2 Brothers & A Stanger
- Thread starter 9 ball
- Start date
I'm no expert. From watching the film, it looks like it works like this:
Tom Cruise (the Stranger) goes into a pool hall and starts playing for money. He plays very well. He never misses a shot. He basically cleans the room.
After a while, Paul Newman and the Girl (2 Brothers), come into the pool hall and start drinking and watching the game. They're obnoxious and make rude comments.
Now, a difficult shot comes up.
Spectators in the pool hall that have seen how good Tom Cruise is, have no doubt that he can make it. Paul Newman says, "No way...he'll choke...blah blah."
Paul Newman offers to bet that Tom Cruise will miss. Spectators make the bet ($1000). Tom Cruise misses on purpose. Paul Newman gets paid.
They all leave separately. Only they know they've been working together.
Tom Cruise (the Stranger) goes into a pool hall and starts playing for money. He plays very well. He never misses a shot. He basically cleans the room.
After a while, Paul Newman and the Girl (2 Brothers), come into the pool hall and start drinking and watching the game. They're obnoxious and make rude comments.
Now, a difficult shot comes up.
Spectators in the pool hall that have seen how good Tom Cruise is, have no doubt that he can make it. Paul Newman says, "No way...he'll choke...blah blah."
Paul Newman offers to bet that Tom Cruise will miss. Spectators make the bet ($1000). Tom Cruise misses on purpose. Paul Newman gets paid.
They all leave separately. Only they know they've been working together.
Its a suckers hustle where two guys that no each other try to sucker a stranger into laying a bet against one of the "brothers". The same type of hustle is featured in the beginning of The Hustler when Eddie is playing Charlie and the bar owner bets against Eddie because he believes Eddie is drunk and can't shoot pool.
PoolSleuth
Banned
You nailed it.
Yeah, its much more clear in The Hustler. Color of Money had a different version of it.Blackjack said:
My friend and I had a hustle similar to that. I would find a blue-collar bar that was known for big side betting on pool or anything for that matter. I would go in first and try to make as many friends as I could, buying them beers and not holding back on the pooltable. I would win on the table for small bets or beers, making sure that I bought the loser a beer also.
About two hours later my friend would come in acting like a jerk and challenge me to a game of pool for a bet of between $20 and $50. I would beat him easily the first game or two while he cursed and said I was lucky.
Then after everybody in the place hated him, he would challenge me for $100 or $200 and tell the crowd to side bet against him if they thought I was so good. Sometimes we would get $1000 or more in side bets on best of three 8-ball. This was in the 1960’s. Of course it would go to one game each. Then I’d miss a key shot in the third game. I can still hear the crowds moaning when I missed those shots today.
After the win my friend would collect the $100 from me and the side bets and leave. I would stay at the bar for a few more minutes telling everyone how sorry I was that I lost their money and I wished I could play him again to pay them all back. Then I would leave to catch up with my friend to split the winnings. Kind of a dangerous hustle, but I was into thrills back then. One time in New Jersey I had to go out the bathroom window, but that’s another story. Johnnyt
About two hours later my friend would come in acting like a jerk and challenge me to a game of pool for a bet of between $20 and $50. I would beat him easily the first game or two while he cursed and said I was lucky.
Then after everybody in the place hated him, he would challenge me for $100 or $200 and tell the crowd to side bet against him if they thought I was so good. Sometimes we would get $1000 or more in side bets on best of three 8-ball. This was in the 1960’s. Of course it would go to one game each. Then I’d miss a key shot in the third game. I can still hear the crowds moaning when I missed those shots today.
After the win my friend would collect the $100 from me and the side bets and leave. I would stay at the bar for a few more minutes telling everyone how sorry I was that I lost their money and I wished I could play him again to pay them all back. Then I would leave to catch up with my friend to split the winnings. Kind of a dangerous hustle, but I was into thrills back then. One time in New Jersey I had to go out the bathroom window, but that’s another story. Johnnyt
PoolSleuth
Banned
Johnnyt said:
Amen....
This is the stereotype that has given pool such a bad reputation. Movies like The Hustler and The Color of Money reinforce it. Most players who gamble have done something similar to instigate bets from their opponents. Wheather it is an all out hustle or just badgering someone, it has been a part of the culture for a long time.
I think we are in a new era of pool now. With the domination of pool leagues, the internet, instructional VHS and DVDs, pool has changed. It is a lot harder to hide ones skills. The knowledge base of the average player has expanded greatly.
The hustling era is virtually over. Yes, there will always be some of it but not to the extent of the past.
I think the pool community should imbrace its new future. Why hustle for peanuts when there is big prize money to be won?
I think we are in a new era of pool now. With the domination of pool leagues, the internet, instructional VHS and DVDs, pool has changed. It is a lot harder to hide ones skills. The knowledge base of the average player has expanded greatly.
The hustling era is virtually over. Yes, there will always be some of it but not to the extent of the past.
I think the pool community should imbrace its new future. Why hustle for peanuts when there is big prize money to be won?
