So did you ever get hustled either by a proposition or some other trick? Or were you beaten by someone you just knew you were going to take some easy cash from? So as Dr Katz would say...."How did that make you feel?"
so....did you ever get hustled?
- Thread starter doitforthegame
- Start date
not a once....
Not so much. But, when it’s happened I’ve always tried to calm my feelings and ask myself what lesson did I just pay to learn?
In 1961 when the Hustler movie came out I was 11 and caught the bug with a friend. We used to love sharking the older 18+ year olds from the airbase in town. We controlled the low price end of the room ($1-5/game) and the base psychologist (a permanently stationed officer) controlled the high-end side of the room. Every 6-8 weeks there was a fresh crop of skin-headed base newbies to fleece (it was their first stop after basic training). And, when the base shrink was away the manager would often $takehorse me on that side of the room when someone wanted action.
Then, I won the first 8-ball tournament I ever played in. Big new pool hall was opening up in a nearby town with people from all over. Lots of people asking me if I knew whom I had just beat, time after time, WTF? Winner got to play Willie Mosconi in an exhibition match. Except for the priceless memory, it dried up my action, cost me money to enter so I lost bucks and I forgot to ask for an autograph/pic, etc. LOL.
Shortly thereafter I quit pool because the state legalized alcohol (so I couldn't get into places anymore) and I discovered girls.
Fast forward 40 years without playing (and having a wife of 30 years who has not seen you play). A couple of short stops in the local bar near to where we had just moved disrespected my wife on her way to the bath room. (To get to the restroom from the restaurant you have to walk through the bar and then wiggle past the players standing around the challenge table.) She came back pi$$ed and said I had mentioned I played pool as a kid and asked me to go give them a comeuppance.
One of these days I'll thank them for getting me back into action. League once a week and tournaments 2-3 days a week these days is fun.
Skinning sore losers like the jerks that disrespected my wife and watching them bang their sticks around is just frosting on the cake.
P.S.: Why is it that the shrinks that I've met that play pool want to shark others the most and screw with people mentally during the game? Hard day at the office and letting off steam?
In 1961 when the Hustler movie came out I was 11 and caught the bug with a friend. We used to love sharking the older 18+ year olds from the airbase in town. We controlled the low price end of the room ($1-5/game) and the base psychologist (a permanently stationed officer) controlled the high-end side of the room. Every 6-8 weeks there was a fresh crop of skin-headed base newbies to fleece (it was their first stop after basic training). And, when the base shrink was away the manager would often $takehorse me on that side of the room when someone wanted action.
Then, I won the first 8-ball tournament I ever played in. Big new pool hall was opening up in a nearby town with people from all over. Lots of people asking me if I knew whom I had just beat, time after time, WTF? Winner got to play Willie Mosconi in an exhibition match. Except for the priceless memory, it dried up my action, cost me money to enter so I lost bucks and I forgot to ask for an autograph/pic, etc. LOL.
Shortly thereafter I quit pool because the state legalized alcohol (so I couldn't get into places anymore) and I discovered girls.
Fast forward 40 years without playing (and having a wife of 30 years who has not seen you play). A couple of short stops in the local bar near to where we had just moved disrespected my wife on her way to the bath room. (To get to the restroom from the restaurant you have to walk through the bar and then wiggle past the players standing around the challenge table.) She came back pi$$ed and said I had mentioned I played pool as a kid and asked me to go give them a comeuppance.
One of these days I'll thank them for getting me back into action. League once a week and tournaments 2-3 days a week these days is fun.
Skinning sore losers like the jerks that disrespected my wife and watching them bang their sticks around is just frosting on the cake.
P.S.: Why is it that the shrinks that I've met that play pool want to shark others the most and screw with people mentally during the game? Hard day at the office and letting off steam?
3 card monte when I was about 16 at Shooters in Olathe. I had to go off after warned by several people. I just knew I could find that red card!!! It only cost me 80 dollars, which was significant to my bankroll at the time. Oh, I almost forgot, I got hustled real bad the last time I went to the Casino. Cheers!
I once played a guy who I knew would beat me. played him for 20 race to 5 straight up. he got me 5-3. i hand him a 20 and he says "we played for 50" and a couple other guys stood up and walked over to me to back him up. my best friend was at the bar having a drink and when he figured it out, told them to come outside. I broke my hand, my buddy went to jail and i doubt any of the other guys walked into a poolhall again.
