Trying to figure out what speed I am

D

Dockter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm trying to decide where I rank ( A B C D ). For singles tournaments this year I've played C. I got 9-12 out of 87 in an MPA tournament ( First loss was to the guy that won it ) and 25-32 out of 160.

I shoot 2 leagues. One is called B division but I don't know if it's a true B and I'm 43-37 with an average of 7.79. The other league is called A3 Division 2 which might be closer to a B league but not even sure on that. I'm 36-30 with an average of 7.90. I have 4 ero's in league and a few in tournaments so not a great %. This probably means nothing if you don't shoot in South Dakota to know how they class players because it means nothing to me lol.

I've seen people talk about shooting the 4,5,6,8,9 ball ghost. I shoot the 8 ball ghost and can normally get 2 out of 5 taking bih after the break with about the same in 9 ball but I rarely shoot 9 ball.

So my question is how do you shoot the 4,5,6,7 ball ghost? Do I break an eightball rack and take balls off the table or how does it work? I've always considered myself an average C player and have just been trying to improve which I continue to do but I still don't know how that moves me in A, B, C terms.


Sorry for another RATE ME thread!!
 
take Dr. Dave's Billiard University tests and you might just find out exactly where you.
 
Speed is such a variable. Personally speaking, I may not rank high in league, where I play a few games once a week against players of varying skill. But nobody in town is eager to match up with me for the cash. In a one on one match where I can play game after game, I usually tend to do ok. In a league format, I really struggle. Tournaments are the same. Either I do well or I suck, depending on format & how smoothly it runs. If I have to sit, I get bored. Even this fluctuation is dictated by how much I play regularly. Lately I don't play much at all, so I really only catch a gear if I am in a longer match. A few years ago when I played a lot more, I was sharp any time, any place, any situation. Even my environment factors in on my level. If I am playing good players, I adapt & hit good. If I am not getting beat up on, my game drops. So long story short, I think speed is a variable more than a constant climb.
 
I think "speed" is also relative to where you're located.
I might be a strong B in some places and a mid C in others.

Koop - probably around a C+
 
Dockter said:
I'm trying to decide where I rank ( A B C D ). For singles tournaments this year I've played C. I got 9-12 out of 87 in an MPA tournament ( First loss was to the guy that won it ) and 25-32 out of 160.

I shoot 2 leagues. One is called B division but I don't know if it's a true B and I'm 43-37 with an average of 7.79. The other league is called A3 Division 2 which might be closer to a B league but not even sure on that. I'm 36-30 with an average of 7.90. I have 4 ero's in league and a few in tournaments so not a great %. This probably means nothing if you don't shoot in South Dakota to know how they class players because it means nothing to me lol.

I've seen people talk about shooting the 4,5,6,8,9 ball ghost. I shoot the 8 ball ghost and can normally get 2 out of 5 taking bih after the break with about the same in 9 ball but I rarely shoot 9 ball.

So my question is how do you shoot the 4,5,6,7 ball ghost? Do I break an eightball rack and take balls off the table or how does it work? I've always considered myself an average C player and have just been trying to improve which I continue to do but I still don't know how that moves me in A, B, C terms.


Sorry for another RATE ME thread!!
Click to expand...

Toss out 4 balls on the table, run them out in order 10 times. If you can clear the table 8 of 10 times, you are about a C to C+. If you can do the same with 5-6-7, you are a B to B+.

A player can sometimes shoot half a level over their normal game, so if you can get 5 balls one time but stuck at 4 other nights, you would still be a C player. It's almost impossible for a player to shoot a full level over their skill for more than a few games over 10+ games.
 
Koop said:
I think "speed" is also relative to where you're located.
I might be a strong B in some places and a mid C in others.

Koop - probably around a C+
Click to expand...

Go to Ayer and I'll tell you :)

We'll be there this Tuesday.

The ABCD ratings should be totally independent of the area, it's all a matter of how well you can play, and the rating is almost always set against 9 ball.

If you can run 5 balls in MA, you can run 5 balls in GA. And if you can consistently run 5 balls 8-9-10 times out of 10, that would make a player a B level, with 6 balls being a higher B to B+, maybe 7 balls for a solid B+ to A-.

Now if we talk about APA and other league ratings, those are often based on the area due to how they rank the players. They do it on win/loss and some other factors. If you are a B player but happen to play in an area where the average skill is low, your league ratings will be top. Then if you go to an area where you have half the league players as A players, all of a sudden your 7 APA rating feels like a 5 against those A players who are also 7s.

I think that is where the whole rating systems falls a bit short, when you compare areas instead of just playing the ghost results.
 
I'm going to give Dr. Dave's tests a try tomorrow depending on how much time I get if not tomorrow sometime this week.

For the 4 ball ghost you just throw 4 on the table and take bih and try to run the 4 out in rotation?

Appreciate all the replies.
 
Dockter said:
I'm going to give Dr. Dave's tests a try tomorrow depending on how much time I get if not tomorrow sometime this week.
Click to expand...
If you try the BU playing-ability exams, please post scores (and videos if available) and comments/suggestions on the AZB BU thread.

