Scoring System

In Pool Leagues of America, your league’s standings can be based upon winning rack average, winning game average, or the PLA Scoring System.

Winning Rack Avg: The total number of racks won divided by the total number of racks played. This scoring system isn’t as popular because it favors higher handicaps.

Winning Game Avg: The total number of game wins (max of 5 per match, depending on how your league is set up) divided by the total number of games played. This is one of the most popular ways to score in a pool league. It is, however, susceptible to some sandbagging (losing on purpose in an attempt to lower one’s handicap), as a team that wins 4 games can throw the 5th game to lower a player’s handicap.

PLA Scoring System: This was developed to circumvent sandbagging as much as possible. Points are scored based on the strength of a win - a loss is worth zero points, and a sweep is worth 1000 points, and each rack lost to your opponent is subtracted from 1000. How much that gets subtracted is based on the opponent’s handicap; just divide 1000 by their handicap and that’s how much each lost rack costs you. For example, you are playing a four. Each rack lost costs you 250 points (1000 divided by 4). You win but you lost 3 racks… your score for that game is a 250. Therefore, this system provides an incentive to play your best.