Potential pro caliber players in APA league
- Thread starter bazkook
- Start date
If the APA was doing science and medicine we'd be using leeches and sacrifices to cure cancer, and an octagon will be called a wheel, it's close enough to being round.
Why on earth would not an inning be a turn at a table by a player. 0 innings in a game for a break and run, that's funny math. Each player should be marked for innings, not a match. They count innings like baseball, play 9-ball with straight pool points and in 8-ball penalize people for making one ball on the break yet reward them for missing if they happen to crap in a ball in a different pocket. Brilliant!
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Doubt if anyone on AZ thinks APA pool is the best available format. It is however by far the most successful! At least as far as the number of players denotes success. Don't know where players get their Per Inning Average. I'm a logged-on member and can't find that number in my stats. Did find the average number of Defensive Shots Per Match. Mine is 3.76.
Lyn
LOL I'll go ahead and add my name to this as well. I got a chance to win one game against him in the UPA. It was something like a 3-7 race and I choked on the 9 left a hanger. He shut me out. Playing a guy like that just makes me tighten up like you wouldn't believe. It's stressful. :grin-square:
It's great to watch him move the rock though, just sucks when it's against someone on your own team!
David did you qualify again for US Am? Was hoping to introduce myself last year at the event but our paths didn't cross. If you are there this year and some snot nosed Matt Damon lookalike introduces himself to you, it's probably me
Good luck again!
David did you qualify again for US Am? Was hoping to introduce myself last year at the event but our paths didn't cross. If you are there this year and some snot nosed Matt Damon lookalike introduces himself to you, it's probably me
Good luck again!
No I did not. Combination of flat out dogging it and my opponent coming with multiple game winning cosmo shots and I just didnt get there this year. Im pretty bummed about it still.
Ill be in the mix again next year. Hopefully I wont come with my unlucky Canine game at the qualifier.
I noticed some money players in this area have been playing APA.These are guys who normally wouldn't bother with APA and only play BCA to qualify if or when they have a chance to make $$ at BCA regional or national events.
My guess is they found an angle to make some dough playing APA.One guy in particular has to play in a niegboring county because he is banned from playing under the local APA LO.
The handicapping system only goes so far,once they max out at a 7 for 8 ball or a 9 in 9 ball they are still better then others of the same skill level.These are guys who never played APA before and are allready by far the best players in the league by the time they first join the APA.If they are unknown the the LO they can even join and sandbag strategically to make the most of thier time in the APA.
My guess is they found an angle to make some dough playing APA.One guy in particular has to play in a niegboring county because he is banned from playing under the local APA LO.
The handicapping system only goes so far,once they max out at a 7 for 8 ball or a 9 in 9 ball they are still better then others of the same skill level.These are guys who never played APA before and are allready by far the best players in the league by the time they first join the APA.If they are unknown the the LO they can even join and sandbag strategically to make the most of thier time in the APA.
So true, every good player I know that was asked to join an APA team was invited so they can play under their skill and mess around with the innings, missed shots, etc... to stay in a lower ranking.
Apa
I play in the apa and have played gabe apollos many times in the regionals and have won some and lost some. The thing is I don't blame Gabe for winning I blame myself for losing! He is a very very good player and probably the nicest kid I have ever met. I see no reason for not letting him play. I may be mistaken but I don't think Gabe has ever won a national title in the singles format. I know he is very capable and I believe it is just a matter of time before he does. You are fighting a losing battle if you are playing in the APA for the money, so why not just enjoy the game and and feel grateful to play a player like Jeff or Gabe in a league that does'nt have that many players of their caliber. I've been playing pool for 40 + years and to this day I still enjoy playing these caliber of players. Hey, Enjoy the game and who knows you might one day become as good as these players and then You can thank them for making you a better player.
I play in the apa and have played gabe apollos many times in the regionals and have won some and lost some. The thing is I don't blame Gabe for winning I blame myself for losing! He is a very very good player and probably the nicest kid I have ever met. I see no reason for not letting him play. I may be mistaken but I don't think Gabe has ever won a national title in the singles format. I know he is very capable and I believe it is just a matter of time before he does. You are fighting a losing battle if you are playing in the APA for the money, so why not just enjoy the game and and feel grateful to play a player like Jeff or Gabe in a league that does'nt have that many players of their caliber. I've been playing pool for 40 + years and to this day I still enjoy playing these caliber of players. Hey, Enjoy the game and who knows you might one day become as good as these players and then You can thank them for making you a better player.
