What's your APA 8-ball Skill Level?

[bazkook]

My first instinct was to say "the APA should adjust their handicaps", but really... what would it do if they made a scale to 10 or something? Then the teams have an even harder time keeping it under the 23 limit that everyone gripes about.

If the APA increased the scale to 9 or 10,the 23 limit would have to be increased to at least 30 or 35. As one variable increases,the other must increase as well. I am not against the scale being increased,maybe even by half points,such as a 2.5,3.5,4.5,and so on. That would help cover the broad range of handicaps. There will undoubtedly be low and high ends of the spectrum in each skill level and with a scale to 9 or 10(such as in 9-ball),a player's skill level in comparison to other players' skill levels will be more accurate IMHO.

 

[runninracks]

apa skill level

I am a 7 in eight ball & a 9 in nine ball. I quit the handicapped version of the league because of all that 23 rule bs leading to team splitting & sandbagging. I now play in the masters division which is pretty cool. Three man teams, no handicap and both 8 & 9 ball played. I wish BCA would look into a similar format as an additional event at nationals.

 

[onepktplyr]

I was rated as a 4 in 8ball and a 3 in 9 ball in the apa. I went to a tourny in lansing and was trying to get a really good mi player to play in a scotch dbls mini with me. Spent an hour trying to convince him but he just wouldn't budge. So I went to the 5.00 challenge table that all the 7, 8 & 9's were playing at. Won the 1st game and ran a clean 6 pack after. Some bald guy came up and shook my hand and introduced himself as one of the national skills advisors for the apa..lol we did win the mini and every other one we played in. When my team got to vegas I went to dispute my handicap(6) and guess who was waiting at the podium... Yep.. It was him..lol. Gotta love the apa..

 

[CreeDo]

Not necessarily. Maybe, reletive to the 2's and 3's, but an APA 7 is not automatically the picture of "good".
Steve

Definitely true. By some standards (those hardcore new yorkers at amsterdam billiards?) the lowest level APA 7 is actually a solid C+. Which sounds insulting but it's not really, a C can occasionally run out though it often isn't pretty.

There are so many levels above that... from occasional runouts to frequent runouts to occasional small packages to pro to top pro.

If the APA increased the scale to 9 or 10,the 23 limit would have to be increased to at least 30 or 35. As one variable increases,the other must increase as well. I am not against the scale being increased,maybe even by half points,such as a 2.5,3.5,4.5,and so on. That would help cover the broad range of handicaps. There will undoubtedly be low and high ends of the spectrum in each skill level and with a scale to 9 or 10(such as in 9-ball),a player's skill level in comparison to other players' skill levels will be more accurate IMHO.

I think the reason it doesn't and shouldn't increase is because it's changing the system to accomodate only a very small fraction of apa players. If you increased it to e.g. 35, you could field a team of 5 sevens. That would be a pretty nasty team even if they are all just "occasional runout" players.

 

[Dudley]

Being a 7 in the apa could be the broadest ranking out there. In my room there are 7's that get the 6 ball from another 7 and this isn't enough weight. It is an amateur league and in my experience the only teams that have a chance (to do well in vegas) are sandbagging by 2 or more skill levels with half the players on their team.

The apa model is built to divide and multiply teams. If you enjoy the league thats great but for me it was way too much headache. Sandbagging is not fun and if you're not sandbagging you don't have a chance. It is always more fun for everyone to play their heart out. But If you do your team will not exist next session because you'll have to split to make the cap.

Don't take this wrong I enjoyed the sessions I played (mostly because of the people on my team) I am just being completely honest.

Dud

 

[crawfish]

4. And happy to have just moved up. If any other 4's want to play some within 300 miles, please PM me. If you are a 5 or 6 or 7, I will take a little sumpin' and play some sets.


Oh alright, God just spoke to me and told me just how wrong I was. So, I will play anyone in apa even except those unbelievable 6's and 7's. PM me and I'll travel.

 

[c and c]

I've played in different areas of the country and have been a 7 for a long time. The difference in players who are 7's here in St.Louis to 7's in Chicago is amazing. Guys who shoot pro speed like Justin Bergman over on the IL side to ball bangin 7's who have been in the APA for years. The 7 handicap is such a broad range in our area. The APA is what it is. Its a business and they will continue to make loads of money the way the system is designed.

I wish they did go to a higher handicap rule at some point. I enjoy the Masters league we have its pretty nice though!!

 

[bazkook]

I think the reason it doesn't and shouldn't increase is because it's changing the system to accomodate only a very small fraction of apa players. If you increased it to e.g. 35, you could field a team of 5 sevens. That would be a pretty nasty team even if they are all just "occasional runout" players.

