How It Works

Only registered players are allowed to challenge other players on our ladders or participate in any PoolsTop10 events. You are not required to participate in any ladders, however you have to be a registered user in order to receive automated (text/email) notifications regarding any upcoming challenge matches, tournaments or special events. Just sign up at PoolsTop10.

PoolsTop10 is as automated as possible so during the registration process you have the option of entering your cell phone number in order to receieve SMS text notifications from PoolsTop10. In order to avoid bogus registrations as well as validate your cell number you will be sent an "Account Verification Code" from PoolsTop10. This code will come from (424) 373-7665. If you put this number into your contact list as PoolsTop10 you will always know where these texts are coming from! Once you receive this verification code, please enter it into the appropriate field in the registration page. This code IS case sensitive!! This will assure you receive PoolsTop10 notifications.

PoolsTop10 ladders are based on designated regions around major cities referred to as "Region". When you register, you must select a Region within which you intend to participate. This Region is not necessarily your home city, but rather the Region of a predefined area around a major city within which there will be challenge ladders. (CURRENTLY DENVER, CO IS THE ONLY REGION AVAILABLE)

There is no fee for registration; however, there is a small fee of $4.95 for challenges made on the Top10 ladders and $2.95 for challenges made on the Next40* ladders. The purpose of this fee is to keep PoolsTop10.com running as well as add future enhancements to the site, ladder administration purposes and a portion of each fee will go into a pot for future money added events. Another reason for this fee is to avoid any fraudulent challenges. We figure that if you have to pay to challenge, you plan on playing! After registering you will be able to challenge the lowest ranked player on any ladder.

Challenges will be made by clicking the [ Challenge ] button of the player in the position just above you on the current ladder. When challenging, you may only challenge one position above your current position on the ladder. For example, if you are in the #8 position on the ladder, you may only challenge the #7 position player.

When the challenge is made the challenge is marked as "Pending Approval", the challenger must then pay the challenge fee (either $4.95 or $2.95 depending on the ladder) immediately online through PayPal or by using Credits from his account within 48 hours or the challenge will be marked as "Expired" and will be null and void. Once the challenge fee is paid the challenge will be marked as "Active Challenge" and the player that has been challenged will receive a text notification of the challenge and must log into the system and [ Accept ] or [ Forfeit ] the challenge within 48 hours. If a player fails to respond to a challenge within the 48 hour period or choses to forfeit a challenge, the challenger will be awarded the win and notified by text, the challenge will be marked as "Completed" and those players will switch positions on the ladder.

Once the challenge is accepted by the player that has been challenged, the challenge is marked as "Accepted" and the match must be played within 10 days of that date. If either player knows they will not be able to play the match within the 10 day period, for whatever reason, please simply [ Forfeit ] the challenge and your opponent will be awarded the win and can move on to his/her next challenge.

Players will receive a text notification reminding them of the challenge match 24 hours ahead of the scheduled match date/time. Any player failing to show up for the challenge at the designated time (there is a 15 minute grace period) will forfeit to his/her opponent and the opponent may leave and will be awarded the win.

Any player under a current challenge cannot accept or make a second challenge, on the same ladder, until the first challenge has been played. Once that challenge is complete the 2 players that participated in that challenge can not challenge that same player again for a period of 48 hours. The reason for this is that if, for instance, the loser of a challenge between positions #3 and #4 continues to challenge the #3 position it creates a situation where the position #5 player never gets a chance to challenge #4 and move up the ladder as well as the winner of that challenge does not get the opportunity to challenge position #2. If you are not currently on the challenge list and are a registered player, you can only challenge the #10 position. Challenges made outside of the PoolsTop10 system may be played, but will not be used in adjustment of ladder positions.

The challenger has the option of choosing the Venue location where the challenge will be played. The reason for this is purely by the nature of the ladder. The player in the higher position is assumed to be the better player by virtue of his/her position on the ladder and therefore the challenger gets this option as a sort of handicap. After challenging another player who accepts, both players must find a time that works best for both of them (keeping in mind the 10 day period).

When a challenge is made, the challenger selects a Date/Time/Venue for the challenge match; however, the time should be mutually agreeable to both players and can be determined over the next couple of days. There is a chat feature in your dashboard to make online communication easier!! It is recommended that the two players involved in the challenge exchange personal contact information but it is not required. All matches must be played in a place of business currently on our Venue List. If there is a venue not currently on the list, that you deem worthy of being a challenge location, please SUBMIT the venue and it will be reviewed for consideration. A challenger can not suggest a private home, clubhouse or unsafe location unless acceptable to the player that has been challenged.

NOTE:
PoolsTop10 will be based on a list of major cities throughout the United States called a "Region". If you are the challenger and you reside outside of the designated area, you will forgo the right to choose the venue as described above and will elect to play at a location of your choice within the Region. Since major cities are the target for PoolsTop10, it would be unreasonable to expect a player within the Region to travel outside the Region to defend their position on the ladder. It is allowable to play outside the Region if agreed upon by both players but is not required by the higher ranked player to play outside the designated Region. If in the event you both live outside the selected Region, you will come to an agreed upon venue. That being said, the final decision of the venue location goes to the challenger.

Modifications are allowed to the challenge up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled date/time of challenge being played. Any time during the period between a challenge being accepted and 48 hours prior to the challenge being played, either player may modify certain challenge parameters (Date, Time or Venue).

