Updated on 8/10!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please explain the "Burn Out" rule.  The burn out rule is a National strategy guideline.

It rarely comes up and most players have probably never considered it as an option. The situation only comes up when a team is short players and must forfeit at least one match because they don't fall under the Team Survival clause. When this occurs, most teams play as many players as they have present and forfeit any remaining matches, which is usually the 5th match. The burn out rule allows the following: If a team knows they have to forfeit a match, they don't necessarily have to make it the last match of the night. They can legally put up a player who isn't there that night (as long as the player is on the roster) and burn out one of the opposing teams players. For example: The third match is ready to play. Team #1 throws up Jimmy because they want to win and Jimmy is a strong player. Jimmy is an H/C-7. Team #2 doesn't have anyone on the team present they believe can beat Jimmy and they know they will have to forfeit a match because they are short players. They can throw up Dave who isn't there that night against Jimmy. Dave has 5 minutes to get to the table, but Dave isn't there so Jimmy wins by forfeit. Several things need to be considered. First, Jimmy and the team get the win. A win is a win, but may understandably upset Jimmy. He came to play and may feel cheated by this strategy. One way to avoid this is to not throw up the better players blind. Another way is to know who the competition is. You can also count the number of players present to determine if they have 5 or less. This might at least tip you off to a possible burn out strategy. This can be tough during Titleholders where you are playing teams you do not know, but if a team is short players, you will probably recognize it pretty easily. Teams are not required to reveal their roster availability, so be careful and try to determine as best you can who they have to play. The main point of this rule is that a forfeited match does not need to be the last match of the night. If a player is on the roster, they are legally allowed to be used in the match-ups, whether they are there or not. The time when this rule does not apply is when the player is not qualified to play because they don't have their 6 required matches.  This would be in playoffs and Titleholders.

How are the handicap ratings determined?

The T.A.P. handicap scoring system is the most complex in the industry. There are numerous variables that are used to formulate a player's handicap rating. We want to create a better understanding to reduce confusion and frustration. It is not an easy system to understand; hopefully, the following explanations will clear things up a bit, at least enough so you can stop worrying about the ratings and just have fun playing pool. Handicap complaints are common in all leagues because the players don't have access to all the data that formulates the handicap. All players have are the wins, losses and game win percentages which only accounts for 30% of an H/C rating. The other 70% is performance variables within the system that players don't know or see. Keep in mind that no system is perfect, but I believe we have the most accurate one in the league business. There will always be under ranked and over ranked players, but that percentage is very small and the system will weed those players out over time. Overall, since our first start-up in January of 2002, considering all the players audits I've conducted, I believe that 95% of all player ratings are accurate. That's pretty good. Most businesses would be ecstatic with that success rate. 1. I've lost 5 weeks in a row. Why haven't I gone down? He’s won 6 weeks in a row, why hasn't he gone up? These are basically the same question. If you look at the entire scoring system, wins & losses alone only account for 30% of the overall rating. The other 70% is based on performance variables. Those variables are: COMP/MISS/DEF/MOB/LOT/the handicap race-to/the outcome of the race-to and the handicap of your opponent. 2. Playing lower ranked players won't move you up or down as quickly as playing equally ranked players. When a higher ranked player plays a lower ranked player they often don't bring the same game to the table they would if their opponent was equally rated; therefore, they don't play to their full potential which is not a true measure of performance. Unfortunately, we've all had this experience. 3. When a player moves up to the next level, here's what happens in most cases. There is a sandbagging variable in the system to prevent that player from bagging down the following week so they drop back down in rating. In each handicap level, there is an A, B, & C rating. "A” is the highest. For example: when a player moves from a (4A) level to a (5), they are moved to a high (5C) level. To drop back to a (4A), the player may have to play 3 or 4 weeks before the average settles back down if they cannot hold on to the new (5) rating. 4. Averages: Everybody's handicap is based on the averages of their weekly play or their history in the league. If, for example, a player is rated a (4) and starts shooting well, they should eventually go up. For this player to become a (5), they must start shooting like a (5), which means someone is going to complain that this player is no (4). You must be shooting at the next level to move to the next level. The player will move when their average catches up to their quality of play. We have all experienced times when we shot lights out for 3 weeks in a row and then the pool Gods took it away as fast as they gave it to us. That is what consistency of play and averages are all about. The difference between one handicap level and the next is consistency of play. Higher rated players are more consistent than lower rated players. The only thing consistent about pool players is inconsistency. EVERYBODY agrees with that statement. Some Examples: A (4C) player who starts shooting like a (5C) player will take longer to reach a (5) than a (4B) player shooting (5C) level because the (4B) player is closer to a (5) than the (4C) player. A (5A) player shooting like a (6B) player will reach a (6) faster than a (5B) player shooting like a (6B) player because the (5B) player has further to go before their average catches up with them. 5. Sometimes a player just gets all the breaks and the balls are set up perfectly for a 4 or 5 ball run, even for a (2) or (3). With the 2 it would require some luck thrown in. 6. About new players: Remember, you were once a new player also and somebody probably complained about your rating. The reason it may not have been as accurate as it needed to be is because you were new and there was only a minimal amount of data collected. It takes time to establish a solid rating. A minimum of 10 weeks of scores is required to establish a solid rating because it is averages that create the rating. 7. If two (5's) play each other and one player wins 4-0, but both players shot (5) speed, that doesn't mean the winner is under ranked. It might mean that one player is a (5A) player and the other is a (5C) player "or" the winner is shooting (6) speed, but their average hasn't caught up to them yet "or" the loser wasn't shooting their best game "or" the loser had too many beers "or" the winner had just the right amount of beers. You can analyze this thing to death, but it's not worth it. Let the system do the analysis. Just have fun, win or lose. Ok, winning is better. 8. Most player audits come in from players that lost their match. Ask yourself. Did I shoot my best game? Sometimes it's not that your opponent is under ranked, but rather that you didn't shoot your normal game or your opponent was shooting their best game or a little better than normal. Just because a player has a couple of good weeks, doesn't mean they should automatically be raised. Those strong scores are averaged with all their other scores. The strong scores do push them closer to the next level, but it takes time. 9. Players submit audits on their own players they believe are rated too high, but NOBODY submits audits on their own players they believe are underrated. Why is that ok if you are concerned about accuracy of ratings? 10. The Handicap Race Grid: This is what the race grid means. Example: (5) plays a (4).4-3 race. If these two players played 7 games total, on average the (5) would win 4 games and the (4) would win 3 games. In a match, you just don't know in what order those wins will occur. 11. I'm a (7) and my personal opinion is that (3's & 4's) are the scariest of all players because you never know when they will step it up big time and kick your ass, right out of the blue. On any given night they can shoot 1 to 2 levels higher than the norm, but they can't do it consistently. If you've faced a (3 or 4) on one of those nights, my sympathy goes out to you. 12. When we started the League in January 2002, we brought in all unrated players at the (4B) level because that was midrange. We have learned that players who are really (2's or 3's) take a long time to drop down. I've seen several cases where this isn't completely fair and the players were getting frustrated. This was part of our learning curve and we did learn from it. Since then we have started all unrated players at the (4C) level which has proven to generate a rating that is fairer to those lower ranked players. 13. Different leagues use different systems for calculating handicaps. Even though our rating numbers (2-7) are the same as another league in Vegas, the method or scale used to calculate the handicaps are different. For example; a H/C-5 in this other league may only be a H/C-4 in T.A.P. In many cases, our ratings are ½ to 1 full rating lower than this other league. This means that a weak (5) may be a strong (4) in T.A.P. or a strong (5) in the other league may be a weak (5) in T.A.P. A lot of you are conditioned from the other system which makes it harder to understand the new system you've chosen to play in. In addition, handicap movement is also slower because of the rating scale. 14. To help determine a basis for player ratings, examine the following grid: H/C # Of Balls Made On Each Shot "ON AVERAGE" 7 5-7 balls 6 4-6 balls 5 3-5 balls 4 2-4 balls 3 1-3 balls 2 0-2 balls Remember. Your assessment of someone's rating can't be based on one experience with that player. It must be based on the entire history of the player, which is impossible to do unless you play them every week. This is not intended to discourage player audits. We still want those to insure the accuracy of the league scoring from corporate and to prevent sandbaggers. We have found mistakes. Some are corporate scoring errors, some are computer glitches, but 90% of the mistakes come from score sheets that are illegible or filled out incorrectly. Please check the accuracy of your score sheets before turning them in to insure proper data entry. I hope this helps all of you understand the scoring system a little better.

