Success! No "sharks" allowed 1st Tuesday of month...

[Billy_Bob]

I run a small 8-ball bar tournament in a small town. There are beginner bangers all the way up to a couple of master players who frequent this tournament.

Some of the beginner bangers were complaining that the same people were winning each week. Attendance was dropping off. I think the bangers felt they did not have a chance against the better players which is pretty much the case.

But we NEED the bangers to attend the tournament, otherwise there would be a very small prize pool and then the better players would not think it was worth it to play.

I came up with a suggestion for those players who have won 1st place. I give each 1st place winner the following note after they have won...

Dear 1st place winner;

Congratulations on winning the tournament and thank you for playing. Some of the players in this tournament have complained that the “same people always win” and say they are becoming discouraged from playing in this tournament. Note that fewer players in a tournament means less prize money for the winners. A few of the better players have come up with a voluntary plan to help “spread the cheer” a bit and hopefully encourage more people to play in the tournament.

The first Tuesday of each month, every player who has won 1st place in this tournament is asked to not play in the tournament that night. This includes the tournament director (TD) as well, so the TD will voluntarily not be playing the first Tuesday of each month. Hopefully this will give other players an easier chance to win (at least once a month) and will encourage more people to play in the tournament. Sometimes you have to give to receive…

Well last night was the first Tuesday of the month and the first night this was in effect. Every player who had won 1st place voluntarily stayed away. (Note: when I have given these players the above note, they all thought it was a good idea.)

So there was an absence of "sharks" at the tournament. I have won 1st place myself, so I ran the tournament but did not play. Some interesting things happened...

Those who were complaining about the same people winning still could not manage to win. So they learned that it is not because of the sharks being present that they lose.

Players who do not typically get into the money did so. We charge a quarter for each scratch and this goes for 4th place. So there were 4 new winners. And they were all quite happy to get in the money for a change. For one player, it was his first time in the money. He was beaming!

Then there were several players who almost made it into the money. This was the closest they have ever come to winning. So they were happy with this.

I made a big point of congratulating each winner, shaking their hands etc. Big smiles from these players! (With the sharks, it is just another win - no big deal.)

So I think these guys will be talking about their wins for the next month. And will be sure to come back to the tournament. And I think they would be happy getting in the money (or almost getting into the money) once every few months.

Since announcing this 1st Tuesday thing to all the players, attendance has been up.

Anyway for the next 3 tournaments it will be all out war again. All players welcome. Then the tournament after that will be another "no sharks" night.

All and all I think this is a good thing. Note: I don't give the above note to the player who wins 1st place on the first Tuesday. I tell them they are welcome to play the next first Tuesday. (Otherwise there would be fewer and fewer players on the first Tuesday.)

 

[Snapshot9]

Let's see

1) Those that never cash or win, always complain about the winners.
2) You helped 4 people that really don't play good enough, to feel like
they are winners by eliminating competition where they are the best,
even though they are not.
3) If they are winning, then they don't need to practice and get better.

Different times, I guess. I understand the participation thing and all, why didn't you just make it a handicapped tournament?

You see it as helping, I see it as 'enabling'. You are punishing better players
because they figured out how to actually use their brain, and they worked harder on their game.

Maybe, the new Pool motto should be, 'The better you get, the less you will be able to play'. After all, participation is all that counts, right?

 

[BillyKoda]

Can I play on Mediocre Tuesday? Do you hold a tournament for the better players as well?

If everyone is happy then it works for you, I want to play against the best players because I play a better game against them. Beating a mediocre field is a hollow victory to me.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Jigger]

As an alternative to eliminating the strongest players once a month, most of our weekly bar tournaments usually require a winner to sit out two weeks. Second place finishers sit out one week. Tends to keep everyone happy and the player turnout is steady each week.

 

[breakup]

A bit off subject but in the vein of helping participation for a weekly tourney.

A break pot is also a good way to boost participation. Sell $1 tickets, anyone in the tournament can buy as many as they want. Later in the tournament draw one ticket and the winner gets a chance to make the 9 on a break. That’s better than running a 8 or 9 ball rack (weaker players still have a pretty good chance of snapping the 9). Let the $$ carry over from week to week, I have seen well over $1000 in a break pot. It really gets people out to the tourney.

