Transcript
Presenting 220 & 198 by Behind the Rock Tour The Game We play games against the Ghost. You have no opponent. It’s just you and the table. The 220 division is played on the 9ft tables and 198 is played on the 7ft and 8ft tables. We are currently playing the games 220 and 198 and will be incorporating other games such as 10ball banks, 9ball banks, scotch doubles, virtual scotch doubles and other events. Games 220 and 198 Games played:
Based on 10-Ball (220) and 9-ball (198) 11 racks for a match
Opponent:
The “Ghost” is nobody! Players compete with everybody, but play against themselves.
Rules:
The balls are racked as in 10-Ball or 9-ball. In a rack the player breaks and scores a point for every ball pocketed on the break. The player then gets ball in hand and attempts to pocket as many balls as possible, hitting the lowest numbered ball on the table, receiving a point for every ball legally pocketed. The rack is completed after a miss, a foul is committed, or all balls are legally pocketed. The player plays 11 racks per match. All Ball Foul rules. Break and run the 11th game, player plays a 12th game to complete the scoring for the 11th game.
Scoring:
If a ball is pocketed on the break and the player runs all ten balls, that rack is referred to as a Snap Game. The player gets 10 points for that game and adds all the balls earned in the subsequent game back to the Snap Game (similar to scoring a strike in bowling). If no balls are pocketed on the break but the rack is run out, that rack is referred to as a Cut Game. The player gets 10 points for that game and adds the points from the break in the subsequent game back to the Cut Game (similar to scoring a spare in bowling). These are the basic rules. There are other rules such as point deductions for fouls, balls pocketed on a scratch on the break get re-spotted, an option to keep running balls after the break called a “Cut Game Option”, and time limit on matches (slow play is not tolerated!). It’s important that the details of the score sheet are carefully tallied as the competition every week is razor-sharp (hundredths of a point often separate the first five paying slots!) and the details of the score sheet are the tie-breakers.
Virtual Tournament:
Once the 11th game is finished the statistics are tallied. If the player is playing in a handicapped division the match score is added to a player’s handicap to generate an aggregate score. At the end of the week, the players matches are transmitted from each participating pool room to the central database at Behind the Rock who compiles scores from all the players in all participating venues. The weekly tournament is paid out based on the number of players for each division.
Table Divisions:
We currently play 220 on 9ft tables and 198 on the 7ft/8ft tables.
Divisions:
The tour will be comprised of 5 divisions: Intermediate, Open, Advanced, Scratch and Advanced Scratch. The Intermediate, Open and Advanced divisions are handicapped. Scratch and Advanced Scratch are played with no handicap. Players compete in a Scratch division until they have an established average by playing 6
matches. If you have youths that are interested in playing we will be starting this division with ghost 8-ball or 9ball. Handicap:
Every player’s handicap is based on the average score of the last 20 matches played. The actual calculation is the same for everybody: We take a perfect score and apply a formula to it to calculate handicaps. The handicap is computed weekly by Behind the Rock Tour.
Entry Fee:
Each division has their own entry fee. The current active divisions: Intermediate, Open, Advanced, Intermediate Scratch, Open Scratch and Advanced Scratch are set at $10 per match.
