What do you think is the best league out there?

  • Thread starter Thread starter a_susie_cue
  • Start date Start date

What do you think is the best league out there?

  • APA

    Votes: 25 23.1%

  • BCA

    Votes: 54 50.0%

  • ACS

    Votes: 4 3.7%

  • TAP

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • VNEA

    Votes: 12 11.1%

  • OTHER

    Votes: 15 13.9%
  • Total voters
    108
It may have a lot to do with who and how the local league is run. But, my preference is BCA followed by VNEA and then APA. In my opinion, BCA and VNEA generally have a higher level of competition and a LOT less politics mainly due to the handicap system. If you get two APA players together, you have a discussion on handicaps or sandbagging. Get three together and you have an arguement.
 
ok....
a plug for my buddies league here.... yes it is my friends league but i'll tell ya it's the best play i've ever had... and it's all about YOU and your game... it's handicapped like APA but with a plus system and to 9... up to 66 players this session from 3 sessions ago only 20..... now 3 nights instead of 1.... you play 2 matches in your night. end of session everyone is invited to the playoff tournament if you haven't had any more than 2 no-call no-shows... there is a waiting list to get in now... it's managed by him and his partner and a BOG.. handicaps are set to challenge the players to go all out... and monitored....

I thoroughly enjoy it each and every week and play some of the strongest players around.... even the lower handicaps are serious about getting better... it's been a great break from apa or bca environment..

so
www.BluFelt.net
 
There's no BCA or TAP around where I live. Just APA and Valley. Most of the better players prefer Valley and I do too, only because you get money back at the end of the sessions, can win money at state and international tournies, and best of all, it doesn't last all freakin' night.

Personally the APA format fits my play better, only because I'm a marathon runner, not a sprinter. I like the long races. But I hate the long nights and the slop, and most of all, I hate it not being open after the break.

The competition's also stiffer in Valley. It makes you a better player. I just wish there were more girls in it.
 
Have you ever thought about starting a BCA league in your area? I think you need 8 teams in a division to eligible for Vegas, but you would have to check out their website for their standards.
 
I need a BCA in my area too. It sounds interesting. The apa handicapping is weird. I feel it's more fair than others I've played, but it depends on how you define 'fair'. Some people see fair as "both players have a 50/50 chance of winning" and others say it's only fair if the better player wins. I guess it depends on what your goals are. Anyway, I have definitely noticed that APA rankings are a little too broad. The 6's in the capital city would be 7's in our local pool hall... and even among 7's, there's a lot of variation. There are 7's like me and then there are 7's like Efren Reyes. It's not super accurate.
 
The pocket billiard league over in Germany is great IMHO.

As far as I can tell its exclusively played on 9' tables. They have several levels of play within the league itself. You can form your own teams as long as you have a billiard room as a sponsor. You can advance to higher league levels as a team with good performance. There is a dress code of team polo shirt, black pants, and black shoes that is strictly enforced and people of all ages are in it. In each league match, there is 9-ball, 14.1, and 8-ball, but if you dislike one of those games, you don't have to play it. The length of the races varies depending on the level your team is currently playing at...it is not directly dependent on an individuals skill/rating. If fact I don't think there is even a metric for an individuals rating in this system.
 
BCA is by far the best to me!

As to the handicap system in The BCA the local operators and leagues are left to develop and utilize whatever handicap and scoring system they want but when you go to regional and national competitions they are generally all played scratch with no skill level handicapping!! I love the BCA because of the freedom it gives the local leagues and the low cost to be a member!! Despite what many people think the BCA anual membership dues are a flat Ten Dollars per player. If your league operator is taking more it is going directly in his pocket! And for this low cost you have access to wonderfully run and organized national Level events with large amounts of added money and it only seems to be getting better with the partnership with Diamond!!

To answer one of the above posts anyone can start a BCA league as long as there is not already one in the pool room they are in. It takes 6 teams and a minimum of 30 players to sanction your league with the BCA and then be eligible for National level events such as Vegas.
 
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Ive played in both BCA and APA. My personal pros and cons for each.
APA Pros:
1) I like the fact you actually play a match.
APA Cons:
1) Hate to sit and wait for my match to start.
2) Hate the rules.

BCA Pros:
1) Love the rules. As it should be.
2) Competition is higher as each game matters.
BCA Cons:
1) Dislike the 1 game format. I prefer a match race.
Just my take...
 
CreeDo said:
. Some people see fair as "both players have a 50/50 chance of winning" and others say it's only fair if the better player wins.

I have definitely noticed that APA rankings are a little too broad. The 6's in the capital city would be 7's in our local pool hall... and even among 7's, there's a lot of variation. There are 7's like me and then there are 7's like Efren Reyes. It's not super accurate.
Click to expand...


CreeDo...Not quite like Efren, but I agree with you in principle. There are sevens, and then there are SEVENS! :eek: :rolleyes: :D If both players have an even chance to win, the handicap system is fair. It has nothing to do with the better player winning more often. That may happen in some circumstances, but not much.
 
BCA hands down, then Valley and then APA is way behind for me. I don't think that you have to have a certain number of teams for the BCA because we only had 4 teams of 5 players and we won the league and all expense paid trip to play in the Nationals.
 
scott, yeah that's exactly how I said it when I had to face a pro 7 recently. There are 7's and then there are WTF!!! 7!!!

It was pretty rough. I'm likely to maybe run 1 rack in 4, he's likely to maybe run 4 racks in a row :O Big difference.

doozie hit on an important point, about races being the right thing. ANYONE can win over the course of 1 game. The race format is exactly how you'd play if you actually wanted to, say, gamble with another player. If it's a good enough way to handicap for cash money, it should be a good enough way to handicap for a league.

I guess my ideal league would have better skill level classification, some slightly tweaked apa rules, and fair races. The dress code thing in germany sounds neat and classy but I don't think it'd be welcomed in the usa :) Some people see a big problem with races taking forever. I've never minded playing pool until midnight. I do that anyway every day. I don't even mind just chilling out and watching my teammates during their matches, though I can see how some people would get bored. The way I see it, I'm not playing but I'm socializing and I'm not spending any money.
 
i kindof like TAP, i like being able to play my match and leave and not have to play one game, wait an hour,play another game. Plus i like the winner breaks format, breaking shouldn't be a consolation prize for getting your ass kicked
 
a person playing their matches all at once is definitely the right thing to do, I forgot about how irritating it is in vnea when you play the first match, and then have the famous 'long wait' and play the last match in that round.

I also like having relaxed rules that are ok with players who have life outside of league. I dunno if it's this way in all APA, but our LO basically says "if a person doesn't show, play other matchups until he does." "if he never shows, you can reschedule instead of forfeiting if you want". They don't freak out if someone rolls in 30 mins late or wants to leave after their set, and people are friendly with each other and will reschedule matches rather than take automatic forfeit (one poor guy had a heart attack recently, it'd be pretty crappy to not be permitted to reschedule it).

I never minded the loser breaks rule, but I guess alternating would be the most fair. Winner breaks is a little unfair at high levels when a guy's a threat to run 2 or 3 in a row.
 
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