Dockter said:
For the 4 ball ghost you just throw 4 on the table and take bih and try to run the 4 out in rotation?
Click to expand...
You can throw the balls out in a random fashion or just hit a break shot. For more info, see:

"playing the ghost" rating drills

Regards,
Dave
 
dr_dave said:
You can throw the balls out in a random fashion or just hit a break shot. For more info, see:

"playing the ghost" rating drills

Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...

Dave, in regards to this link with the 9 ball ghost scoring, I think it is very important to define if this scoring is on a 7', 8', or 9' table. I checked the document and no where on it did it mention the table size (after clicking on the 9 ball version link within this link). A person (like myself) could overestimate their skill if they figured this was scoring on 7' when is should be for a 9' which is a HUGE difference. You may want to update that document to clarify it. If it is meant to be any size table, I would say that the scoring should be elaborated on. I may score an A on the 7' portion, but if I do the same thing on a 9' I may score a C or worse. Just my 2 cents.
Matt
 
Spimp13 said:
Dave, in regards to this link with the 9 ball ghost scoring, I think it is very important to define if this scoring is on a 7', 8', or 9' table. I checked the document and no where on it did it mention the table size (after clicking on the 9 ball version link within this link). A person (like myself) could overestimate their skill if they figured this was scoring on 7' when is should be for a 9' which is a HUGE difference. You may want to update that document to clarify it. If it is meant to be any size table, I would say that the scoring should be elaborated on. I may score an A on the 7' portion, but if I do the same thing on a 9' I may score a C or worse. Just my 2 cents.
Matt
Click to expand...

Good point as my normal tables are 7 ft and we only have one 9fter in town. The odd part is I normally shoot better on the 9 footer especially in 8 ball but my sample size probably isn't big enough to show that for sure.
 
Equal offense is the best way to gauge your offense. That's a good place to start.
 
alstl said:
Equal offense is the best way to gauge your offense. That's a good place to start.
Click to expand...

I actually just learned about it from ShortBusRuss last week and haven't got a chance to try it out yet. Normally on practice days I get 2-3 hours playing alone and seen him mention it and I need something different than just racking and playing or playing the ghost so I messaged him about it and he kindly explained how it scores. Looking forwarding to trying it.
 
Spimp13 said:
Dave, in regards to this link with the 9 ball ghost scoring, I think it is very important to define if this scoring is on a 7', 8', or 9' table. I checked the document and no where on it did it mention the table size (after clicking on the 9 ball version link within this link). A person (like myself) could overestimate their skill if they figured this was scoring on 7' when is should be for a 9' which is a HUGE difference. You may want to update that document to clarify it. If it is meant to be any size table, I would say that the scoring should be elaborated on. I may score an A on the 7' portion, but if I do the same thing on a 9' I may score a C or worse. Just my 2 cents.
Matt
Click to expand...


This is a great point. And if I may add the Dr. Daves TDF (table difficulty factor) should also be taken into account. If you are on an 8 foot with 4 inch modified corner pockets, but then shoot better on a 9 footer with 5" corners, that would have to be a factor worthy of adjusting your ghost ball scoring.

I'm a huge believer that the TDF should be discussed right up with the Accu stat TPA for any and all professional tournaments. It really is that important to pool statistics. (But thats another thread)
 
Spimp13 said:
Dave, in regards to this link with the 9 ball ghost scoring, I think it is very important to define if this scoring is on a 7', 8', or 9' table. I checked the document and no where on it did it mention the table size (after clicking on the 9 ball version link within this link). A person (like myself) could overestimate their skill if they figured this was scoring on 7' when is should be for a 9' which is a HUGE difference. You may want to update that document to clarify it. If it is meant to be any size table, I would say that the scoring should be elaborated on. I may score an A on the 7' portion, but if I do the same thing on a 9' I may score a C or worse. Just my 2 cents.
Matt
Click to expand...

Just wanted to bring this question to the top for Dr. Dave....
Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Cardigan Kid said:
Just wanted to bring this question to the top for Dr. Dave....
Inquiring minds want to know.
Click to expand...
Good idea. FYI, I've added the following to the "playing the ghost" player rating resource page:

As with all rating systems and drills, results can vary with table size. Generally, the rating systems are developed assuming the drills are done on a typical-difficulty-level, standard 9' table. The Table Difficulty Factor (TDF) offers a way to compare difficulty levels of different tables to help put scores and ratings into proper perspective.

Regards,
Dave
 
hang-the-9 said:
Toss out 4 balls on the table, run them out in order 10 times. If you can clear the table 8 of 10 times, you are about a C to C+. If you can do the same with 5-6-7, you are a B to B+.

A player can sometimes shoot half a level over their normal game, so if you can get 5 balls one time but stuck at 4 other nights, you would still be a C player. It's almost impossible for a player to shoot a full level over their skill for more than a few games over 10+ games.
Click to expand...

Wow did you make that up all by yourself?

Maybe you learned it at the carnival....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top