OK WW 2 1/2 Pool leagues?

Question

Is real pool by the rules -so hard -or

Is League play just the Special Olympics of pool with all the rule ommisions and changes So a guy that can't run 2 balls can still play BIG TIME pool

The soap box is yours -Im hiding

Answer 1

Okay, YOU!

I have GREAT respect for the Special Olympics and its Olympians/athletes. I coached Special Olympic Golf ---- a very rewarding experience. Special Olympic athletes, express more gratitude, love, and care, than the average human being ---so lay off these athletes --they deserve our respect. Thank you.

Now ....to the nitty gritty of Pool Leagues :

I played in pool leagues as a teen. It was a great stepping stone to my pro 'career'. Even when I was ranked as a professional player, we played in a league. That was then ----this is now.

The APA did NOT exist in my day of playing in pool leagues. Quite frankly, *I didn't miss out on much, from what I've seen with the APA. I respect the APA, in that it promotes the game of Pool.

*Why? you ask ........

The APA has its own set of rules. It 'sets-back' many of its players, who have better skills than the average "banger" with its own devised system and ITS OWN rules of play. The APA doesn't allow for 'pure' pool, and for these amateurs to get a real taste for playing and competing with the best players in their cities and states, or even the best in the nation. This factor alone, gives these amateurs a false sense of what 'pure pool' is really all about. To improve your game, it is crucial for the beginner or the avid player, to play with and against, players who are much better than he or she is. The APA is a lot like a bowling league: Anyone can play (unless you are a pro) and "it's fun!". If, for instance, I want to take up bowling on a serious level, I'd want to be able to have George Pappas come on over and assist me. In pool, I want to be surrounded by world-class players (or at least the best in the state or the best in the 'house'). The APA blurs the concept of truly broadening the horizons for gifted and potential world-class pool players-----but only to a point. The APA is great for social fun and competition among its own members ----much like a weekend bowling league. It's all about fun and socialization. Hopefully, the smart, serious, and highly skilled APA player(s), will move up and out into the REAL world of Pool --- THERE, he/she will get a taste of some serious competition, and witness the FULL spectrum of pool and learn the official and international rules of play.

If someone is interested in league-play in the game of Pool, it is imperative to understand that league play is not quite as  big of the stepping stone (though any step IS a step) to serious and extremely competitive pool, as it used to be. Players who step out of the APA (for instance) and into the real world of pool, will get eaten alive.

Advice: If you're going to play in a pool league, know that it is for fun. If you're serious about becoming a great player --go ahead and play in your league, but make plenty of time to get out in the real world, to watch and play with the best players --- no handicapping games. You'll get a great feel for what you'll be up against, should you choose to climb the ladder to the top in the REAL WORLD OF POOL!

Whatever your aim......enjoy the game, and keep on playing!

LAG

TO: life_loverfl -- #1: BEFORE you rush to any judgment (if you even must ---and apparently YOU must) about any person who you know nothing about ......just STOP yourself  from doing so, if at all possible. If you cannot withhold judgment, at least be respectful of someone else's honest opinions, facts, and experience.  #2: If you want to debate or make comment about another person's answer: READ his or her answer THOROUGHLY before you take to the keyboard. #3: Your facetious remark: "too busy with puzzles", is simply immature at best, and uncalled for.  

Just the same --- I wish you the very best in life.

Lori Ann G.

Answer 2

I've said this before and I'll say it again, the rule changes made in league play that are different than BCA rules are necessary adjustments when playing on bar tables, and in simplifying the game to avoid arguments. So your real question should be is why don't all bars have 9' hourly tables instead of bar tables. And as a bar owner, I'm sure you know the answer to that question.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you're taking issue to bar bangers being able to play for decent amounts of money (i.e. the APA Singles Championship where you can win $15,000)? My answer to that would be that at the end of the day, leagues are essentially private clubs. They let in whomever they want (which is anyone who doesn't make a living playing pool), then have tournaments for their members. The money may be more, but at the end of the day, it's no different than the VFW having a horseshoe tournament at their annual family picnic.  I don't know why anyone would take issue with this.

As for the "real" players respecting league players, I don't know too many league players who give a c**p what the pool hall junkies think of them. Most of them know where they stand on the pool playing totem poll. Sure there are some cocky idiots that think they're better than they are, but as a money player, aren't those the exact people you want strolling into your hall, thinking they're hot s*** so you can fleece them for everything they've got?

