Joss/ Scruggs tour caliber of play?

I am considering playing in a few of the events that are coming up near home. I play reasonably well, but certainly not up to the standards of zuglan, sabajos, and company. Are there usually players of all calibers at these events, or am I out to embarass myself? It seems such a valuable way to gain legitimate tournament experience. Also, are the formats usually single or double elimination, races to 7 or 9?

Thanks in advance,

Rob

The Joss Tour is much more of a professional tour than Scruggs Tour. Scruggs is more of an open tour with different levels of talent. The Scruggs tour is only played on Sundays the play is continuous. The first tournament had 84 players of which three were women: Ms. Karen Corr who placed 7Th, Ms. Julie Kelly, and Ms. Jan Palyo and 81 male players. They play 7 rack 9-ball pool continuous. Sounds like fun to me.

Harry50

[Ken]

Rob, It's all races to 9 double elimination in the Joss including the final matchup. I know a couple B level players who played regularly but haven't seen them play recently. There may be other Bs but I just don't know them and I haven't been to a B tournament recently so I wouldn't recognize them. The Bs are there probably for the fun and experience so they expect to just donate to the purse.

An A player has a fair chance of getting to the second day and winning a little money but is usually knocked out quickly on the second day. It's a random draw so some of the pros do get eliminated early. Rodney Morris failed to make the second day and a couple As eliminated him.

I've never noticed anyone below a B level and would advise one to save his money. There are plenty of handicapped tournaments in CT that cost a bit less and will give you a good idea where you stand. What is the Scruggs? Is there a website?

This is my first post, so please excuse any errors.

Let's say 64 players show up to a JOSS Tour event. I'd say less than 32 are "A" players, with say 16 better than A. The rest are made up B's and B+'s. There are some players that I would consider as C players who come and shoot.

Fred

[CarolNYC]

Hi there Rob,
Dont feel like your embarassing yourself! You have NOTHING to lose, only the gaining of experience-there is no pressure-the pressure is on them-they are suppose to win!Just think, anything can happen-should you win, what a great confidence booster!(then who will be embarassed?) [img]/ccboard/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Good Luck!
Carol

How does the Planet Pool tour competition rate in comparison to the Josh and Scrugg tours?

Thanks, Mike

Speaking of the Scruggs Tour, is there a website I can check out that has tourney coverage, winners, point totals, etc?

Thanks.

Rob,
I've played on the Joss Tour. I'm a B player and I usually wind up winning 1 or 2 matches before getting knocked out. 85% of the players are Open level players and unless you are a B or better, you won't get much for your $100 donation. Most players are so strong that it won't be much of a learning expierience for you either(unless you're an A or better). Are you an Open player? A? B? If not, FYI- A "B" player is equal to an APA 7/underrated 6.

First off, what part of Philly are you from?
You play at Tacony or Petey's or Drexeline?
Frazier? South philly? (ENIGMA trembles at the thought of that city)
Anyway..ENIGMA has been to BOTH types of venues.
JOSS is gonna cost you a $100 just to play. On top of that, your gonna have to pay either $10 per tournament or just get your tour card for $25.
You will also have to travel FAR. Sometimes taking out a room on friday night so you don't have to get up extra early and drive to the thing. ENIGMA has seen many people drive to these things and run out of gas during play...just too tired.

So if you go to a JOSS say in Upstate NY for instance. It's gonna run you...with room, entry fee, gas, tolls, food, etc. At the very least, ENIGMA would say, around $180. That's just for 1 night. If you can travel for less than that, your doing well. Helps to travel in large groups. Cut down on costs. On top of that, you have a VERY HIGH caliber of players. Not TOO many turkeys. There might be a few, but most are weary of shelling out that type of cash just to get tortured. So unless your a capable player, it might be advised that you save your money, BUT the experience of getting destroyed by a great player has it's upside also.

The Scruggs tournaments are one day events. So you will never have to stay over if you make it to sunday. These tournaments ARE on sunday. ALL DAY!
BUT..they are only $55. Plus they are more localized to someone in the Philly, Jersey or Delaware area.
You might travel 45 minutes to 2 hours? Shouldn't be much more than that.
They also have their fare share of TURKEYS. You still have great players...but not as many NAME players as you do on JOSS. Same talent..but many unknowns or sleepers to the general public.
Some JOSS are the who's who of pool.
Where as in some of the Scruggs, you might have never heard of the person..and wonder where they came from as they run out all over the place.

The one thing you have to understand is that at EITHER even that you choose to participate in, it is no easy time.
For one..there is stiff competition. Second...you should try to be in good physical condition. It is VERY hard to grind it out ALL DAY LONG.

When gambling..you don't gamble when your tired, or when you don't feel good. You match up when you feel great and are wide awake.
Let alone if yor not a morning person. Imagine getting up at 7 in the morning and travelling to a tournament, only to be half asleep when you get there and play like crap.

If you are looking to get your feet wet and participate in an event for the first time. ENIGMA would recommend the Scruggs. There are more TURKEYS because of the low entry fee. People are more willing to try it out. Once you get used to that, and feel you can perform, THEN move on and try a JOSS on for size.
OR you could just play in everything in sight. Can't hurt, but you'll know exactly where you stand in relation to all these great champions.
Doesn't hurt at all to go to these things just to watch either.
Hope this info helps you out.
Good luck in whatever you choose.

ENIGMA

[Fred Agnir]

Hehe. I always hear people pronouncing it "Josh." But never (rarely) do I see someone writing it as such.

Fred <~~~ It's "Joss"