One Of My Hustles

Of coarse it can only work once in each bar, but about the same thing worked in many other bars not around racetracks. I lived on Long Island. It has about 120 towns, add Queens and you have a few years with that hustle. Johnnyt

I was not referring to your story I meant the guy who responded to you saying he tells them how good he is and beat all the suckers out of their money. honestly have never seen this. In fact I doubt even if you tried it it would work at all. People would just say "Good for you" and not play.
 
I was not referring to your story I meant the guy who responded to you saying he tells them how good he is and beat all the suckers out of their money. honestly have never seen this. In fact I doubt even if you tried it it would work at all. People would just say "Good for you" and not play.

Oh. sorry about that. Johnnyt
 
I was not referring to your story I meant the guy who responded to you saying he tells them how good he is and beat all the suckers out of their money. honestly have never seen this. In fact I doubt even if you tried it it would work at all. People would just say "Good for you" and not play.

I've been around pool for 30 years. Other than name brand players, world beaters who can and will play ANYBODY, I too have never seen this. And boy, have I seen a lot. I think Dom is full of shit. There, I said it. He's close to going on ignore. What a nit.
 
I was not referring to your story I meant the guy who responded to you saying he tells them how good he is and beat all the suckers out of their money. honestly have never seen this. In fact I doubt even if you tried it it would work at all. People would just say "Good for you" and not play.

You would be amazed to see how people play at a bar. They are relentless with money. I like the never say die attitude.:cool:
 
I've been around pool for 30 years. Other than name brand players, world beaters who can and will play ANYBODY, I too have never seen this. And boy, have I seen a lot. I think Dom is full of shit. There, I said it. He's close to going on ignore. What a nit.

Even as a C player, I have been the best player in a bar sometimes, and not only would this have worked, I have actually experienced lesser players asking ME to play for money, and rotating back in after the 10 game waiting list to get a second shot.. Some guys just got wayyy too much testosterone..

And NYC...come ON, man!! Capitalize my saying/name right!!! Yer embarassing me, myannnn!!!!

Short Bus Russ
 
Even as a C player, I have been the best player in a bar sometimes, and not only would this have worked, I have actually experienced lesser players asking ME to play for money, and rotating back in after the 10 game waiting list to get a second shot.. Some guys just got wayyy too much testosterone..

And NYC...come ON, man!! Capitalize my saying/name right!!! Yer embarassing me, myannnn!!!!

Short Bus Russ

You are rite about That Russ, lot of bars have very week players.

Here in Baltimore in the 80s and 90s i could and would go to bars and play just about anybody and win, then guys gamble in bars, now must guys are losing their money in keno or poker machine, you could make some good money playing pool in the bars back then.

Then after the bars, i are we would go to the pool hall that was open all nite, There was always plently of action there also, but this was different action, lot of good players in the poool halls and most knew how to match up!

But playing in the bars was easy money, as long as you didnt woonder in the KIN TEN were Bobby LEGGS played!
 
Yep.

We use to do a killing at the bars not only were we winning a few bucks here and there but drinks were practically free.

Nobody is beating me in a bar, at least not the bar players.

I'm glad they don't have 9 footers at the bar. I may get kicked out for hogging up the table time.

I had a bartender tell me to sit out games so her customers can play. It's not fair when they get one or two shots in.
 
In PR you can still bet openly... But don't back out and forget to pay up, those people will blacklist you in seconds... And more. Too bad People can get in the way of the fun

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows mobile phone using Board Express
 
I never had to hustle that way. I get some drinks in me, put my name on the board and proceed to kick @ss in front of everyone.

Then my mouth starts running and I just tell people that this is no longer a .50 cent a game table. They have to put $5 or buy me a beer to play.

I will straight up call people out instead of baiting them.

If they don't want to play, I will tell them that I am probably the best player they will ever play. You would be amazed how many people want to play after that. Egos get hurt and they literally throw money at you.

It's much better telling everyone you are good and take their money because it's their fault and also you are not pretending and trying to hustle. You have to play your best too and not have to dick around. It's a lot safer and people will respect you.

