question for apa players

L

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
which game are you better at and why do you think you are better at one and not the other. talking about 8 an 9 ball.

i just looked up my stats and was quite supprised at what i found. we are only in our 6th week of this session and have a ways to go but my stats are still suprising. i am a 5 in 8 ball and a 4 in 9 ball.

8 ball 78 win %
9 ball 33 win %

lifetime %
8 ball 55
9 ball 57

the stats are pretty even over the last 2 years but i can not seem to play both well during the same session.

for some reasom the website does not list my session stats previous to summer of 2011 but here are my stats in each session since then.

summer 2011
8 ball 52%
9 ball 77%

fall 2011
8 ball 67 %
9 ball 60 %

spring 2012
8 ball 42 %
9 ball 64 %

there seems to be a pattern here. 1 session i will have a better 8 ball record and the next session a better 9 ball record and then 8 ball again the next and so on. but like i said my lifetime record is pretty even. i dont understand it .

how about you guys. how do your records compare and what are your thoughts about it ?
 
My lifetime stats are a little better in 8-ball, around 53%, vs 47% in 9-ball, or something close to that. We only started 9-ball last year, while I have 3 years of 8-ball matches.

I think I'm a little better at 9-ball the last couple months, which basically coincides with some recent improvements in getting better position. Also, like you, I too am a SL4 in 9-ball vs being an SL5 in 8-ball. That does play into it somewhat.

I really struggled in 8-ball over the last year, and last session in particular (going 1-9). Yet I went 6-1 in 9-ball during the same session.

I can't figure it out.
 
I didn't play last Fall, but other than that, this is what I can pull up:

01706 8's In The Hole 8-Ball Open Summer 2011 7 10 8 80% 2 45
01806 8's In The Hole 9-Ball Open Summer 2011 9 8 7 88% 2 53

00410 Stickmen 8-Ball Open Spring 2012 7 11 8 73% 8 38
08405 Version 2 8-Ball Open Spring 2012 7 12 9 75% 1 50
08505 Version 2 9-Ball Open Spring 2012 9 10 7 70% 1 50

08407 Team Moneyball 8-Ball Open Summer 2012 7 3 2 67% 17 7
08507 Team Moneyball 9-Ball Open Summer 2012 9 2 1 50% 16 7

I learned in a bar, so I'm better at using the offensive/defensive shots and more accustomed to 8-ball. Haven't quite got the 9-ball defensive play down nearly as well.

Overall, from my start in January of 2005:

* 8-Ball Matches Played Lifetime: 397 * 8-Ball Matches Won Lifetime: 257 * 8-Ball Lifetime Win Percentage: 65%
* 9-Ball Matches Played Lifetime: 242 * 9-Ball Matches Won Lifetime: 153 * 9-Ball Lifetime Win Percentage: 63%

It can be pretty difficult to have consistent seasons, especially on both sides, due to so much randomness in it all. For example, maybe you got thrown first more often and got low-balled in 9, which can be tough to fade regularly. Maybe you get the sacrificial lamb role against the big guns. That's not even bringing into account all of the other factors. Seemed like a couple of times, I was shooting well on most nights except for league, while at other times I played some of my best games during league.

When I made it to a 7, I didn't do that well at first because I kept trying to play how I thought I should be playing, instead of playing how I usually did. Like I tell my friends, just play your game and even if you're not doing well, keep shooting away or else you may as well throw in the towel and then you'll never have even a chance to win.

Most people are going to have fluctuating seasons if they're not some kind of luck-magnet.
 
justadub said:
My lifetime stats are a little better in 8-ball, around 53%, vs 47% in 9-ball, or something close to that. We only started 9-ball last year, while I have 3 years of 8-ball matches.

I think I'm a little better at 9-ball the last couple months, which basically coincides with some recent improvements in getting better position. Also, like you, I too am a SL4 in 9-ball vs being an SL5 in 8-ball. That does play into it somewhat.

I really struggled in 8-ball over the last year, and last session in particular (going 1-9). Yet I went 6-1 in 9-ball during the same session.

I can't figure it out.
Click to expand...

i dont know about in your area dub but around here you would be the oddball like me. we are both higher in 8 than 9 ball. around here pretty much everybody is 1 level higher in 9 ball than 8 ball. well i was a 5 in 9 ball for 1 session last year. after going an entire session winless they dropped me back to a 4.

yea thats right. i went 12 games in a row as a 5 without a win. what is amazing is i have a 57% lifetime win record despite that losing session.
 
