You're not an A, B, C player till you can do what?

AA player ?
A++ player ?
A player ?
B player ?
C player ?

what tour stop is this ? what rules are we playing ? 8ball , 9ball, 10ball ? cuz those are all me in the last 12 months . I'm WHATEVER the dang TD sez I am ! The lower they rate me , the better I like it ! I ain't sandbaggin' , I'm jest confused ! :cool:
 
it's not a reliable indicator . . .

Trying to gauge your ability to shoot pool by playing the ghost is like deciding you are the Worlds Greatest Lover because you made yourself feel SO GOOD after lights out last night !
:wub:



it's a GREAT practice system , but it doesn't compare to the real thing !
 
Personally, I think you'd be much better off gauging your playing strength using straight pool.

Set up a break shot, open the balls up, and if you can get through 2 racks and well set up for the third break ball, make it and open the third rack in any given practice session, IMO you are at least touching the fringes of being an A player.

If you barely finish the second rack, I'd say B player. If you struggle through one rack, C player, and if you only make a few balls each time you try, a D player.

If you never pocket the opening break shot, I'd say, go bowling. :thumbup:
 
You become a b player when you stop watching movies and laying around the house watching sports on tv and practice your game.

You become an A player when your wife or girlfriend or both move out and takes the kids with them.

You improve past the A level when you go in to the office and tell your boss that you have always hated him and he can take your job and his poor taste in clothes and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

The rest is just details.

In all seriousness time on table = improvement. There are no shortcuts there is no magic bullet.
 
grindz said:
Okay Jude.... UNCLE..... Someone needs to win 100% of the races to 5 or more on a 9' table playing ghost 9 ball with break, BIH and standard 9 ball rules. Seriously, below are 'your' words from Dr Dave's link. An 'aura
of confidence' .... wow... there's a measurable quantity.
:wink:
.................
A - Definitely categorized as a run out player. They are supposed to capitalize on most mistakes. Greater attention is paid to more subtle details. Expect a consistent and strong break and strength in multiple attributes (pocketing, defense, position play, creativity). Most noticeable among players at this level and above is an aura of confidence.
..........................

I'm J/K in case it doesn't come through. I was just trying to help out the OP with a definite checklist.

Whatever.

td
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It came through, lol. No worries. The "aura of confidence" is obviously something you cannot quantify in statistics. When rating someone, I think it's important to not only look at the results but also what you preceive to be the shooter's intentions. Did it appear they had a plan? Did they execute their plan accordingly? In Joss events, it's common to have never heard of your opponent. You don't know if he's a C player or a shortstop from Porkipsee. But I can assure you, the moment he steps to the table, before he's even shot a ball, you'll likely have a clue what you're up against. The C player typically looks like he's hoping for the best. The A player looks prepared to send you a message.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
It came through, lol. No worries. The "aura of confidence" is obviously something you cannot quantify in statistics. When rating someone, I think it's important to not only look at the results but also what you preceive to be the shooter's intentions. Did it appear they had a plan? Did they execute their plan accordingly? In Joss events, it's common to have never heard of your opponent. You don't know if he's a C player or a shortstop from Porkipsee. But I can assure you, the moment he steps to the table, before he's even shot a ball, you'll likely have a clue what you're up against. The C player typically looks like he's hoping for the best. The A player looks prepared to send you a message.
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Hey, has anyone figured out how to bottle that stuff? I'm looking to buy some.:cool:
 
Like Jude shown up,

if it s about competition, then the *safety aspect* comes into the game. For example straight-pool.
Long ago we used to play a straight-pool league. The ranks were based on the average quotient. The first 3 places were about 7 to 10 (including safety innings)- but each of em lost games. the forth place *just* had an average quotient from 4,75 but won all games....who s the better player :grin-square:^

In 8-ball again-there s so much about strategy. If we re not talking about professionals it s really hard to find a serious rating.
Just under pressure you ll see how strong a player is able to do his job- in training and practicing you ll see several *world champs* :-)

just my 2 cents,

Ingo
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
It came through, lol. No worries. The "aura of confidence" is obviously something you cannot quantify in statistics. When rating someone, I think it's important to not only look at the results but also what you preceive to be the shooter's intentions. Did it appear they had a plan? Did they execute their plan accordingly? In Joss events, it's common to have never heard of your opponent. You don't know if he's a C player or a shortstop from Porkipsee. But I can assure you, the moment he steps to the table, before he's even shot a ball, you'll likely have a clue what you're up against. The C player typically looks like he's hoping for the best. The A player looks prepared to send you a message.
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Dang it , Jude , I have that look .
but people just say I'm too "cocky" . . . .
 
Worminator said:
Simply put, you become a "B" player when you consistently win "C" tournaments. You become an "A" player when you consistently win "B" tournaments, and be competitive (beating other A players) in an "A" tournament, and so on...
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I agree with this. Unfortunately there's no clear ordinal scale, like a golf handicap. The closest thing we have is perhaps straight pool runs, but those are only a rough estimate of level in other games.
 
3andstop said:
Personally, I think you'd be much better off gauging your playing strength using straight pool.

