Try TAP! The fastest growing pool league in the country!

[realkingcobra]

Okay. I'm just not that high a skilled player yet. I don't know what I can't make, so I have to keep trying these shots. I can't learn by playing safe, so I need to keep banging them around, learning the angles, learning the hard shots, learning to make the shots everyone else takes for granted. I won't be learning that on a league and I will save my money and just play the 50 cent games and 5 times as many of them for what I'd spend on league fees each week.

League play is not for me right now.

Here's something for you to think about, from someone who's spent a lot of time in the past gambling playing 8ball & 8ball last pocket...and I don't mean for pocket change.

After a break, the first thing I look for is can I run out the rack and make the 8?...If not, can my opponent? If not, then if I'm the one shooting, my next thought is at what point am I going to miss pocketing a ball and turn over the play to the other person? Do I really WANT to clear all my balls off the table down to maybe the last one or two before the 8? NO, because if I were to do that, my chances of winning at that point have dropped quite a lot, after all, it's who makes the 8 first that wins the game, not who almost makes it. Now, with that in mind, I rather miss early, leaving a lot of my balls on the table in the way of my opponent to challenge his ability to clear the table...because if he tries to run out, but fails in his attempt...he now is at his weakest, making it easy for me to pick up a win....and GET PAID

If the player your up against tries to make every ball possible, and I SEE that....I WILL take advantage of that players aggressiveness/weakness and turn the table over to him...when I see it is at my advantage to do so...knowing he can't run out....or needs one hell of a lot of luck to get there, otherwise....here, go for it buddy I'll clean up right after you turn the table back over to me Besides, playing like that gambling, it leaves the person I'm playing thinking they sold out to me, not that I beat him, and WILL come back and play for more money....BUT if I were to break and run out 8 out of 10 racks, I'm done....I won't get another dime from him!

Now, think about what I just wrote

Ever watch the mile runners in the Olympics?...It's almost never the first runner out of the blocks taking the early lead...that wins the gold

Glen

 

[realkingcobra]

TAP LLC is looking for some hard working and honest people to bring the TAP pool league to your area. If you are tired of playing "slop", non typical 9 ball rules, tired of constantly breaking your team up due to low team point handicaps and tired of trying to make it to nationals then it is time that you and your friends try TAP.
In a recent Inside Pool magazine article, one of the oldest billiard leagues reported they had less than 1% growth in 2009, adding less than 1,300 new members nationwide that year. TAP on the other hand is now the fastest growing league in the country with new members totaling 8,082 in 2009. There is no slow down in sight for the TAP sales office either. For the first four months of 2010, TAP has recorded record breaking sales with new licensees being added areas such as Colorado, Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey and Indiana just to name a few.
With TAP's innovative league features including the state of the art Pool-Net system, which includes many options such as, the players statistical module, user friendly report queries and the most advanced handicapping system in the industry and so much more, round robin national formats, TAP's Rally in the Valley at the Super Billiard Expo every March, TAP's traveling nationals going to locations such as New Orleans, Louisville, Charleston, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach and Orlando is a hit with the players and it is no wonder why TAP is now recognized as the leader in the billiard league industry and known as "The league that goes places."
If you are tired of your dinosaur pool league, then try TAP and improve your game with our format. Please call the sales office at 1-800-984-7665 ext. 2 to schedule a quick tour of Pool-Net or visit tapleague.com for more info. You will not be disappointed and glad you did.

When I see the BCAPL, APA, VNEA, and all the other pool leagues around the country promoting their league system as THE place to play leagues, then I wouldn't think twice about your post BUT, with their LACK of effort here on AZ trying to pick up new players....it makes me question what YOU are doing? After all, 99% of the players you're looking for....don't belong to AZBilliards as members What you need to be doing is pounding the ground, going from bar to bar selling your league system...as a choice, or alternative to what is already out here and available today, THAT is how you gain members, not here on AZ...so I have to question your reason for this post...if not out of desperation to gain members...as a LO, and not as the owner/s of TAP as I have YET to see the owners of any other league system trying to pull this kind of stunt to gain members

Glen, just my opinion

 

[Sam at TAP]

Your exactly right....almost !!

Since I posted I have had emails from Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma and a few others I can't remember at this time. But thanks for your comments and expertise in this. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[EricB78]

im calling bullchit. i was AT nationals, and no way a 3 played like a 7 and won anything.

anyone who played more than 2 skill levels over their handicap was DISQUALIFIED.

TAP is by far the best league going right now in my opinion. the competition is good, they dont break up teams with the 23 rule, and the rules are geared more towards players that want to play the game right.

