Reddit mentions of Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey

from what i've read in books like playing off the rail , shortstops are considered semi-pro and generally receive a one or two ball handicap from a pro at most (unless a pro really wants to give up more weight to make the game happen). the metric for being a short stop in playing off the rail is running around 100 balls in straight pool, and having an outside chance at running out a race to 10 or so. any shortstop would destroy an APA 7, and are good enough to make league play outside of grandmaster events a complete waste of their time. they're the best player in their region but can't consistently compete with world-beaters. they're not new players, they're not bad by any stretch of the imagination, and you shouldn't refer to yourself or anyone else as a shortstop unless they can come close to the aforementioned criteria.