CueSpeed is an adaptation of the ELO System, created by Hungarian-American physics professor Arpad Elo in 1939. The CueSpeed adaptation was developed by Tony Heinz of Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2009. Heinz, an avid pool and billiard enthusiast saw a need for an ELO style handicapping system for pool and billiard leagues and tournaments, which at that time was not available.
During the creation of CueSpeed, Heinz made numerous adjustments to the ELO concept to fit the game of pool and billiards.
With CueSpeed, all players should be given an initial rating that is reflective of their ability to play the game. An initial rating can be given to a player using the CueSpeed Player Assessment Guide below.
| CUESPEED PLAYER ASSESSMENT GUIDE | ||
|---|---|---|
| BALL RANGE | PLAYER PERFORMANCE |
CUESPEED RATING |
| 0 Ball Range | Player struggles to make a single ball | 15 and below |
| 1 Ball Range | Player can NOT make 2 balls in a row consistently | 15 - 25 |
| 2 Ball Range | Player can make 2 balls in a row consistently | 25 - 35 |
| 3 Ball Range | Player can make 3 balls in a row consistently | 35 - 50 |
| 4 Ball Range | Player can make 4 balls in a row consistently | 50 - 65 |
| 5 Ball Range | Player can make 5 balls in a row consistently | 65 - 80 |
| 6 Ball Range | Player can make 6 balls in a row consistently | 80 - 95 |
| 7 Ball Range | Player can make 7 balls in a row consistently | 95 - 110 |
| Infinity Ball Range | Player can make 8 balls in a row consistently or run MULTIPLE racks | 110+ |
After every match a player plays, their CueSpeed Rating is going to either go up, go down, or stay the same depending on their performance during the match. All players are considered provision during their first 20 matches. During this time period the player's CueSpeed rating is going to gyrate at multiple levels.
| CUESPEED GYRATION | |
|---|---|
| Matches 1-5 | CueSpeed gyration is at high levels |
| Matches 6-10 | CueSpeed gyration is at mid-high levels |
| Matches 11-15 | CueSpeed gyration is at mid levels |
| Matches 16-20 | CueSpeed gyration is at mid-low levels |
| Matches 20+ | CueSpeed gyration is at it's lowest levels |
After the 20th match a player's CueSpeed rating tends to plateau. From this point forward a player will grow in rating or decline in rating in small increments as the CueSpeed historical data for that player has determined a base range the player should fall into.
NOTE: There are certain trends in a player's performance that can cause a player's rating gyration to kick into higher or lower levels at any time after they are out of provisional phase. Streaking, extremely high performances or extremely low performances, player history, opponent history, the rating of both opponents in a match, league match or tournament match are just a few of the examples that can swing a players CueSpeed Rating.
In CueSpeed, when two players are matched up against one another, a game race is assigned to each player based on their CueSpeed Rating and their opponent's CueSpeed Rating. Races can be any of the following:
The first player to reach their game race is the winner of the match.
In CueSpeed there are three categories of ratings.
CueSpeed Closed League Rating - This is the CueSpeed rating that rates players based on their "closed" organization league performance.
This rating is used for any type of billiard or pool league in which all of the participants are a part of the same organization.
An example of this are the CueSpeed ratings that are used to measure player performances in the NAPA -
North American Poolshooters Association.
CueSpeed Closed Tournament Rating - This is the CueSpeed rating that rates players based on their "closed" organization tournament performance.
This rating is used for any type of billiard or pool tournament in which all of the participants are a part of the same organization. An example of this are the
CueSpeed ratings that are used to measure player performances in the NAPT - North American Poolshooters
Tour.
CueSpeed Open Tournament Rating - This is the CueSpeed rating that rates players based on their "open" tournament performance.
This rating is used for any type of open billiard or pool tournament in which all of the participants are not bound by one single organization.
An example of this are the CueSpeed ratings that are used to measure player performances in the IBC -
Interleague Billiard Circuit.