So I just joined a league....!

My league plays a modified version of BCA rules. It's a beginner league with the intention to have all games competitive no matter the players abilities.

Lower handicap players are given ball advantages depending on the difference in player handicaps. If player A is one handicap level lower, they can win the game by shooting in the 8 ball. A 2 handicap lower level player can win by shooting in the 7 ball.

I find this really creates a competitive match. If the lower level player can get past the intimidation of playing a better player, they have a real opportunity to win and many times they do.
 
uwate said:
Come to APA nationals and you will see that some pretty solid 9ball is played. I ran 3 and 4 racks in both the matches I lost. my opponent ran 4 racks from a scratch on brake and unfinished 5th rack and out on me (Alex Olinger). I know apa 9ball has that points system which is a bit unusual, but at the end of the day it really comes down to who plays pool the best will win, even with those quirky rules.
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Oh I am not dissing the skill level of anybody, just saying I do not like the scoring format. :)

I think if a guy makes the 9, he should win the game of 9 ball, period.

I understand the annoyance Justadub mentions, but people poking at the 9 constantly trying to sh*t it in don't bother me a bit. It just means you will be getting plenty of wide open chances at the table. :)
 
Just thought I'de post an update, my first week went well, I won my first match! As most of you know I started out as an SL4, and played an SL2. I won the match 31-18, so I didn't make too many points for my team ,but I still shot well, and had fun. :) The team was surprised that I could actually shoot, the women who got me to join said her husband told her "he knows what he's doing. and how to get position" Im no pro, but I guess they were expecting a banger :)

Next match is tomorrow, wish me luck! :)
 
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dr9ball said:
This in my opinion, is the fallacy of handicapped leagues. Someone who slops in 2 or 3 balls per rack is not playing the best. They may still win because of the handicap but they aren't the best. With that said, this format brings many new people to the game and that's not all bad.
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while that is true that the best player may not win if you are an upper level player the huge point spread will make you a better player by providing a challenge and you will need to sharpen your position play so they dont get thsat msny chances to slop a ball in. I personnaly kind of like the format for a handicapped league otherwise playing a new or low skilled player would be boring and i would rather be challenged in every match than just grab an easy win.
 
Somewhere out there, PocketPoints head is exploding having to read this thread and not being able to respond.

You know what I mean, justadub??:D:D:D
 
quadrary said:
while that is true that the best player may not win if you are an upper level player the huge point spread will make you a better player by providing a challenge and you will need to sharpen your position play so they dont get thsat msny chances to slop a ball in. I personnaly kind of like the format for a handicapped league otherwise playing a new or low skilled player would be boring and i would rather be challenged in every match than just grab an easy win.
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I agree. Just the fact that my game came down to 1 point, shows that the handicap system worked. I am a better player then my opponent, but she still came close to winning, and for the record she didn't really slop any balls in.
 
todd2000 said:
I agree. Just the fact that my game came down to 1 point, shows that the handicap system worked. I am a better player then my opponent, but she still came close to winning, and for the record she didn't really slop any balls in.
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That's really the point. In a nutshell. Congrats on a good start, and thanks for sharing your experience.

(Don't worry, BrokeStroke, PP is reading this stuff, and he'll be back again. Perhaps not in this thread, but we haven't seen the last of him. Hell, he'll be back this week or I'd be really surprised.)
 
Great form of cheap competition. Great way to improve as well. I think everyone should shoot league at one point. I shot in the apa for 10 years, just quit recently. Had my own reasons, nothing against the league really.

Gotta go into league understanding you are not playing by real rules. Gotta understand before hand that you can sink every 9ball and still lose the match. Gotta approach league matches with a league mindset.
 
Well last night didn't go so well.... Somehow after just one week and beating a 2 by one ball I got moved up from a SL4 to a SL5. I played a SL 3. I lost like 25 - 16, but I shot like crap. Guess I just had an off night, but I feel bad cause I shot much better last week, I think they were expecting me to do better... Oh well :)
 
it will take a while to even out if when you beat the skill level 3 there werent a lot of innings involved that might explain it plus all male players start as skill level 4 so you would move to a 5 but if you lose a couple and the inning count is up they will move you back down. Just hang in there and see what happens.
 
quadrary said:
it will take a while to even out if when you beat the skill level 3 there werent a lot of innings involved that might explain it plus all male players start as skill level 4 so you would move to a 5 but if you lose a couple and the inning count is up they will move you back down. Just hang in there and see what happens.
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I'll echo quandry's comments. You haven't established a baseline history for the computer formula to work with, so it can and will fluctuate for a short while.

Another similar example is a guy who plays locally with us, just started APA this session. Lost his first match to another SL4 and was moved down to a SL3. The way this guy plays, he will be a solid SL5 easily... so it happens.

Hang in there!
 
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