8th Annual Seniors One Pocket Tournament Bogies Billiards Houston, Tx.

[Miller]

Here's a little food for thought - look at #3 and #4 on Joe's list. Have we come to that? I guess we have.

well, not sure about how that list was assimilated.....(and in what context/format is it being applied to)

look at #1. "game clock." what constitutes a "game clock"? sounds like a trojan horse venacular for chess clock which i have yet to see anyone (except one guy) pine for....lol. fuk it -- list it #1 anyway....

motivations remain unknown.

 

[Rango]

Aloha , this is almost an impossible assignment for the TD . Everyone ( most knowledgeable pool players ) like and respect Nick and Parica . Both great players and ambassadors for the game . How do you tell these two HOF’er speed up or don’t play ? As so many members have articulated on this post - got to - for the sake of growing this game . How this timing issue is worked out is tricky to say the least - but it’s on the table and receiving thoughtful input from all angles . If the rules are set ahead of time for a tournament - play or not - up to the player . Got to start somewhere . I am a new member - probably overplayed my status - but I luv’s me some One Hole . I am done .

 

[lfigueroa]

Based on everybody's inpu, these are the measures we can use:

1. Game clock
2. Grady Rule
3. Aggressive TD taking swift action for bad actors.
4. Preventing known offenders from entering.
5. Shot clock
6. Reduced game/one ball game to complete on time.

Re #3, I suggest you give John Lavin -- owner/TD at Red Shoes in Chicago -- a call.

John is a no nonsense TD. I have been in many of his events and he does not suffer slow play.

Lou Figueroa

 

[lfigueroa]

Aloha , this is almost an impossible assignment for the TD . Everyone ( most knowledgeable pool players ) like and respect Nick and Parica . Both great players and ambassadors for the game . How do you tell these two HOF’er speed up or don’t play ? As so many members have articulated on this post - got to - for the sake of growing this game . How this timing issue is worked out is tricky to say the least - but it’s on the table and receiving thoughtful input from all angles . If the rules are set ahead of time for a tournament - play or not - up to the player . Got to start somewhere . I am a new member - probably overplayed my status - but I luv’s me some One Hole . I am done .

As a TD, you pull on your big girl panties and tell them, with all the respect in the world, they need to speed it up or _______ fill in your remedy of choice. Shorten the match, shorten games, go to one ball 1pocket, or some other creative solution. I see no problem in prioritizing the health and timely running of the overall event over the egos and selfish slow play of a couple of HOFers, and some players who are not HOFers but are still pokey players

Lou Figueroa

 

[rich htx]

shot clock plus grady rule,
then you wont have to worry about the slow guys, theyll either not play or play faster

i favor a slower game over the rockem sockem run 8 and out from anywhere type of 1pkt we are getting now with rotation players, because then its not 1pkt anymore , if that makes sense

keep 9 ball 9 ball, keep 1pkt 1 pkt

 

[jtompilot]

I see three things to accomplish a timely finish but still allow players to play 1P.

1. Shot clock.
2. Grady rule. This will eliminate the large wedges.
3. In a race to 3 allow three hours, in a race to 4 allow four hours. After that its one ball one pocket.

That should take care of all the slow play.

 

[NH Steve]

I see three things to accomplish a timely finish but still allow players to play 1P.

1. Shot clock.
2. Grady rule. This will eliminate the large wedges.
3. In a race to 3 allow three hours, in a race to 4 allow four hours. After that its one ball one pocket.

That should take care of all the slow play.

I agree with all of this. The only thing(s) is...

1. A shot clock requires one tournament official or volunteer per match
2. Players who are out of TD supervision range might be inclined to mutually "forget" to spot the extra balls if they are traditionalists
3. Going to 1B1P requires sufficient monitoring by the TD staff to make it happen in a timely fashion

The bigger the event, the tougher these three rules to make efficient use of. So for DCC these would be tough, but most other tournaments it might work. There would need to be an investment in dedicated shot clocks in my opinion, because the phone apps are not really visible enough, plus they are -- well, most likely someone's phone lol -- and calls come in, etc, etc.

For smaller events, this 1-2-3 approach probably works beautifully, as long as the TD staff is committed, and they recruit the same number of volunteers to be on hold that they have invested in shot clocks, and given them the necessary training ahead of time in case they are needed. Since most matches do already run in a reasonable time frame, (even for seniors!) you shouldn't need a large number of shot clocks and volunteers.

