question about apa masters

L

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
why is'nt masters more popular than it is ? i just joined a masters division for the 2nd time and got to thinking about all the apa bashing that is so prevalent on this forum.

masters offers an answer for every thing people complain is wrong with apa.

no 23 rule
no handicapping so no need to sand bag
push outs allowed
jump cues allowed
race to 7 even up

it offers an answer for every thing serious pool players say is wrong with a handicapped league so it seems like people would be busting through the doors to join masters.

i 1st joined masters 2 years ago and i was only a s/l 4. i was only able to play 6 matches before my job interfered with playing .

yea i got my butt handed to me and lost every match....did win a few racks here and there though. i am only a 5 now but i am still looking forward to this session.

i honestly believe most people prefer handicapped races and do not want to play the best in town even up.

i looked up the rosters of all the teams and found 2 more 5's had joined. just goes to show you that some apa bangers ain't afraid to play even up with the big boys. :grin-square:
 
In my area Apa players are scared. They tried to put one together but God forbid any of them play heads up. Lol
 
trob said:
In my area Apa players are scared. They tried to put one together but God forbid any of them play heads up. Lol
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i can believe that.:grin:

the thing is ....every one says apa handicapped leagues are geared towards beginners and i tend to agree to an extent.

apa masters is geared to more serious and higher level players. i would like to know where are all those more serious players ?

why do tap...vnea...bcapl and any other league players not want to play even up with " real " rules in a race to 7 to see who the better player is ?
 
I have played in a Master league and loved it, but it was a bit far to travel.

If there was one closer, I would do it again in a heart beat.

If you are used to a handicap league it will take some adjustment.
 
Id rather play Masters. This is my first APA session I play on Sundays. Its a travel league. Ive played every week. Ive only lost 3 matches. 2 8 ball. 1 9 ball. Im now a 5 in 8 ball and a 5 in 9 ball possibly a 6 after last week. I thinks its freaking ridiculous to count who made more balls. Theres only one ball thats important in my mind. THE 9 BALL. If my work schedule allowed me to play Masters I would. Hence trying to find a new job hahaha. I dont understand why someone would sandbag. I just dont have it in me to lose on purpose. Im trying everything in my power to get better. Why would anyone try to be worse. It just makes no sense to me.
 
I agree with the OP's reasons masters is better. A few more:

Scoring is easy. Scoring handicap 9 ball is a big pain.

No need to mark the pocket in 8 ball
 
i played masters a couple of years. We won city both years and a trip to vegas. 1st year was 4 guys in a room with two full size beds, we *****ed. next was supposed to be different, but once again 4 guys, two full size beds. cheapest flights available. just sucks. also there is a stigma attatched to playing in apa , at least for higher level players. i dont really know what that stigma is or why it is, but it;s definitely there. it's looked upon kinda like a busch league.
 
My 9-ball team qualified for the next level during the last session, this time around we are having problems getting players to show up... sux.

Had we not won our playoff match last session, I'd have quit that team and done masters already. I've obviously made up my mind for next session, quitting handicapped league after the upcoming tri-cup tournament with the team I'm on now. I think four sessions of APA handicapped leagues (2 x 8-ball & 2 x 9-ball) after a 15 year lay off is good enough. That change will ramp up the "seriousness" level of my weekly pool night dramatically.

An added bonus of switching to APA masters... The pool hall where I play does a straight pool in-house league the same night, so I can do both.
 
Txstang1 said:
i played masters a couple of years. We won city both years and a trip to vegas. 1st year was 4 guys in a room with two full size beds, we *****ed. next was supposed to be different, but once again 4 guys, two full size beds. cheapest flights available. just sucks. also there is a stigma attatched to playing in apa , at least for higher level players. i dont really know what that stigma is or why it is, but it;s definitely there. it's looked upon kinda like a busch league.
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you and its froze kind of hit the nail on the head sort of.

i do understand most serious players reasons for not playing in apa's handicapped formats. masters addresses all those reasons.

don't like 23 rule ? .
don't like sand baggers ?
don't like playing low level players ? don't like apa points based 9 ball...but you play bcapl points based 8 ball ? never understood that ?
you want push out?
you want jump cues ?
you want real rules ?

masters addresses all of that and more. so why is it not more popular than it is ?

is it the stigma that apa is for beginners or low level players ? are you going to bash the whole organization for having a format that is geared for beginners even though they also have a format available for serious players ? that is rediculous and i will use
harley davidson as an anology.

harley davidson provides a bike " the sporster " geared for beginers . arguably a " girls " bike besides offering bikes for serious riders.

i happen to ride a victory which does not offer a beginners /slash girls bike. should i bash the entire harly davidson organization because they offer a bike geared towards beginners/girls and serious riders where victory only caters to serious riders ...at this time.

so why bash apa for offering a format for beginners and also serious players ?
 
itsfroze said:
[/COLOR]
Most don't play APA, just to much BS

Playing even up would mean that the league players would have to face reality, as it would show them what their
real level of play was and from what I've witnessed most would rather talk about how good they play than find out the truth.
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i see you edited your post to add....too much b.s.

granted you can encounter that under their handicap format....any handicapped league for that matter.

this post is strictly about apa masters though.
 
