J.HOLTS SMOKE HOUSE

J.HOLTS SMOKE HOUSE is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 8th of 31 at the Smokin' Bike Fest (2019). They are ranked #4086 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “J. HOLTS SMOKE HOUSE”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#4,086

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1482

peak 1482 · rated over 10 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Apr 10, 2015

latest Aug 2, 2019 · 4.3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#1135

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

10% of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 67%

overall standings

Best overall

677.6916 / 720

Master · Smoke on the Falls

Perfect 180s

Current form

665.84 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 661.77 (+4.08)

Walk rate

80%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1428

Pork · Smoke on the Falls

Consistency

±9.88

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.14 · weakest Pork Ribs (162.65)

Road miles

1,546

across 10 mapped stops · furthest 197 mi

Schedule strength

66%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1583)

Purse competed for

$18K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.77 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (7 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

They almost always walk

80% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 8 of 10 contests

A top-10 category call in 80% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

677.6916 career-best overall

94.1% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 677.6916 at Smoke on the Falls — 94.1% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 7, 2017

A tough matchup

7–1 behind in the head-to-head

Angry Jack BBQ ahead in 88% of their meetings

Angry Jack BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 8 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.5 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.49 points below their pork, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 40%.

Pork Ribs avg 162.65
Pork avg 168.14
2 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

3–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BALDY'S BUTTS in 3 of their 4 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

5 of 7 shared pork entries lost

THE PIT CREW GA ahead 71% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, THE PIT CREW GA has out-cooked them in 5 of 7 shared pork entries.

The metronome

±1.37% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.37% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.9% of a perfect score
10 contests

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019 ↗	Master	#1135 (211 pts)	#923 (316 pts)	#1439 (146 pts)	#1355 (171 pts)	#1317 (176 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1778 (96 pts)	#1838 (96 pts)	#1767 (111 pts)	#1491 (146 pts)	#1844 (91 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1358 (187 pts)	#1715 (137 pts)	#1455 (192 pts)	#1334 (227 pts)	#1154 (277 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1768 (121 pts)	#1843 (126 pts)	#1133 (296 pts)	#1520 (191 pts)	#2004 (116 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1368 (182 pts)	#1512 (177 pts)	#1929 (112 pts)	#1352 (227 pts)	#1052 (302 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to J.HOLTS SMOKE HOUSE, each with one reason worth a look.

132 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

DEAD MONEY BBQ

#4,080 of the rated field

1482 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1482

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Apr 6, 2020

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BBQ Bud's

#4,100 of the rated field

1481 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1481

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Jun 11, 2022

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Dirty Sow Grillers

#4,078 of the rated field

1482 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1482

Level with J.HOLTS SMOKE HOUSE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Oct 11, 2019

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Buck-Wild BBQ

#4,076 of the rated field

1482 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1482

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Jun 13, 2025

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Sudden Sam's BBQ

#4,087 of the rated field

1482 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1482

14 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2025

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Blueprint BBQ

#4,071 of the rated field

1482 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1482

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen Jun 27, 2025

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Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Angry Jack BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
THE PIT CREW GA	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
SWINE AND SHINE BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	1	0	1	176	155.3828	164.54	top 71%
Pork Ribs	10	2	0	0	174.2744	153.0744	162.65	top 67%
Pork	10	4	1	1	177.1428	161.0856	168.14	top 46%
Brisket	10	3	0	0	175.4400	158.2400	166.43	top 56%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	8	0	top 67%
Large (40+)	2	0	top 69%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
GA	7	0	top 64%
AL	3	0	top 75%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival	2	16	0	top 73%	Oct 12, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2015 3 contests

Contests a season 2 across 5 seasons in the data

Most contests held in GA 7 of 10 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 9 1 of them more than once

Opponents faced 219 finished ahead 103 times, behind 233

Longest layoff 1.5 yrs Apr 21, 2017 → Oct 12, 2018

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20193 milestones

May 31 First overall top-10 Smokin' Bike Fest
Aug 2 10th tracked contest Hawgin On Lanier
Aug 2 Most recent contest Hawgin On Lanier

20171 milestone

Apr 7 Career-best overall score677.6916 Smoke on the Falls

20156 milestones

Apr 10 First tracked contest Smoke on the Falls
Apr 10 First call Smoke on the Falls
Apr 10 First category win (Pork) Smoke on the Falls
Apr 10 Career-best single call (Pork)177.1428 Smoke on the Falls
Aug 21 First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.1600 Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier)
Aug 21 Peak power rating (1496) Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+7.3	Smoke on the Falls	Apr 7, 2017
+6.7	Smokin' Bike Fest	May 31, 2019
+4.6	Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier)	Aug 21, 2015
+2.6	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival	Oct 12, 2018

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.6	Hawgin On Lanier	Aug 2, 2019
-9.2	Smoke on the Falls	Apr 10, 2015
-7.3	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	Jun 24, 2016
-6.9	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier)	Oct 7, 2016
-3.3	Barnesville BBQ & Blues	Apr 21, 2017

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	2	1	0	50%	top 60%	93.5%	91.8%
2018	1	0	0	100%	top 62%	93.2%	93.2%
2017	2	0	0	100%	top 59%	94.1%	92.8%
2016	2	0	0	50%	top 86%	92.4%	91.5%
2015	3	0	1	100%	top 67%	92.4%	91.3%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 2, 2019	Hawgin On Lanier 🏅 Gainesville, GA	42 / 45 (648.9828)	41 (161.1084)	43 (153.0744)	31 (166.8344)	19 (167.9656)
May 31, 2019	Smokin' Bike Fest 🏅 Peachtree City, GA	8 / 31 (673.0512)	2 (176)	19 (166.2628)	14 (166.8228)	19 (163.9656)
Oct 12, 2018	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival Lyons, GA	16 / 26 (671.2916)	16 (166.2400)	13 (169.1200)	8 (170.8228)	17 (165.1088)
Apr 21, 2017	Barnesville BBQ & Blues Barnsville, GA	21 / 29 (658.2056)	24 (161.1084)	23 (159.9772)	8 (171.9772)	16 (165.1428)
Apr 7, 2017	Smoke on the Falls Gadsden, AL	13 / 28 (677.6916)	20 (166.8344)	10 (170.8344)	20 (164.5828)	5 (175.4400)
Oct 7, 2016	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) Lyons, GA	22 / 26 (651.8516)	24 (160.5028)	17 (165.1432)	15 (163.9428)	23 (162.2628)
Jun 24, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Birmingham, AL	26 / 30 (665.5888)	22 (166.8228)	4 (174.2744)	18 (166.2516)	29 (158.2400)
Oct 9, 2015	The Real Squeal (GBC Qualifier) Lyons, GA	18 / 27 (664.9712)	12 (172.5600)	26 (157.0628)	19 (161.0856)	6 (174.2628)
Aug 21, 2015	Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier) Kennesaw, GA	18 / 41 (658.1600)	36 (158.8228)	32 (155.9544)	9 (171.9772)	10 (171.4056)
Apr 10, 2015	Smoke on the Falls Gadsden, AL	31 / 34 (647.8860)	34 (155.3828)	32 (154.8460)	1 (177.1428)	29 (160.5144)

J.HOLTS SMOKE HOUSE

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (7 found in their record)

They almost always walk

High-water mark

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Pork nemesis

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)