I saw the 3 in question at both nationals and Rally in the Valley. I understand why you think there's no way he played like a 7. You're right. He didn't break and run racks. He didn't shoot 15-16 completes to 1-2 misses. NO. He played safes that went 2-rails and froze the cueball on the back of one of his own balls. If he didn't play as strong as a 7 then why did his team throw him in a sudden death game/match in the first round saturday at rally when they had TWO 7's on their roster that hadn't played yet. Now when we played that team we had a ref watch the whole match who then went up and told the people at the desk that this guy played at a 5-level at least. He was complained about all weekend and what happened in the end? His stats say that he was playing as a 4.1. He did that by playing safes, which his team marked as misses. So, when we had him shooting 17-4 with 12 defenses, his team had him at 17-14 with 2 defenses. THAT'S HOW YOU STAY A 3 when you play like a 6/7.

Now, I'm not saying the league is s$%t just because this guy gets away with that. But at the same time, I've watched my local league go from 10-15 teams down to 4. It seems like APA is still going strong in our area and BCA is growing.

 

[DelaWho???]

Okay, taken down of the high horse. I've been foolish to think I know what I'm seeing. My friend is a good player....he's 68 and has been playing a long time. I don't know his rating, but I'd have to guess he's SL6.
I guess I'm never going to be a real pool player because whenever there are 6 balls each on the table in 8 ball and all you do is push them around and make a game last 25 minutes while your teammates sit around.....

well, it just doesn't look like very much fun to me.

I can understand playing safe in 9 ball. But right after the break in 8 ball when all of the balls are on the table? Inform me of what I'm missing.

While I didn't see the match in question, one possibility is that the lessor skilled player at the table was trying to get an advantage. If you seem to be playing safe "for no reason" maybe the reason was to take the better player out of his comfort zone by making him try just to hit the ball with no easy shot to pocket. There are plenty of players whose game will go straight down the tubes if you can raise their frustration level at the table. Maybe the guy's opponent was capable of running out from anywhere and the lessor player was trying to change the game dynamic.

Based on your posts this would be an effective strategy to employ against you. You seem to have no tollerance for it and therefore would get pissed off about it. That might be enough to take you off of your game and allow your opponent, who might not be as good as you, to gain an advantage. I use you as a generality realising that you say you are a beginner. I don't mean you speciffically but you in the literary sense.

Don't feel bad, everyone wants to run out when they are first starting. It takes time and experience to understand these sorts of nuances of the mental side of the game.

League play and tournament play taught me that. Ask anyone who gambles if they wouldn't do the same if it means getting the nuts on their opponent.

 

[jdxprs]

I saw the 3 in question at both nationals and Rally in the Valley. I understand why you think there's no way he played like a 7. You're right. He didn't break and run racks. He didn't shoot 15-16 completes to 1-2 misses. NO. He played safes that went 2-rails and froze the cueball on the back of one of his own balls. If he didn't play as strong as a 7 then why did his team throw him in a sudden death game/match in the first round saturday at rally when they had TWO 7's on their roster that hadn't played yet. Now when we played that team we had a ref watch the whole match who then went up and told the people at the desk that this guy played at a 5-level at least. He was complained about all weekend and what happened in the end? His stats say that he was playing as a 4.1. He did that by playing safes, which his team marked as misses. So, when we had him shooting 17-4 with 12 defenses, his team had him at 17-14 with 2 defenses. THAT'S HOW YOU STAY A 3 when you play like a 6/7.

Now, I'm not saying the league is s$%t just because this guy gets away with that. But at the same time, I've watched my local league go from 10-15 teams down to 4. It seems like APA is still going strong in our area and BCA is growing.

it's a shame that happened. i can't really comment on it because i didn't see it. my understanding is that the opposing teams score sheet is supposed to be used to figure if he shot over his level. sounds like dirty stuff to me.

my intent of my posts was not to say tap is perfect. just that in my opinion, it is a really good league, and better than apa.

 

[Scott Lee]

jdxprs...Well, that's not what you said, in several posts. If you include "IMO", it indicates that you're offering just your opinion (as you just did in this post)...as opposed to claiming this, and claiming that...as gospel.

Better for whom? Some people prefer APA...some prefer TAP...some prefer BCA...some prefer VNEA...some play in several leagues, at the same time. There is NO "this league is better than that league"...it is subjective to the individual. That's all I've been saying in this, and other threads.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

it's a shame that happened. i can't really comment on it because i didn't see it. my understanding is that the opposing teams score sheet is supposed to be used to figure if he shot over his level. sounds like dirty stuff to me.

my intent of my posts was not to say tap is perfect. just that in my opinion, it is a really good league, and better than apa.