 

[unoperro]

Implement 3 and 4 and the rest may be moot.

 

[darmoose]

Handling the complications of a shot clock can be difficult. For a while I carried two hour glass egg timers in my case. There are several versions, i had a one minute and a two minute. You would be surprised how easy and how effective they are to use. keep them on the table and after completing your shot turn it over for the incoming player. Cost about one dollar a piece.

 

[Terry Hanna]

 

[stevelomako]

Amazing that nick at his age could play a 13 hour match which ended at 8:30 in the morning
play the same day and do well
then play the next day and have the stamina to play until late ( anyone know what time it ended?) with quality to win

To be fair, I don’t think Nick expended too much energy.

 

[Bigtruck]

I hear it is pretty grueling what some people have to do to earn $29.95 or $100.

Not as grueling as reading through pages of negative comments with many people hurling "cute" comments on things they know nothing about.

 

[Bigtruck]

Aloha , this is going to either ruin 1 Pocket pay for view participation or stop it . Thanks - Guy J .

Guy - One pocket is our most viewed game with top pros. No chance the Senior coverage is going to change that. We have covered the Seniors for several years and rarely make a nickel doing it. We are more likely to reach into our savings to make it happen. I do it because I think both our senior players and the game they play deserves to be covered in a professional way. We all have our breaking point though. 2 - 12 hour matches and a couple 5+hr matches have ended us covering the Seniors the way it is. If we do it again, I promise you there will be new rules or someone else can take the reigns.

 

[unoperro]

Guy - One pocket is our most viewed game with top pros. No chance the Senior coverage is going to change that. We have covered the Seniors for several years and rarely make a nickel doing it. We are more likely to reach into our savings to make it happen. I do it because I think both our senior players and the game they play deserves to be covered in a professional way. We all have our breaking point though. 2 - 12 hour matches and a couple 5+hr matches have ended us covering the Seniors the way it is. If we do it again, I promise you there will be new rules or someone else can take the reigns.

Thanks for your past years work.

 

[Terry Hanna]

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=703422171820170&id=100064571804695

 

[Rango]

Aloha PATV , you Ray and everyone associated with this latest Seniors Event are nothing but CLASS . Thanks and God Bless .

 

[LSJohn]

Not as grueling as reading through pages of negative comments with many people hurling "cute" comments on things they know nothing about.

Really? Reading negative comments is grueling? In that case, maybe we can call it grueling to watch a match for several hours, wondering what the ball and games score is.

Dude, I know you work your ass off to make this stuff happen. I just think you dropped the ball on this one.

 

[NH Steve]

Guy - One pocket is our most viewed game with top pros. No chance the Senior coverage is going to change that. We have covered the Seniors for several years and rarely make a nickel doing it. We are more likely to reach into our savings to make it happen. I do it because I think both our senior players and the game they play deserves to be covered in a professional way. We all have our breaking point though. 2 - 12 hour matches and a couple 5+hr matches have ended us covering the Seniors the way it is. If we do it again, I promise you there will be new rules or someone else can take the reigns.

Ray, you have been really good for the Bogies senior onepocket, helping to turn it into an amazing event, with an array of senior legends, and a bunch of amateurs who have aged well and shoot pretty darn competitively! I sure hope you continue to run it. But it does look like some of the seniors need some time constraint like a Shot Clock, and some kind of prohibition of those long uptable games. But the knowledge in the house, and the characters, still make for a unique and amazing event!

 

[Kybanks]

You wanna speed up the game? Make the pockets bigger. 4.125" pockets are way too snug for guys who don't practice or can't practice very long. From what I understand, the tables play wet with worn cloth and tight pockets. A perfect recipe for long matches. You can't watch cause it's too slow, turn on the weather channel and listen to the same forecast for 12 hours!

 

[jtompilot]

You wanna speed up the game? Make the pockets bigger. 4.125" pockets are way too snug for guys who don't practice or can't practice very long. From what I understand, the tables play wet with worn cloth and tight pockets. A perfect recipe for long matches. You can't watch cause it's too slow, turn on the weather channel and listen to the same forecast for 12 hours!

There’s only one or two tables that tight. All 1P players play on tight equipment, it seemed like only the former pro played extremely slow. Nick’s games average two hours each unless his opponent basically throws the game.