I may be wrong, but the use of the word "MASTERS" with apa cracks me up. It seems like it is being used to stroke egos , to get people to play. Every bca team in the league i play in could destroy the local apa masters champions. That may not be true everywhere else, but thats how it is here. But i will admit is seems to be a better format than regular apa.
 
lorider said:
why is'nt masters more popular than it is ? i just joined a masters division for the 2nd time and got to thinking about all the apa bashing that is so prevalent on this forum.

masters offers an answer for every thing people complain is wrong with apa.

no 23 rule
no handicapping so no need to sand bag
push outs allowed
jump cues allowed
race to 7 even up

it offers an answer for every thing serious pool players say is wrong with a handicapped league so it seems like people would be busting through the doors to join masters.

i 1st joined masters 2 years ago and i was only a s/l 4. i was only able to play 6 matches before my job interfered with playing .

yea i got my butt handed to me and lost every match....did win a few racks here and there though. i am only a 5 now but i am still looking forward to this session.

i honestly believe most people prefer handicapped races and do not want to play the best in town even up.

i looked up the rosters of all the teams and found 2 more 5's had joined. just goes to show you that some apa bangers ain't afraid to play even up with the big boys. :grin-square:
Click to expand...

Beings that the Masters portion of the APA league is meant for s/l 6+, I'm surprised by your LO for allowing a 4 in the Masters. I participate in Masters when it is going, but there is a problem in my area with Masters. There's just not enough good players to field good teams. Because of the 23 rule in general, the better players move on from the APA rather than sticking around for just the masters division. Plus I'd be insulted in Masters league if I had to play a 4. Hell even a 5 can't compete. I get that you want to try, but at nationals if anyone complains, you won't be allowed to play.
 
skankhammer said:
I may be wrong, but the use of the word "MASTERS" with apa cracks me up. It seems like it is being used to stroke egos , to get people to play. Every bca team in the league i play in could destroy the local apa masters champions. That may not be true everywhere else, but thats how it is here. But i will admit is seems to be a better format than regular apa.
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There are some good teams at nationals, when you get down to the top 8 apa masters in vegas, all those guys are tough, BCA master and above level players. There are some pretty good local apa master teams out of our area too.

Hits 'em Hard said:
Beings that the Masters portion of the APA league is meant for s/l 6+, I'm surprised by your LO for allowing a 4 in the Masters. I participate in Masters when it is going, but there is a problem in my area with Masters. There's just not enough good players to field good teams. Because of the 23 rule in general, the better players move on from the APA rather than sticking around for just the masters division. Plus I'd be insulted in Masters league if I had to play a 4. Hell even a 5 can't compete. I get that you want to try, but at nationals if anyone complains, you won't be allowed to play.
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One of the issues may be that apa doesn't put the same money or effort into promoting the masters league.

for the record, i prefer the apa masters format over the bca masters format, without a doubt.
 
itsfroze said:
I bash the org. because they let league operators get away with a lot of crap as far as running the leagues fairly.

I bash the APA as a whole because there are way to many ignorant players that show no consideration for other non league players (or even league players for that matter) in the rooms. They stand in your way or pull a chair way to close to the table you are playing on, but would throw a fit if you dared to be anywhere near their precious league table. When asked to please move they get indignant, and that is even when you have to ask them to please move repeatedly, which no one should have to. If they used even a little common sense or would choose to display any etiquette, maybe the bashing that seems to bother you so much, wouldn't happen. Don't you sometimes wonder why there is this bashing you seem to bring up all the time, do you think it just materializes out of thin air, NO it's brought on by the actions of league members, seems you tend to want to over look this point.

I am in no way saying that there aren't some good people playing in leagues even the APA, LOL. But there are far to many who are continually disrespectful. I just stopped
going to the Pool room on league nites, pretty much. It's just not worth it !!!!!
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i can not deny that i have not encountered the same things you posted once in a while. the thing is i have encountered it in every league and by same non league players also. its just a reflection of todays society as a whole...not just apa players.

btw...read my pool room etiquette thread.:grin:
 
skankhammer said:
I may be wrong, but the use of the word "MASTERS" with apa cracks me up. It seems like it is being used to stroke egos , to get people to play. Every bca team in the league i play in could destroy the local apa masters champions. That may not be true everywhere else, but thats how it is here. But i will admit is seems to be a better format than regular apa.
Click to expand...

it never ceases to amaze me the fallacy some people believe. :grin-square:
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
Beings that the Masters portion of the APA league is meant for s/l 6+, I'm surprised by your LO for allowing a 4 in the Masters. I participate in Masters when it is going, but there is a problem in my area with Masters. There's just not enough good players to field good teams. Because of the 23 rule in general, the better players move on from the APA rather than sticking around for just the masters division. Plus I'd be insulted in Masters league if I had to play a 4. Hell even a 5 can't compete. I get that you want to try, but at nationals if anyone complains, you won't be allowed to play.
Click to expand...

it does state on the web site that masters is geared toward higher level players. i guess my lo is not prejudiced against lower level players. :grin-square:

i have no grand illusions that i am going to be competitive but i do feel i am capable of winning a few matches. i am capable of pulling off upsets now and then but i just dont have the consistency need to play at a high level required to be higher ranked than a 5 that i am currently at.

i know apa 9 ball is a different animal but last week i beat 3 -6's i d=faced in a city tournament and held them all to less points than i made.

also i beat a 105 in napa 9 ball 3-1 in a 7-3 race for the top shooter prize last session.

as for the nationals...i doubt the team i am on will qualify lol.

people say the only way to get better is to play better players so i am gonna find out if its true.

every one around here claims i am a sand bagging 5 any ways . :grin-square:
 
I played regular league for a summer and fall session.

I left and put together a Masters team of friends, who have never played league pool, because they wouldn't be a 4 very long, and I didn't want to watch a 2 play a 1 for 18 innings and then ask for a time out to see which pocket they should shoot the 8 ball into.

You get better by playing better talent. Although I played in the regular league, I could still play against good players. I like the idea of finishing 2 hours earlier, and again, stronger all around talent.
 
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