National Amateur Pool Association (NAPA)

[krupa]

Let me guess. You are 70 or below in handicap. right? I am not really saying anything bad about the league. It is designed for the low handicaps. What they don't know, and prolly don't care, is that in order to get better at pool they must play better players and the good players are not playing in this league for the most part.

I'm a 60 though it's not actually relevant. As I said before, what you're describing does not happen in my league. If you'd like to continue discussing what happens in my NAPA division (which I use as an example to illustrate the point that you can't make sweeping statements about leagues), perhaps you'd also like to tell me what I ate for breakfast.

 

[GoBilliards]

Yea ok.

My statements were very broad. I will refine them for you. I have 2 major problems with the NAPA hadicap system.

1) it is based on the false premise that you can handicap your way to fairness. It assumes that in a perfect world everyone would win 50% of their matches. You can never handicap you way to this goal.

2) it doesn't take into account the law of dimishing returns. A weak player can perform at x% of their normal level while the great player cannot. Bowling is a great example of this because the numbers are finite and easy to understand. 300 is the best you can do. A player who averages 200 can only perform at 150% of his skill level while a player who averages 100 pins can perform at a max of 200%. This is why in Bowling you get 90% of your average, The 10% accounts for the law of dimishing returns. They have used the same basic handicap system for bowling for decades.

 

[mosconiac]

I'm currently playing in my second 9B NAPA league & it's been really fun. I tend to find team leagues boring, so that should tell you something. The NAPA format results in a great mix of players (from poor to really good), it allows coaching (which promotes learning), and seems to have more easy going players than other leagues (which could change over time).

I'm currently a 96 & don't mind giving out those 9-3, 10-2, 8-3...etc handicaps. It makes me try & it feels good when you win.

They force you to call the 9B on any shot other than the snap...no lucking it in. I like that, but I've lost a game or two for not calling it. My fault, I knew the rule.

 

[Goldy]

Yea ok.

My statements were very broad. I will refine them for you. I have 2 major problems with the NAPA hadicap system.

1) it is based on the false premise that you can handicap your way to fairness. It assumes that in a perfect world everyone would win 50% of their matches. You can never handicap you way to this goal.

2) it doesn't take into account the law of dimishing returns. A weak player can perform at x% of their normal level while the great player cannot. Bowling is a great example of this because the numbers are finite and easy to understand. 300 is the best you can do. A player who averages 200 can only perform at 150% of his skill level while a player who averages 100 pins can perform at a max of 200%. This is why in Bowling you get 90% of your average, The 10% accounts for the law of dimishing returns. They have used the same basic handicap system for bowling for decades.

And we know how rampant sandbagging in bowling is... hehehehe

 

[Goldy]

I'm currently playing in my second 9B NAPA league & it's been really fun. I tend to find team leagues boring, so that should tell you something. The NAPA format results in a great mix of players (from poor to really good), it allows coaching (which promotes learning), and seems to have more easy going players than other leagues (which could change over time).

I'm currently a 96 & don't mind giving out those 9-3, 10-2, 8-3...etc handicaps. It makes me try & it feels good when you win.

They force you to call the 9B on any shot other than the snap...no lucking it in. I like that, but I've lost a game or two for not calling it. My fault, I knew the rule.

Glad you like the NAPA 9B format. You can trust that the founders of NAPA have gone over every single detail pertaining to all scenarios. Plus all NAPA game formats are played like they should be played.

Thanks for supporting NAPA..