Player Opinions Wanted (thinking of starting a 1P tournament)

AZE

AZE

DeucesCracked Instructor
Silver Member
Thinking of starting up a 1-pocket tournament, possibly something that can be done every x-months, hopefully gaining more of an attendance/attention as time goes on. But for sure I want to do at least one very soon.

I need player suggestions for all of the specifics. What do you guys think would make for the best tournament?

While it would be great to have a big tournament with notable names coming from out-of-town/state to play, it would seem more realistic to go for more of the local pool enthusiasts, plus we already have a hand-full of top-notch 1P players from around the way that will definitely play. So I'm thinking a buy-in amount that's a little more accommodating to people who know that they don't have a great shot of winning, but would like to play against better players, is more fitting -- but I'd still like the prize money to be decent. How does $45 entry sound?

And added money? How much?

As far as format, I was thinking race-to-3 matches, with a losers side (possibly race to 2 on the losers for times sake).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Uwate, or anyone other local players, you guys know what's going on around here much more than I do nowadays, plz help! :)
 
AZE said:
...As far as format, I was thinking race-to-3 matches, with a losers side (possibly race to 2 on the losers for times sake).
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Helfert used a no-more-than-three-balls-in-the-kitchen-at-any-time rule and it worked great at his Hollywood Jack tourney. (Any extra balls closest to the end rail are spotted.) And you'll probably find race to two on the losers side a godsend.
 
demonrho said:
Helfert used a no-more-than-three-balls-in-the-kitchen-at-any-time rule and it worked great at his Hollywood Jack tourney. (Any extra balls closest to the end rail are spotted.) And you'll probably find race to two on the losers side a godsend.
Click to expand...

I've heard of the X-Balls in the kitchen rule, never seen it implemented, I wonder what the players think of that.

It would be great if Jay could chime in here. I'd be honored to get advice from a veteran.
 
AZE said:
... As far as format, I was thinking race-to-3 matches, with a losers side (possibly race to 2 on the losers for times sake)....
Click to expand...
Please, no double elimination. There are lots of other formats you can use. If you get a slug in the losers' side, you'll end at five in the morning.

One is: round robin in groups of four, two players advance to single elimination.

Another is: Single-elimination qualifiers in groups of 8 with buybacks and second-day finals. You could have a $20 entry fee with this format and still generate a good prize fund.

Straight single elimination with a second-chance tourney for those eliminated in the first round.

One advantage of SE is that you can make the matches somewhat longer.
 
i really think you should think about making it cumulative, more like a golf tournament for example, and just the difference of balls made between 2 players for say three games. then the player would take that number with him to the next round. i dont know the specifics of how to run it, but it is something i would consider.

for those not following that bad explanation. if 2 players played three games the first round and the scores were 8 to 6, 8 to 7, and 8 to 1 the player would leave the round 10 points because he got 2 points in the first game, 1 in the second and 7 in the third. just keep that total going and play the tournament like normal except in the 3 games if one player wins the first two you would still play the third. make sense??

this would really be cool if a good player was playing as he would be at least more forced to try and play his strongest pool.
 
enzo said:
i really think you should think about making it cumulative, more like a golf tournament for example, and just the difference of balls made between 2 players for say three games. then the player would take that number with him to the next round. i dont know the specifics of how to run it, but it is something i would consider.

for those not following that bad explanation. if 2 players played three games the first round and the scores were 8 to 6, 8 to 7, and 8 to 1 the player would leave the round 10 points because he got 2 points in the first game, 1 in the second and 7 in the third. just keep that total going and play the tournament like normal except in the 3 games if one player wins the first two you would still play the third. make sense??

this would really be cool if a good player was playing as he would be at least more forced to try and play his strongest pool.
Click to expand...
This would be fun, in principle. But how long until someone gives up a few extra balls to their friend, or says "I'll let you beat me 8-0, 8-0, 8-0 for a quarter of your winnings"? The problem is that, unlike golf, each player's score depends in part on the other player's skill and strategy.

