I haven't played a game of killer for a while now( i stopped when i was top of the points table). I think the points table needs to be changed as some people will get boerd of the way it is at the moment.

Interesting discussion going on here with many good points.

The current ranking system is designed so a player does not benefit from picking and choosing opponents. I'm not sure why someone at the top would target low ranked opponents. However it's only an indicator of how good a player is. FIFA have recently adopted a similar relative ranking system (we used this type of ranking system before them!) and chess players have used similar for years.

However we can't (nor want to) force players to play certain other players. This suggests a league structure, which would be interesting.

have a look at number one in 8ball us, he has never played a professional in a ranked game lol =D



OMG! a league structure.......DO IT NICK!!!!

official leagues would be so good- i know that im not the only one who thinks so. In fact, i think youd struggle to find a member who goes on the forums regularly and doesnt want official leagues!

A quick scan of his last 50 results shows 47-3 win in his favour which has netted him -7 (minus 7) ranking points.



It's on the list!

Still got him to number one though


As for the leagues,i pray they are near the top of the list and if you need any help setting them up, i have plenty of ideas on how to make it work!

How many points would you lose from say a 25-25 stat in games against other players in the top 20 in the same period?

I think 47-3 says it all if you are looking at self preservation - you win another 14 consecutive games at 0.5 per game and youre back to where you started

players do it when you can back your ability in the 8 ball games against players of far far less ability than yourself with minimal risk

If you cant introduce leagues then i think the next best thing would be some sort of ladder system (god knows how it would work though lol) - but it all sounds excellent - good luck with it.

Edited at 16:37 Tue 15/07/08 (BST)

sounds interesting, how would it work ?

Edited at 19:10 Tue 15/07/08 (BST)

back to killer rank, is making the rank system the same as the other games such a good idea, who wants to put more points than others in to the same game, a game thats more hit and hope than 9ball, a game where the shot you get depends on the shot left for the player before you, yes there can be alot of skill in the game but theres also alot of luck.

Edited at 19:38 Tue 15/07/08 (BST)

In Killer there it is much more a game of skill in my opinion, you could have a game of 5 or more people with 2 or 3 really good players over 800's etc, even the lower rank players have a good chance to win the game becuase you cant guarentee where the next shot is coming from, they could get a lucky snooker etc.. I think if the scoring system was aimed a little like the current rank system! Like the other games the better ranked players risk losing more points when they play lower ranked opponents, i would like to see the better the player the more points to the pot, its costs them more to play, if a lower rank player wins eg. 650/700 then they gain a bigger point advantage than the higher rank player, wouldnt this then try and narrow the difference between the top and bottom off the killer league?

Some good ideas knocking about at the moment with leagues etc.. like it

more luck than skill in my opinion and why should better ranked players put more points in to a game if the lower ranked players have a good chance to win.
if you were playing killer in the pub and you were playing against top players would you ask them to put in more money than you.

Edited at 21:44 Tue 15/07/08 (BST)

Ab as i 100% agree with the pub comment!

1. We are on funkypool
2. Would you get them the beer in if we were in the pub :-P

Joking apart if it was a full game off luck then how come the league is full of higher rank players and not many lower ranked people, i would say becuase the skill of the game plays a big part off killer. There seems now to be a big gap and i think a slightly different rank system would be good!

ouch my round, time to go to the toilet

I didnt say all luck, I said there can be alot of skill in the game but theres also alot of luck.

That would of course be the simplest solution for killing all problems related to choosing opponents, but since is not realistic at all, I suggest moving on the more realistic aspects of how to make the ranking system deal with it as well as possible.

In my opinion, the most important aspect is to ensure players in average play on the right rank that correctly reflects their skill.

From that, we can derive two sub-requirements:

1. No rank reset of any kind
2. No friendly game mode

A third aspect that would be a good idea, would be to start new players at the middle of the table rather than at the bottom.

Whilst i sympathise with what you're saying, and indeed have proposed exactly the same in the past, i have come to accept that such a system is being very unfair to the people who enjoy a knock about game while they chat, and to the people who enjoy the challenge of racing to pro, or attempting to reach 100-0 wins etc.

Both of which are just as valid a way of enjoying the site as playing for rank.

Players skill levels and rank will always be loosly linked at best. I cite myself as an example, since my rank has rarely breached into professional range, yet i quite often recieve comments from high ranked players who are "less than impressed" that i beat them.

This is simply because I, like many others, play primarily for enjoyment these days, more often than not on snooker, but when i do decide to play a competitive game, i managed not too badly

However, as Nick already said, the current ranking system means it simply doesn't matter what rank your opponent is, or indeed if they are a reset newbie, as the adjustments take care of ensuring the risk/reward remains as constant as feasible over time.

However, in a gentle swerve back to the subject, should all losers in killer have the same relative deduction, or should it be graded from first out to runner up?

Apologies for swerving back away spinner lol...

I was reading an interesting article on chess rankings which, as Nick said, uses a similar scoring system to here (lol sad I know before jooodles, madmike or anyone else says anything!!)
The Internet Chess Club apparently had an issue with 'selective pairings' (where you can cherrypick your opponent) leading to failings in the ranking system.

Apparently it recently introduced "auto-pairing" ratings which are based on random pairings, but with each win in a row ensuring a statistically much harder opponent next time who has also won x games in a row.

I don't know how or whether that could be introduced into pool but it would be a step in the right direction maybe.

Sorry I don't see why you would do away with friendly games as this should be a place to come relax play and chat - and friendlies are where you can choose your own opponent without it affecting anything.

Edited at 22:43 Tue 15/07/08 (BST)

I was reading an interesting article on chess rankings

Mate as much as i like you ---- get out more!!

I have to agree with this IMO

are you agreeing with the sad part?

If i told you then i would never be able to rip you again! Im under the opinion that the higher the rank the greater the risk! they are also meant to be the better player! But in killer its standard with all for 10 points!

Anyway im off to get a beer from Ab

lmao if the cap fits christopher robin x x

i do agree , it would be a shame if friendly games are taken away , some of us enjoy coming on to play mates without the thought of losing or gaining points because the other is far worse or better player

Friendly games will not be removed!

Regarding selective pairing this may be difficult to implement considering there may be no time in common when 2 particular players can meet. Leagues could get round this problem by having an approximate meeting time (eg 18-20 GMT).



I think it should be initially as it's simpler to implement. It also makes it similar to other games which is winner takes all for ranking purposes (it doesn't matter if you win by 7 balls or on the black).