Did you read his story, he said he bragged loudly about how good he was. Same as you are talkin about.
 
all i can say is i am glad i never faced any of you guys in my neck of the woods when i used to bar hop. i never would have took home the money i used to .

my mo was opposite of ya'lls. i would get on a table they were gambling at and say i just wanted to play for fun. it was always the same .... my table , my game. i would say ok and always lose the 1st one. i would put up more quarters and wait my turn again.

usually by my next time up the crowd would thin out some and i would win that one. i would win a few in a row and then the one with the ego would get back on the table. by then it would usually die down and me an him would be the only ones playing. it never failed after i got up a few games he would want to raise the bet . i always had the same reply. nah... i am comfortable playing what we are.

i always got the same reply..... c'mon man , give me a chance to win my money back. i would say ok. well after a few more beers in him and a few more dollars of his in my pocket i would hear .. lets raise it some more. i give him my same reply and i hear that same old ... c'mon man give me a chance to win my money back.i say ok. i usually made a pretty good score every fri and sat night working that angle.

i hit pretty near every bar from ft pierce to melbourne fla during the 80's and never had a problem. i moved to west palm beach in 87 and cant tell you how many times i was called a hustler. i had to politely remind them they were always the ones who wanted to play for money and were always the one who kept raising the bets.

i only did that in bars back then because i knew i was outa my league in a pool hall.
 
Even as a C player, I have been the best player in a bar sometimes, and not only would this have worked, I have actually experienced lesser players asking ME to play for money, and rotating back in after the 10 game waiting list to get a second shot.. Some guys just got wayyy too much testosterone..

And NYC...come ON, man!! Capitalize my saying/name right!!! Yer embarassing me, myannnn!!!!

Short Bus Russ

You are right that a C player can beat the majority of the bar room drunks that hang out. If you are a solid A or B player then you are robbing nearly everyone and at worse are usually a coin flip playing the best guy. The good thing is you can see fairly easily playing someone if it is CFA (coin flip action) or you are outmatched, in that case peel off and move along or partner up. Johnny is right about taking good care of the bartender and the bar room meat head too. If a guy did not want to gamble and just play I would sometimes lose to him and just give up the table and relax until one of the guys who liked to play for something got the table back and I would play him so I would not be constantly winning except the money and drinks.

I really enjoy bar room scuffling from time to time, a couple drinks or a couple dollars and some fun. I have gotten good action in the bars and worse case scenario is usually I drink for free and rarely have had trouble other then one guy saying he was going to the bar to get change and walked out and then some other dude wanting to get physical because I beat his buddy at a $100 a game.

I used to do a loop when I lived in NY hitting up all types of bars, there would be around 10-12 I could stop by at for a game. Sometimes it would be dead and I would be lucky to get a few drinks and other times I would walk into a score and you never know when it will happen.The lady I am dating is a solid C player and we can go into a bar and have more drinks then we (she) can handle fairly easily. I just say we are backed up with drinks and try the cash angle making a few dollars to pay for the night out on the town. Good times coming home with some crumpled money from bars. Here is my road partner and no one refuses to play. :p
 

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Back in the 60's-80's playing in almost any bar with BB table was like shooting fish in a pond for someone that had the moves and a better than average game. It's nowhere as easy today. Almost every bar that has gambling on the tables has a few or more solid "A" and "B's". If you weren't around back in the day...you missed it. Johnnyt
 
Back in the 60's-80's playing in almost any bar with BB table was like shooting fish in a pond for someone that had the moves and a better than average game. It's nowhere as easy today. Almost every bar that has gambling on the tables has a few or more solid "A" and "B's". If you weren't around back in the day...you missed it. Johnnyt

That is so true. It was not too hard to get money games going in a real pool hall, but usually you really had to earn your $$$ before the night was over with. Money in "pool halls" back in the gool ol' days of which you speak, was put up mostly by those who came to play and came to win.
Most of my money back in the 70's and 80's was won on BB tables. I always felt like I was shooting on half a table... the people who hung out in bars went there to get loaded with their buddies and mostly shot stick to pass the time. When they got a few drinks in them they thought they were really good. The biggest problem was I don't ever remember being hassled over my winnings at a pool hall, but I can't count all of the times that someone caused problems or wanted to fight after a bar match. But then again I was known at all of the pool halls and used my own stick, but I was usually a stranger in the bars using a standard house cue.
 