When I ran a 1P tournament, I followed a suggestion from someone on AZB that worked pretty well. A race to 1 is too short and a best of 3 is too long. So carry over the ball count from the rack to rack and make it, say, a race to 12 or 15 balls (you stop each rack when someone gets to 8).

I found, ultimately, that a 1P tourney was tough to keep going because most of the players would rather be gambling and because you couldn't get the recreational players to play. Hopefully it will go better for you.

Cory
 
Aze perhaps you could limit your tournament to 16 players. That way you could have double elimination--race to 3 on winners side and race to 2 on the one loss side. It probably doesn't matter how long your tournament lasts anyway since your poolroom is open 24 hours.
We had a tournament here in April, $25 entry fee-- I had 15 players and they came from Orlando, Vero, Melbourne and Palm Bay but, the tournament was single elimination. It started at 1:00 p.m. sharp and 1st and 2nd split at 5:30 p.m.. I was surprised it was over so quickly so I have decided to try double elimination next. Money added is always nice if you can get it...
Send me a flyer up to Melbourne and maybe some of my players will come down to Hollywood Billiards.
 
rules

For 1-day, short 1-pocket tournaments, I like:

* race to 2 double elim (race to 3 takes way too long sometimes)
* tournament admin can penalize extra slow play after a warning
* no more than 3 balls in the kitchen - balls closest to the headstring spot up to leave 3 in the kitchen
* 3 fouls rule in effect
* no whining - excessive whining gives your opponent the option of either kicking you in the nuts or slapping you on the ass...depending on your gender.
 
Thanks all.

I was considering a buy-back option like they do at the DCC, and that's probably what I'll do. Thank you Bob.

Enzo - I've seen this format in action. I think this format actually makes for less of an edge for the better one-pocket players, which I am against.

Cory - I don't think I will have a hard time filling this tournament up, we have a good handful of good players and a ton of amateurs and enthusiasts that would be happy to play.

PoolHall - I will be considering putting a Cap on at least the first tournament to make sure it doesn't last too long, however I may end up making this a two day event.
This particular one will not be at Hollywood Billiards but not far from, but I do have hopes to run a few events over there as well in the future.
I will send up a flyer when I get one made up, thank you so much :)

Franky;
* Rather let it run a bit longer and let the better player have a better chance to win.
* Agreed
* Considering it, I'll have to run it by some of the 1P gurus down here
* I personally don't care for the 3-foul rule, but I guess I have to consider it for times sake.
* You can whine all you want when the match is over, any sharking / physical altercation / etc will result in you being permanently barred from any event I ever host in my life. I'm sick of seeing that kind of stuff in almost every tournament I've ever been at, makes the game look so bad.
 
Cory in DC said:
This would be fun, in principle. But how long until someone gives up a few extra balls to their friend, or says "I'll let you beat me 8-0, 8-0, 8-0 for a quarter of your winnings"? The problem is that, unlike golf, each player's score depends in part on the other player's skill and strategy.

When I ran a 1P tournament, I followed a suggestion from someone on AZB that worked pretty well. A race to 1 is too short and a best of 3 is too long. So carry over the ball count from the rack to rack and make it, say, a race to 12 or 15 balls (you stop each rack when someone gets to 8).

I found, ultimately, that a 1P tourney was tough to keep going because most of the players would rather be gambling and because you couldn't get the recreational players to play. Hopefully it will go better for you.

Cory
Click to expand...

yeah, you're right. that would for sure happen. im thinking of ways t counteract this..... maybe say each player put in 50 into the pot, and depending on how many balls yo made during the tournament would go into figuring the amount of the 50 given back. too much of a headache but interesting nonetheless.

aze, i haven't seen one of these in action as you have, but i would definitely think this format would favor the better players. theoretically, the better the player, the bigger the ball difference.

i would probably do race to 2 single elimination if i was you. if you have no slow players, maybe a race to 3 would work. maybe you could do something like payout to the top woman or top c player to get more people interested? added money: i think it REALLY helps turnout if you could somehow guarantee a 100 first place. anyway, good luck.
 
