How can you tell if a person is sand bagging in a match?

The best hustlers figure out how good you are, then play slightly better....just good enough to win. If they can they make it look lucky. They dont use much spin, or get perfect position. Good ones are smarter than that. They dont start runs, they only finish. You look back and say yeah, that set could have gone either way. Lots of 2 way safety shots are missed on purpose. Also lots of baiting you into trying to run out when they dont think you can. The best way to expose a hustler is to run a rack, show him you can play too. Even if he doesnt show you his whole game, he will be forced to answer back. Force him to run a rack of his own, or lose. If you cant, you shouldnt have played a stranger in the first place.
 
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vagabond said:
It is all speculation. Usually, Amateur actors can be identified but not the pro actors. One and only true hustler in USA has been " Frisco Jack ". Others tried but at the end of the day they were identified because of LACK of CONSISTENCY in their ACTING/DRAMA. Some times some players could be falsely accused/identified as hustlers and in reality they are not.:cool:
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That has happened to me, even playing for next to nothing. I was in a place once minding my own business and a young gal came up and wanted to gamble. I wasn't local and didn't want trouble so I talked her into playing for loser had to put $5 bucks in the juke box. I beat her and the next thing I know she is loudly telling everybody I hustled her. My martial arts skills being severely lacking, I broke down my cue and left.

There are a lot of people (like me) who simply aren't very good at pool and have no business gambling. Some of them can't admit it so when they lose they think they got hustled. If they actually did run into a skilled hustler they probably wouldn't recognize it.
 
alstl said:
I was in a place once minding my own business and a young gal came up and wanted to gamble. I wasn't local and didn't want trouble so I talked her into playing for loser had to put $5 bucks in the juke box. I beat her and the next thing I know she is loudly telling everybody I hustled her. My martial arts skills being severely lacking, I broke down my cue and left.
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Reason #146 why pool has a bad reputation ;).

You meet the nicest people in the poolhalls, eh???

Maniac
 
Lock N Load said:
You are playing small money matches and wonder if the person you are playing is baiting you in for higher stakes!! How can you tell if this is happening?
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
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Play for a fixed amount of time. If you tell him you have to leave at 7:00 to have dinner with your mom, his response will give you a hint as to his plans. If he doesn't accept a one set limit then run away. This also allows you to control your losses and gives you an out without being a nit. If he wins then you know you can't, if you win but are suspicious you can leave and let your buddies continue. If you want to play more you can always say your mom got a date with Tom Cruise and blew you off. You can always return after "dinner" and pickup where you left off. Maybe your buddies will share any info they developed while you were gone! Good Luck n Good Shootin

Jo
 
If he is a reasonably good player watch his positional play. His positions are good when he wants to win and he plays bad (unlucky) position when he wants you to win. This is one of the easier ways to hide your speed. You just don't have a shot, then you get lucky !
 
if you are enjoying the game, what does it matter if your opponent's stalling? Funny thing is, THE BEST hustlers that there ever were, could stall, even if it were a little obvious, you wouldn't mind, and you'd continue to play them anyway! ;)
 
Wow! So many great post in this thread!

Thanks goes out to everyone who wrote such good post in this thread. It is very nice of all of you who posted here to do so in such a nice manner. I really enjoyed reading all of the post too!! Thanks again. Keep those great post coming!
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
raise the stakes....if he gets a lot better....then he was lying down ("sandbagging")....it is not scientific but neither is pool.
 
Maniac said:
Reason #146 why pool has a bad reputation ;).

You meet the nicest people in the poolhalls, eh???

Maniac
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Yep, and if that wasn't bad enough I asked her to play some Patsy Cline on the juke box and she said "I ain't playing that red neck $#*!" and proceeded to play something that sounded like a hound dog having intercourse with a porcupine.
 