I actually saw a similar scam in my pool room. A guy with his two buddies comes into the room. He had been in there on a few occasions. He was no more than a D player, but thought he was excellent. He asked several people to play for twenty, and a very casual player took him up on it. They played for like 20 minutes and the casual guy beat him and collects. The punk left. Five minutes later he comes back with his buddies and they surround the casual guy that was sitting at the bar. The dude says "Hey, my buddy left you a twenty on the pool chair to pay off the bet and you took it! I want my money back!" I interceded and said, I watched the whole thing! They didn't do that! He got really beligerent, but eventually left with the usual threats. The casual guy was going to give him the $20 back and I told put it back in his pocket. The bad guy never came back but one of his pals did. He played one night and tried to bolt. I chased him out into the parking lot to get my $6 table time. Kind of stupid now that I think of it....a fat 50 year old chasing a gang banger for a crappy $6...but he actually gave me a $10. I told him I was keeping it and was charging him a $4 service charge.
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doitforthegame said:
When I was about 18 or so and playing good, an older gentleman dressed as a construction worker with whiskey on his breathe and 100 dollar bill falling out of his pocket, asked me if I wanted to participate in a little game of pool at the Golden Cue in Phoenix. In the winter we had a lot of players come through town.
Didn't feel bad since I figured out I was maybe in trouble since he was wearing some very expense shoes and the hustler was the great HUSTLER U. J. Puckett
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Many times
I have been hustled on more than one occasion. The one I remember most was when I first moved to Riverside California. A mexican guy who had been drinking asked me to play some cheap sets. I was in. The more he drank the better he played and the more money I lost. It got to the point where he could barely stand but he was still beating the pants off of me. Everyone watching was wondering if I would go broke before he fell down. I did go broke before he fell down.
Kevin
I have been hustled on more than one occasion. The one I remember most was when I first moved to Riverside California. A mexican guy who had been drinking asked me to play some cheap sets. I was in. The more he drank the better he played and the more money I lost. It got to the point where he could barely stand but he was still beating the pants off of me. Everyone watching was wondering if I would go broke before he fell down. I did go broke before he fell down.
Kevin
The WORST hustler of all ('cause most people don't even know they're being hustled)! LOL 
:angry: :grin:
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
:angry: :grin: Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
1on1pooltournys said:
I would never play anyone I didn't know. Not that I didn't make stupid bets and play people I shouldn't have. Sometimes the ego says go for it and there is no stopping. I used to play this guy over and over because he was so damn arrogant and cocky I just had to beat him. Well he would win like 8 times to my 2. But....how sweet that two times were.....just to watch his face....
My old man I guess taught me early. "If a guy wants to bet money and says he can beat you at golf with a hammer while riding a unicycle...believe him!"
My old man I guess taught me early. "If a guy wants to bet money and says he can beat you at golf with a hammer while riding a unicycle...believe him!"
Is it still a hustle if you walk right into it? When I was on my first real road trip and uneducated I almost made a bad mistake. There was an old guy sitting around and I heard he was looking for action. Even though we were on the road we were not to far from home so I knew most of the players around. Long story short, turned out it was Howard Vickery I had just challenged.
I've never been hustled.
I did run out of money a few times though
(Inspired by a Scotty Townsend quote)
I did run out of money a few times though
(Inspired by a Scotty Townsend quote)
Johnnyt said:
This statement is almost correct, but to make it a bit more accurate you'd need to say, "just about everyone who BETS on pool....". There are a bunch of people that bet on pool who aren't GAMBLING. I don't gamble, but am willing to bet on pool to get a game. I couldn't care less if I win money, but I surely don't want to LOSE whatever the game or race is. Plus, I'm willing to pay to play better players and I don't consider that being hustled. BTW, if I'm playing someone better, I figure out what it's worth to me (what I'm willing to lose), and if they show any type of stalling etc. they are getting less outta me (I'll quit 'em before I would have if they were playing all out).
On the opposite side of the spectrum from me are those who only bet KNOWING (thinking) it's a lock. That's not gambling either, but they are also much more likely to get hustled than I am. The one's I'm really talking about though are the ones who will quit the bet as soon as they lose one game/race or as soon as they think they don't have the best of it (nits). I've run into a bunch of these guys, and it's funny to see them realize that I wasn't the mark they thought I was