Set up a break shot, open the balls up, and if you can get through 2 racks and well set up for the third break ball, make it and open the third rack in any given practice session, IMO you are at least touching the fringes of being an A player.

If you barely finish the second rack, I'd say B player. If you struggle through one rack, C player, and if you only make a few balls each time you try, a D player.

If you never pocket the opening break shot, I'd say, go bowling. :thumbup:
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I guess you're saying that this has to be done consistently. My highest run is 58 but I don't think I'm an A player by your standards over there. Some people consider me a strong AA where I play but the ratings go like this.
C-B-A-AA-AAA-Semi Pro and Pro.

What would a strong AA here be in your ratings in the USA? B, B+?
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
One of the top players in my area ("Ginky") is known for liberally using safety play. If he has an offensive shot that is even remotely difficult to execute and has a defensive option that is easy AND will likely yield BIH, he'll see it immediately and take it.

Now, here's the fun part. Given the exact same scenario, Mika Immonen would likely run out and Tony Robles might do either. Whether a player runs out or runs to a lock-up safety and then gets out, both are perfect in accu-stats and, more importantly, both are "Ws".
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I've been thinking about this and one of the most famous examples of safety vs. offense has to be Frank Taberski. I'm sure he could run lots of balls if he wanted to but I've always heard that he ran 15 at a time and played safe winning world titles in the process. A stark contrast is he was one of Greenleafs peers and we all know how good Ralph was.
 
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Just remember an 'A' player from one state my consistently get beat by a 'B' player from another and so forth.
 
Cameron Smith said:
I've been thinking about this and one of the most famous examples of safety vs. defense has to be Frank Taberski. I'm sure he could run lots of balls if he wanted to but I've always heard that he ran 15 at a time and played safe winning world titles in the process. A stark contrast is he was one of Greenleafs peers and we all know how good Ralph was.
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I think this is an exaggeration of sorts. if you look at the article in the below link, you'll see that Taberski had a high-run of 63 (for this event, not personal high run) which was the record high-run under the given format. I'm not sure what format is referred to in the article nor do I know how many played under that format. I know these matches were broken up into 100 points per day.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70D1FFC3E5D147A93C6A8178BD95F4C8185F9



I do know that no professional pool player in the past 100 years worth his weight in chalk can run no more than 15 balls and expect to win more than a match or two. Of course, that's assuming we're using equipment we're all familiar with. If we're using 3" pockets on a 10' table and there's no chalk, I can see how a 15 ball run is quite a feat.
 
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After being around for a few years, my take on it is this..

C/D - posts questions asking what the difference is between ratings

B - has a hunch, but will also tend to use the search feature here at AZB or may even get adventurous and use the interwebs

A - has a pretty good idea of where they stand and has been 'put in their place' by some serious players, tries nicely to give a definition, redirect or give examples

Open - will provide the definition, give directions and give examples

Pro - will need more information to put together a correct response for the situation

:thumbup:
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
I think this is an exaggeration of sorts. if you look at the article in the below link, you'll see that Taberski had a high-run of 63 (for this event, not personal high run) which was the record high-run under the given format. I'm not sure what format is referred to in the article nor do I know how many played under that format. I know these matches were broken up into 100 points per day.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70D1FFC3E5D147A93C6A8178BD95F4C8185F9



I do know that no professional pool player in the past 100 years worth his weight in chalk can run no more than 15 balls and expect to win more than a match or two. Of course, that's assuming we're using equipment we're all familiar with. If we're using 3" pockets on a 10' table and there's no chalk, I can see how a 15 ball run is quite a feat.
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I'm sure it is an exageration. If you have the ability it's far easier to run balls than it is try and beat your opponent to the shot every rack.

But even so, that story has to be rooted in something. More than likely he was winning tournaments with considerably lower balls per inning averages that everyone else. Even a 30 as Neil mentioned is the same kind of idea.

Similarily in snooker, Graeme Dott isn't known for his big runs. He's very good at scrapping it out. But he still has over a 100 century breaks in professional competition.

Man I wish there were recordings of matches back in 30's. Though I suspect all footage would be newsreel clips.

Awesome article btw. Based on the year, when says under current rules I think the writer is referring to 14.1 rules. I believe 14.1 was contested in the world championship for the first time in 1912 (or 11, I can't remember), so at the time of the article (1918) Straight pool as we know it would be as new as Bonus Ball, lol.
 
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Cameron Smith said:
If you have the ability it's far easier to run balls than it is try and beat your opponent to the shot every rack.
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This goes back to my original point and I will summerize it perfectly. In 14.1, the best defense is a great offense. It's really the only pool game I can say that about.
 
Jimbojim said:
I guess you're saying that this has to be done consistently. My highest run is 58 but I don't think I'm an A player by your standards over there. Some people consider me a strong AA where I play but the ratings go like this.
C-B-A-AA-AAA-Semi Pro and Pro.

What would a strong AA here be in your ratings in the USA? B, B+?
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Jim, I'm saying at least once in a good workout practice session. At the very least, IMO 2 out of three sessions, so yes absolutely on a regular basis. Of course this is just what my rough guesstimate is. :)
 
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