 

[Ctwitty]

increase in membership

1. The TAP rules are on www.tapleague.com Some of the big differences to the other league is a 25 point team limit, no slop on the 8 ball or if your playing 9 ball, both must be called pockets and the table is open after the break in 8 ball until a called ball is made.

2. Scorekeeping is keeping track of completions, misses, balls left on the table, made on the break, safes, early 8's, break and runs and 8 on the breaks.

3. A total of 21 matches is calculated, throwing the high and low out so a total of 19 matches is used to get a overall average.

4. I am not bashing the APA (or any other league for that matter) but I merely stated that TAP gained more new members then the APA last year (by approx. a 6-1 ratio). We know what we gained in numbers and they posted in IP mag what they did. No bashing at all, just stating their facts and ours.

5. I knew the APA people would come on here as if I stuck a stick in a hornets nest. They always do. TAP has sold all of these new areas I mentioned in the past 3 1/2 months and everyone was a APA member or former member. What does that tell you?

6. This will be my last post on here. If you have any questions about TAP, please call the numbers I posted or PM me. No matter what league you decide to play in...... enjoy the game, the competition and the night out with your friends. That is what it is all about.

Your league has not grown, you don't have more members and bashing other leagues is your mode of operation in all areas. what a joke

 

[EricB78]

Your league has not grown, you don't have more members and bashing other leagues is your mode of operation in all areas. what a joke

Yeah, if you look at the posts it doesn't say that TAP has grown, it just says that there's a lot of new members. If you gained 6000 new members, but lost 8000 where does that put the league?

BTW, I'm not bashing any league. I play APA 9-ball and TAP and BCA 8-ball. Each league has it's pluses and minuses. If APA got rid of slop in 8-ball and changed there rating system to allow for stronger teams I would have no problem leaving TAP.

 

[jdxprs]

jdxprs...Well, that's not what you said, in several posts. If you include "IMO", it indicates that you're offering just your opinion (as you just did in this post)...as opposed to claiming this, and claiming that...as gospel.

Better for whom? Some people prefer APA...some prefer TAP...some prefer BCA...some prefer VNEA...some play in several leagues, at the same time. There is NO "this league is better than that league"...it is subjective to the individual. That's all I've been saying in this, and other threads.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

scott,

where have i said what i posted is fact or gospel? you need to slow down and read things more clearly. i've posted what i've seen from my perspective at nationals, and in my area.

 

[Sam at TAP]

Ct

CT WITTY.....I am sorry and I did not know you have access to TAP's records but my records in the sales office shows about 20 new licensees in the past year or so and with that we gained in the area of 8,000 to 9,000 new members. TAP is growing and there is no slow down in sight. Of course we lose members, same as any other league, but we also are gaining members too.
And I never bashed any league on my original post. I simply stated that we had more members sign up then the other league in 2009. Again, I quoted IP magazine and their write up on this. Where is that bashing anyone? But I would like to ask you guys one question. When that league states they are the oldest or largest league are they bashing TAP with that statement? So if I state a fact saying that we are outgrowing them then where is the bash? You can't have it both ways here. If by what I saying is bashing them then what they say is bashing TAP. And honestly, there is no bashing going on at all. Only in your mind there is. So get over it, will you?

Also, since my last post, you can add Georgia and California to the list of people contacting me from this thread. So as you can see, there is more interest in TAP then you people may think.

Once again, play pool in whatever venue you choose but play and love the game. God bless.

 

[LeagueGuy]

If you are tired of playing "slop", non typical 9 ball rules, tired of constantly breaking your team up due to low team point handicaps .

If you are tired of your dinosaur pool league, then try TAP and improve your game with our format. Please call the sales office at 1-800-984-7665 ext. 2 to schedule a quick tour of Pool-Net or visit tapleague.com for more info. Or email me at tappool@aol.com You will not be disappointed and glad you did.

Sam I must be mistaken but I thought you posted a few minutes ago that your original post was not bashing any league. I must be confused as it sure seems like it to me. Or are you not sure which one of your faces you are talking out of.

 

[LeagueGuy]

TAP is now recognized as the leader in the billiard league industry

Are you serious? Thanks i needed a good laugh.