That's true. Didn't think about that.

 

[SpinDoctor]

Have never played apa 8 ball but did play a season of 9 ball and was a 9 so I'm assuming my 8 ball handicap is a 7.

 

[Rich R.]

I started out as a 4 as a new player. Was accused of sand bagging. Told the other team that I don't make the rules and never claimed to be a 4. After the first week was raised to a 6. Then eventually to a 7. After 2 sessions I became skilled enough to become a 6. Had to do this to this to help the team stay in the 23 rule. Learned how to do this from the players on the other teams.

I am a now a 6 working on becoming a 5. Never realized how hard it is to drop in skills. It is easier to be a 7 but then the team would have to split. This is the format of the APA. It is like a pyramid scam. If your area does not continue to grow you lose your franchise. So the object is to try and get the players to advance in skills so the teams have to break up and form new teams., thus hopefully getting more players. The players in MI Are not idiots, most of us belong to union and know how to screw management.

Beware of the players from Mi. We are sand bagging experts.

So you would prefer to cheat rather than form another team and play fair. That shows a lot about your character. It's sad, very sad.

 

[Rich R.]

I'm rated a 6 in APA 8-ball and most of the time I play like a strong 6 or a weak 7. Unfortunately, I have days when I play like a weak 4 and that is what keeps me from making it to the level 7 rank.

 

[justadub]

I think its a shame people base their self esteem on a skill level...but that being said,I don't think to many 2/3's hang out here.I think the info here would really help them out.

I think there might be a reason why the average 2/3 doesn't hang out here. They would have to have pretty thick skin, reading many of the comments over the last 6 months that I've been on here. Think about that person when reading some of the threads sometimes, and wonder why there aren't more beginner-level types here. Perhaps they are, and are simply lurking. Not too many, I'd guess.

So why have I stuck it out? Well yes, there is a whole lot of really good information here, and it has been very helpful to me. I really enjoy keeping up with all the drama between the experts, as well, heh. And I guess I have relatively thick skin, tho I admit to over-reacting to the occasional comment here or there. Guess I'm too stubborn. And just because I don't play pool as well as most of you folks (evidenced in the poll results) I can talk and type and argue as well as any of you! :nanner:

 

[jdxprs]

i think the reason so many of the people who responded to this poll are higher rated players is because the people on this site are people who truely love the game and work hard to improve at it.

 

[DelaWho???]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect to the 2s and 3s that may visit the site but most people would probably say they are one or more skill levels higher than they are,even in an anonymous poll,just to make them feel better about themselves when they see that the majority of the rest of the members are 6s and 7s. At least that's my opinion.

How is lying to oneself (it is an anonymous poll) going to make one feel better about oneself? If anything, I would think they would answer the poll honestly and then puff their feathers up with a post about how they are a 3 but they really are 7 speed. They just play 3 speed to game the system and make a killing on the mini's...

I joined this site as an APA3 in 8 ball, and a beginner at the game. I am an APA5 in both 8 and 9 now in large part due to this site and a lot of practice.

A lot of lower handicap players aren't going to pipe in with an opinion because they are going to be poo poo'd by the elite crowd here. I've had my meager handicap used as an insult to denegrate my opinion...."well since you're only a 5 in the apa...."

 

[SpinDoctor]

I was rated as a 4 in 8ball and a 3 in 9 ball in the apa. I went to a tourny in lansing and was trying to get a really good mi player to play in a scotch dbls mini with me. Spent an hour trying to convince him but he just wouldn't budge. So I went to the 5.00 challenge table that all the 7, 8 & 9's were playing at. Won the 1st game and ran a clean 6 pack after. Some bald guy came up and shook my hand and introduced himself as one of the national skills advisors for the apa..lol we did win the mini and every other one we played in. When my team got to vegas I went to dispute my handicap(6) and guess who was waiting at the podium... Yep.. It was him..lol. Gotta love the apa..

I was playing against a guy in 9 ball league years ago who was a 3(I was a 9) and I started the match off with a 5 pack followed by a dry break. Their 3(lol) ran out the match. To say he was a sandbagger was an understatement. By season end he was a 5 and his team went on to win the Vegas tournament and I realized that I hate apa.

I can't count the number of times that the opposing teams high handicaps would argue about who was playing me and then put up some poor 2 instead of playing. Blech

 

[Solomon]

I'm rated a 6 in APA 8-ball and most of the time I play like a strong 6 or a weak 7. Unfortunately, I have days when I play like a weak 4 and that is what keeps me from making it to the level 7 rank.

