The Hustler - Hero or Villain?

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Silver Member
An undeniable part of the history of our sport revolves around hustling.

Should this be considered a proud tradition to be carried on, or should we consider it lowdown and effort to get away from it altogether?

Or are there varying degrees of hustling, some that are more acceptable than others?

An example of the two extremes might be:

A capable player who changes his appearance to look like a local painter complete with paint smeared overalls and perhaps a brush in his back pocket. He wants everyone to believe that he's at the bar to cool off after a day of hard work when, in actuality, he's there to beat the locals out of their money on the pool table.

vs.

A player who secretly agrees with his opponent or someone on the rail to dump a match, enriching himself via chop up, while denying railbirds and/or a backer their fair shot at winning the bet.

I know this latter example is typically frowned upon in a big way while, oftentime, I hear praise for the cleverness used in scenarios like the one in my first example.

So, what do you all think?

Is hustling an acceptable practice in pool today?

Was it ever?

Or is the answer dependent upon just how far or what type of hustle it is?

Interested in your thoughts.

Best,
Brian kc
 
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pablocruz said:
Pocket Point should be along anytime now!! Haha!!
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Wait wait.. lemme see if I can beat him to the punch..

"Should we look down on the greats of the sport(toss in a few big, current names), considering they were nothing but conmen and thieves?"

Somehow I don't think I did as good a job.. we'll have to wait for the real thing. :D
 
I think things really boil down to the chance you have at winning. A poker analogy would fit quite nicely here...

The first situation you described is kind of like being able to see another player's hole cards in hold'em. All the hustler has to do is downplay his speed a bit and wait for you to open up. The hustler knows how strong they are, and now they know how strong you are, too. But there's always the off-chance possibility that you can get screwed by a river card or something like that. In other words, the player can still beat the hustler. The second situation is exactly like stacking the deck. The hustler is giving the other players zero chance of winning the bets they make.

Maybe I shouldn't have analogized both positions with cheating, because I still think the FIRST hustler example is acceptable! Suckers are born every minute, and you can sell them anything, whether it be Mighty Mend-It on TV or your speed on the pool table. Sell it to them, and sell it hard!
 
whale . . . .

It wasn't too uncommon for me to go home and take a shower then put my dirty work clothes on to go play pool. sometimes on the weekend I drug out the dirty clothes to go play too after not working that day. While I didn't aggressively hustle I kinda figured all was fair with the passive hustle, I dangled a lot of bait out. Not exactly my fault if somebody tried to hustle me, but I certainly led folks into temptation.

Hu
 
Most of the really good pool hustlers never let you know you've been hustled.
You feel you played your best and lost a close game.

Taking advantage of someone in a business deal or wagering, is a common practice. Not a worthy pursuit for a career, but nonetheless, there are people that make a decent living doing this everyday.

Now, cheating, stealing and colusion for profit (fixing a pool match) are unlawful. Punishable in courts with jail terms. (pushing it just a bit here)

IMO this part of the pool world is deminishing rapidly. There are a many more ways to get $$$ from suckers than playing pool.

Gambling (anything over $50) is beginning to be a part of the past. Only a very few players now step up to the table anymore. IMO, out of 1000 players that can run 3 or more balls, only 20 or less will back it up with more than $50

Hustling is part of pool history and IMO gone for the most part since 2000.
 
Tom In Cincy said:
IMO this part of the pool world is deminishing rapidly. There are a many more ways to get $$$ from suckers than playing pool.
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Plywood shafts, Aiming DVD's, the tip of the month club

pool players are still getting hustled.. it' just not on the table anymore...
 
hustling in pool.......

...as said in a prior post is probably for the most part, a part of history......
what with the information tech age we live in........

It revolves around deception...which is lying, right? Is lying cheating?

They used to romanticize conning people....the people doing it were called grifters....remember the movie, "The Sting"? Kinda made heroes out of them...

During the days of the Depression, I guess you had to do whatever you could do to survive......Of course, the economic climate these days are not much different...

Two sayings seem to pertain to hustling........

"You can't hustle or con an honest man"

"Let the buyer beware"
 
Hustlin..

From everything I've read about pool's history, HUSTLING is a big part of it, and is always going to be in some form or another.
I play full speed all the time, and only play for money when I'm confident I'll come out ahead. I lack "gamble", I don't set up games with big risks, and don't play fort stuff can't afford to loose. I choose to tangle myself up in this great sport, and respect all aspects of the game! I would never wanna be like mosconi and play cuz I have too.
 
I used to feel it was pretty sleazy, but I figure the only way to feel really cheated and upset... is if you gambled a larger amount than you're really ok with losing. I guess that's the point for some people, gambling a comfortable amount doesn't bring the same thrills or bring out their A game.

Once someone's aware of the concept, they should be pretty cautious around everyone until they've clocked the player's true speed. I dunno how long that takes, but I imagine not many guys have the patience to spend a solid week stalling.

I do feel it's a bit shitty to ask for weight when you're actually better than the other player. If you stall a bit and let them draw their on conclusions... that's a lie, but it's a lie of omission. You can at least pretend it's their fault for making bad assumptions.

But if you ask for weight, that's a different kind of lie. It just feels more dishonest. I'd be pissed if I gave weight to a better shooter.
 
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I caught a hustla wearing a fake mustache in a local tourney (to protect the field, I sold my silence for a shot and 2 beers)...there IS honor.
Another time, I was playing a buddy 9-ball sets off-handed (left handed) for $50/set. Big talker watches some, I lose...he challenges me for $150/set. I play left-handed, $300 ahead when he dares me to play half my shots right-handed. I get the breaks, and proceed to bust him for $1700. If the guy wasn't such a big mouth, I probably wouldn't have eaten him up.

As they say, a sucker and his money were lucky to have gotten together in the first place.
 
cowboy, you are so right...

CocoboloCowboy said:
If you think Pool Hustling is wrong, what about Doctors & Dentists who do unnessary medical procedure for the buck.
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My dentist sent me to an orthodontist for a root canal because he didn't do root canals...the dentist had taken X-rays already of my teeth, but the orthodontist wanted to do his own set....(cha-ching)...He confirms that I need that root canal but also on 2 OTHER TEETH.......Well, my insurance only covers up to $1000 maximum; and he says it will cost $2.500-3000 per tooth X 3 = $7,500 or more....I decided to go elsewhere and get 2nd opinion, and turns out I only needed root canal on the original tooth......Same might go with surgical procedures...if the surgeon tells you that no operation is necessary, he doesn't make any $$$....So many examples can be made about "hustlin"....what about when you go to buy a car?
 
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