Complaints about sandbagging are so common on here it's hard to even think about it anymore. But having played several seasons in the APA the amount of complaining outstrips the amount of actual sandbagging by about 100-to-1. I'm glad though they have these rules in effect that will DQ a team if some guy suddenly puts up a 5-pack.
I have seen plenty of reasons why a player can shoot better than their rating:
· Sour grapes - the guy who lost is looking for an excuse for their loss. Even when a player can legitimately say they lost to the handicap 'spread' and would have won without the handicap system, they still want to think they're the victim of something shady. They can't admit the opponent played their A game that day, while the complainer only brought his C game.
· Strong area/pool hall - if the weakest member of small APA league has run out before, and the strongest players are A++, then the entire scale gets skewed. Twos can run out. Fours can string racks. Sixes are unbeatable. There are strong areas and weak areas. It's not as simple as 'a three is a three is a three'.
· People have the wrong idea of what a certain number can do - They see a three make a long thin cut and say "bullshit, that's not a shot a three can make". Well, sure it is. The three just makes it one in twenty while the 6 makes it half the time. And yes, a three can run six balls if some of them are hanging and they're having a good night.
· Failure to mark safeties, early 8's, time outs, and other details - These things affect handicap... if I get worried at the end of a match and keep safing, and you don't mark it, it looks like a missed shot to the handicapping system. So my ranking goes down because it looks like I dogged my brains out and dragged out the match by many extra innings.
Also people sometimes get a case of nerves near the end of the match and they either miss or play safe excessively. That's not intentionally padding your innings, that's just good old fashioned f*cking up.
· Smart matching up by the captain - you can expect to go up if you slaughter a stronger player. But if you just barely eke out the win, you don't necessarily jump up, at least not right away. So if the captain keeps putting you up against higher-ranked players, you're not gonna slaughter them. You may not go up if you win a close one or barely lose. But you might actually sharpen up as a player even if your number doesn't show it.
· The system isn't perfect - players can't be narrowed down to a formula. A player can get underranked without consciously trying for it. They may have had a rough season up til now. You also have to account for the difference between 8 and 9 ball. A guy just won't run as many balls in 9 ball, there will be more innings. So his ranking will often be one lower than in 8 ball.
· The guy had a good day - pool's a mental game, and some players go up a gear more easily if they're in a great mood and feeling no pressure (or extra pressure). WTF the four just ran out on me twice? Yeah, because he just got laid and had a beer. ...It happens.
All this sandbagging complaining should be redirected at more common and serious issues like:
- nobody knows what a push is or calls it, nobody knows what to do with a miscue
- people are too trigger happy or too lax about coaching fouls...
one day I get called for whispering 'hmm, I dunno...' to my buddy from twenty feet away. Another day, three guys stroll up during a time out and argue about the right shot, then walk away, then when the shooter gets down come back and revise, then walk away and talk loudly about what they should do on the 2nd and third shot.
- you spend so little time actually playing, and 'grading' (keeping the score sheet) is incredibly boring, especially in 9b where you're counting every single ball and inning and must argue with the other team as to who-got-what afterwards.
- Everyone has to debate on who to put up... maybe someone likes the 'strategizing' but to me it just feels like people trying to game the system. I love how BCA keeps things moving along, you know who you're playing and there's no debate or delay.
I have seen plenty of reasons why a player can shoot better than their rating:
· Sour grapes - the guy who lost is looking for an excuse for their loss. Even when a player can legitimately say they lost to the handicap 'spread' and would have won without the handicap system, they still want to think they're the victim of something shady. They can't admit the opponent played their A game that day, while the complainer only brought his C game.
· Strong area/pool hall - if the weakest member of small APA league has run out before, and the strongest players are A++, then the entire scale gets skewed. Twos can run out. Fours can string racks. Sixes are unbeatable. There are strong areas and weak areas. It's not as simple as 'a three is a three is a three'.
· People have the wrong idea of what a certain number can do - They see a three make a long thin cut and say "bullshit, that's not a shot a three can make". Well, sure it is. The three just makes it one in twenty while the 6 makes it half the time. And yes, a three can run six balls if some of them are hanging and they're having a good night.
· Failure to mark safeties, early 8's, time outs, and other details - These things affect handicap... if I get worried at the end of a match and keep safing, and you don't mark it, it looks like a missed shot to the handicapping system. So my ranking goes down because it looks like I dogged my brains out and dragged out the match by many extra innings.
Also people sometimes get a case of nerves near the end of the match and they either miss or play safe excessively. That's not intentionally padding your innings, that's just good old fashioned f*cking up.
· Smart matching up by the captain - you can expect to go up if you slaughter a stronger player. But if you just barely eke out the win, you don't necessarily jump up, at least not right away. So if the captain keeps putting you up against higher-ranked players, you're not gonna slaughter them. You may not go up if you win a close one or barely lose. But you might actually sharpen up as a player even if your number doesn't show it.
· The system isn't perfect - players can't be narrowed down to a formula. A player can get underranked without consciously trying for it. They may have had a rough season up til now. You also have to account for the difference between 8 and 9 ball. A guy just won't run as many balls in 9 ball, there will be more innings. So his ranking will often be one lower than in 8 ball.
· The guy had a good day - pool's a mental game, and some players go up a gear more easily if they're in a great mood and feeling no pressure (or extra pressure). WTF the four just ran out on me twice? Yeah, because he just got laid and had a beer. ...It happens.
All this sandbagging complaining should be redirected at more common and serious issues like:
- nobody knows what a push is or calls it, nobody knows what to do with a miscue
- people are too trigger happy or too lax about coaching fouls...
one day I get called for whispering 'hmm, I dunno...' to my buddy from twenty feet away. Another day, three guys stroll up during a time out and argue about the right shot, then walk away, then when the shooter gets down come back and revise, then walk away and talk loudly about what they should do on the 2nd and third shot.
- you spend so little time actually playing, and 'grading' (keeping the score sheet) is incredibly boring, especially in 9b where you're counting every single ball and inning and must argue with the other team as to who-got-what afterwards.
- Everyone has to debate on who to put up... maybe someone likes the 'strategizing' but to me it just feels like people trying to game the system. I love how BCA keeps things moving along, you know who you're playing and there's no debate or delay.
(You won't hear me crying to be lowered, either.)