 

[skiergirl55]

While I didn't see the match in question, one possibility is that the lessor skilled player at the table was trying to get an advantage. If you seem to be playing safe "for no reason" maybe the reason was to take the better player out of his comfort zone by making him try just to hit the ball with no easy shot to pocket. There are plenty of players whose game will go straight down the tubes if you can raise their frustration level at the table. Maybe the guy's opponent was capable of running out from anywhere and the lessor player was trying to change the game dynamic.

Based on your posts this would be an effective strategy to employ against you. You seem to have no tollerance for it and therefore would get pissed off about it. That might be enough to take you off of your game and allow your opponent, who might not be as good as you, to gain an advantage. I use you as a generality realising that you say you are a beginner. I don't mean you speciffically but you in the literary sense.

Don't feel bad, everyone wants to run out when they are first starting. It takes time and experience to understand these sorts of nuances of the mental side of the game.

League play and tournament play taught me that. Ask anyone who gambles if they wouldn't do the same if it means getting the nuts on their opponent.

Good post. I'm sure I will experience a number of misunderstandings about how things work, and clarification is helpful. Thanks for being kind in your explanation and not ripping on me personally for my opinion.

No, I don't get pissed off about it at all: I play with people who do play safety when it's needed, and I've done it myself.....but in that one instance.... I just didn't understand it.

 

[Cardinal_Syn]

I know about playing safe: this wasn't it at all. The people I watched playing were fairly skilled and were playing safe with at least 3 easy shots on the table (let's put it this way........I could have made them all).

It seemed excessive use of the safety play. The game went on and on and on. Put in the 3 that you can make and then play safe. I didn't get it, and neither did my friend who was there playing in the league. We were both shaking our heads. There is a time to play safe and a time to just pocket balls.

I would like to share this video to you. It should reflect how much strategies are involve in a safety battle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsCLcuLXlEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GqrF3xS2qA&feature=related

Although I agree with you somewhat, I have seen players play safe when they could've run out. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence and maybe just mind games but it happens.

 

[Winston846]

As someone mentioned earlier...

I also play in an independent, non-affiliated league, so I don't have to deal with any of this stuff, either. There's no handicaps in our league, and simply put, you put up your 5 shooters, they put up their 5 shooters, and may the best team win. We also have no slop, and even play ALL fouls (not just cue ball fouls). Also, 8 on the break IS a win. I disagree that the 8 on the break is slop. It takes a pretty potent break to get the 8 moving, especially with the lighter plastic balls we find in most of the bars we play in.

The only thing I don't like about the league and wish I could change is that the break for each match is decided by a coin flip. That's a bummer if your opponent B&Rs you. I could at least fault myself for losing a lag, but I have no control over a coin flip. I agree with the BCA rule that the winning team should keep the break until the other team can take it away from them.

 

[APA Operator]

CT WITTY.....I am sorry and I did not know you have access to TAP's records but my records in the sales office shows about 20 new licensees in the past year or so and with that we gained in the area of 8,000 to 9,000 new members. TAP is growing and there is no slow down in sight. Of course we lose members, same as any other league, but we also are gaining members too.
And I never bashed any league on my original post. I simply stated that we had more members sign up then the other league in 2009. Again, I quoted IP magazine and their write up on this.

Actually Sam, what you did was MISQUOTE the article. It was in the March 2010 issue, and here is the actual text:

"... Despite a tough economy in 2009, the APA managed to increase its active membership count to 268,774 last year. While the increase was less than 1%, it still brought an additional 1248 members to the APA Pool Leagues throughout the U.S., Canada, and Japan. ..."

The article doesn't say the APA only gained 1248 NEW members. It says that the APA had 1248 more PAID members in 2009 than they had in 2008.

In my area alone, I had 469 NEW members join in 2009. There are 270 of us. My area has less than 1% of the total APA membership, so I'm estimating that APA actually had over 50,000 NEW members last year. That's an estimate, you would have to get the actual number from the national office.

Please, compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges. How many ACTIVE members did TAP have in 2009, and how many did they have in 2008?

So if I state a fact saying that we are outgrowing them then where is the bash?

I wouldn't call it bashing, but I wouldn't call it a fact, either. I would call it a claim, one that you have yet to back up with real comparative numbers.

I'm not interested in a debate here - you do your thing and we'll do ours. I'm only clarifying your misinterpretation of the IP article.

 

[Wild Thing II]

New Members

Tap Tap Tap

Actually Sam, what you did was MISQUOTE the article. It was in the March 2010 issue, and here is the actual text:

"... Despite a tough economy in 2009, the APA managed to increase its active membership count to 268,774 last year. While the increase was less than 1%, it still brought an additional 1248 members to the APA Pool Leagues throughout the U.S., Canada, and Japan. ..."

