Xmas Handicap Competition at Frames , Coulsdon , Surrey . 27th December

[Luke Hooper]

Someone visiting the club on a one off basis might have to give some ploker 50 start and then watch as he pots a red and runs for cover after every shot.

^^ like me? haha although that was my second round matchup i had to give a 56 start, but in fairness, the kid i played, played outstandingly well and deserved to win, possibly would have won off scratch the way he was potting ridiculous balls! Handicaps are extremely difficult to get right and it is a massive task for anyone. I felt my handicap was harsh, BUT, i don't really mind as it makes me play better knowing i have a larger deficit to make up. i got through my first round 3-2 but fell at the second hurdle and lost 3-0 in the second round. regardless, i think tony did a sterling job and it was still fun and enjoyable! if he hadn't have handicapped me as much, there is a possibility i could have gone on and won it, banging in a few breaks as i felt like i was cueing relatively well, then all of a sudden people will be saying the opposite about my handicap saying i was a ringer etc etc so its always hard to judge.

Frames, overall, is an outstanding venue, a really great club, i loved playing on the star tables and even contemplated just staying on it all night and not entering the tournament! lol The tournament was great fun, i don't mind about paying the money as it was a night out, i think overall i maybe spent £60-70, which is a lot now i think about it, but at the time i enjoyed myself so i didn't really care. i think if it were to become a regular thing though i may not be able to fork that sort of money out each time, especially when i consider i could enter ptcs and other pro-ams etc. so maybe lils does have a point in that the lights should be free OR the fee should be reduced, but then that means less prize money... tough one to call!

regardless, i liked frames a lot, i love the set up - ill definitely go back there again and give it another shot to see if i can progress further than 2nd round...

[Neil Taperell]

As i said , this is a quarterly comp . Which is why the entry fee was more .

Also , as has been said Handicaps are very hard to get right straightaway . I can tell you that Tony knows how to run these as he has played and won quite a few . He will eventually get all the handicaps spot on .

As for the draw sheet being on your table Ken , i will pass this onto Tony as well. All critiscism gratefully received , as Tony wants to ensure that everyone is happy when they play down there .

[Neil Taperell]

Agree lil's, when you take on board that in order to get a good handicap you have to enter the comp on a regular basis. This is one of the reasons I don't do handicaps. Someone visiting the club on a one off basis might have to give some ploker 50 start and then watch as he pots a red and runs for cover after every shot. Sorry Neil if your not happy with the feed back but the guy is right a few pints and some grub plus the prospect of players returning to play on other nights should be enough and it's OK banging on about the prize money but if you have to enter about 15 times to get any where near the final and your spending around £40 each time your there, their is no real prize money any way. Then you get your handicap cut just because you made the final. I entered many Pro-Ams in the last few years and I don't think I've payed more than a £10 to enter and the lights have always been free.

Peter , there is not alot you can do if someone wants to pot a red and run.......that's up to them as to how they play the game . They are playing to their strengths .....nothing wrong in that . Surely you would do that against a better player , rather than go for a 50-50 ball , miss it and leave them in . That's how Snooker is played in my opinion.....matchplay snooker ?

Why would you not get your handicap cut if you made the final ? Tony looks at the results after each comp and adjusts the handicaps where he feels necessary .

I don't know how much they will make on food but as Nrage says a couple of cokes and a bag of crisps will not make a great deal of profit for the club .

Not alot they can do if it takes you 15 times to get to the Final Peter......you will just have to play better

I will ensure that , as previously said , Tony sees all the feedback from you guys and girls [ Lils ] .

[cazmac1]

Peter , there is not alot you can do if someone wants to pot a red and run.......that's up to them as to how they play the game . They are playing to their strengths .....nothing wrong in that . Surely you would do that against a better player , rather than go for a 50-50 ball , miss it and leave them in . That's how Snooker is played in my opinion.....matchplay snooker ?

