I played in a one-shot APA 8-ball tournament today. Let me start by saying I don’t like APA rules. Slop counts, you’re stuck with whatever whatever you sink on the break for the rest of the game, and you can win by sinking the 8 on the break. Those three things are all so luck/chance based, that it nearly ceases to be fun for me.

Slop should never count… if you didn’t mean it, you shouldn’t get credit for it. I don’t like it in 9-ball, and I don’t like it in 8-ball.

It shouldn’t matter what I sink on the break, I should be able to choose solids or stripes after the fact. Sinking balls on the break should be nothing more than a go-ahead to continue shooting, if that. This is one of the reasons I so love Straight Pool. Every shot, including the break, is a called shot. If you make a ball, but don’t specify a pocket, your time at bat is over.

Sinking the 8 on the break is nothing but luck. I don’t like it in 9-ball, and I don’t like it in 8-ball.

That out of the way, I went ahead and played. $10 entry fee, payback of over $100. APA handicap applies, which means that the player has to win the number of games equal to his/her rank. A rank 4 player has to win 4 games vs. a rank 3 player, who only has to win 3. Ranking is from 1 through 8. I was ranked at 4.

I won my first match, 4 – 1, against a rank 3 player. I lost my second match 3 – 0… get this, against a rank 3 player. Found out right after the match that my opponent should have been rank 6, at the least. What a crock of shit. Basically, I was screwed. I waited around for about 40 minutes for my next match, and lost it 3 – 0… again, against a rank 3 player! I didn’t stick around to find out what THAT player should have been ranked at, but he very nearly broke and ran on me three times in a row, and skillfully left me nothing every time. Rank 3 my ass. I was screwed again.

I’m not sure if I want to play in those tournaments again. Right now I’m just pissed about it… that may fade. We’ll have to see. If I do (and I likely will), I sure as hell won’t be a 4.