AZE said:
Thinking of starting up a 1-pocket tournament, possibly something that can be done every x-months, hopefully gaining more of an attendance/attention as time goes on. But for sure I want to do at least one very soon.

I need player suggestions for all of the specifics. What do you guys think would make for the best tournament?

While it would be great to have a big tournament with notable names coming from out-of-town/state to play, it would seem more realistic to go for more of the local pool enthusiasts, plus we already have a hand-full of top-notch 1P players from around the way that will definitely play. So I'm thinking a buy-in amount that's a little more accommodating to people who know that they don't have a great shot of winning, but would like to play against better players, is more fitting -- but I'd still like the prize money to be decent. How does $45 entry sound?

And added money? How much?

As far as format, I was thinking race-to-3 matches, with a losers side (possibly race to 2 on the losers for times sake).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Uwate, or anyone other local players, you guys know what's going on around here much more than I do nowadays, plz help! :)
Click to expand...
I think the best way to go regarding the entry fee is based on skill level.IF You make it$45 a few guys will play in the beginning and once they see they have no chance will stop playing.I would suggest making 3 levels lets just say ABC an A would pay 60 which is fair because they have a great chance at cashing a B would pay 40 also fair because with a good draw and some rolls they can cash and a C would pay 20 since they have almost no chance at cashing it is basically a cheap lesson that most guys would be happy to pay
 
^ That's a great idea. I should hold one then too.

In the meantime I'm making playing online poker for an income and have a little bit too much free-time on my hands + I figured this would help generate some promo for my friends new pool hall the Miss Q in Davie which has some pretty sweet Diamond tables (the same ones used @ the Seminole Pro Tour finally event @ the HR).

James come on down and make the trip for this one (whenever it is). Any AZB members that come to play from out-of-county get a dinner on me :)
 
Voodoo Daddy said:
All you have to do is get with me...I did have the ONLY One Pocket tour in the Country...:grin-devilish:
Click to expand...

Voodoo,
going to PM you some contact info. If you could help me out with this at all that would be like maybe the best thing evar.
 
AZE said:
Thinking of starting up a 1-pocket tournament, possibly something that can be done every x-months, hopefully gaining more of an attendance/attention as time goes on. But for sure I want to do at least one very soon.

I need player suggestions for all of the specifics. What do you guys think would make for the best tournament?

While it would be great to have a big tournament with notable names coming from out-of-town/state to play, it would seem more realistic to go for more of the local pool enthusiasts, plus we already have a hand-full of top-notch 1P players from around the way that will definitely play. So I'm thinking a buy-in amount that's a little more accommodating to people who know that they don't have a great shot of winning, but would like to play against better players, is more fitting -- but I'd still like the prize money to be decent. How does $45 entry sound?

And added money? How much?

As far as format, I was thinking race-to-3 matches, with a losers side (possibly race to 2 on the losers for times sake).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Uwate, or anyone other local players, you guys know what's going on around here much more than I do nowadays, plz help! :)
Click to expand...

We have a weekly, free, handicapped one pocket tournament. We have players from all over come to try their luck. DeadPoked flew in to play in it but ran into one of our local buzz saws. It is single elimination, race to two. No one complains about the spots (much) since it's a free tournament. It pays two places, seventy five dollars and twenty five dollars. If they don't know you they rate you fairly high and so it is a little tough for the roadies to play in, besides they show an awful lot of speed for 75. :)

We have 16-32 players each week who show up just to beat up on each other. No big money but it's still fun if you win or if you beat someone who thinks they have the best of the game with a good spot.

The better players can't complain about the spots because they're not putting up an entry fee and they can stay home of they don't want to show some speed. Actually we have a player or two who plays in the tournament just to lay down so that they can get gambling action with the guys who aren't paying attention.

JoeyA
 
AZE said:
Thinking of starting up a 1-pocket tournament, possibly something that can be done every x-months, hopefully gaining more of an attendance/attention as time goes on. But for sure I want to do at least one very soon.

I need player suggestions for all of the specifics. What do you guys think would make for the best tournament?