Hint: when it gets big don’t let people get in the tourney just to but tickets and then when not drawn forfeit and leave.

 

[ScottW]

Have you thought about running two smaller tournaments at the same time? One higher level, one lower? Maybe set it so that if someone wins the lower level tournament, say, three times, they get bumped to the higher level tournament. Issue there is, you would eventually bleed off all the lower-level players... might make moving them up contingent upon how many lower-level players you have.

 

[sixpack]

...

Maybe, the new Pool motto should be, 'The better you get, the less you will be able to play'. After all, participation is all that counts, right?

That's been the theme in a lot of places for a long time now. I remember in Denver, when I got moved to a AA the number of tournaments I could play in got cut in half at least. Then when I was a AAA the AA and down tourneys were out. When I started playing, I could play a different tourney every night and not go back to the same one for a month. By the time I left, there was 1 or 2 a week that I could play in, and all the other AAAs and pros were in the same ones. Good for your game, bad for your wallet. Wichita was much, much better in this regard.

Cheers,
RC

 

[Billy_Bob]

...why didn't you just make it a handicapped tournament?...

People in my "small town" get up quite early to go to work. So the tournament needs to be a race to one. Handicap not possible.

There is another tournament in the area which out and out bans the better players. And this is the way the bangers feel around here. They will not practice, they will not improve.

I and the better players want the best players to play against. The bangers don't. So this is a compromise. The better players get 3 weeks of stiff competition. The bangers get their 1 week.

And this is a small town. If it was a large city tournament, then this would not be necessary. There are only so many players here. I need to keep them happy as best I can. Note I did manage to switch the tournament to BCA rules (from bar rules). That was a royal battle with the bangers to say the least...

 

[Jigger]

1)
Maybe, the new Pool motto should be, 'The better you get, the less you will be able to play'. After all, participation is all that counts, right?

The strongest players should be allowed to compete/win BUT the low and mid-level bangers are who really grows the pot for those that do get in the $money$.

 

[Koop]

Hey man, if it works for you and the players like it then you made a great decision.
At the very least you were thinking on your toes which is always good.

Personally, I prefer playing the sharks because it's the only way to become one but not everyone feels that way.

Best of luck,
Koop

 

[Cane]

BillyBob, another option you might consider is rating each player a, b, c or d, (that doesn't have to be accurate with a "national scale" or anything, just based on local talent), then have two tournaments on your tournament night, each still a race to one, one tourney for the AB players, one for the CD players. If a player starts to dominate the CD tourney, then move him up to the AB.

Just a thought,
Bob

I agree with Koop, btw, I'd rather get beat by a pro than dominate a C player.

 

[Jimmy M.]

Ahh, handicapping. I love it. I have an idea. Tell the complainers to go spend $100 for a round of golf if the $10 for a weekly tournament is too much (if it's even that high). Or spend $50 to take their wife and kids to see a movie - or $100+ if they want to throw in dinner before or after the movie.

 

[uwate]

Ahh the joys of weekly pool tournaments and the whining losers. How many times have you all seen it go down this way:
1) Tournament system starts...great excitement for a while by local pool fans.
2) Better players win every week.
3) Crappy players ***** and moan that they are donating (they probably are)
4) Tournament director forced to limit winners from playing or handicapping it to the point better players dont want to play.
5) tournament field turns into crappy field of people who cant run three balls with BIH.
6) Spectators grow bored watching hackers play and stop coming
7) Venue loses interest and tournament is killed

There are a number of great suggestions in this thread. One not mentioned is for you to pull out a percentage of the entry each week and make a prize fund for an added money "season finale". Make it so that in order to play you have to play X amt of times. Do a calcutta, have a few bucks from each finale entry go towards a second chance losers mini or perhaps a break and run out contest.

 

[Flex]

Hey man, if it works for you and the players like it then you made a great decision.
At the very least you were thinking on your toes which is always good.

Personally, I prefer playing the sharks because it's the only way to become one but not everyone feels that way.

Best of luck,
Koop

That's a great point. And since it's 8 ball, even against a pro, it's possible for an inferior player to win, especially in a race to 1 format. And beating a pro, even if only one game, will give that person something to talk about for a really long time. Way to go...

Flex