WEEK 7 - Tuesday, 30/03/10.

From the moment they turned up, Pick and CB turned this into the Cobras show! They were on F-I-R-E from start to finish!!

But let's start at the beginning.

When I arrived Pup was playing with Ben (ex Shooters) whom I recognised straight away. The rest of the Top Pub crew were new and their handicaps showed it. We gave them 27.5 at the top, but at least that still left us 7.5 at the bottom in reserve.

We started terribly, Pup, Hooters and Diddy all losing their first round matches. While Pup lost on the black ball, Diddy was done to 3. Pick was not prepared to let this start go and with a cry of "Fire up Cobras" he reeled off a 10-1 followed by CB with a 10-4, meaning we were 26.5 behind (almost net even for the 1st round) after a round of play.

Pick's rallying cry did the trick, however. The Cobras settled to the task and won the entire 2nd round with Diddy's 10-3 (reversing his 1st round loss) the highlight of a solid round and suddenly the Cobras were 1.5 in front.

In the 3rd Diddy, Pick and CB all won with Pick (10-1) and CB (10-2) vying for round honours. Hooters narrowly lost on the black, so it was a solid round and the Cobras stretched their lead to 13.5.

The 4th was almost a mirror of the 3rd, with wins to Diddy, Pick and CB. Hooters again only lost on the black. Diddy's 10-3 was surpassed by 10-1's for both Pick and CB, meaning the Cobras had a 29 point lead going into the final round.

The 5th was characterised by a black ball loss for Diddy and wins to Pup, CB and Pick (10-2) to seal an emphatic 43 point win.

Pick led the way only allowing 10 points in his 5 win hall and CB was just behind him, letting in 17 in his faultless night at the office.

Eastern Creek Cobras 215.5 - Top Pub 172.5.












COBRA SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (-10) -49.
4. Pup: (-8) -8.
3. CB: (+33) +45.
2. Diddy: (+8) +53.
1. Pick: (+40) +133.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +3.5.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +3.5) +16.5
4. CB: (+10 minus +3.5) +6.5
3. Diddy: (+7.5 minus +3.5) -4
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus +3.5) -4
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus +3.5) -11

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. Pup: (-8 minus -4) -4.
4. Hooters: (-10 minus -11) +1.
3. Diddy: (+8 minus -4) +12
2. Pick: (+40 minus +16.5) +23.5.
1. CB: (+33 minus +6.5) +26.5.

WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
5. Hooters: (14/21) 40.00%.
4. Pup: (16/19) 45.71%.
3. CB: (17/13) 56.67%.
2. Diddy: (21/9) 70.00%.
1. Pick: (27/8) 77.14%.

Next week we're away to St Marys!!

Cobras Draw – Las Vegas 1
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/las-vegas-1-roster-draw.html

Cobra Stats Explained
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/03/cobra-stats.html

Cobra House Rules
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/cobra-house-rules.html

WEEK 6 - Tuesday, 23/03/10.

The grudge match of the round for the newly formed Eastern Creek Cobras was always going to be the stoush with the Vineyard Vultures.

Why?

Well the Vineyard Vultures were the reigning Las Vegas Shootout champions, off to Vegas to represent Australia within the next couple of months.

They had a spectacularly unsuccessful Las Vegas season, surpassed only by their spectacularly successful run of wins as they flapped undefeated through the Silver Cup and then cawed and pecked their way undefeated through the Las Vegas Shootout.

While this sustained performance was a credit to all of their players, there was no doubt that at the heart of that success was Pick and Scotty, the most highly handicapped players on their roster.

Since their epic win, Pick had formed the Eastern Creek Cobras with the core of the old Carousel Cue-Tease team and CB, a fancied ring-in from the Lucky Shooters team.

The Cobras were keen to show everyone including the Vultures they were legitimate playoff contenders. But for the Vultures, stung by the loss of their most fancied players, this was an opportunity to make Pick regret branching out on his own.

Added to this was the fact that the new handicaps were in place. Pick stayed on 20, CB stayed on 10, but Pup and Diddy went from 2.5 to 7.5 and Hooters went from -10 to -7.5, adding 12.5 to the team handicap.

As a result, The Cobras gave the Vultures a miserly 7.5 start at the top, neatly cancelled out by the 7.5 Hooters gave us at the bottom.

On the night Hooters arrived with 2 budding Las Vegas stars in tow, as her sons took in a bit of the 8ball action.

In the first round Pup, Hooters, Diddy and CB all registered wins, with Pick losing in a black ball game, meaning the Cobras got their nose back in front by 6.5.

In the second round Pick and CB won their encounters and Pup lost on the black reducing the margin in the Cobras favour to 1.5.

In the third round Pup, Diddy and Pick all picked up wins, including a crucial 10-0 performance by Pick, so the Cobras took their biggest lead, 11.5 into the fourth.

