Louisiana Amateur Tour finals tournament

11-04-13

This past weekend I participated in a highly competitive tournament of amateur pool players.  There was no handicap.  The game was America's favorite pool game, EIGHT BALL. 

Approximately 74 players competed for over 13,000 dollars.  In this event we had a Calcutta, a system of where the player or other people can bid on a player.  If the player is purchased by someone other than himself, the player has the right to purchase up to 50% of himself, otherwise the purchaser can keep all of the player's Calcutta or sell off any portion he wishes to someone else.

I knew in this event that I would be a long-shot to win this event, and despite the outrageous bidding that was induced by Keith Hulin, the auctioneer, and owner of Emerald Billiards in New Iberia, LA, I purchased 100 % of myself for $410.  It was an outrageous sum for me but I figured I would gamble as there was a lot of dough at stake.   Other players that play at an even higher level than myself, often went for far less than I did in the Calcutta.

The entry fee had been set at a very low price of $25.  I mean really, this was the FINALS EVENT of this tour and the entry fee should have been raised to show a measure of respect for a finals event.  It should have been a little more prestigious than twenty five bucks.  Heck, the hotel cost a lot more than the entry fee.   Maybe they will consider raising the entry fee on the final event in the future to boost the payouts for the players who supported the tour.  I don't think the entry fee should be higher than $50 though because this is an Amateur event.  Others may have a differing opinion as it should be; that's just mine.

On another note, there were a few people complaining that the race of 5 on the winner's side and 3 on the one-loss side was not fair or appropriate.  If the results were any indication of fairness, I have to admit that a lot of supposed underdogs like Michael P Weeks (who won the event) proved that the minor change in racing from 3 on the winner's side to 5, had little to do with who won.  There were many other matches where the supposed underdog won the race to 5 and lost the race to 3 against better players.  In summary, I think the race to 5 on the winner's side allows the lesser player to warm up.  It has been my experience that when you have less experience at competing and even less skill it takes you longer to warm up than it does for a more accomplished player to warm up.  That being said, it appears that there were plenty of upsets in this amateur event.  The underdogs often played exceptionally well. 

I was thrashed rather soundly by good playing Mitch Foor of The Big Easy pool room by a score of 5-2.  I lost my last match against Larry Labauve and finished 7-8th in the event.  I played about as good as I can play and it just wasn't good enough.  Hopefully, the promoter, Jacob Pennison will choose to continue his efforts and bringing something good to the amateur players of Louisiana.

I think a few tweaks here and there will help improve the Louisiana Amateur Tour even more.  I think there may have been too many qualifiers but that is only my opinion.  Also, I would like to see Bubba Brock reinstated into the Louisiana Amateur Tour because I think his banning was a mistake on the management's part.  These type of things can be corrected and other things can be improved.

The truth is that it isn't fair to allow players into the FINALS EVENT unless they qualify exactly as the majority had to do.  If I could just ship in a hundred bucks to play in the FINALS EVENT, it would save me a lot of Saturdays, time and MONEY.  So this needs some consideration as well.

Overall, I think the first completed session of the Louisiana Amateur Tour was a rousing success, despite a few bumps in the road.

I would like to see a complete written list of the rules, the payout percentages in both the Calcutta and the events (BEFORE the Calcutta bidding starts).  It is not fair to those who bid large sums of money when they do not know if they will even have a chance of getting their money back.  I managed to win only $145 in the Calcutta despite my bid of $410.  Obviously, I went for a lot higher price than I should have but that's not the point.  Everything should be out in the open, IN ADVANCE.

Also, there should be a list of the Louisiana Amateur Players and their complete names.  There is no good reason to call players by their first name with just an initial and not their last name.  When a player's name is called for the Calcutta, his entire name and where he is from should be announced, along with any tournaments that he has won.  The player should then have to appear in front of the tournament event for everyone to see them.  At this time, the player should be required to pull a number from a container and that number will specify the position he will be placed on the tournament board.  Many people complain that they don't know how they were paired up with their road partner in the very first match.  If the choosing of the position on the tournament board is done this way, no one can complain about anything, except lady luck.

Also, I believe that the management needs to specify the number of spots that will be paid out in both the tournament and the Calcutta.

I had a great tournament and found myself lacking in enough skill to win this event and am thinking about ways to inspire myself to improve.  Stay tune to Facebook and friend me if you like and I will share some of these ideas as I mull them over.  My Facebook name that I use for pool is: Joey Apoolcommentator.  That's just a distinction for my pool pals all over the world and where I post most of my pool content.  On AZ Billiards I am known simply as:  JoeyA.

Personally, I had a great time at this event, even with my disappointing finish.  I met a lot of new players and renewed old acquaintances alike.  If you haven't played in the Louisiana Amateur Tour, you should certainly check it out.  Congratulations to all of the players that came out and made this such a fun event.  Thanks to the pool room owners who got behind this tour and brought in a lot of players that wouldn't normally have gone to their respective pool rooms.

Don't miss out on competing!  I have competed against better players than myself, most of my life and the beatings I have taken and continue to take are just lessons in life.  Life isn't always fair but if you pay attention to the lessons you learn, a beating or a win in a pool tournament can leave a lasting impression and make you the stronger and smarter for it.  Hope to see you all at the next tournament.

Best Regards,
JoeyA