Why would you not get your handicap cut if you made the final ? Tony looks at the results after each comp and adjusts the handicaps where he feels necessary .

I don't know how much they will make on food but as Nrage says a couple of cokes and a bag of crisps will not make a great deal of profit for the club .

Not alot they can do if it takes you 15 times to get to the Final Peter......you will just have to play better

I will ensure that , as previously said , Tony sees all the feedback from you guys and girls [ Lils ] .

Neil You obviously have a different mind set when it comes to playing snooker

First off handicaps are not match play snooker IMO.

Second I always play the correct shot no matter what the situation is I have long since passed the point where winning is more important than playing the game the right way.

Thirdly If there are on average 34 players entering it is going to take you a least 14 entries to get a handicap that will give you a chance of winning if your lucky enough to get a good handicap from the off set and win early on you will then be knocked right down and will need to build your handicap up again.

Fair play to all you guys that have made the effort to get down there and spend your hard earned cash and I wish you all the best.


But for me handicap are a world apart from proper snooker and can be anal affairs. I would advise any young players with aspirations of becoming a pro to steer clear of them and concentrate on proper MATCH tournaments. It has always been my view that I enter comps to pit my skills against better players and I don't mind paying for that Privilege. Also from my personal experience no one ever gets the handicaps right and bad feeling normally shows it self sooner or later. Most probably a lot sooner when you consider the amount of money being spent. I think the numbers of entries will drop fairly soon if for no other reason that it is just to expensive to be done on a regular basis.
Just one final thing I would like to add and that is why was it such a late start. These comps should be kicking off around 11 or 12. Not starting at 5pm.

I hope you don't get offended by my views Neil. I won't be adding any more to this thread as I feel I said all I wanted. Once more again good luck to all of you who have made the effort and spent your hard earned cash.

[nrage]

Second I always play the correct shot no matter what the situation is I have long since passed the point where winning is more important than playing the game the right way.

I think this mindset is a good one if you're looking to improve your snooker as a whole. But, I think even the pros will change their shot selection and become more conservative on occasion. There is something to be learned by playing "matchplay" snooker in the way I think Neil is referring, where you adjust your shot selection based on the skill of your opponent, and the state of the match vs ignoring the opponent and simply playing the balls, as you're suggesting.

A lot of coaches would recommend playing the way you're suggesting, and I reckon there is a lot of benefit to it. It makes you more confident as you're sure of the shot, and committed to it. At the same time, I think it's also a benefit to be able to gauge the state of a match and adjust your play to give yourself the best chance to win. That is the point of playing, for a lot of people, after all.

I suspect you'd rather win playing good snooker or loose having played your best snooker, than adjust your game in order to win, and that's perfectly fine and rather admirable IMO.

Thirdly If there are on average 34 players entering it is going to take you a least 14 entries to get a handicap that will give you a chance of winning if your lucky enough to get a good handicap from the off set and win early on you will then be knocked right down and will need to build your handicap up again.

Yeah, it is very hard to figure out the correct handicap for a player you've not seen before, and you have the added pressure that if you set it too low the regular players will complain, and too high and the new player will complain, or simply be put off and never come back. Each new player I've had to do this for, has reacted differently. The best of them realise the difficulty of it and are happy to have a bit more of a challenge initially under the promise that they will be revised based on the results. The bad apples are the ones which moan about it, or intentionally play badly first time round.

Just one final thing I would like to add and that is why was it such a late start. These comps should be kicking off around 11 or 12. Not starting at 5pm.

I'd prefer an earlier start too, the one I played started at 1pm (actually 1:30 by the time we got going) and that worked quite well.

[Deepscrew]

The handicap run at Keynsham base your handicap on you high break to start with, it's adjusted based on results. It'll never be right though, just like in golf there will always be bandits.

start time is 10.30am. Normally finishes about 5pm and cost £8 lights included. Main comp normally pays 150, plate comp around 80.

Not played in it for a long time but will try and get back soon. Derek runs it well and won't take any messing on the handicap front.