In the fourth round Hooters, Diddy and Pick picked up wins, resulting in a margin of 12.5 going into the final round with Hooters 7.5 at the bottom still to come.

The final round continued the swinging momentum that had characterised the entire match. Hooters won her encounter, Diddy lost on the black and when CB won the final game the Cobras had stung the Vultures by 17 points.

So in the end the Cobras had hissed their way to a win and sunk their fangs into the dying carcass of the Vultures. A faint “caawww, caawww” was drowned out by the silibant hiss of the crazed Cobras. “SSSSSSSssssssssss”.

Eastern Creek Cobras 208.5 – Vineyard Vultures 191.5.

It's only Week 6, but it's still worth noting that we have been around 1st & 2nd spot for the entire time thus far and despite the handicap adjustments, are well placed to keep troubling even the best sides!!












COBRA SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (+2) -39.
4. Pup: (-3) 0.
3. CB: (+5) +12.
2. Diddy: (+1) +45.
1. Pick: (+12) +93.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +7.5.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +7.5) +12.5
4. CB: (+10 minus +7.5) +2.5
3. Diddy: (+7.5 minus +7.5) 0
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus +7.5) 0
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus +7.5) -15

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. Pup: (-3 minus 0) -3.
4. Pick: (+12 minus +12.5) -0.5.
3. Diddy: (+1 minus 0) +1
2. CB: (+5 minus +2.5) +2.5.
1. Hooters: (+2 minus -15) +17.

WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
5. Hooters: (13/17) 43.33%.
4. Pup: (14/16) 46.67%.
3. CB: (12/13) 48.00%.
2. Diddy: (18/7) 72.00%.
1. Pick: (22/8) 73.33%.

Next week we're home to Top Pub. Let's go SIC Cobras!!

Cobras Draw – Las Vegas 1
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/las-vegas-1-roster-draw.html

Cobra Stats Explained
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/03/cobra-stats.html

Cobra House Rules
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/cobra-house-rules.html

COBRA STATS

COBRA SCORECARD EXPLAINED

Where to begin?

Handicaps.

Every player playing in the 8ball league is assigned a handicap. Handicaps are designed to create an even playing field. In theory if people are handicapped correctly and they play to their handicaps, results would be very equal in any encounter.

To explain For & Against etc. let's start with a simple example.

Example.
- Diddy’s handicap is 7.5.
- Diddy wins his first game 10-5.
- Diddy loses his 2nd game 7-10.
- Diddy loses his 3rd game 4-10.
- Diddy wins his 4th game 10-2.
- Diddy wins his final game 10-7.

For & Against.

For & Against tells each player how they went on the night (or over the course of the competition).

To get Diddy’s “for” you add up the points Diddy scored. In this example Diddy scored 10, 7, 4, 10, 10. So Diddy’s “for” is 41.

Similar to get Diddy’s “against” you add up the points scored against Diddy. Diddy had 5, 10, 10, 2 and 7 scored against him, so Diddy’s “against” is 34.

Diddy’s for & against subtracts the amount scored against him (34) from the amound Diddy scored (41), so in this example, Diddy’s for & against is +7.

Handicap-Adjusted For & Against.

For & against tells each player how they did on the night, but does not provide feedback on how they are playing compared to their handicaps and therefore how valuable the player's performance is to the team. The only real way to compare the performance of players on different handicaps is to take their for & against and subtract their handicap from it.

In this example Diddy’s handicap is 7.5. A handicap is a representation of skill level (out of 30), but more importantly, it is the free points given to the opposition for that player. Ideally each player will aim to get these free points back through the games they win and their for & against.

So in this example, we’ve already established that the for & against is +7. As Diddy’s handicap is 7.5 (points given to the opposition), his adjusted for & against is -0.5 on the night in question.

Diddy's performance can now be compared to that of his team mates, when their For & Against and handicaps are evaluated, using this method.

Opposition/Handicap-Adjusted For & Against

The one thing that Handicap-Adjusted For & Against doesn't do, is tell us how we should have gone against our opposition, assuming the handicaps are representative of skill level.

In order for us to more closely match the way that the wizard views individual performance, we need to factor in the quality of the opposition.

To do this, instead of directly subtracting each person's handicap from their for & against on game night, we adjust each person's handicap against the average handicap of the opposition, and then adjust the net figure that results against the for & against on the night, to provide an adjusted for & against.

It's probably easiest to provide an example.

Let's say we're playing a team with the following handicaps: 5, 15, 20, 10, 10.

The opposition team's total handicap is 60.

Their average handicap (60/5) per player is 12.

The average handicap of the opposition is subtracted from our player's handicaps and then compared to their for & against for the night.