Banks said:
I didn't play last Fall, but other than that, this is what I can pull up:

01706 8's In The Hole 8-Ball Open Summer 2011 7 10 8 80% 2 45
01806 8's In The Hole 9-Ball Open Summer 2011 9 8 7 88% 2 53

00410 Stickmen 8-Ball Open Spring 2012 7 11 8 73% 8 38
08405 Version 2 8-Ball Open Spring 2012 7 12 9 75% 1 50
08505 Version 2 9-Ball Open Spring 2012 9 10 7 70% 1 50

08407 Team Moneyball 8-Ball Open Summer 2012 7 3 2 67% 17 7
08507 Team Moneyball 9-Ball Open Summer 2012 9 2 1 50% 16 7

I learned in a bar, so I'm better at using the offensive/defensive shots and more accustomed to 8-ball. Haven't quite got the 9-ball defensive play down nearly as well.

Overall, from my start in January of 2005:

* 8-Ball Matches Played Lifetime: 397 * 8-Ball Matches Won Lifetime: 257 * 8-Ball Lifetime Win Percentage: 65%
* 9-Ball Matches Played Lifetime: 242 * 9-Ball Matches Won Lifetime: 153 * 9-Ball Lifetime Win Percentage: 63%

It can be pretty difficult to have consistent seasons, especially on both sides, due to so much randomness in it all. For example, maybe you got thrown first more often and got low-balled in 9, which can be tough to fade regularly. Maybe you get the sacrificial lamb role against the big guns. That's not even bringing into account all of the other factors. Seemed like a couple of times, I was shooting well on most nights except for league, while at other times I played some of my best games during league.

When I made it to a 7, I didn't do that well at first because I kept trying to play how I thought I should be playing, instead of playing how I usually did. Like I tell my friends, just play your game and even if you're not doing well, keep shooting away or else you may as well throw in the towel and then you'll never have even a chance to win.

Most people are going to have fluctuating seasons if they're not some kind of luck-magnet.
Click to expand...

wow banks. you have a pretty darn good win/loss record.

very seldom have i played lower level players. my captain has usually put me up against the other teams best player because i was the best player on our team until this session. that should tell you our team sucks lol. we finally have a s/l 7 on our team so we have to watch our handicap limit and there have been a few times this session i could not play due to the 23 rule with our 7 playing.

i tried for a year to get this 7 to join our team. he is a good friend but he always just played the master league. last week he pointed out a problem with my stroke. i have been practicing everyday to correct my stroke and my cue ball position seems to be improving to to the change in my stroke.

you hear that dub ? our race to see who becomes a 6 first is officially on .:grin:
 
National APA says I have a 95% win percentage as an SL 7 with 78 matches played over six sessions :o. Don't play APA nine ball. Prefer to have my opponent actually beat me by skill :rolleyes:.

Lyn
 
cardiac kid said:
National APA says I have a 95% win percentage as an SL 7 with 78 matches played over six sessions :o. Don't play APA nine ball. Prefer to have my opponent actually beat me by skill :rolleyes:.

Lyn
Click to expand...

wow that is an impressive win %. would it not take skill for someone to beat you in 9 ball also:grin:
 
Skill level 9... 71% lifetime(9ball) 208 matches

Skill level 7 ... 78% lifetime(8ball) 304 matches
 
cardiac kid said:
National APA says I have a 95% win percentage as an SL 7 with 78 matches played over six sessions :o. Don't play APA nine ball. Prefer to have my opponent actually beat me by skill :rolleyes:.

Lyn
Click to expand...

I think it would take more skill for a player to score his required points than to wait and ride the nine whenever possible....but maybe that's just me.

Awesome record. It must be fun to watch you shoot.
 
lorider said:
wow banks. you have a pretty darn good win/loss record.

very seldom have i played lower level players. my captain has usually put me up against the other teams best player because i was the best player on our team until this session. that should tell you our team sucks lol. we finally have a s/l 7 on our team so we have to watch our handicap limit and there have been a few times this session i could not play due to the 23 rule with our 7 playing.

i tried for a year to get this 7 to join our team. he is a good friend but he always just played the master league. last week he pointed out a problem with my stroke. i have been practicing everyday to correct my stroke and my cue ball position seems to be improving to to the change in my stroke.

you hear that dub ? our race to see who becomes a 6 first is officially on .:grin:
Click to expand...

We have a decent number here that are lower in 9-ball, interestingly enough. Most folks are the same, fewer are rated higher in 9-ball. Remember, we've only had 9-ball for one year now.

