USAPL of Central KY

Good afternoon league players. I'm not going to post what the standings are because we have some make up games tonight and tomorrow night so I'll post mid week. Here are the table assignments for this evening. See everyone there !!!!

Tbl 1&2: Thoroughbreds vs Live Action
Tbl 3&4: Cue Assassins vs The Clydesdales
Tbl 5&6: Shark Bait vs Chalk It Up

Made From Scratch has the BYE tonight.

Make up match between Chalk It Up vs Made From Scratch will be Tuesday night. Because of the tournaments that will be playing Tuesday night, the make up match will be played downstairs.

Hi League players. Sorry for the late short post. Wanted to at least post table assignments for this evening and the standings after week 4. See everyone later!

Tbl 1&2: The Clydesdales vs Shark Bait
Tbl 3&4: Live Action vs Cue Assassins

Chalk It Up & Made From Scratch will be rescheduled.

Thoroughbreds have the BYE this week.

DON'T FORGET TO ENJOY BEING A POOL PLAYER

Pool can become very serious. We work on our stroke, our routine, our strategy, our mental game and all the little things we believe will help us become better competitors. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you want to treat pool as a serious sport and see how far you can take your game… I’m right there with you.

But every once in a while, I think we need to step back and remember what this game actually is.

It's a game.

Listen to the sound of the balls breaking. Enjoy the click of a clean shot dropping into the pocket. Sit around the pool room and listen to the conversations, the laughter, the celebrations and even the occasional frustration. Enjoy the road trips, the late nights, the teammates, the opponents who become friends and the people you wouldn't have met if you never picked up a cue.

Some of my favorite memories in pool have very little to do with how I shot. They came from the people I was with, the places I got to visit, the ridiculous things that happened between matches and the moments that probably wouldn't have happened anywhere else.

We can be serious about improving without making every trip to the pool room another evaluation of ourselves. We can compete hard and still laugh. We can care deeply about the outcome and still appreciate the opportunity to be there. We can chase championships without forgetting to enjoy the experience along the way.

I love instruction. I love helping players improve. I love seeing someone finally figure out something they've struggled with for years. And I love competing. But none of that should take away from the simple enjoyment of being around a pool table with people who love this game too.

Because someday, you won't be playing as much as you are now. Someday you'll look back on these tournaments, these pool rooms, these road trips and these people and realize that the game gave you far more than a collection of wins and losses.

So chase the goals. Take your game seriously. Work on your weaknesses. Compete as hard as you can.

But don't forget to enjoy being a pool player.

Is there incentive to improve? Are you more likely to go deep in a tournament if you are a better player?

The answer is not obviously yes. There are handicapped tournaments in the mix as well as tournaments with rating caps. And stronger players generally need to play in tournaments with stronger competition. So what do we see when the smoke clears?

In a previous post we lumped together tournaments of all sorts and found that players across a wide rating swath played in roughly the same number of tournaments on average--just under one a month.

Here we analyze those same players and tournaments and use as a proxy measure for finishing in the top quarter (generally cashing) whether the player played 5 or more matches in the event.

We find a clear relation between rating and and chance of going deep. Across tournaments actually played, players 350-374 go deep just one out of ten tournaments, and players 625-649 go deep about half the time.

On average, whatever rating band you are in, the best way to cash more frequently is to get to the next rating band. This is the healthy incentive we want.

Myth: Higher-rated players run out of tournaments to play

I analyzed first half of 2026--all double-elimination tournaments from several sources (Challonge, Digitalpool, Ingenpool, and a few others) and lumped everything together, whether handicapped, open, capped. This is tens of thousands of tournaments and about 40,000 established players.

I grouped players into 25-point rating bands and asked what is the average number of tournaments players in that band played over the 6 months.

The result surprised me: From 350 to 650, players on average play in the same number of tournaments--just under one per month.

There is no doubt it gets harder to find a tournament as your rating goes up. That's pretty normal. Think good soccer kids need to join a traveling team. Good high-school athletes need to compete with other schools rather than intramurals. The rarer your skill gets, the more you have to work to find appropriate peers.

But that doesn't mean these players are sitting at home twiddling their thumbs. Evidently their commitment and willingness to do what it takes to find competitions also goes up with skill.

The "no-mans-land" idea we hear about sometimes simply isn't visible in the data.

The follow-up question (separate post) is whether higher-rated players win/cash more frequently. The incentives are cleanest when averaged over all the tournaments getting better means you are more likely to go deep in tournaments.

Good evening USAPL league players. Hope everyone has had a great week. We are on week 4 and its been great seeing everyone playing their hardest and having a great time!! I know the scores seem a little lopsided for some teams but just wanted to remind everyone that all teams will have the same number of byes at the end of the session and everyone will play each other the same amount of matches.
Last week Chris Rose won the drawing for the break and run. He made 2 balls on the break and decided to take the $80. Just for fun we wanted to see if he would have been able to run the rack and he did! I'm sure he wont pass on an open table next time! LOL!!
I've attached the standings after week 3 and also listed the table assignments. I'll see everyone tomorrow night!!

Tbl 1&2: Shark Bait vs Live Action
Tbl 3&4: Thoroughbreds vs Made From Scratch
Tbl 5&6: The Clydesdales vs Chalk It Up

Cue Assassins have the BYE this week.

Good morning league players! Sorry I hadn't sent this out sooner. We are into week 3 this evening and some teams are neck and neck with the scores. I've attached the current standings after last week.

We also drew for the break and run and Mike Delk was drawn again!!!!! Mike also scratched on the break again....lol!!! Just picking on you Mike. Will he be drawn for the the 3rd week in a row??? Will the player that is drawn be able to keep the cue ball on the table? LOL!!!! Seriously, good luck to whomever is drawn.

I'll see everyone this evening. Lets play and have a good time!!!

Tbl 1&2: Live Action vs The Clydesdales
Tbl 3&4: Made From Scratch vs Cue Assassins
Tbl 5&6: Chalk It Up vs Thoroughbreds

Shark Bait has the BYE this week.