Sues Billiards Congress of America (BCA) Tourney Hindsight Retro
A recap of Sue's first foray into BCA national events.
Key Takeaways
Step outside your comfort zone. The magic always happens beyond the ordinary.
For such an important event, plan ahead and get commitments early, maybe 3mon before the event.
Practice on the tables ahead of time, especially bank and touch shots, that can be especially table-specific.
Take the losses and setbacks in stride, don’t beat yourself up! This event is about challenging oneself against tough opponents, getting better under pressure, and finding “flow” in challenging environment.
Context and Background
Pool is a popular hobby/sport all over the world. A bar game for most, but a large population of enthusiasts like myself participate in competitive amateur leagues. Pool appeals because not only is it age, gender, and size neutral, players find flow a term coined in 1990 by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and described in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. We experience flow when absorbed in a challenging but not too challenging activity, allowing our brains to find that perfect balance of focus, concentration, and performance.
In the pool world we call this “Dead Stroke.” And even amateurs get to experience this because the game is handicapped; as you advance, you acquire abilities and use them to compete against similarly skilled opponents.
This article provides an entry level explanation of basic pool terms. Both amateur and professional competitive pool relies on skills along the following dimensions:
Bridge: the hand position used for the tip end of the cue
Grip: the hand position at the back end (butt) of the cue
Stance: the full body position relative to the table
Stroke: the mechanics of stroking the cue to hit the cue ball
Spin: the player’s ability to apply different kinds of spin to the cue ball using top/bottom spin or left/right english
Position: the player’s ability to use everything above to make the balls on the table land in a particular location (either in a pocket, cue ball position, or in a defense maneuver)
Strategy: the player’s ability to look at the table and formulate an effective strategy to win the game. Strategies should include a blend of offensive and defensive (aka safeties) maneuvers
Mental: the player’s ability to manage their own mind before, during, and after a game to maximize their games and pool career
Pool is easy to learn and hard to master, making it a perfect lifetime hobby. Many players spend hours practicing, setting up drills, learning from more skilled players, and honing their skills and strategies.
There are two dominant amateur pool leagues in the USA, The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and the American Poolplayers Association (APA). The BCA uses a rating system called “Fargo.” Professional pool players will have a Fargo rating in the 650+, with the highest rating at writing is 852. Amateurs will be in the 350-650 rating zone.
There are local tournaments and leagues, as well as regional and national tournaments. Players most typically play 8-ball and 9-ball as singles, doubles, and teams. Pool balls come in numbered balls 1-15, with 1-8 solid color, and 9-15 striped.
In 8-ball, each player will be either solids or stripes, with the 8-ball being the final ball regardless, leaving 7 balls for each player to pocket. Each player attempts to pocket their balls in a specific pocket (calling their shot) and win the game by sinking the 8-ball without scratching (sinking the white ball in a pocket).
In 9-ball, players must hit the balls in order from 1-9, with a game winning shot of making the 9-ball, either directly (after hitting the other balls) or in combination with an earlier ball in the series.
End context, Retro Starts here…
What Happened?
Sue went to BCA (Billiard Congress of America) pool tourney from Feb 23-Mar 2nd to play in two events, Ladies 8ball Singles Gold tier and Team 8ball Gold Tier, our team name was Andale Amigos. Note that Gold tier is the middle 40% of the skill levels entered.
Sue placed 33rd out of 125 players in the ladies 8ball Singles gold tier (almost top 25%). Very happy with this result.
Andale Amigos placed 131st out of 193 teams (bottom 25%). Would have been nice to advance to the next round, maybe next year!
Sue caught a bad bug on Tues Feb 27 or Wed 28, and persisted at least 5-7 days, developing into laryngitis from Mar 1-Mar 2. This turned out to be an illness most people at the event caught (at least from San Diego players)
Sue starting Fargo: 465. Note: opponent Fargo ratings are in parenthesis after opponent pseudonyms to protect identity.
Match Summaries
Link to Sue’s 3rd match video:
Lessons Learned
What Worked?
CJ Robinson (624) coaching in the months beforehand was a great investment!
Andale Amigos was a super fun team
My game got better over the course of the event
I played amazing safeties, sometimes by looking at the table as if I were the other player. I would look for the worst possible spot for them to be shooting, see match video
My cue control was great by the end.
Others were complaining about tables, but I found them to roll straight, good speed, etc.
Having video of the matches was helpful to watch immediately afterwards
Watching Josh Watson (677) matches was a great opportunity to see someone performing under pressure
Watching the pros was inspiring, poetry in motion!
What Didn’t Work?
I didn’t have luck finding a doubles partner before the event. My original partner backed out after waffling, and I didn’t have time to try to find another.
Andale Amigos had to find a substitute player at the last minute. Would have been better to have a stable/committed player earlier
Banks on these tables were definitely tough, they seemed to bank short. Didn’t practice kicks and banks enough so this was a weakness in my game.
Got too shy to take selfies with the pros, but I was jealous of the photos my buddies took with them
Was in Vegas for a week. I gambled, lost $$, but didn’t find it fun anyways.
Where did I/we get lucky?
Bad weather in Vegas on day returning home, was able to catch a ride with Oscar and not risk flight cancellation, and we both had laryngitis by that point
What will I/we change next time?
Find a good doubles partner early
Play in the open event, not ladies, not a good match for my strengths and the safety games were exhausting
Bring two tripods for team event so we can film both tables
Figure out video storage, time to buy a GoPro?
Dont bother gambling much.
Take more selfies with the pros
Timeline (optional)
Dec 10, 2023: signed up for ladies
Dec 15, 2023: Figuring out doubles partner
Jan 7, 2024: Doubles partner changes partners
Jan 30, 2024: Got coaching from CJ at LSB 90min, then played straight pool
Feb 13, 2024: more coaching from CJ at Jimmy’s for 2h.
Feb 23, 2024: fly to vegas for tourney
Feb 24, 2024 5pm: First ladies singles match
Mar 2, 2024: Return to San Diego