Racing to SL6, yep, it's on! :p
(Someone else was in there with us, too, gotta go back and find that again.)
 
I think I play both (APA) 9-ball and 8-ball about the same, if such a comparison is possible. When I was an APA 7 in both 8 and 9, my percentages were about equal, but since going beyond a 7 in 9-ball, my 9-ball percentages have dropped off as my 8-ball percentages continue to improve.

Win percentages are really tough to compare for the higher skill level players because a lot of that depends on who you are playing against. If I played in a division with all of the best players in the area, my win percentages would drop pretty quickly.
 
lorider said:
wow that is an impressive win %. would it not take skill for someone to beat you in 9 ball also:grin:
Click to expand...

I think he's referring to the fact that as a strictly ball count game APA 9 ball is far and away a more effective handicap system than a game count game like 8 ball. Due to this, and the much larger spread of skill at the top handicap, there isn't much a top SL 7 fears in the APA.
 
To answer your question, I'm a better 9 ball player than 8. I like to play at a fairly quick pace, so the careful planning required in ugly racks of 8 ball can sometimes throw me off my rhythm. 9 ball is so automatic if your ball control is good. I can break and just get to work, stay in rhythm... so I play better 9 or 10 ball by nature. I enjoy 8 ball, I guess I just don't have the patience to play it as well as I do 9. Also, I struggle with defensive 8 ball play but excel in 9 ball safeties.

I'm an APA 7/8. Win percentage is around 70-75 in both after 2 years.
 
brophog said:
I think he's referring to the fact that as a strictly ball count game APA 9 ball is far and away a more effective handicap system than a game count game like 8 ball. Due to this, and the much larger spread of skill at the top handicap, there isn't much a top SL 7 fears in the APA.
Click to expand...

Well said. A good player in 8 ball gets out when he can and ducks when he can't. It's very effective because the only ball that counts is the 8 ball.

It's more difficult in 9 ball because the weaker player keeps pecking away, pocketing a ball every now and again. But each one counts.

That being said, I enjoyed APA 9 ball more than 8 ball even though I was an SL8. :cool:
 
I find APA 9 ball to be over-handicapped. I have played 9 ball Scotch Doubles at the Nationals and it is even worst, they have a scale that favors the lower players even more. I do play one level higher at 9 ball than 8 ball, as do most players in my area, but there are always exceptions.
 
FeltMaster said:
I find APA 9 ball to be over-handicapped. I have played 9 ball Scotch Doubles at the Nationals and it is even worst, they have a scale that favors the lower players even more. I do play one level higher at 9 ball than 8 ball, as do most players in my area, but there are always exceptions.
Click to expand...

To me, it's just the fact that a 9 can be a slightly stronger 8(or just had a few better league matches), so giving up another rack can be tough for some. I don't consider myself to be a strong 7/9, but I'm no longer the bottom of the barrel. There are 9s out there that will walk all over me like I was anybody else, and there are 9s out there that I can take a little more often.

I still want to see who, out of Thrass, Dub and Lo, will make it to 6 first. :thumbup:
 
dabarbr said:
He probably doesn't like the no push out rule after the break.
Click to expand...

Frank,

Met you at the BCAPL's. I play with Greg Kuhl and the Pickle gang from the Cue Club.

Just don't like APA 9 Ball. Probably has something to do with no local NY team wants me. No room for a 9!

Surprisingly, no local NY player has complained about me. Have a great group of people to play with on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Seems everyone wants to play me from the 2's on up. One of the guys said its bragging rights if they beat me! Supposedly its just a game! Yet right!!!!!

Lyn
 
Unless you're really good for an amateur, being on the high end of the APA ranking scale for 9-ball can seem to be without reward at times.

Everyone expects you to win against a lower ranked player, but anyone who's done it knows that giving up a 40+ balls to your opponent is a challenge if they can even hit the ball in the general direction of the pockets:
Give up more than a few balls a rack, and you're in trouble. You rarely get a good rack, but don't want to make a fuss of it. Hanging a ball in the pocket is suicide. Most of the time when you come to the table, the leave is horrible because your opponent isn't playing position for anything. Top that all off with the fact that your opponent is usually extra focused because they really want to beat you but also relaxed because they know their team will understand if they don't, and it's really tough to win.

I've had a 2 run out from the 3-ball on a 9ft. table before. None of the shots were ducks and she's not likely to do it again any time soon, but the focus was there for that match.

Don't misconstrue this as complaining; it's only fair for us to give up that much weight. Just make sure your high ranked players know you're only kidding if you rib them for losing to a low rank.
 
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