Strongest APA regions

Rules

If you are going to join APA read the players hand book, they have some scazy rules
Like you start to break down your cue, you forfeit:confused:
I agree, but has seen a guy as a nerous habit split his joint, but not break down the cue get called on it and had to forgit the match

Don't BET your freind a beer-forfeit:mad:

Just read the rules and have fun:D
 
Druid said:
Well I'm about to sign up for the APA's next seson which I think starts in a few weeks. I haven't been in the APA before (or any league), so it should be an interesting experience.
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good for you Druid ......It will be a good learning experience for you .....
 
I don't think you can reasonably compare regions when it comes down to how strict or lax the league operator is. Sure, they all follow the Equalizer system, but LO's are allowed their own by-laws and judgment calls on how players are ranked.

I know that our Colorado teams usually don't fair well in Vegas and always come home stating that the teams they played seemed to have players all ranked one spot lower than they should be. Some of that complaining is probably sour milk, but I've heard it enough times that it probably does hold some weight.

Do LO's get a bonus for their teams placing higher in Vegas? You wouldn't think so as this could create an opportunity for LO's to sandbag themselves.
 
Just to reiterate what's already been said, from a statistical stand-point, you cannot take the entire APA historical data and draw any conclusions - at least, not on a team level. You need at least 100 years of championships to begin to see anything remotely conclusive. Regarding individual play, it's so heavily influenced by key individuals that it's difficult to gauge. I know in NYC, there are 3 or 4 s/l 7s that are note-worthy. If all of us were to quit, New York would never make any noise.
 
Al

I can say with a fair certainty that AL is weak. We have a few good players that can play and that's it.
 
Juda4936 said:
If you are going to join APA read the players hand book, they have some scazy rules
Like you start to break down your cue, you forfeit:confused:
I agree, but has seen a guy as a nerous habit split his joint, but not break down the cue get called on it and had to forgit the match

Don't BET your freind a beer-forfeit:mad:

Just read the rules and have fun:D
Click to expand...

Does this include things like changing a shaft or re-tightning (unscrew one turn, tighten again)? One of the main reasons I don't like the APA, it's players take their rules and assume everyone plays by them, and the rules were made to almost reward the weaker player for their mistakes. Then it takes 15 minutes to dig up a world standardized rule book to settle an argument.
 
I'm not sure that's quite right

Juda4936 said:
If you are going to join APA read the players hand book, they have some scazy rules
Like you start to break down your cue, you forfeit:confused:
I agree, but has seen a guy as a nerous habit split his joint, but not break down the cue get called on it and had to forgit the match

Don't BET your freind a beer-forfeit:mad:

Just read the rules and have fun:D
Click to expand...


As I remember, in APA, breaking your cue down is not loss of game, but is considered a "sportsmanship" infraction. Repeated sportsmanship offenses (sharking, slow play, etc) might result in penalties from the league operator. In my experience, the opposing team will just inform the offending player that breaking down the cue when one's opponent is shooting the match ball is considered a form of sharking and is not allowed. Repeated sharking is reported to the league operator and it is dealt with.

I believe that in serious tournament play, breaking down your playing cue at any time is considered a forfeit. Kind of like tipping over your King in chess.

However, if anyone tries to say that twisting and re-tightening a cue during the match is a forfeit, they are either looney or trying to win with the rule book because they can't win at the table. Most likely both!
 
Southeast Missouri seems to do pretty well every year. Plenty of 7's in the area. There are good players from AL by the way. How about Robert Hall, Brian King and Tim Orange? They play pretty good in my opinion.

ROBERT
 
Apa

Juda4936 said:
I
Like you start to break down your cue, you forfeit

Just read the rules and have fun:D
Click to expand...


I have not played in the APA in about 2 years but I thought that this was not a forfeit when I was playing. Did they change that?
 
Da Poet said:
The key phrase is Chicago area, not in the city so much. Not sure exactly why. Lots of theories. Could be that the LO here runs a tighter ship than the ones in the burbs as he's only had the franchise for five years. Maybe that 7' barbox's, and APA league pool in general, aren't taken quite as seriously in the city by the better players as they are in other places. Who knows.
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Does Rob and Mary still run the Joliet area, Da Poet?
 
mouse said:
Southeast Missouri seems to do pretty well every year. Plenty of 7's in the area. There are good players from AL by the way. How about Robert Hall, Brian King and Tim Orange? They play pretty good in my opinion.

ROBERT
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theres many good players in AL.
The ones you mentioned as well as Richard Harvest (i think thats his name)
Tyson, Balagi, David Rowell, David Trest, Wai Pang, and many more.
They might not be Pro level but they can play. Montgomery has a pretty strong top group of players.
Myself and two of them finished fifth twice in the Masters event in APA nationals. Then the APA made us stop playing together because I live
in SoCal.
Im know that there are plenty more good APA guys in AL. The names above are just some off the top of my head. Lots of good players in the south.

Strongest area IMO is Chicagoland. For some reason they get more of the top players in the APA or at least to say they play in the APA.
SoCal isnt too shabby either. Several years Master team winners from SoCal. A new group last year.
 