When either player makes a change to these parameters, the other player will receive a text notification that changes have been made. That player must log into the system and either accept the new parameters or counter offer on the changes. Neither player has to accept changes to the challenge! Once the challenge is within 48 hours of being played NO further changes can be made to the challenge.

Matches will be a set length dependant on the game being played (same length for Bar Table or Big Table) but can be lengthened if agreeable to both players. The players will determine the length of the match prior to meeting to play the match. If players can not agree on longer matches, these standards will apply.

Standard Match Lengths:

• 8-Ball / Race to 5
• 9-Ball / Race to 9
• 10-Ball / Race to 7
• One-Pocket / Race to 3

Once the scheduled Date/Time of the challenge match passes (and not before), it is assumed the challenge match took place as scheduled and the challenge is automatically marked "Awaiting Results". Either player has 24 hours from the challenge scheduled time to submit the score for "Awaiting Results" status and the other player is notified by text with the results and score submitted and the challenge is marked as "Pending Decision". If, for any reason, either of the players do not agree with the results submitted they may log into the system and "Dispute" the match results, the Ladder Administrator is notified and the challenge is marked as "Disputed" until the administrator resolves the dispute and updates the challenge.

If the player that receives the notification that the results have been posted logs into the system and accepts the results submitted, he may "Accept" the results and that will mark the challenge as "Completed", avoiding the 24 hours wait time for the system to mark the challenge as "Completed" and any repositioning of players necessary. This way the winning player may move forward and challenge the position directly above his/her current position and the losing player may now accept new challenges from the player directly below his/her position. If neither of the players either disputes the results or logs into the system to accept the results there will be a delay of 24 hours of results submission before the system will automatically mark the challenge as "Completed".

If for any reason the online reporting is not working properly and you can not report the results, results should be sent to scores@PoolsTop10.com within 24 hours of completing the match to avoid the match being expired. When reporting results via email please indicate the Region, ladder the challenge was made on, the players names and when the match was played, where the match was played and the final score of the match.

NOTE: If results are not reported either online or by email within the 24 hour period, the match will be considered to have never taken place, automatically marked as "Expired" and the players will remain in the same ladder positions as before the challenge was made.

When a higher ranked player loses, the winning player of any challenge match will replace that individuals position and the loser moves down one spot. For example, if player #5 challenges player #4 and wins, then player #5 will take the #4 position, player #4 will move down to the #5 position. If you challenge and lose, no one moves on the ladder. A player that challenges and loses can not challenge that same player again for 48 hours as described in Making a Challenge. We want to give ALL players a chance to move up!!

It's NOT about being the BEST... It's about being BETTER than you were YESTERDAY!!

New Feature...

PoolsTop10 was designed for the players, ALL players. We want everyone to enjoy the ability to play other players in a competitive environment. We have had many players approach us indicating that they would love to play in challenge matches; however, they feel that they do not currently play at a level where they can compete with the "Elite Top 10". For that reason we have added a new section to the site. At the bottom of any challenge ladder, that has its full Top10 players, you will now see a button labeled "Next40". The Next40 ladders function exactly the same as the Top10 with respect to challenges and moving up or down on the ladder. The Top10 and the Next40 are, in fact, two separate ladders. Which means a player can not reside on both ladders. Players must decide whether they want to challenge the Top10 or whether they feel that they are better suited to play on the Next40.

WARNING: ANY player can challenge on the Top10 ladders; however, there is a risk involved if you are currently on the Next40 of the ladder. Any player that challenges the #10 position on the Top10 list but does not win that challenge falls back into the pool of non-ranked players (or the lowest Rank available on the Next40 if that ladder is not currently full). This is also true of a player that is currently on the Next40 ladder. If you are on the Next40 ladder and feel you are ready to play in the Top10, you are encouraged to challenge for the #10 position. No matter your current position on the Next40 ladder. What that means though is that even if your current position on the Next40 is #18 and you challenge for the #10 position on the Top10 ladder and do not win that match, you fall back into the pool of players that are not on any ladder and DO NOT return to your position on the Next40 ladder. Everyone that was below you on the Next40 ladder will move up one position. So... be sure you feel you are ready to compete at the Top10 level!!

Good sportsmanship is ESSENTIAL if you intend to remain an active player on PoolsTop10. The mission of PoolsTop10 is to promote competition and athleticism through sportsmanship and fair play. Any and all of our ladders and events should be played with good sportsmanship. Although competition may become intense, we expect our participants to maintain good sportsmanship up to and after the final ball drops. Sports are filled with judgment calls and, as a result, disputes between players, opponents and/or staff may occur from time to time. However, it is important that participants respect and handle all disputes that may occur in a civilized manner. Protests are time-sensitive and must be made before the match results are posted. All decisions made by PoolsTop10 Administrators are final and must be respected and obeyed. Any feedback regarding rules, players, officials, or staff members should be brought to the attention of the Ladder Administrator. Any behavior deemed unacceptable by PoolsTop10 Administrators may result in an ejection, suspension, and/or expulsion as outlined here.

Repeated Code of Conduct violations by the same player could result in a permanent suspension. Players cannot participate during the appeal process. If there is a sportsmanship problem reported to the Ladder Administrator concerning a challenge match, players may be suspended if the conduct is verified and determined to be unacceptable by the Ladder Administrator. While on suspension, the participant is not allowed to participate in any PoolsTop10 challenges, sponsored events, special events or any other PoolsTop10 activity. By participating in a challenge ladder, each player accepts and agrees to abide by its rules.