I played on a team with Jeff a few years ago when he was living in Denver, he is indeed a very good player. He is as several others have mentioned 'borderline pro caliber'. On a positive note at least his brother doesn't play in that league, last I spoke to Jeff he said his brother played even better then he did. It must run in the family.
~R Pope
~R Pope
Dave,
Don't know how to take your post. All I was trying to say is I'm in APA for the fun of it. Relaxation if you like. Whether I win or not, my team wins or loses team matches based on the other four players. That is my take.
On the other hand, if you have a problem with me personally, take it to the PM section. Just want to know what I've done for you to post the above.
Lyn
A few years ago out here we had a situation sort of similar. A local guy that had played on the tour in several events for several years, was a local house pro, a B.C.A. instructor, basically had the resume of what I'd have considered a pro. He was allowed to play with the "promise" that league administration would keep an eye on him. This has actually happened several times here. What I have found is that frequently they get bored pretty quickly after they go one round with everyone and get a rep all they get to play is an S/L 2 in 8 ball or S/L 1 in 9 ball.
But we began to use them as a measuring stick so they were a useful tool to us. I think in our case here, because he was a certified instructor, he put together a team of some of his students and he played with them, that wasn't so bad because during the league matches he was always willing to teach and share his knowledge with us for free.
Sure, not winning even one game pissed us all off for a little while, but getting even that one game from him became a goal, and man, locking him up to the point where you'd get ball in hand, that was like a gold medal.
The one thing was that the better players, unless they were the captain, almost never got to play against him because it was almost always a no win situation, and why would you waste your best player on a match they were likely to lose.
Years ago, the APA had created a somewhat meaningless but separate category for players like this (though I haven't heard of it in several years). In 8 Ball there was the 'Super 7' who always had to win one more game, even when playing another 'Regular 7', or a 'Super 9' who had to go to 85 points, instead of the requisite 75 for a 'Normal 9'. I can't say that this was ever instituted on the national level but I heard it was tried in several areas around the country, guess it wasn't very successful.
Now, I think if these guys really want to play APA, then I say let them. I hate losing as much as the next guy but every now and then I feel that you need to test yourself, try to raise your game, find out what you really might have inside. The drawback is that what usually happens is that you become a better watcher and racker, but hey, it's usually cheaper than the weekly Saturday Night big table tournament.
But we began to use them as a measuring stick so they were a useful tool to us. I think in our case here, because he was a certified instructor, he put together a team of some of his students and he played with them, that wasn't so bad because during the league matches he was always willing to teach and share his knowledge with us for free.
Sure, not winning even one game pissed us all off for a little while, but getting even that one game from him became a goal, and man, locking him up to the point where you'd get ball in hand, that was like a gold medal.
The one thing was that the better players, unless they were the captain, almost never got to play against him because it was almost always a no win situation, and why would you waste your best player on a match they were likely to lose.
Years ago, the APA had created a somewhat meaningless but separate category for players like this (though I haven't heard of it in several years). In 8 Ball there was the 'Super 7' who always had to win one more game, even when playing another 'Regular 7', or a 'Super 9' who had to go to 85 points, instead of the requisite 75 for a 'Normal 9'. I can't say that this was ever instituted on the national level but I heard it was tried in several areas around the country, guess it wasn't very successful.
Now, I think if these guys really want to play APA, then I say let them. I hate losing as much as the next guy but every now and then I feel that you need to test yourself, try to raise your game, find out what you really might have inside. The drawback is that what usually happens is that you become a better watcher and racker, but hey, it's usually cheaper than the weekly Saturday Night big table tournament.
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i played kenny brisbon in a 9's only mini, and he's good. i think it was like a race to 66 and he beat me by four balls. he played pretty well, but i definitely had some chances.all these guys are beatable though. i had a guy on my masters team who won the singles 9 ball in 2010, and i thought he was pretty much unbeatable on the barbox, but he lost a couple times. it happens. i heard that robert hall is pretty damn good though...
There's actually a simple reason for this... logically, since we always take turns (you can't get 2 turns in a row), then the number of 'visits' to a table will be the same for both of us, give or take 1.
So why count for both players when you can just count for one?
It makes for one less thing for the scorekeeper to hassle with.
Lyn I was kidding man. Sorry my humor sometimes is obtuse. I get the same stuff from my team, i.e. relying on me to win and pretty much taking it for granted the w is coming if they put me up. That line, there is no I in team but there surely is an ME is something ive said to them myself just feking around bc they call me a primadonna and part time player when you tell them your sick of apa and dont want to play this session alot. Thats when ive cracked that ME joke. Sorry again, I wasnt giving you crap at all, i was just making a joke.