While it would be great to have a big tournament with notable names coming from out-of-town/state to play, it would seem more realistic to go for more of the local pool enthusiasts, plus we already have a hand-full of top-notch 1P players from around the way that will definitely play. So I'm thinking a buy-in amount that's a little more accommodating to people who know that they don't have a great shot of winning, but would like to play against better players, is more fitting -- but I'd still like the prize money to be decent. How does $45 entry sound?

And added money? How much?

As far as format, I was thinking race-to-3 matches, with a losers side (possibly race to 2 on the losers for times sake).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Uwate, or anyone other local players, you guys know what's going on around here much more than I do nowadays, plz help! :)
Click to expand...

Here you go, for what it's worth. Make it a weekend tourney. Like Bob said, one day is not enough for a DE tourney. You play down to the money the first day. That way the players coming back will ALL win something. I like Race to Three on the winner's side and Race to Two on the loser's side. If you want to do it in one day, make it SE.

Bob is right, Race to Three on the loser's side and you can be in for a very long first day, to get to the money. I'd make the entry fee something like $50, small but enough to get a few bucks in the purse. You can put $40 into the purse and keep $10 for the house/TD fees. With 32 players, you'll have $1,280 to put into the purse and $320 for the house/TD.

If you add $500 (a reasonable amount) it will make it more attractive for players to enter. You could do an event like this on a monthly basis, and it should draw players and grow over time. Perhaps once every three or six months, you can increase the added money to $1,000 and maybe boost the entry fee a notch to $60 or $75. Wait until the tourney has become established though.

Let's say you have 32 players at $50 each plus $500 added. That's a $1,780 purse. The winner could get about a third of that, say $600, with $300 for second. Pay twelve spots with 9-12 getting back their entry fee. 1. $600 2. $300 3. $200 4. $150 5-6. $100 7-8. $75 9-12. $50 Total pay out is $1,800, you'll have to add an extra $20 to make it work (or make first $580). We do it all the time.

One Pocket can be a slow game. I use the three foul rule, so you avoid situations where players continuously tap the cue ball when it is buried in the pack, taking foul after foul. The four balls in the kitchen rule helps immensely too. Once there are four balls inside the head string, you spot the one closest to the end rail. This avoids all the balls from going up table, and gets balls that are hanging in the far corner pockets back into play.

The last thing I will do if necessary is warn players for slow play. A minute or so is more than enough time to make a decision. When I see players taking two to three minutes per turn, I will give them a warning first. After that I may use a 45 second shot clock (a second hand is fine), to speed them up. There is no 10 second warning or extensions given. If they haven't hit the cue ball in 45 seconds, it's a foul. Once they know they are on the clock, everything usually speeds up.

Hope this helps. One Pocket is a great game, but a far different animal then 9-Ball or Eight Ball.
 
Last edited:
3andstop said:
You could make a win 6 balls instead of 8 to speed the games up some.
Click to expand...

NO NO NO NO NO and NO! Then it wouldn't be One Pocket anymore. :wink:
 
jay helfert said:
NO NO NO NO NO and NO! Then it wouldn't be One Pocket anymore. :wink:
Click to expand...

Jay, I completely understand your concern, but IMO implementing a rule like this impacts the game's strategy far less than spotting balls on the footline if "X" number of balls fall in the kitchen, or worse, above the side pockets!

Certainly for gambling purposes the extra balls represent opportunities to move, but lets face it, when you spot someone 10 - 8 and the breaks, how is that one pocket? :)

I believe that one of the things that draws folks to tournaments is the ability to play some rounds even if they don't really have a chance to take home the prize money.

Shortening the game can afford some time to extend the sessions which will at least give folks time at the table. It still would allow players to move balls to the other end without "in effect" canceling the game by putting them back on the foot spot.

Nothing you do to change a game would render it the same game.

Even a time clock would affect the game far more than it would 9 ball or even 14.1 since 1 Pocket is so much a thinking game. Just like speed chess isn't chess, setting a time clock to 1 Pocket only extends the better players edge and changes the game.

I suppose there's a lot of ways to look at it. Just an idea. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top