The article doesn't say the APA only gained 1248 NEW members. It says that the APA had 1248 more PAID members in 2009 than they had in 2008.

In my area alone, I had 469 NEW members join in 2009. There are 270 of us. My area has less than 1% of the total APA membership, so I'm estimating that APA actually had over 50,000 NEW members last year. That's an estimate, you would have to get the actual number from the national office.

Please, compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges. How many ACTIVE members did TAP have in 2009, and how many did they have in 2008?



I wouldn't call it bashing, but I wouldn't call it a fact, either. I would call it a claim, one that you have yet to back up with real comparative numbers.

I'm not interested in a debate here - you do your thing and we'll do ours. I'm only clarifying your misinterpretation of the IP article.

 

[Wild Thing II]

Team Count

Sam,
How many teams did NW Jersey loose in total before is was sold?
H

CT WITTY.....I am sorry and I did not know you have access to TAP's records but my records in the sales office shows about 20 new licensees in the past year or so and with that we gained in the area of 8,000 to 9,000 new members. TAP is growing and there is no slow down in sight. Of course we lose members, same as any other league, but we also are gaining members too.
And I never bashed any league on my original post. I simply stated that we had more members sign up then the other league in 2009. Again, I quoted IP magazine and their write up on this. Where is that bashing anyone? But I would like to ask you guys one question. When that league states they are the oldest or largest league are they bashing TAP with that statement? So if I state a fact saying that we are outgrowing them then where is the bash? You can't have it both ways here. If by what I saying is bashing them then what they say is bashing TAP. And honestly, there is no bashing going on at all. Only in your mind there is. So get over it, will you?

Also, since my last post, you can add Georgia and California to the list of people contacting me from this thread. So as you can see, there is more interest in TAP then you people may think.

Once again, play pool in whatever venue you choose but play and love the game. God bless.

 

[KRJ]

.

BCA players bashed APA, APA players bashed BCA.....without fail, without my even asking for a comparison! Wtf? :angry:

I've opted out of both of them. I can get better practice and competition from my rebel Rack Pack group (tentative name!) who didn't like the crap on either league and struck out on their own. At least we play by tournament rules and forget the stupidity of the 'faux rules' that seem to permeate both sanctioned leagues.

Ummm, BCA wrote the book on 8ball rules, literally. And so the tounaments you play in, are most likely exactly the same as BCA and how the professionals play. Again, you have no clue what the heck you are talking about and maybe you should just sit back and learn a little first.

I mean.....isn't 8 on the break in 8-Ball a win...PERIOD? Why in the world would you call it something else?

UMM, because it is not a win. And is completely lucky. You have to make all your balls first, before you can make the 8 ball. WOW, you took a lucky shot and beat me, WOW, hand you the keys to the city because now you are good !!!

I've done that twice so far, and I don't want any league taking that win away from me. Bugger that. NObody it taking it away from you because you didn't earn it yet! AGain, why APA is bad because they refuse to teach folks the proper rules of the game.

I am learning the game the way it should be played,
WRONG, in baseball three strikes you are out in T-ball, little league, high school, college and the pros. You are learning the wrong rules which hold you back from being a good player. Why do you want to play different rules than the pro's ??????

I don't ever get to shoot again when I slop in a ball (so wrong to keep playing), YEAH, it is. Hey I struck out, so I want to stay at the plate and swing some more. OH, is it so wrong to keep playing !! yeah, when you miss, you sit, that is the game. But APA has not taught you a damn thing.

I don't see the guys in my group playing safe every other shot like I did watching the APA guys play. I watched players with easy cut shots bypass them to play safe. WTF!! Put the damn ball in the pocket!:banghead: YEAH, all the guys that Biotch about safety play are the guys that can't shoot them. A good safety is sometimes much harder to play that a cut shot, but the reward is I get to break out my cluster once I get ball in hand. Plus, when I play a player like you that is obvious upset with my safety play, that is when I become an anaconda, and safety the HECK out of you the rest of the match. Then you learn about defense, because you can't win without it.

If this is what league play is all about, I'm not interested.
Yeah, newbie, it's called competition. And I don't care who you are you should try to win. I don't want some guy/girl taking it easy on me if he is better. I have some pride. If he/she is better, I don't want mercy. Be a man, tell him/her great game, and come back next time and safety his butt.
Back to your regularly scheduled bickering.

:deadhorse:

Oh, welcome to the real pool world. You wonder why there are so many fights about 8 ball rules, and APA is not helping a damn thing.