day too.I think the tournament play will help you more then league as your playing more players and getting more table time too,some weak and some very strong players with different styles.
 
I've been playing in leagues for probobly 20 years. I enjoy the team aspect of it but it's more about just getting out of the house and hanging with my friends then anything else. I think my favorite night is when the other team doesn't show up and we throw together a quick tournament. They guys on my team our some of the to players in the league so it gets prettty competitive.
 
Tournaments have stiffer competition. I have seen league players play much better during weekly tournaments, than when they play league.
 
Hey Matt. Well you know how I feel about this......
I think you will enjoy the tournaments more and find that for the most part you will run into better players, but like Stones said in a previous post, weekly tournaments are great IF they are run well!!!

Craig
 
okinawa77 said:
Tournaments have stiffer competition. I have seen league players play much better during weekly tournaments, than when they play league.
Click to expand...


GEE, there's a surprise :p LOL. Sandbaggers aside though, I too play better in tourneys than I do in league. Although I think I've seen worse sportsmanship displays at tourneys than I do in league. I had a guy refuse to shake my hand last Saturday after I won a match. He said for everyone to hear that I was UNDERHANDICAPPED. There were 3 ratings in the tourney 5 - him and two others, 3 - two ladies, and everyone else was a 4. Well, we met on the losers side and bothed dropped down, him having to win 4 to my 3.....I let him cool off a bit after the match (he threw his cue into a corner where his case was, and was mumbling), and approached him after a couple of minutes, but he would have none of it....OH WELL.

I only play one night of league (APA 8 ball), and I even enjoy the smaller weekly tourneys better. The big tourneys are a BLAST if you have one nearby. Competition goes way up when folks are willing to travel a couple of hours to play in a big one. :D
 
W/O a doubt tournaments are far better for your game. I know how I play in league vs. tournaments. I am much more focused in tournaments than in league and in league I will sometimes sandbag/throw a game once in a while because of the team/handicap aspect of it because I usually play as the last player each round.

I think the only real reason I play leagues anymore is because my team will finish 2nd or 3rd every year and the payback is about 150% of what I pay into it them.
 
I think both leagues and tournaments serve a purpose. Both have qualities to them that are not present in the other that can improve your game.

Imagine these scenarios and how they might help out your mental game in the long run:

League Play-Off Match
Your team is tied and has elected YOU to play the tie-breaker. If you win, your team wins x prize. If you lose, you're out of the competition. You haven't hit a ball in 3 hours and you're expected to brng your best game.

Tournament Finals
You lost your first match and have climbed through a 64 player field from the losers' side to reach the finals. You've played over a dozen matches now and all the shots are a complete blur. Your opponent is rested, fed and ready to go and first place is double second place.


I mean, you shouldn't be trading one for the other. Just play. Both arenas are going to make you stronger. Both have their own pressure. I actually LOVE team play and find it to be more unnerving than anything but gambling but also love tournament play.
 
gambling >>>>>>>> tournaments >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> playing for fun >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> playing for pride >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> playing league.

imo
 
The good thing about leagues is the "time out" and advice giving with APA right in the middle of a game. Some things you can only learn while playing and having a specific situation, then having a better player discuss options with you which you may not have thought of. Regional tournaments are fun and a good learning experience.


I like money tournaments the best though...

The best players are there.

Sometimes you get a new unknown player passing through and it can be challenging to determine how good that player *really* is.

You are free to do as you wish, no team watching your every shot - so if you just want to go out and play a few games and go home early, you can dump or forfeit. Or if you are playing a beginner, you can miss a few shots on purpose and give them a few extra chances.

If you are practicing a particular shot and it comes up, you can shoot that shot instead of an easy shot. You can choose to use the tournament as practice time.

You don't *have* to go to any tournaments. If it is snowing or whatever, you can choose to stay home.

And then in my area at least, I can pick and choose the tournaments I go to. They range from beginner bar-rules/no rules and bar-bangers mostly to BCA rules tournaments where a few pros show up. And all in-between.
 
When I first started playing pool, I began to play in leagues. Then I added weekly tournaments to my routine. League play then led to me playing in their state and national tournaments.

Like Stones, I play in league to qualify for the associated Big tournaments. Which in turn helps your game because you get strong competition and larger fields at the tournaments.

I used to not like league, but now I set little goals that helps me focus... whereas before, I was just playing to qualify for Vegas or State.

Good question, btw. My final answer to your question would be I think tournaments are better for your game, but playing league helps you when you get to those tournaments.
 
It's like asking your mom, which is better broccoli or spinach?

She's going to smack you upside the head and say, "BOTH! Now eat!"
 
Leagues offer you the unique opportunity to interact with players from your region, develop rivalries and perform under pressure. Nobody wants to let the team down. Team play through leagues also provides opportunities for mentoring new or young players. I have made a point of picking up a new/young player at the beginning of every summer season with the understanding that come fall I'm going back to my regular line up and it's up to them to find a new team although I often help them out with that.

I also encourage the players on my team to go to tournaments regularly, it's a good opportunity for them to learn to rely on themselves. It's also a great place to learn to deal with all the BS that players try to pull over on you which doesn't always come up in league.
 
Maybe

Maybe I was on over load I was on 4 teams a week and now have
backed down to two .I am gonna see what this session brings and
may drop one of those and play in two tournaments a week instead.
Leauges are good but I feel in tournaments that all I have to put up
with is who I am playing at the time and the tournament director.
:cool:
 
I always tell beginning players to get into the handicap tournaments. Here in San Francisco you'll run into some very good players. The incentive to "win or go home" will make you pay attentiion much more than a league match where you play a specific number of games regardless. As for league, it can be a very rewarding experience WITH THE PROPER TEAMMATES, and in a well-organized league.
 
- Tournaments
- League Tournaments
- APA League
- Valley/BCA League

While Valley and BCA have some advantages over how the APA is run, I don't think either league does much for your game when you play one game and sit down and play again and sit down, etc. While you may sometimes not get a great match-up in APA, at least it's a race to something uninterrupted.
 
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