Here is how it would look for the Cobra players:

Pick is handicapped as a 20. In this example the opposition is 12, so Matt on his handicap is expected to score +8 against this opposition. Accordingly 8 will be subtracted from his total for & against for the night.

CB is handicapped as a 10. In this example, the opposition is 12, so Chris on his handicap is expected to score -2 against this opposition. Accordingly 2 will be added to his total for & against for the night.

Diddy & Pup are handicapped as 7.5. In this example, the opposition is 12, so Diddy & Pup on their handicaps are expected to score -4.5 against this opposition. Accordingly 4.5 will be added to their total for & against for the night.

Hooters is handicapped as -7.5. In this example, the opposition is 12, so Hooters on her handicap is expected to score -19.5 against this opposition. Accordingly 19.5 will be added to her total for & against for the night.

If we return to our original example and add this information in it goes like this;
- Diddy’s handicap is 7.5.
- Average opposition handicap is 12.
- Diddy gets to subtract 4.5 from his F&A.

- Diddy wins his first game 10-5.
- Diddy loses his 2nd game 7-10.
- Diddy loses his 3rd game 4-10.
- Diddy wins his 4th game 10-2.
- Diddy wins his final game 10-7.

- Diddy's F&A is 41-34 or +7.

- Diddy's opposition/handicap-adjusted F&A is +3.5.

It will be interesting to see how this changes the picture of how we're performing individually and in our contributions to the team.

Win/Loss%

Win/Loss% is simply a review of the games won versus the games played to give a % of games won. This provides additional information information about how each player is performing.

In this example Diddy played 5 games and won 3 of them. This is a win/loss% of 60.

How to deal with a negative handicap (statistically speaking).

Females are provided with an incentive in the league and can be graded with negative handicaps ranging up to -10.

If you subtract a minus, you are actually adding this figure on. In the example of Hooters, if she has a F&A for the night of +7 and her handicap is -7.5, her real contribution to the team on the night is:

+7 minus -7.5 = 14.5.

This accurately reflects the additional value that Hooters handicap provides to her team on the night.

WEEK 5 - Tuesday, 17/03/10.

On Tuesday, the day before I returned to work after 2 weeks break, I got really sick. Hot and cold sweats, a splitting headache, aches and pains in my joints, running a 39 degree temperature.

In any case I was determined not to let our 5 man team down and after dosing myself up with panadeine, headed off to the game.

We were at the Lucky Australian playing the Lucky Shooters on their home turf.

CB used to play for the Lucky Shooters who gave us a 15 point start at the top and 10 (for Hooters) down the bottom.

In the first round Hooters and Pup picked up wins but we lost the other 3 games and were up by just 5.

In the 2nd round Pick, Diddy and CB all picked up wins, but Pup got run out on, meaning we were only up by 2.

The 3rd round was our best round, with Pick, Diddy and CB picking up wins and Pup losing on the black. But the game continued to hang in the balance, with us leading by 5.

For the 2nd week in a row, our 4th round was a disaster. Pick picked up the solitary win and we were down by 6 with Hooters 10 point buffer keeping us in the mix.

CB and Diddy picked up wins in the last round and Pick lost on the black, but it wasn't quite enough and the Eastern Creek Cobras had narrowly lost their first match :-(.

Lucky Shooters 206 - Eastern Creek Cobras 201.












COBRA SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (-18) -41.
4. Pup: (-22) +3.
3. CB: (+2) +7.
2. Diddy: (0) +44.
1. Pick: (+8) +81.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +11.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +11) +9
4. CB: (+10 minus +11) -1
3. Diddy: (+2.5 minus +11) -8.5
2. Pup: (+2.5 minus +18.5) -8.5
1. Hooters: (-10 minus +11) -21

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. Pup: (-22 minus -8.5) -13.5.
4. Pick: (+8 minus +9) -1.
3. CB: (+2 minus -1) +3.
2. Hooters: (-18 minus -21) +3.
1. Diddy: (0 minus -8.5) +8.5


Next week we're home to the Vineyard.

WEEK 4 - Tuesday, 10/03/10.

Yes, you might have noticed that I did not mention who was rostered out.

That's because I found out on the previous night that Scotty could no longer play Tuesdays, meaning we would all need to commit to playing each week as much as we possibly could and that we would need to find a sub for the 3 weeks that Pick was in Las Vegas.

Meantime Pick rang me on the afternoon before the game with the great news that the tables were in, brand new milleniums, in situ and ready to play on.

We were overjoyed.

Nathan was on duty, but Ralph had left instructions for the pizza to be laid on and Nathan did a great job replacing a missing light on the 2nd table part way through the night.

Our opponents were Unfinished Biz. I liked most of the boys, but like most people, I didn't have much time for Chef. This clash had extra spice because Hooters and Chef had recently had a falling out. Both came with their partners and that issue never raised its head at all on the night.