After the break, if the player calls and makes a ball, but scratches, is it still an open table?

That player now has that category of balls, but gives up ball in hand to their opponent. It is no longer an open table.  

How do you score an 8-on-the-break?

If a player makes only the (8) on the break (no other balls), he/she is credited with (1) MOB and the win. In this case there are (7) stripes and (7) solids left on the table. Each player receives (7) balls in their LOT box. They are split evenly. If a player were to make the (8) and the (14), for example, they would be credited with (2) MOB and (6) LOT. Their opponent would receive (7) LOT's. The winning player is always credited with the lowest count of balls left on the table. Place a hash mark in the "8 BRK" box at the right-hand side of the score sheet.

The shooter calls the corner pocket, but is really shooting for the side. (verbal mistake). Do they win or lose the game?

Use good judgment and sportsmanship to determine the calls. Remember, the game belongs to the players at the table. Clarify with your opponent if you are not sure where they intend to make their ball.

How does a "Forfeit" get marked on the score sheet?

When recording a "forfeit" on the score sheet-DO NOT write the players name and I.D. #. Write the words "Open Stats" for the winning team and mark the "W" for the win. Write the word "Forfeit" for the losing team, and mark the "L" for the loss. The reason a specific player does not get credit with the win is because they did not actually play the match.

How are the points disbursed if a team drops out of a Division?

Occasionally a team will drop out of the league unexpectedly and not show up to play their scheduled match. In this case, the team they were scheduled to play will receive a Bye and 3-2 win for that match and NOT be required to pay for that match. It will not be a 5-0 win. A 5-0 win can have a significant impact on the total team points/standings in the division and isn't fair to the rest of the teams. The reason it is not fair to the other teams is because in following weeks, the other teams only receive a bye and a 3-2 win. This rule only applies to teams that drop out of the league permanently that session. If a team chooses to forfeit a match, without dropping out of the division, it would be a 5-0 win for the team that showed up to play. Both teams will be required to pay their weekly dues because the paybacks, trophies, awards, etc. are generated from weekly dues and total team count in each Division. Each team makes the commitment from the beginning of the season to play 15 weeks.

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