Why is it called “220” and “198”? Good question. 220 points is the score of a perfect match playing 10-ball vs. the Ghost and the same for 198 playing 9-ball vs. the Ghost. If a player pockets a ball on the break or takes the option in every game then runs out every game the resulting score is 220 points and 198 points hence the game name of 220 and 198. When we run special events like banks, it is designated by 220 and 198 as to what size table they were playing on. 220 banks is 10 ball banks on the 9ft table and 198 is 9ball banks on the 7ft/8ft tables. Virtual Tour Defined When we say “Virtual Tour” we’re not talking about playing a pool video game online. We’re talking about playing real pool against real players across the nation for real money at their local pool room. Behind the Rock Tour is intentionally set up to be a “virtual tour” which means we run tour events with date parameters from anywhere in the world each week and treat it as one tournament. This will allow us to have a more competitive tour with larger purses on a weekly basis. Local pool rooms get to keep their players and players can now compete nationally or globally without the travel expenses. Are you getting the picture now? This is how it works…. Every week a new tournament starts. Each “Virtual Tournament” (VT) runs weekly from Sunday to Saturday. Saturday at 11:59pm the event closes. Every Sunday match results for the week from all the certified locations are calculated, winners are determined, payouts are mailed out, and a new tournament begins. Monday is payday and checks are mailed to all the winners in all the divisions. Once the tournament is calculated and posted from our website. Anyone can view the scores and statistics of each match, the players’ names, locations played out of, how many players participated, how many matches each player played that week along with how much money was in the purse, who finished in what place and the amount of money won. These events run every week (unless scheduled otherwise). The handicap division uses a true 90% handicapping system like used in golf or bowling. Players’ handicaps are based on their actual match scores. Players’ handicaps are determined by what they and only they do at the table. This allows all levels of play to have the opportunity to win when they bring their “A game”. All levels of play are welcome. A room may run as many events in one week as they would like and a player may play as many matches in a week as they would like. If a player plays more than one match in a week their highest score for the week will be used and calculated into the tournament rankings for that week. Play is optional each week. This is not a league; this is a weekly tournament with larger events for players to participate in more often from their local poolroom with no travel expenses. Currently we only play 220 and 198. We will be incorporating other games as we grow such as one pocket, banks, scotch doubles and virtual scotch doubles, 14.1 and Honolulu. We will be running some scotch doubles events and are considering running a few team events.
Tri-Annual Event Every four months we hold special events called the “Tri-Annual Events” (TAE). In these events money is added in part by the venues and in part by the tour. A small portion of the weekly entry fees get put aside for added money at the tri-annual events. The pot for these events will grow as our tour expands. This is very exciting. Remember, since we’ll be playing with handicaps anyone can win if they bring their “A” game. The competition is always tight and the more players we have the bigger the payouts! Membership All players and locations must become members of Behind the Rock Tour. Players can test drive Behind the Rock Tour by paying and playing one event with no membership. However, the $25 membership must be paid by the second week or before any payouts can be awarded. We offer membership incentives for your first three events to help build your tournament. Pool rooms have $100 annual membership dues. Pool rooms are not required to add any money to the weekly events. The criteria for a pool room to be a host for a tri-annual event is a little different and every certified location has the right to apply to be a host. The host pool rooms for the tri-annual events are required to add $10/player that participates out of their pool room in each event hosted. If you have 10 players then you are required to add $100 to that tri-annual event. These events are usually scheduled for April, Aug and Dec. Earn Money We have a compensation program set-up for players that bring their pool room on board and for Event Coordinators (ECs) who run the weekly events. To find out more contact the main office at 253-226-3594 or email us at
[email protected]. How Is The Money Handled? Everything we do on this tour we do electronically. We will send you a bank invite to register so our banks talk to each other. This allows us to do online banking and for rooms to email their weekly money to the main office. Behind the Rock Tour mails checks each week to the players. Checks are submitted for payment no later than Monday of each week. How Big Can The Tour Get? HUGE! Let’s use a realistic scenario and crunch some numbers. If we only had 3 certified locations in each state with a minimal number of players, say 10 at each location, that would give us 1500 players per week. We all know that BCA has over 50,000 members and APA has in the neighborhood of 250,000-300,000. So the numbers we are using are low and very attainable. Now multiply each player by his/her $10 entry fee and the players’ payout would be $12,000.00 PER WEEK! And the best part… It’s all done out of their local pool room and the rooms don’t have to add a dime. Well, that’s the gist of it. If you love pool you’ll love this format. This tour is all new and it can be a little intimidating, tell you players to pull up their pants, join in, then rack ‘em and crack em’! They’ll be glad they did! Look forward to seeing you play soon,
Deby Welfringer www.behindtherocktour.com
[email protected]