Unfinished Biz were a very good side and gave us a 57.5 point start at the top and 10 (for Hooters) down the bottom.

In the first round Pick showed the way with a win, while both Diddy and CB lost narrowly in black ball games and the margin was back to 45.

Diddy picked up the sole win for the 2nd round and Pick lost in a black ball game with the margin reducing again to 35.

In the 3rd round we played out best games, winning 4 of the 5 with Hooters, Diddy, Pup and Pick all picking up crucial wins, bringing the margin back to 45.

However the 4th was a disaster, with no games won and only the single black ball loss for Pick, meaning the margin was just 14 going into the final round.

Diddy picked up a controversial win in the final round after Chef went in off (1 ball in hand), then reached into the pocket and while doing so, knocked a ball over the pocket away from that pocket (another ball in hand?) followed by Diddy placing the ball that was knocked away from the pocket back to its previous position (yet another ball in hand?). An argument ensued, with the final result being that Diddy played the ball in hand but Chef replaced the ball knocked away from the pocket in its knocked away position. When Chef gave away another ball in hand with Diddy on the black, he then swept the balls with his hand and forfeited the game.

In the final game, CB lost in a black ball game and we had scraped home with a win by the barest of margins.

Eastern Creek Cobras - 221.5 - Unfinished Biz 218.

While we only won 7 games, we won the encounter and the Chef was sent home with a tick in the loss column, which was all that mattered! Go Cobras!!












COBRA SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (-23) -23.
4. CB: (-24) +5.
3. Pup: (-14) +25.
2. Diddy: (+6) +44.
1. Pick: (-9) +73.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +18.5.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +18.5) +1.5
4. CB: (+10 minus +18.5) -8.5
3. Diddy: (+2.5 minus +18.5) -16
2. Pup: (+2.5 minus +18.5) -16
1. Hooters: (-10 minus +18.5) -28.5

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. CB: (-24 minus -8.5) -15.5.
4. Pick: (-9 minus +1.5) -10.5.
3. Pup: (-14 minus -16) +2.
2. Hooters: (-23 minus -28.5) +5.5.
1. Diddy: (+6 minus -16) +22

Next week we're away to LA Shooters.

WEEK 3 - Tuesday, 02/03/10, Scotty rostered out.

What a day.

It was my last day at work before 2 weeks off and I arrived at work just before 7am, with a plan in place to leave at 5pm, plenty of time to get to comp on time.

Things started ok, but there were constant interruptions and slowly the day went off course. At 2pm a 2 hour meeting turned into a 3.5 hr meeting, compounded by the fact that one of my staff resigned just prior to the meeting. This created a mountain of unforeseeable issues that couldn't wait because I wasn't going to be in for 2 weeks.

I finally left at 8pm, which by any stretch was a long day.

I'd been in touch with Pup to explain my predicament and he'd already picked up the folder and explained to the guys.

By 8pm our opponents wanted to forfeit me and the decision was made to substitute Marshall, CB' cousin. Thank goodness he was able to slot in and held us avoid a forfeit.

The Cobras got a start on the scoresheet. There was an error with Pick's handicap (he was down as 25 instead of 20) but the start should have been 12.5.

Pup, CB and Pick got wins in the first and on the scoresheet the Cobras were 16 up at the first break.

However only Hooters picked up a win in the 2nd and the score was only 1 up at the 2nd change.

Hooters, Pick and Marshall won their 3rd clashes to give the Cobras an 6 point buffer after 3 and when Pick, Pup and CB won their 4th round battles we took an 11 point margin into the final round.

Marshall, Pup, Hooters and Pick all won their final games and in the end the Cobras won comfortably.

However there was the issue of Pick's incorrect handicap. The scoresheet said Bidwell Boys 183 - Eastern Creek Cobras 207.5. The actual score was Bidwell Boys 183 - Eastern Creek Cobras 212.5.

I emailed DK after the match to see if we could change the score, which would affect the points we got for the win.












COBRA SCORECARD

After 3 rounds here's how the handicap adjusted for and against looks.

For & Against
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (-3) 0.
4. CB: (+5) +29.
3. Diddy: (DID NOT PLAY) +38.
2. Pup: (+7) +39.
1. Pick: (+15) +82.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +11.
5. Pick: (+20minus+11) +9
4. CB: (+10minus+11) -1
3. Diddy: (+2.5minus+11) -8.5
2. Pup: (+2.5minus+4) -8.5
1. Hooters: (-10minus+11) -21

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. Diddy: (DID NOT PLAY)
4. CB: (+5 minus -1) +6.
3. Pick: (+15 minus +9) +6.
2. Pup: (+7 minus -8.5) +15.5.
1. Hooters: (-3 minus -21) +18.

Next week we're home to Unfinished Biz and Hooters is rostered out.