I realize that this is an old thread, but the quoted post is almost exactly where I've found myself for the past few months. I'm finally starting to turn a corner and beginning to play more consistantly. I'm almost certain that I'm on the border of becoming a S/L 7 (I'm currently 7-0 this session).

After my 6th match about a month ago I told my team captian that she shouldn't play me anymore this session unless it was absolutely necessary. Our team has a huge lead with only a few weeks left and me becoming a S/L 7 now would mean that I could no longer play with our current lineup.

This past week I had to play my 7th match this session because we were short on people and I beat another S/L 6 5-0. My teammates weren't happy that I was playing to win every game. However, I made it perfectly clear that I'm more than happy to sit out in order to keep my handicap from going up but I would/will not sandbag if I'm called on to play. I should know Tuesday evening if I'm still a S/L 6 or not.

 

[ddadams]

Lousy 6.

I honestly don't know how I'm still a 6 in 8 ball. I've lost one game in 3 and a half sessions.

And I hate to be a little whiner but I didn't deserve to lose the match I lost
Played a guy who cheated and I let it get to me. He sharked me the last 3 racks of the game and I had to bank the 8 on two of them. Made it both times and scratched to give him the win.

Would have had the MVP trophies 4 sessions in a row now then had I not been such a dog and let it get to me. But I just like to woof sometimes. I'm the definition of a dog in this game though. So nobody to blame but me.

The poll looks about like I expected... there are almost as many 7's as there are all the other skill levels combined. I started APA as a 7 and I play at least 2 speeds higher than that now, and I'd still be a 7. So would any US Open champion. So clearly 7 covers a really big range of players.

My first instinct was to say "the APA should adjust their handicaps", but really... what would it do if they made a scale to 10 or something? Then the teams have an even harder time keeping it under the 23 limit that everyone gripes about.

The particular division I play in with my friends who got me into pool originally 3 years ago only has 2 8 ball 7's and 4 7-8's in 9 ball. Two of which are on my team. My captain and I are both 6/7's and easily the strongest of both out of the other 6's and the 1 7 in 9 ball. Two of the 8's are stronger in APA format 9 ball than either of us.


But the reason I quoted you is that I can't agree with you more. I try to tell the newer players and lower SL's that ask me for advice (they shouldn't though, I'm pretty terrible - honestly) that just because I've been given that number, doesn't mean I'm good.

Just because I should be a 7 in 8 ball doesn't mean I'm a great player. The low end of the 7 scale in 8 ball is hardly a hair above a banger in my eyes compared to real pool players. They think it's a joke and a lot of them literally think after you get to a 5 you're a "semi-pro" and that the APA singles is actually a professional event.

I wish I could quit but my girlfriend plays with me on that team and it's my real friends outside of pool. So I enjoy hanging out with them, but really wish this division wasn't so horrible. I would rather be in a league where I'm close to the bottom of the ranks or I AM the bottom.


Getting my ass kicked is how I learn though.

 

[Solomon]

Lousy 6.

I honestly don't know how I'm still a 6 in 8 ball. I've lost one game in 3 and a half sessions.

I don't mind being a 6. Everyone in my league knows me and most of them feel that I should already be a 7. The thing that sucks in my current situation is if I go up a S/L before the session ends, I can't play with my team the rest of the session or in LTCs. Although it is my ultimate goal to be an APA S/L 7 in 8 ball, it would be better for me and my team if it didn't happen until next session (or later) because that would give us a chance to restructure our team and get a couple of lower S/Ls.

 

[justadub]

Five years ago, I noted in this thread (just a few posts above this one) that I had recently become a SL4. Probably a year after that I went to SL5.

Now, four years after that, I'm still a 5. And not happy with that, at all. Its frustrating. And all correctable, if I could get my head out of, well, you know....

 

[lorider]

Five years ago, I noted in this thread (just a few posts above this one) that I had recently become a SL4. Probably a year after that I went to SL5.

Now, four years after that, I'm still a 5. And not happy with that, at all. Its frustrating. And all correctable, if I could get my head out of, well, you know....

same here dub. you may remember i went up to a 6 a while back. went back down to a 5 and have been stuck in a rut ever since.

i dont know what happened...maybe i reached my peak. maybe its old age creeping up on me...be 61 in a few months . maybe its mental or a combination of things.

when i reached a 6 i was hoping to improve to a 7 before old age caught up with me. don't look like that is gonna happen unless i get my head outa ...well you know.:grin: