I’ve heard it said and to paraphrase “ pool may or may not build character but it definitely exposes character”. All I can do is observe and try to get a read on the people I am around. If I don’t like them I stay away from them. If someone asks me about that same person I won’t hesitate to inform him or her of what I think of that person. I can’t police the world and I sure can’t control how pool players match up, it’s brutal world out there everyone deals with it in however their scruples allow them. For myself I love to wager on pool but for me the thrill is to actually make it ‘gambling’ and that means I actually can lose if I don’t come with my game. If I happen to win a tough match-up the fact that I played well to win is more important than the moneys gained. If I walked over someone the first time we played the next time we play he/she would get a more fair game and not because I’m a benevolent person. I just want a fair test. At the end of the day we all fall asleep. I don’t wish to be lying there wondering if I am a thief or not. For some people the only requirement for sleep is being tired. Life is more than taking advantage of the weak and stupid. On my character scale of 1>10 some people score low and those people standout to me just as much as the ones that score high. For the low lives all I can wish for is that their life ‘SUCKS’…LOLRickw said:
Hustling
- Thread starter Rickw
- Start date
does that have a familiar sound!
Does that have a familiar sound! People lose sight of the fact that wasn't bad money in those days. I did much the same thing on the challenge tables back then. Once I went into a redneck honky-tonk on a slow night with somebody who was known there but I was a stranger. On this weekday night there were 30-60 guys in the place and two women, odd at any time. My friend got on the table and I found myself talking to the unattached females. After an hour or so I wandered over to the table and noticed that Bobby was pocketing a five every few minutes. After another hour I decided I could stand a little of that action myself since we were both out of work and challenged the table.
I won with maybe fifteen or twenty challenges on the table. When I kept winning more and more challenges were put up with people putting up new challenges before they even played their first game. For several hours the one quarter wide challenges ran the length of one long rail and about half of the other long rail. These guys had honor involved when a strange gun came to town! I held the table six or eight hours without a loss until the place closed down and we left with the two ladies. That probably still ranks as the longest run I ever had without losing a single game. I was stringing them together quick and dirty and rarely bothering to duck and hide.
We left with a small angry mob looking on, maybe twenty or thirty guys. Not too uncommon back then! I did give my partner a few wads of fives.
Hu
cueball1950 said:
Does that have a familiar sound! People lose sight of the fact that wasn't bad money in those days. I did much the same thing on the challenge tables back then. Once I went into a redneck honky-tonk on a slow night with somebody who was known there but I was a stranger. On this weekday night there were 30-60 guys in the place and two women, odd at any time. My friend got on the table and I found myself talking to the unattached females. After an hour or so I wandered over to the table and noticed that Bobby was pocketing a five every few minutes. After another hour I decided I could stand a little of that action myself since we were both out of work and challenged the table.
I won with maybe fifteen or twenty challenges on the table. When I kept winning more and more challenges were put up with people putting up new challenges before they even played their first game. For several hours the one quarter wide challenges ran the length of one long rail and about half of the other long rail. These guys had honor involved when a strange gun came to town! I held the table six or eight hours without a loss until the place closed down and we left with the two ladies. That probably still ranks as the longest run I ever had without losing a single game. I was stringing them together quick and dirty and rarely bothering to duck and hide.
We left with a small angry mob looking on, maybe twenty or thirty guys. Not too uncommon back then! I did give my partner a few wads of fives.
Hu
The Bamboozler
Banned
satman said:
The guy who robbed the loud-mouthed drunk girl out of $100 did what 95% of you guys would've done.
There's a difference
If this kid can't make 3 balls in a row as posted, It's the same as stealing. It would be different if the shortstop showed him he don't have a chance and the guy kept playing. If someone I know can't beat me asks me to play for money, I may play them, I won't lay down to steal from someone who don't have a clue. But I guess you can look at it how you like. Everyone has to make their own decisions about their reputation in life. I prefer to work for a living. Samsixpack said:
BullSh*t
My opionion. If you've worked on your game enough to be an a player, then go find some good players to gamble with and leave the novices alone. All that guy was thinking is that he had some easy money and took advantage. That is what's wrong with pool today. To Many sharks out there laying down to take advantage of purely recreational players. Maybe the kid was cocky and thought he was good and maybe you guys think he deserves a lesson but cmon, take your great skills, get some balls and step up to someone who's got a game and see what happens. Players like that are always comin into my hall and trying that shit. It just makes me mad as hell. If you come see me and want to play. I'll play, even if your world class.. but don't be hiding your game to try and take my money.. just beat me and show me that there's is much better players out there. JMO sorry about the rant...lol
My opionion. If you've worked on your game enough to be an a player, then go find some good players to gamble with and leave the novices alone. All that guy was thinking is that he had some easy money and took advantage. That is what's wrong with pool today. To Many sharks out there laying down to take advantage of purely recreational players. Maybe the kid was cocky and thought he was good and maybe you guys think he deserves a lesson but cmon, take your great skills, get some balls and step up to someone who's got a game and see what happens. Players like that are always comin into my hall and trying that shit. It just makes me mad as hell. If you come see me and want to play. I'll play, even if your world class.. but don't be hiding your game to try and take my money.. just beat me and show me that there's is much better players out there. JMO sorry about the rant...lol
nice post Louis
I agree. I used to hustle a little too. It's not a big deal to me for a better player to stall, if he's playing someone who has obviously been around a little or can make more than 3 balls at a time. Never bet money you can't afford to lose. Sam
Louis Ulrich said:Hi Rick,
I just wanted to offer my point of view, not that it's right or wrong.
If the sucker in this situation was willing to play in the first place, it was his own fault and not the player's. If you intend to gamble then you should be prepared to lose.
With regards to hustling being one of the problems with this game, you may be right. Hustling has been a part of giving this game a bad name for a long time. But primarily it has a lot to do with people not knowing what they are getting in to. Ignorance to some degree, is a beautiful thing!
I personally don't hustle people. Not that I haven't in the past. In my generation of play, and many others that I know of that were playing in my "prime", we were taught by our elders to stall, sandbag or whatever you want to call it. Other people were doing it, and it seemed ok.
Today, I think that the hustler breed of player is dying out for the most part. More people are playing pool for the love of the game and the desire to be good at it rather than to hustle.
Never-the-less, if you are going to gamble, consider that you may lose, and you never really know if you are being hustled!
Louis
PS: Practice until you are jam up, don't give weight to strangers, and you won't have to worry too much about being hustled.
I agree. I used to hustle a little too. It's not a big deal to me for a better player to stall, if he's playing someone who has obviously been around a little or can make more than 3 balls at a time. Never bet money you can't afford to lose. Sam
Great post!!!
This is my point exactly. You could have taken this guy off and they never would have had a clue. Shows you have a little class in my opinion. Yes, you were entitled to table time too. Sam
Gerry said:Well done young kid for stepping up......I'm not sure about the better player, or the whole situation, I've been on both sides of that deal! When I first started going to pool rooms, I got hustled more than once, but it all went into the memory banks. One situation we may have over looked is, have any of you asked a person to play, after watching them a little while and figuring they can play a little, only to find out your in a game with a complete beginner? Try stalling outta that one! Happened to me in a room in Delaware. My first time there, I'm hitting balls, and clocking the guy a few tables away. After the normal 15 minutes, I walk over and ask if he's up for some $10 9ball. He said sure, broke the balls, and he could'nt make a shot for 1/2 an hour. All the while I'm "getting to know" the local guys sweating the match. Thier saying how this guy is just learning, and what a nice guy he is to everyone. So there I am trying not to look like a stone cold hustler. Needless to say I dumped badly, won 2 games after an hour (I'm not gonna lose the table time) and nicely left the building. A month later I won the Thursday night 9ball tourny they had. Those nice guys were amazed at how much I must have been practicing.......Gerry
This is my point exactly. You could have taken this guy off and they never would have had a clue. Shows you have a little class in my opinion. Yes, you were entitled to table time too. Sam
You;ve got to understand.
Many of us learned how to play pool by playing better players than us, and unlike most sports where you pay someone to teach you, it's kind of understood in the world of pool, that if you want to get better that you play better players than you for money and pay close attention.
I personally don't play for money much and for my own money even less. I sure as shit rarely play for money in my home room.
It's really easy, to not get hustled, either become good enough to beat down any hustlers, reverse the hustle when you see it coming, read my thread on reversed hustles, or DON'T PLAY.
MacGyver said:
Many of us learned how to play pool by playing better players than us, and unlike most sports where you pay someone to teach you, it's kind of understood in the world of pool, that if you want to get better that you play better players than you for money and pay close attention.
I personally don't play for money much and for my own money even less. I sure as shit rarely play for money in my home room.
It's really easy, to not get hustled, either become good enough to beat down any hustlers, reverse the hustle when you see it coming, read my thread on reversed hustles, or DON'T PLAY.
I know why I used to spend a lot of time here now!
There are a lot of great people here. I used to spend a lot of time on this board and although some of the names have changed, there are a lot of good people here. Great post. We all get what we have coming to us in life. In the end it all balances out. Sam
cheesemouse said:
There are a lot of great people here. I used to spend a lot of time on this board and although some of the names have changed, there are a lot of good people here. Great post. We all get what we have coming to us in life. In the end it all balances out. Sam
I don't think so
Yes, there are a few people here who would take the $100 from a drunk loud mouth woman, but not 95% of these people. Sam
Not on this board. Did you read all the negative feedback he got for that. I had a drunk woman a few weeks back try to talk me into playing some young kid in the bar where I hang out for her last $5. I told her I wouldn't bet her but if he wants to play some I'll play a few games. The kid knew who I was and I vaguely recognized him. He didn't have a chance. He won one game out of 8 and I even put the money in the table except for one game. After we quit, she thanked me for not taking her money. That is worth more to me than money, whether it's $5, $100, or $10,000. I now have a 2 new friends from that whole deal, and my self respect for not taking advantage of the un-informed.The Bamboozler said:
Yes, there are a few people here who would take the $100 from a drunk loud mouth woman, but not 95% of these people. Sam
But, look it at it from the other side too, you can't just be giving people the 7 and the break from the get-go. Unless you are mad at you money, then spot away.Rickw said:
You rolls your dice, you takes your chances. Lots of people learn to play better or get spanked. Nobody is born able to play.
Rickw said:
IMO, it was wrong. The kid hopefully learned a lesson at least.
Ok, I thought long and hard before deciding to post to this. I am certainly going to be unpopular.
To me, it would be the kid's responsibility to look out for himself. When I was coming up in the pool room, and I was asked to play, I viewed my losses as my fault. Weather it be that I lost because I honestly didnt play good enough, or that I lost because I allowed myself to get in a bad game. I look at the guy that supplied the game as a learning experience. I certainly didnt think I would go in a pool room and get my hand held. So many times when the lesser player gets beat, he blames everyone else. He hustled me, I had no chance, the asshole! Well, no one told me to say yes. I can sit in a pool room and look at all the angles. I decide for myself what is good for me and what isn't. Maybe next time I would have decided that I should've played someone I knew a a little better.
Same thing as what happens in a casino. Now there, you have some kid that just turned 21. He goes in and decides to play blackjack. He is hitting 15 against a 4, and splitting tens. He of course loses in this situation because he doesnt know the game. He tells you what happened and you tell him what bad game decisions he made. Do we get mad at the casino? No. They only supplied the game. The kid just didnt play good enough or have enough experience. So the kid here has gotta say to himself that he better learn the game better, and not come in playing so badly next time, without the proper knowledge on how to beat the game, and the house.
My point is the environment we are talking about is a pool room. Just as in any other area of life, you need to be alert and thinking clearly when engaging in matters of money, no matter where you are. It is the kid's fault if he chose to play someone he did not know. It is the kid's fault if he tried to bet money at a game that he wasn't skilled in. And it is the kid's fault if he were just saying yes to playing if he were trying to impress a couple of girls, letting his ego get in the way.
Now of course, there are going to be situations that are different. If the guy had asked him to play knowing that the kid was drunk, then it is shame on the guy. I am only commenting on the original post, which nowhere it was stated there was any alcohol involved. It is quite another thing when you are in bars dealing with drunk people. It is something else to deal with someone who cant make clear decisions based on the alcohol and then having someone take advantage of them in an inebriated state.
Ok, I am ready. Here it comes.
girlwon1
To me, it would be the kid's responsibility to look out for himself. When I was coming up in the pool room, and I was asked to play, I viewed my losses as my fault. Weather it be that I lost because I honestly didnt play good enough, or that I lost because I allowed myself to get in a bad game. I look at the guy that supplied the game as a learning experience. I certainly didnt think I would go in a pool room and get my hand held. So many times when the lesser player gets beat, he blames everyone else. He hustled me, I had no chance, the asshole! Well, no one told me to say yes. I can sit in a pool room and look at all the angles. I decide for myself what is good for me and what isn't. Maybe next time I would have decided that I should've played someone I knew a a little better.
Same thing as what happens in a casino. Now there, you have some kid that just turned 21. He goes in and decides to play blackjack. He is hitting 15 against a 4, and splitting tens. He of course loses in this situation because he doesnt know the game. He tells you what happened and you tell him what bad game decisions he made. Do we get mad at the casino? No. They only supplied the game. The kid just didnt play good enough or have enough experience. So the kid here has gotta say to himself that he better learn the game better, and not come in playing so badly next time, without the proper knowledge on how to beat the game, and the house.
My point is the environment we are talking about is a pool room. Just as in any other area of life, you need to be alert and thinking clearly when engaging in matters of money, no matter where you are. It is the kid's fault if he chose to play someone he did not know. It is the kid's fault if he tried to bet money at a game that he wasn't skilled in. And it is the kid's fault if he were just saying yes to playing if he were trying to impress a couple of girls, letting his ego get in the way.
Now of course, there are going to be situations that are different. If the guy had asked him to play knowing that the kid was drunk, then it is shame on the guy. I am only commenting on the original post, which nowhere it was stated there was any alcohol involved. It is quite another thing when you are in bars dealing with drunk people. It is something else to deal with someone who cant make clear decisions based on the alcohol and then having someone take advantage of them in an inebriated state.
Ok, I am ready. Here it comes.
girlwon1
Last edited:
First off ...
Everyone has a brain ... If they aren't smart enough to
figure it out for themselves, then they bring it on themselves.
If you aren't smart enough to figure out road signs, sooner or
later, you will have an accident.
Besides, with the situation that was described and many others
like it, they are only playing for peanuts, not like it is going to
be $100 sets.
Players, especially money players, are only looking to make MONEY.
PERIOD ...
I think it's funny sometimes how some young guy will show up with
a good looking girl or two at the Pool hall, and the more they play
between themselves, and as she looks around more, that it becomes
evident, that she starts thinking maybe her boyfriend is not as cool
or AS SMART as she thought he was, because he can't shoot for sh*t,
and doesn't seem smart enough to figure it out. These are the guys
trying to act really cool in front of their girls.
Everyone has a brain ... If they aren't smart enough to
figure it out for themselves, then they bring it on themselves.
If you aren't smart enough to figure out road signs, sooner or
later, you will have an accident.
Besides, with the situation that was described and many others
like it, they are only playing for peanuts, not like it is going to
be $100 sets.
Players, especially money players, are only looking to make MONEY.
PERIOD ...
I think it's funny sometimes how some young guy will show up with
a good looking girl or two at the Pool hall, and the more they play
between themselves, and as she looks around more, that it becomes
evident, that she starts thinking maybe her boyfriend is not as cool
or AS SMART as she thought he was, because he can't shoot for sh*t,
and doesn't seem smart enough to figure it out. These are the guys
trying to act really cool in front of their girls.
At college...
I don't feel bad for the average player at college, I feel bad for the average road huslter walking in there and not knowing any better, of course from what I've heard about it since I left they may not have too much to worry about any more.
girlwon1 said:
I don't feel bad for the average player at college, I feel bad for the average road huslter walking in there and not knowing any better, of course from what I've heard about it since I left they may not have too much to worry about any more.
The Bamboozler
Banned
PROG8R said:
You said it. Seeking someone out who can't play is dirty. Playing the drunk girl who was challenging anyone in the bar is acceptable. If it was a loud-mouthed punk, nobody would've had a problem with it. Also, if this forum wasn't such a clique, most people would've agreed with the original poster.
Is Stalling Always Hustling?
I rarely play for money in the pool halls--mainly because I can rarely find someone willing to give me an even match-up. All the ex-road playing regulars are just looking for the nuts.
My strategy when playing in the bars has been to avoid playing for money until the situation is right. (I'm still learning when the situation is right, though...LOL). Now I try to only play for the table until I find someone safe to play for money, but I also only play good enough to win--so that I can stay on the table. I really enjoy playing under different types of conditions and against different people of different skills. The longest I have held the table without losing a game has been 6 hours.
Just the other day I had an opportunity to play a guy for $20 a game (his offer). Of course, the catch was that he was drunk. He kept insisting, but I wouldn't take the chance of what I'm sure would have resulted in a fight.
I eventually agreed to play for a shot, which I won. The guy was actually trying to get me to take the $20 and the shot, even though we weren't playing for money! Either the guy just wanted an excuse to fight, or he was on the verge of passing out and losing memory of everything that night.
Finally later in the night I did play a hot-shot kid for $3 a game. He wasn't drunk and was a good shot, but definitely had a chip on his shoulder. He offered to play for a drink, but I said that I would rather play for the $3. I beat him three games in a row--not running the table or anything, but after the third game, he ran out of money...LOL.
My stalling when playing in the bars if rarely noticed. Like I said, usually it's just playing for the table. Only one time that I remember, I strong player came up and I had to bare down. When I beat him, the weaker player that I had just beat a few times commented in a shocked kind-of way, "You played different that last game". I just said, "Really, how so?" And he responded, "I don't know, but you just played different"...LOL.
My whole strategy with stalling when playing for the table, isn't an attempt to set up a hustle--but to keep people coming to the table so that I can keep playing. Is that wrong, maybe...but for only the cost of the table, I guess I'm not too worried about it...
I rarely play for money in the pool halls--mainly because I can rarely find someone willing to give me an even match-up. All the ex-road playing regulars are just looking for the nuts.
My strategy when playing in the bars has been to avoid playing for money until the situation is right. (I'm still learning when the situation is right, though...LOL). Now I try to only play for the table until I find someone safe to play for money, but I also only play good enough to win--so that I can stay on the table. I really enjoy playing under different types of conditions and against different people of different skills. The longest I have held the table without losing a game has been 6 hours.
Just the other day I had an opportunity to play a guy for $20 a game (his offer). Of course, the catch was that he was drunk. He kept insisting, but I wouldn't take the chance of what I'm sure would have resulted in a fight.
I eventually agreed to play for a shot, which I won. The guy was actually trying to get me to take the $20 and the shot, even though we weren't playing for money! Either the guy just wanted an excuse to fight, or he was on the verge of passing out and losing memory of everything that night.
Finally later in the night I did play a hot-shot kid for $3 a game. He wasn't drunk and was a good shot, but definitely had a chip on his shoulder. He offered to play for a drink, but I said that I would rather play for the $3. I beat him three games in a row--not running the table or anything, but after the third game, he ran out of money...LOL.
My stalling when playing in the bars if rarely noticed. Like I said, usually it's just playing for the table. Only one time that I remember, I strong player came up and I had to bare down. When I beat him, the weaker player that I had just beat a few times commented in a shocked kind-of way, "You played different that last game". I just said, "Really, how so?" And he responded, "I don't know, but you just played different"...LOL.
My whole strategy with stalling when playing for the table, isn't an attempt to set up a hustle--but to keep people coming to the table so that I can keep playing. Is that wrong, maybe...but for only the cost of the table, I guess I'm not too worried about it...