Why is the APA so frowned upon?

I'm new to posting on AZ, but been watching for years. All the griping has just gotten the better of me to start writing.
IMO I'm sick of all complaining regardless about what league it is about.

Pool, regardless of the league, format, etc. is good for the game. There are differences in them all. We should look at it as an experience to the benefit of the game we love. (And the game we love to hate.)

A bar just doesn't sell Bud; they sell many different types. Pool, it's games and leagues are the same. They are all good for the game.
I've been playing since the early 90's and to me I like APA more because the people (for the most part - from my experience) enjoy pool more. While they may not be as serious as other leagues, they have brought more players into pool than any other league which has enhanced my experiences.

Again, we all have our experiences which guide our opinions.
 
I like APA, because I get to compete and play better players rather than practice by myself. Practicing is only half of it....competition is the other half. Plus my league is on Sundays, which is perfect for me. BCA is not. I don't have time for 3 teams. I have a job to go to
 
cardiac kid said:
justadub,

Thanks for the comment. After we finished our match, I asked my opponent if he would like to learn "a move"? His captain had already left and no one called time out for him. Showed him how to play a simple safety that might have made him a winner. He said no one had ever shown him how to do that:eek:. If I diagrammed it, you would agree it was really simple. To me, that is what APA should be teaching its players as well as making balls. Pool is a game of percentages. All players need to learn that.

Lyn
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Well , Lyn , you'd think that . But it's the stated position of APA Operator that lower handicapped players don't NEED to improve , and that their Captains/Coaches SHOULDN'T be helping them to improve ! :rolleyes:

Yup , sounded crazy to me too ! follow the thread . . . .
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=2703763#post2703763
 
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cardiac kid said:
Got three posts in and the room began to go round and round and rou.....

Lyn
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I agree, Lyn. I did the ol' "round and round" thing with APA Operator in another thread (the "Inevitable result..." thread), and to be honest, I got a little seasick, too. (And this, coming from castiron-stomached ex-Navy man!) Innuendos, sticking words/phrases in one's mouth (I'm especially fond of the "Drinking the Kool-Aid" -- words I never said in any of my posts there), "gotta get him back by turning what he said back around onto him" revenge tactics (e.g. the "you should be more careful when reading posts" thing), etc.

Like I say, you have to know when to say when. I let him have the last word, and I gladly bowed my way out of that thread. He should change his screenname from "APA Operator" to "APA LaBrea Tar-pit". :)

-Sean
 
I have played Valley and BCA and this year I got asked to join a APA team.

I think as a whole this league is not for me but I will finish out the season. Our team won the first session in our league and we are heading to masters. I think the top six teams at masters get the trip to vegas. We are close to being screwed with our handycap. There is no advantage in wrecking someone. A 10-0 in valley can really help my team but in APA it just raises my handicap and makes it harder to play our strongest players.

This league has nothing to do with playing good pool it seems all about getting more teams to split and put more money in the league. I would guess the creator of APA was/is a great hustler.

I think anytime you put the goal as Vegas and Money there will always be people sandbagging to get to the final goal. There (from what I can tell) is no payouts other than the trip to vegas.

I guess as with anythiing you can take it or leave it. If you dont like it dont play. Thats the plan for next year.
 
shooter50014 said:
This league has nothing to do with playing good pool it seems all about getting more teams to split and put more money in the league. I would guess the creator of APA was/is a great hustler.
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Very perceptive. Larry Hubbart was a feared gambler and hustler. His nickname was "Iceman". Many years before Mika Immonen became known here in the States with the same nickname. Also one of the first to take Mike Sigel out on the road. What a one two punch that must have been!

Lyn
 
my only gripe with APA would be that the races are too short to accurately determine the "better" player
 
Maniac said:
justadub,

Are you shi**ing me??? Are you serious??? I've played on teams (and won) our session championships MANY times and have NOT EVER ONCE received anything other than a cheap trophy. Are you talking about the last stop tourney before the Vegas trip or are you talking about the playoffs to determine who wins your division outright? By you saying "session championship" in your post, I am assuming your are talking about your division playoff finals. If this is the case, you really get a payout for that? We've only gotten a dust-collecting trophy for winning that!!!

Maybe my d*ckhead LO is even WORSE than I already knew he was :(.


Maniac
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Not sure if it's your LO or your team captain keeping the money. I play APA and have won Divisions 3x and another time having to play in the playoffs and won 1x, each and everytime our team won $800 to split to the team.

2 of those times after winning the Division we played in the local blast and won that, another pool of cash, can't remember how much but I think we each got $100-125 (been a few years)

And yes we got the trophies and plaques (witch might not cost too much be does cost money)

And when you do make it to Vegas they also pay for your room and fees. At least that's how the San Diego APA does it.
 
I just returned to an APA inhouse keague, under duress.
Although it looks like the same old thing with out of whack handicaps, I forgot that there are more babes in the APA.
It's not all that bad, I may be able to tough it out.
 
JNUTZ said:
Not sure if it's your LO or your team captain keeping the money.
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I know for a fact that it was not the team captain keeping the money, since at the time I WAS the team captain!!!

BTW, I could probably write a "Things Not To Do When Running an APA League" manual just based on the stupid/unjust sh*t our LO has done over the course of the time I've personally been in it.

If it weren't for the fact that I use my APA league night as a night out of socializing (and being on a team with my wife), I'd have gotten out several years ago. With the LO we have, I just cannot take it serious.