Dave,
Thanks for the reply. Really do appreciate it. Guess my skin is thinner than I thought :sorry::embarrassed2:.
During the Summer session, I played all eleven weeks. Only one on the team to do so. We lost in the second round of playoffs to get to City's. We each pay $6.00 per night. Always pay at least three dollars in table fees. Sometimes four. Rarely five. When we lost, our team got fifty dollars from our operator. As we did not pay for the day's play, I got one dollar and fifty cents for my now thirteen weeks of play. As I said, it is the most fun night of pool during the week for me. I certainly don't do it for the money. This is now my seventh session with the same team :shrug::speechless:.
For those who are in it for the money alone
, a player not qualified for singles or team events, can attend Nationals and play the Mini-Mania. If I were in Vegas in late April, I'd do it. Concentrate on ACS / BCAPL instead. Won our APA league singles qualifier this past Saturday. Perhaps this is the time to go!Lyn
Wide Range in APA 7 Skill Level
We have three 7SL players in our APA division alone that are by far better than most 7's. In my humbling experience a year ago when I was a 6 SL player, I went up to NJ for my father-in-law's funeral and had the opportunity to get out on a Thursday night to visit Sandcastle Billiards. They had a mini tournament going on and I wanted to give it a whirl, I had to use a house stick, but I just wanted to play. I told Ed I was an APA 6SL player and he matched me up as a B- against a B player, who then proceeded to educate me pretty fast to the real world, next he moved me to a C+ and matched me up with a B- who beat me even worse and knocked me out of the tourny. That taught me that even though I was a better 6SL player in my league (big fish in a little pond), I wasn't squat in the real world. My thinking is the APA 7 level has the greatest variation of skill ranging from C+ all the way up to Short Stop (C+,B-,B,B+,A-,A,AA & Short stop). The three 7's in my division are easily A players, maybe even AA (most of the other 7's, myself included, are C+ to B players), but it always is fascinating to me to watch them play and learn from them. I either play well against them or completely crumble, but I always learn...
We have three 7SL players in our APA division alone that are by far better than most 7's. In my humbling experience a year ago when I was a 6 SL player, I went up to NJ for my father-in-law's funeral and had the opportunity to get out on a Thursday night to visit Sandcastle Billiards. They had a mini tournament going on and I wanted to give it a whirl, I had to use a house stick, but I just wanted to play. I told Ed I was an APA 6SL player and he matched me up as a B- against a B player, who then proceeded to educate me pretty fast to the real world, next he moved me to a C+ and matched me up with a B- who beat me even worse and knocked me out of the tourny. That taught me that even though I was a better 6SL player in my league (big fish in a little pond), I wasn't squat in the real world. My thinking is the APA 7 level has the greatest variation of skill ranging from C+ all the way up to Short Stop (C+,B-,B,B+,A-,A,AA & Short stop). The three 7's in my division are easily A players, maybe even AA (most of the other 7's, myself included, are C+ to B players), but it always is fascinating to me to watch them play and learn from them. I either play well against them or completely crumble, but I always learn...
jeff has told me about his brother playing too. here's the kicker about running in the family - from what jeff says if you run into thier dad - don't ask to play him in 3 cushion, or 14.1. apearantly old dad can put some runs together.
for what it's worth to add to this discusion and about whether or not these guys should be pros, jeff qualified to play in the world 14.1 this year. he went and played. and he beat some of the guys in his bracket that were like him, great shots but not pros. but then in jeff's bracket he also had mika and mike dechaine. needless to say those guys were the true pros in the bracket and finished with the best scores to get out of the round robin stage. i'd also like to add i'd give my left nut to play like any of the guys mentioned in this thread as being borderline pros.
So someone like Jeff is allowed to play, and this is a bad thing?
Who cares if good players play, thats what handicaps are for.
Maybe if instead of complaining about Jeff being too good, some of the people complaining practiced and got better they could too become accomplished players.
Unfortunately thats not what APA players want, they wanna complain and bar people until their team is the best one so they can go to vegas.
Who cares if good players play, thats what handicaps are for.
Maybe if instead of complaining about Jeff being too good, some of the people complaining practiced and got better they could too become accomplished players.
Unfortunately thats not what APA players want, they wanna complain and bar people until their team is the best one so they can go to vegas.