The bottom line is, handicapped pool leagues expand the game to a much wider audience than could every be achieved without them. I can guarantee you that at least 90% of the people in my league would not be playing pool except for the occasional trip to the bar if it weren't for pool leagues. How anyone could get upset about that is beyond me.

Answer 3

This is more like wwIII , I'm headin' for the bomb shelter right now. I highly doubt that anything bad was meant by the special olympics reference. Being the uncle of a special olympics athlete myself, i know where loriann is coming from. As far as pool leagues go i don't know and can't say either way if they hurt or help anyone in the pool world. We don't have an apa league around here, just a small independent league with maybe 4 or 5 hundred players, playing on bar boxes in most of the local bars. A lot of the players here don't really care too much about winning or losing a pool match they just wanna go out once or twice a week and have a good time with their friends and they use the leauge as kind of a vehicle in which to do so. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's pretty much pool or bowling , take your pick.  as long as their having fun then what the h**l , ya know. I shoot in the league because it's fun and there are some players that will give ya some serious competition and i just love competition in  any form. I have no dellusions though about pool league being a high caliber form of pure pool or anything like that. I know what the real deal is and if I want a taste of that I have to travel a little bit but i know where to find it. I used to go there once in awhile when i was younger. I played everybody from road players to highly ranked pros to bar room hustlers and i'm not braggin' but i gotta say i faired pretty well everytime. I didn't win'm all but i got my fair share. And it wasn't really the money it was more the competition and knowing that i could play with those guys and do pretty good that really did it for me. Anyway that was a long time ago and now i'm just a lowly little league player lookin' for nothin' but a good time and a little friendly competition. If that gets me a blindfold , a last request and a cigarette then so be it , LOL. I hear one of them missiles comin' now so i'm headin' for the shelter. Later people!

Answer 4

You made my day my friend by giving me a great laugh! :) I never thought of league pool as the Special Olympics of the game but I can see where you're comment has some merit. I'm sure you meant no harm here though.

Lorianne couldn't be further off base about the APA or any other pool league for that matter, but I'll attribute that to her having a busy schedule and working on her puzzles. For starters, the APA was created by PROFESSIONAL pool players over twenty five years ago to promote the game and to make money of course.

The one point I can agree with her on is that the organization IS generally for social fun and competition among themselves. The APA has 250,000 memmbers nationwide including Canada and now Japan and I am quite sure they aren't ALL trying to turn pro.

Where she is dead wrong is that a league CAN be and IS a great stepping stone to the pros. Players start playing somewhere and in todays market, pool league is usually WHERE it begins.  The only way an amateur player can get the kind of table time Lorianne is talking about is to live in an area where some pros might be playing on a regular basis. Those places are few and far apart. Now THAT'S a fantasy world to think that every place there's a pool table there's a group of pros waiting to take everyone under their wing and teach them how to play.

There are quite a few players in our league that play in some of the pro tours that come around and they place rather well. They don't make their living at the game though and that seems to be the defining mark of what separates an amateur from a pro. There is a very fine and vague line between amateur and professional status. And it doesn't have to be in the world of pool or snooker. Take a senior in college for example that plays quarterback and then look at a first year rookie quarterback in the NFL. The senior has probably been playing for ten years, starting with little league football in town, then onto H.S. football, and finally to college. The rookie only has one more year than the senior at the game. Besides that one year of playing the only thing the rookie has on the senior is a contract with a paycheck. The senior might have "amateur" status but he's probably every bit as competent and as good  at the game as the rookie with "pro" status. So, is the fine and vague line determined by a contract and a paycheck?

Beyond that, and speaking of pro pool players, they're a dime a dozen just like league players. I wouldn't even begin to guess what percentage of league players could keep up with and beat some pros. And of the hundreds of pro players on the circuit(s), there are what, TEN, maybe TWENTY or THIRTY top players in the country. There's a lot people playin' and bangin' but there aren't that many that are noteworthy.

Anyway Johnny, this WW 2 1/2 is supposed to be about leagues and handicaps, good vs. evil, right and wrong, peace on earth, and good will toward men. Lorianne got me sidetracked. :)

So, how as pool players, lovers of the game with no regard toward family and friends when we're playing a set, go about the business of coming up with some unified standard of rules and practices for the, what shall we say, those less learned in the game? Yeah, that's what this was about. The same STANDARDS for EVERY pool player!

Good to see you around again Johnny! I'm waiting for the rain to subside here so I can get out on the bike more.