Keep in mind that I've always had the stance that if run properly and rules/scorekeeping are done correctly, the APA has a good system in place for not-so-serious league players to play under.

Maniac
 
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obr said:
my only gripe with APA would be that the races are too short to accurately determine the "better" player
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The races are too short PERIOD!!! But......if they were any longer for any and all skill levels, you might not get out of the bar/poolhall before closing time :(. How would you like to be a SL3 and have to wait for hours to play another SL3 and then get beat TWO straight games. Geez, sittin' in a dingy 'ol smoky bar for three or four hours waitin' to play a match that last every bit of TWO games. Pathetic. At least the APA could have a "must win at least three games for any skill level's matches" rule. Not a lot better but three games are better than two and it increases the odds of the loser to win at least one of the games.

Maniac
 
obr said:
my only gripe with APA would be that the races are too short to accurately determine the "better" player
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Since when does a league night match determine who is the better player? Thought it was to determine who wins the match with a handicap in place. Even like numbered players are still being handicapped until they reach 7 (or 9). Then there is the thought of, are all 7's equal? Not in my book. There are several 7's around here. Doubt if any of them would gamble seriously with me even. None of the league systems are designed to determine the better player. Only the winner of an individual match.

Lyn
 
cardiac kid said:
Since when does a league night match determine who is the better player? Thought it was to determine who wins the match with a handicap in place. Even like numbered players are still being handicapped until they reach 7 (or 9). Then there is the thought of, are all 7's equal? Not in my book. There are several 7's around here. Doubt if any of them would gamble seriously with me even. None of the league systems are designed to determine the better player. Only the winner of an individual match.

Lyn
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good point, i meant to say the better player in competition. i'd much rather play an opponent needing 8 games to their 4, versus needing 4 games to their 2. Pretty much anyone can get 2 games against any opponent, especially on a bar table. But then you get into the long waiting times, as Maniac mentioned..:(
 
obr said:
good point, i meant to say the better player in competition. i'd much rather play an opponent needing 8 games to their 4, versus needing 4 games to their 2. Pretty much anyone can get 2 games against any opponent, especially on a bar table. But then you get into the long waiting times, as Maniac mentioned..:(
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I have personally witnessed a 1.5 hour match between two APA SL2's in 8ball. Match when hill-hill. 45 minutes for the first of the 3 games...

When I played APA in Charlotte, NC, we started at 7pm. Played on tight 9' Gandy Big G's. An early night was finishing around 11pm. Wasn't uncommon to end at 1am... And you want longer races? :)

Brian
 
WOW you played APA on 9' tables? I though everyone played on bar box. Maybe thats why so many of us are over handicaped.

If we had more diamond 9s here I would love to play on 9' but not sure we would ever get out before closing time.
 
shooter50014 said:
I have played Valley and BCA and this year I got asked to join a APA team.

I think as a whole this league is not for me but I will finish out the season. Our team won the first session in our league and we are heading to masters. I think the top six teams at masters get the trip to vegas. We are close to being screwed with our handycap. There is no advantage in wrecking someone. A 10-0 in valley can really help my team but in APA it just raises my handicap and makes it harder to play our strongest players.

This league has nothing to do with playing good pool it seems all about getting more teams to split and put more money in the league. I would guess the creator of APA was/is a great hustler.

I think anytime you put the goal as Vegas and Money there will always be people sandbagging to get to the final goal. There (from what I can tell) is no payouts other than the trip to vegas.

I guess as with anythiing you can take it or leave it. If you dont like it dont play. Thats the plan for next year.
Click to expand...


The trip to vegas really isnt a payout. The only return you get in the apa are the badges and those ugly trophies...
The trip to vegas is more of a hype, Yes you get a trip to vegas but if your team pools their money they can pay their own way. Our league operator makes 300,000 a year easily just running the apa... :rolleyes:
 
trob said:
A - any

P - pocket

A- asshole


lol nuff said..
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I love it!! Try getting beat by a player after he slops in a ball before the 8 in a tourney to knock you out in the game that would get you into the money..... bullshit. :rolleyes: Real players play Valley or BCA. :grin:
 
shooter50014 said:
WOW you played APA on 9' tables? I though everyone played on bar box. Maybe thats why so many of us are over handicaped.

If we had more diamond 9s here I would love to play on 9' but not sure we would ever get out before closing time.
Click to expand...

Almost every place in Maine that I've played APA at or heard about plays on 9 footers, including the State Vegas qualifiers. The 8 footers are a rarity in my division, and no 7 footers in our division. I recently told one of the new players about how the Vegas nationals are played on 7 footers and the look of disbelief was priceless. :p
 
jnjoker100 said:
The trip to vegas really isnt a payout. The only return you get in the apa are the badges and those ugly trophies...
The trip to vegas is more of a hype, Yes you get a trip to vegas but if your team pools their money they can pay their own way. Our league operator makes 300,000 a year easily just running the apa... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

If you've ever read any of these threads you will find that there certainly are areas where you get payouts playing APA. But if you're looking to make money, why are you playing league, that's not what it's about.

Who cares how much the LO makes? It's his business. Do you complain about the doctor down the street, or the car dealership owner, or any other local businessman making as much as they do? If he runs his business poorly, he won't have people playing.

This stuff gets old. Don't like it, don't play. Most everybody knows what it's about going into it.
 
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