If you look at overall Team Championships, Chicago only has a few. Since the first team championships, in 1979, many have come from the New Orleans franchise area, some from the plains area (OK/KS) and several from the mid-Atlantic area. Those four regions have almost 30 years of established APA leagues, which is more of a reason they have won more often, than having particularly strong players, imo. On the other hand, there have also been teams from these areas that were DQ'd, after winning the title, when it was shown that they "cheated" by sandbagging their team members skill levels. Winning the APA national team championship is a LOT about knowing the rules, and strictly playing by them, imo. Winning the singles titles is different, as is evidenced by pro-level players like Jeff Sargent and Jason Kirkwood slipping in unnoticed to take off the title. One nice thing about APA now, is that they learned something, and offer titles in three different skill level ranges...so you can be a 3 and still win a national title (which, of course, is great for the players and the league).

To answer another poster...NO, there is no incentive/bonus/gift for the LO for a team from their league area winning a national title...nothing other than bragging rights! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

frankncali said:
Strongest area IMO is Chicagoland. For some reason they get more of the top players in the APA or at least to say they play in the APA. SoCal isnt too shabby either. Several years Master team winners from SoCal. A new group last year.
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hemicudas said:
Does Rob and Mary still run the Joliet area, Da Poet?
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I haven't heard anything different lately. (Edit - As Scott said, the answer is yes. I just got a reply from my LO via email saying the same thing. I didn't want to guess! lol) My comment on the city LO possibly running things a little tighter has to do with conversations with other team captains from city teams that have been around a while. Just to be careful, it was more of a compliment to the current LO than a dig on anyone else.

I also agree with Scott. With the exception of the Jeff Seargent situation, I think the Chicago thing is a little overblown. The folks I've talked to that come back from Vegas are often suprised to hear that Chicago has this reputation.

Besides, Joliet is about as much a part of Chicago as Rockford is. :D
 
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itmc80 said:
I have not played in the APA in about 2 years but I thought that this was not a forfeit when I was playing. Did they change that?
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I believe breaking down the cue during a match is no longer considered a foul. In the old days, it was a sportsmanship infraction or foul as the previous poster noted.
 
mouse said:
How about Robert Hall, Brian King and Tim Orange?
ROBERT
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I said there are a few good players. TO is one of 33 APA 7s in Birmingham. I need at least the break and the 5 out to win. I would bet against all but 4 (Names withheld to protect the innocent) of the other 32 APA 7s breaking and running 2 out 12 racks.
 
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Hey! Maybe I'm better than I think. I just broke and ran 2 racks out of 5 the last time I played.

I guess I got all of APA Alabama (-2) handled... :)

(OK Edited: to add APA)
 
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frankncali said:
theres many good players in AL.
The ones you mentioned as well as Richard Harvest (i think thats his name)
Tyson (Good Player, but not on caliber with the rest), Balagi(Quit playing), David Rowell(Plays APA just enough to stay qualified in 8 ball), David Trest(Not in APA), Wai Pang, and many more.
They might not be Pro level but they can play. Montgomery has a pretty strong top group of players.

Im know that there are plenty more good APA guys in AL. The names above are just some off the top of my head. Lots of good players in the south.
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There are good players in AL, my comment was only about the APA. The better players do not play in league here anymore. It is also that David Rowell, Tim Orange, and even Tyson Allen far outplay the other 30 APA 7s in Birmingham.
 
Scott Lee said:
If you look at overall Team Championships, Chicago only has a few. Since the first team championships, in 1979, many have come from the New Orleans franchise area, some from the plains area (OK/KS) and several from the mid-Atlantic area. Those four regions have almost 30 years of established APA leagues, which is more of a reason they have won more often, than having particularly strong players, imo. On the other hand, there have also been teams from these areas that were DQ'd, after winning the title, when it was shown that they "cheated" by sandbagging their team members skill levels. Winning the APA national team championship is a LOT about knowing the rules, and strictly playing by them, imo. Winning the singles titles is different, as is evidenced by pro-level players like Jeff Sargent and Jason Kirkwood slipping in unnoticed to take off the title. One nice thing about APA now, is that they learned something, and offer titles in three different skill level ranges...so you can be a 3 and still win a national title (which, of course, is great for the players and the league).

To answer another poster...NO, there is no incentive/bonus/gift for the LO for a team from their league area winning a national title...nothing other than bragging rights! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Chicagoland has had a few near misses over the years but never THE winning team in the APA team event. Once in the Triple Play Masters event. IMHO and for a wide variety of reasons, I don't think a Chicagoland team will win the whole thing. I hope I'm wrong. I agree with Scott that from my experience, Louisiana, Oklahoma and the DC/Baltimore area are strong areas for good teams in Vegas. Also Jason K. played in the 3 man event only. I'm pretty sure that he never played the singles events. I believe that the APA decided to declare him a professional due to his IPT participation and pretty high finishes.
 
dogginda9 said:
Chicagoland has had a few near misses over the years but never THE winning team in the APA team event. Once in the Triple Play Masters event. IMHO and for a wide variety of reasons, I don't think a Chicagoland team will win the whole thing. I hope I'm wrong. I agree with Scott that from my experience, Louisiana, Oklahoma and the DC/Baltimore area are strong areas for good teams in Vegas. Also Jason K. played in the 3 man event only. I'm pretty sure that he never played the singles events. I believe that the APA decided to declare him a professional due to his IPT participation and pretty high finishes.
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Didn't they declare Ike Runnels a pro also?
 
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