3 friends and a stranger
This was a hustle designed to catch a live known sucker with bankroll in a bar. There would be three of us in the bar challenging the table. We acted as if we were 3 separate guys and didnt know each other. Only one of us would be shooting good. Finally 1 of us would declare that it would be more fun to play partners because we wouldnt have to sit out games that way. Naturally the sucker would choose the "good" shooter as his partner. We would reluctantly agree but 1 of the weak looking guys would demand a raise in the bet so he could have a chance to get even. The larceny would come out in the sucker, since the apparent best player was his partner. Now one of the other two partners begins to shoot good and the suckers partner starts to tail off. Now the sucker after a few payoffs wants to change partners and get the new hot shooter. The guy that hasnt made a ball yet agrees only if the bet goes up again so "he can have a chance to get even." This combo doesnt work out for him either. Finally the sucker quits the partner game and wants to play head up with the 3rd guy who hasnt made a ball all night. I was usually the 3rd guy. Of course we raise the bet again and I come to life just enough to finally bust him. A funny comment one determined sucker made while deep into the spread was, "I'll beat you 3 mother------s yet!" Try as he might he never could find the correct combination.
the Beard
This was a hustle designed to catch a live known sucker with bankroll in a bar. There would be three of us in the bar challenging the table. We acted as if we were 3 separate guys and didnt know each other. Only one of us would be shooting good. Finally 1 of us would declare that it would be more fun to play partners because we wouldnt have to sit out games that way. Naturally the sucker would choose the "good" shooter as his partner. We would reluctantly agree but 1 of the weak looking guys would demand a raise in the bet so he could have a chance to get even. The larceny would come out in the sucker, since the apparent best player was his partner. Now one of the other two partners begins to shoot good and the suckers partner starts to tail off. Now the sucker after a few payoffs wants to change partners and get the new hot shooter. The guy that hasnt made a ball yet agrees only if the bet goes up again so "he can have a chance to get even." This combo doesnt work out for him either. Finally the sucker quits the partner game and wants to play head up with the 3rd guy who hasnt made a ball all night. I was usually the 3rd guy. Of course we raise the bet again and I come to life just enough to finally bust him. A funny comment one determined sucker made while deep into the spread was, "I'll beat you 3 mother------s yet!" Try as he might he never could find the correct combination.
the Beard
along the same line is getting caught in the middle of a ring game. We used to have a good cheap ring game going at a room I played in. People would come and go all day, and every once in a while a player would get in not knowing everyone else there was friends. There was ZERO chance the guy would win if he played a while. even if he ran a few racks, it was at least 2 to 1 against him at all times.
I was never into robbing anyone, or running hustles, mostly because I'm too small, and can't run that fast!
Another funny thing that happened to me....I got knocked out of the Jersey 9ball open, or something like that at Jose Garcias room, and went and sat with the guy I was hanging with who was friends with Allen Hopkins. We sat there BS'in and sweating a few matches. Later on I was trying to match up with a guy who wanted to play 9ball. I said nah....how bout 14.1?...he said "yea right, I seen you over there buddy buddy with Allen...who are you the next unknown world beater?.....I was trapped cause anything I said made it worse.! That was a funny eye opening day. Just by hanging with a world champ....everyone thinks your a top speed player too. The real funny thing was the guy turned out to be a 60/80 ball runner and it would have been a good match!
Gerry
I was never into robbing anyone, or running hustles, mostly because I'm too small, and can't run that fast!
Another funny thing that happened to me....I got knocked out of the Jersey 9ball open, or something like that at Jose Garcias room, and went and sat with the guy I was hanging with who was friends with Allen Hopkins. We sat there BS'in and sweating a few matches. Later on I was trying to match up with a guy who wanted to play 9ball. I said nah....how bout 14.1?...he said "yea right, I seen you over there buddy buddy with Allen...who are you the next unknown world beater?.....I was trapped cause anything I said made it worse.! That was a funny eye opening day. Just by hanging with a world champ....everyone thinks your a top speed player too. The real funny thing was the guy turned out to be a 60/80 ball runner and it would have been a good match!
Gerry
PoolSleuth
Banned
Bishop said:Personally I like the stories above, thanks for sharing.
I too love the stories, but would never Hustle anyone, as I am Old & Run Slow.....
hey i got a COM question since we are on that topic. I never really understood the part where newman loses to the black husler (forrest whitaker?).....and then he falls out with tom cruise and tells him to go it on his own, then later in the movie tom cruise is all pissed off cuz newman used him. To me this could mean a few different things.........did newman use cruise to just get back on the road and in the groove and it was a plan all along......or did he just see it wasnt working out and blew the match with whitaker as a reason to cause the argument and tell them to go it on their own to get out of the partnership, then he took up pool again? That one little part of the movie always left me a little in the dark.
I always took that scene as Newman showing all he had at that time and being pissed/embarrased that he got hustled/beat. then he just wanted to get back on the table and back in shape, and the only way to do that was to turn Vincent loose on his own...
Gerry
PS....in the Hustler he screwed up drinking too much, then he did it again playing Forrest.....maybe also used in the story line to tie the 2 movies together for a better plot line?
Gerry
PS....in the Hustler he screwed up drinking too much, then he did it again playing Forrest.....maybe also used in the story line to tie the 2 movies together for a better plot line?
Another hustle I use to pull was with a friend that had lost most of his left arm in a boating accident. I would go in an up-scale bar (you could get hurt too easily in a blue-collar joint) and lose a few games of pool while bragging how good I was. By the time everyone in the joint had a distaste for me, my one arm friend would come in and we would start playing games of 8-ball for $5 a game, then $10, then $20. I would beat him every game until people would start hollering at me that I could only beat some poor guy with one arm and that I should be ashamed of myself. It didn’t take long for someone to say he would play me for whatever I wanted to lose.
By this time the whole bar hated me and thought I was a low-life for taking advantage of the guy with one arm. They would side-bet like crazy against me, knowing that I lost all of the games I played before I started playing one arm. We pulled this dozen’s of times before we got recognized by someone that saw us pull this in another bar on Long Island. Johnnyt
By this time the whole bar hated me and thought I was a low-life for taking advantage of the guy with one arm. They would side-bet like crazy against me, knowing that I lost all of the games I played before I started playing one arm. We pulled this dozen’s of times before we got recognized by someone that saw us pull this in another bar on Long Island. Johnnyt
9 ball said:
I had a long talk with Vincent about this the other day. Eddie won.....