As most everyone knows Dana and I belong to the Amateur Poolplayers Association. Our team plays league games every Monday night and I’m happy to report that we have both vastly improved our skill level. It’s been a great experience to have a sport that we can both compete in together, and frankly nothing is hotter than a girl who knows how to play pool.
For me, this whole obsession started as I trained for our annual Octathlon last November. Matt and I decided that we were terrible at pool, but since it was one of the events we started practicing everyday at lunch. In a little over 6 months of regular playing not only have I improved, but I am happy to say that I have not lost one bit of enthusiasm for the game. Although I admit I still have a lot to learn, and definitely need more practice.
As for the league, the way the APA works is actually surprisingly scientific. Each player is scaled on a rating between 2 – 7, with 7 being the best. Your rank is determined by averaging a number of factors including matches played, games won, and the number of shots or “innings” per game. Once you have a skill level rating (men automatically start out at a 4 and women at a 3) there is a chart that dictates how many games a player must win to win the match. So in other words when two teams face each other say for example the player from team A is a 2 and the player from team B is a 3. Player B must win three games to win the match while Player A must only win 2 games. For a team of five, a team must win 3 out of 5 matches to win the game for the night.
The league plays with table scratches and gives a player ball in hand. In other words if the cue ball does not hit a ball, strikes an opponents ball first, or a hit ball does not touch a wall you can pick up the ball and put it anywhere on the table. To my surprise you also do not need to call every shot, you can just get lucky and make one in. This was a little frustrating at first, but in the heat of competitive combat it has certainly helped me more than it has hurt me.
So the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all is that last night I won my match. Good. But last week I lost to a 2 who never should have beat me. Bad. And as a result my current skill level sank. Ugly.
Regardless, if any of you wants a game I'm on. Anytime, anywhere....it's your rack.
For me, this whole obsession started as I trained for our annual Octathlon last November. Matt and I decided that we were terrible at pool, but since it was one of the events we started practicing everyday at lunch. In a little over 6 months of regular playing not only have I improved, but I am happy to say that I have not lost one bit of enthusiasm for the game. Although I admit I still have a lot to learn, and definitely need more practice.
As for the league, the way the APA works is actually surprisingly scientific. Each player is scaled on a rating between 2 – 7, with 7 being the best. Your rank is determined by averaging a number of factors including matches played, games won, and the number of shots or “innings” per game. Once you have a skill level rating (men automatically start out at a 4 and women at a 3) there is a chart that dictates how many games a player must win to win the match. So in other words when two teams face each other say for example the player from team A is a 2 and the player from team B is a 3. Player B must win three games to win the match while Player A must only win 2 games. For a team of five, a team must win 3 out of 5 matches to win the game for the night.
The league plays with table scratches and gives a player ball in hand. In other words if the cue ball does not hit a ball, strikes an opponents ball first, or a hit ball does not touch a wall you can pick up the ball and put it anywhere on the table. To my surprise you also do not need to call every shot, you can just get lucky and make one in. This was a little frustrating at first, but in the heat of competitive combat it has certainly helped me more than it has hurt me.
So the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all is that last night I won my match. Good. But last week I lost to a 2 who never should have beat me. Bad. And as a result my current skill level sank. Ugly.
Regardless, if any of you wants a game I'm on. Anytime, anywhere....it's your rack.
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