Skill Level vs. Playing Time
- Thread starter Aaron_S
- Start date
That's pretty close to what I was thinking. Since the APA only goes to 9, it is difficult to define the top. I would say here C would be 5,6,7. B would be 8 and 9. It is also possible that a 9 could be an A since there is no 10 or higher.
If you average about 3-4 balls with ball in hand, you are a C. An A would average probably around 7, maybe 8.
As of right now, 28% of poll responders claim themselves to be an A or better. Who knew we had so many amazing players here? 
Slim Limpy
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I was speaking more about 9 footers. I could see those numbers increase by around a ball to a ball and a half on a bar box.
A more telling graph would be to see the correlation between age of learning advanced shots and skill level. I have only heard of one great pro that learned the game over 20 yrs old that ever made it to the top. And I think that was pre-1950s, although I forgot his name. Seems like he picked up the game at age 28 and won a 14.1 world championship.
I'm a low b, high c player most of the time. Sometimes I play like a low c player, and other times I play very well. Its all from lack of practice. I never practice, so I'm very inconsistent. My back starts to hurt to much to enjoy practicing, so I just don't. Here its mostly bar tables, and most c+/b- players will get out with ball in hand on a open table from the 1 ball. Know I'll run 4 or 5 racks in a night from the break if I play for more than 2 hours. Seems to be pretty normal for most of the players at my skill level on a diamond bar table. We also will miss the occasional easy shot trying to get perfect shape instead of just taking what we can get.
Think I could be a high b player if I practiced 3 or 4 days a week. Don't think I could ever be a A player, no matter how much I practiced. I don't see every shot that is out there in my mind.
Think I could be a high b player if I practiced 3 or 4 days a week. Don't think I could ever be a A player, no matter how much I practiced. I don't see every shot that is out there in my mind.
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As of right now, 28% of poll responders claim themselves to be an A or better. Who knew we had so many amazing players here?
I do not understand why this amazes you. Very good pool players are obsessed with pool sites such as this. It is like a heartbeat inside. The need to know more and more about the game we love. Bad players go on Facebook and social sites. Pool players come HERE!
I am a B- player as it stands. I play pool on my brand new Diamond less then 5 hours a week. I know that is sad to say but that is what my life has become. I am a father of twin two year old boys. My wife and I built a brand new house (and did not argue throughout the entire process). We have 9-1/2 acres of which 2 acres is cleared. That means tons of silly yard work. But I love every minute of it.
If I played 20+ hours like I used to I could be a B+ or maybe higher. The time is just not there.
Chris
Thanks to everyone who has participated so far; nearly 100 responses is a pretty good sampling, I think. The trend I was looking for was players playing less as their skill level increases, so I was really looking more at the <5 hours/week range than the others. Here's how it shakes out so far:
% of A players in <5 range: 46%
% of B players in <5 range: 30%
% of C players in <5 range: 28%
I have my own multi-faceted theory as to why this trend exists, but I would be interested to hear any others.
Thanks again for taking part in the poll,
Aaron
% of A players in <5 range: 46%
% of B players in <5 range: 30%
% of C players in <5 range: 28%
I have my own multi-faceted theory as to why this trend exists, but I would be interested to hear any others.
Thanks again for taking part in the poll,
Aaron
It's probably due to diminishing returns in terms of practice. If you have a C player and an A player, both who want to increase their skill by an arbitrary (but equal) amount, it will inevitably take more practice for the A player to increase his level the same amount as the C increases his (all other things being equal of course). Most people stop practicing when their return from practice doesn't yield a significant amount of improvement, the so called "wall".
I wouldn't consider APA to be a good barometer for measuring A, B, and C. I am a locked 7 in APA in our state for 8 ball, but might be a 6 in another state/location. I'd have to check, but I think my lifetime win % is at about 81-82% including a session or two of dumping when I was a 6. That being said, I put myself down as a solid C player. I am wondering how many people put themselves a tad higher than what they really are :grin:.
It's surprising, mostly because I have seen polls like this before on AzB, wherein most people tend to fall into the C or B category.
If I were forced to guess, I'd say a small percentage of players here (maybe 10-15%) are actually at an A level or better.
I think a lot of people like to fib about their skill level, or (what's probably more common) they over-inflate their skill without even knowing it. Then again, skill rankings tend to be somewhat subjective and relative to a person's area, so who knows?
True enough! up here in the north east I would qualify as an "ok" straight pool player. I have run some 100's and can hit 40 or 50 every day, but around here you can't spit without hitting a monster high ball runner.
When I lived in FLA lots of the guys liked to play banks......I'm a banktard, and looked like a tool trying that game. I played a self proclaimed "C" player and got smoked playing banks......then I gave him 9/5 one pocket and won easily. I guess it's what your good at.