PotShot Pool Tournament at Big City

Today, I competed in a PotShot pool tournament at Big City in Allston. It's a modified Kelly pool (or pea pool) rotation game with five players and a 10 ball rack. We played with pool cash and had to ante up each game. Each player selects a pea (or pill) from a shaker before the game starts and the objective is for you to sink the ball corresponding to the number on your pea, but you have to contact the lowest numbered ball first. If you sink someone else's ball, they owe you pool cash and vice versa. Being essentially a ring game, there was little (purposeful) defense. The game ends when someone sinks their pill. If all ten balls get pocketed without anyone sinking their own pill, the pot remains and the ante for the next game is added.

OK, logistically it may sound a bit confusing, but that wasn't the worst part. Many players there didn't even know the rules or even some of the more general pool rules. I had decided not to bring my own cue and out of the twelve people I played against, I think only two had their own. Everyone else was playing with Wallabushkas. There were 20 players all together. Sometime during the first match, there was a mix up on how much we were supposed to ante up, so we had to reverse calculate everything to even it all up. The overall skill level wasn't that great, but the game ends up evening out the handicaps with some luck. First of all, there's five players, so there's no guarantee a good defensive shot will get you back to the table. Second, if you draw a low number pill, you'll have a higher chance of winning strictly because there weren't many people there that were running more than two balls at a time, so you were likely to get a shot on your game ball. Third, slop counts.

Anyway, I managed to win two games out of five in the first round where the antes were $200 pool cash. On one of them, I lucked in my 7 ball trying to bank the 2 cross corner. I also won two games the second round with $300 antes, one off the break and one off a double pot. That was enough to earn a spot on the final table with $500 antes. My kick shots were ridiculously off and I jawed a carom which would have kept me at the table for at least another shot and didn't win a game. I don't really know where I started, but ended up finishing 4th place, enough to win back my entry fee and then some. But not enough to cover the food...

Big City's not my favorite place to play. Certain tables get some glaring sunlight depending on the time of day which makes it difficult. Most of the tables seem to play pretty slow too and the rails are inconsistent. I met some nice folks though and the tournament might be worth another whirl. Next one's up on Feb 21.