Aaron_S said:
Edit: This reminds me of a story about someone. When Danny Basavich came through my area years ago, he matched up with a local shortstop. This local guy let his pride get the best of him and, despite all the warning signs, continued to play Danny even over the course of 4 or 5 sessions - he probably needed the 7. Danny was laying it down pretty good, keeping the sets close and all that, but it was immediately obvious that he was not going to let the local player get past 5 games (going to 7) in a set. He would miss balls, miscue, whatever in the early racks, but once the guy got to 5 Danny would do whatever it took to win the set. In the end it worked out for him because this dude just refused to pull up, but Danny really should have lost some of those close sets early on and tried to jack the bet. He could have made a much bigger score, and maybe he wouldn't have cooked the rest of his potential action by coming back from 5-2 down in all those sets, which made him look like a stone champion.

Aaron
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Sounds like Danny knew the kid's weakness was his pride, not greed...pride's a powerful incentive that doesn't require jacking up the stakes to score. :wink:
 
I think that one of the better ways to determine if you are being hustled is by the variety of things the serious hustler uses. He has to find out what throws you off your game: Can't beat a friend? Constant chatter? Ego insults? Higher bet? Do you lose self confidence when you have been snookered several times? Unlucky rolls? After he finds out what gets to you he brings it out as needed and when it is needed.

About the time he has tried to check you out for the third time it is time to wise up. I think that some hustlers attempt to find your weakness before they play you. They have friends who collect intel on the fish, sometimes by playing, sometimes by asking around.

The more serious the hustle the more effort the hustler uses. These are typical con artists and it is to be expected that they may have people working with them.
 
To hustle the hustler only requires you to determine if you are being hustled. If you are, give him something to feed on. Missing length of table easy shots makes you really angry and you nearly break your stick when this happens. You get so angry with yourself that, yes, you are willing to double the bet cause it will never happen again.

Now sit back and wait, when the bet is high enough, make the shot, take his money and go home. Turn about is fair play – right?:cool:

An Irishman walked out of a bar --- it could happen.
 
once i was playing cliff joyner,he was giving me 4 hit and the pick
i was shooting my best and still behind

he was heard telling someone in a hushed tone

I've got the nuts
since i couldn't play any better and i was losing
i had to reason
he's stalling
 
Tokyo-dave said:
I remember playing this goofy nerd of a kid once, you know, the 80's heavy metal black t-shirt, glasses, and acne all wrapped up in one. He wanted the 7 and out and I gave it to him. I won the race to 7 by one game for $50. After losing, he says let's do it again for $100. Again, I win by one. But I also notice that this guy gets EVERY 7 ball I leave him regardless of what kind of shot...............table length bank, 50 yard line, whatever............He wants to up the bet to $150 and I bite. This time he gets the better of me 7-5. I decided things were too fishy, and walk away having broke even. I still think I was the better player (could be wrong) and that even if I was being 'played', it was only for a spot. I don't think the kid could have beaten me even. He came across as a really nerd class borderline banger that needed the 7. I got out thinking that I could have walked all over him playing even, but I couldn't beat the 7 ball I was giving him.
dave
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If this is your story you were getting hustled ;)
 
This thread might have been useful 10 years ago...But there will never be days of the hustler/road player...Internet & cell phones took care of that...which took care of the suckers...cuz all the suckers have both...These days if a guy looks like he's hustin cuz he missing then he prob just sucks...The better players have had to resort to tourney's & older players can still score on younger ones that think they are better than they are or vise versa..young guns can cash on older players that think they still play the way they use to....The end.
 
Hey Houmatroy, Pool players still get hustled today just like 10 years ago!

houmatroy said:
This thread might have been useful 10 years ago...But there will never be days of the hustler/road player...Internet & cell phones took care of that...which took care of the suckers...cuz all the suckers have both...These days if a guy looks like he's hustin cuz he missing then he prob just sucks...The better players have had to resort to tourney's & older players can still score on younger ones that think they are better than they are or vise versa..young guns can cash on older players that think they still play the way they use to....The end.
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I see it a lot in some places. Thanks for your input.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
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