Money was a lot looser in the 1960’s- 1970’s. If you had a job paying $100 a week you could support a family. I bought my four bedroom waterfront house in Amityville, Long Island for $18,000 in 1967. Most people paid with cash except their house and maybe a car. If you spent $30 on food you were living large. Gas was under $0.50 a gallon I believe. I can remember $0.22 a gallon in the late 50’s. A glass of beer in an average bar was $0.25 or less, and a pitcher was a buck. If you walked out of a bar 5 nights a week $20 winner you just doubled your salary. Johnnyt
 
Money was a lot looser in the 1960’s- 1970’s. If you had a job paying $100 a week you could support a family. I bought my four bedroom waterfront house in Amityville, Long Island for $18,000 in 1967. Most people paid with cash except their house and maybe a car. If you spent $30 on food you were living large. Gas was under $0.50 a gallon I believe. I can remember $0.22 a gallon in the late 50’s. A glass of beer in an average bar was $0.25 or less, and a pitcher was a buck. If you walked out of a bar 5 nights a week $20 winner you just doubled your salary. Johnnyt

You put it in a pretty honest perspective. When you tell a young player today you supported yourself playing pool they think you are making it up. For a little more full disclosure just how myself and many others did it here is a few examples. For one thing it was a job and you had to treat it that way. I had several well worn uniform shirts I bought from a uniform supply like you may see a truck driver ware. I also liked to ware hats like a baseball type hat also dirty and worn. I never showered or cleaned up before going out and just looked like I had been working.

I would often hit the bars around 4:30 in the afternoon and catch guys coming off work especially on Friday's. In those days a lot of working guys cashed their checks at the bar. Bars had a big bank roll on Fridays just to cash checks, this was before ATM's, people had their money in their pockets. I never went near the pool table when I first got there. Just sat at the bar and blended in for a while before moving to the table.

I was good at getting along with people and rarely had a problem. I try not to be too preoccupied with the pool game. The last thing I want is to look like I am there to play pool. Then you just see what happens and begin grinding out a little money, you may end up staying there all night. I was always alone I never liked being with anybody when I was out.

I kind of liked staying put for a while and give the place a chance. I knew so many guys who spent every night running around from bar to bar maybe making nothing. You also may pick up information when you are there as well. Some bars also have a rep for having pool action and there are players there, I am not talking about that kind of place. In those places it is all business and you are there to play pool.

I am talking about your general bar preferably a place on a main road. A place with a pretty good turn over of customers. Half the people in there don't even know each other. If you go to a neighborhood bar where everybody know everybody it will be highly unlikely you will win anything unless they have a some champ that wants to play. But even then you are taking a risk of getting hurt.

I never drank and still don't. I always bought canned beer so you can't tell I am not drinking it. Then I toss it in a garbage and buy another after a while. I never over tipped or got into heated conversations that would make me memorable. I wanted to come and go and never be noticed or remembered if I could. Just another working bum in the place.

I have to really laugh at some of the pool room guys who would try to hustle the bars. They would walk in maybe 2 or 3 guys. Cleanly dress looking like they just stepped out of a shower. Walk over around the table and be standing there with their hands in their pockets, (The classic pool player stance) If the bar maid asked them if they wanted something they always declined as they watched the pool table. Then they would talk with the players asking them what they are playing for or offer to play them for like $10.00 a game. After like 15 minutes they would leave never making a dime mumbling "There no action in this place". Mean time I could spend a night there and grind out $50 to a $100. easy dollars and have a good time doing it.

I truly believe this is all in the past now and there is little one could do today to grind out a living playing pool. Costs alone today would eat you up and what you can win is no more then you won 40 years ago. Today in the bars they still bet $2 or maybe $5 but mostly they play for drinks. In 1971 I actually bought a new car with a couple months of pool winnings. I walked in the dealership and paid cash for it. The funny thing is, I paid for the car with 5s 10s and 20s.

Fun to think about those days, confessions of a small time pool hustler. I was never really embarrassed by that though. At a tournament once Grady was selling me in the calcutta and I will never forget what he said.

"A lot of you people don't know this man, he may be the best $5.00 player on the east coast".
It brought a big laugh.
 
You are right that a C player can beat the majority of the bar room drunks that hang out. If you are a solid A or B player then you are robbing nearly everyone and at worse are usually a coin flip playing the best guy. The good thing is you can see fairly easily playing someone if it is CFA (coin flip action) or you are outmatched, in that case peel off and move along or partner up. Johnny is right about taking good care of the bartender and the bar room meat head too. If a guy did not want to gamble and just play I would sometimes lose to him and just give up the table and relax until one of the guys who liked to play for something got the table back and I would play him so I would not be constantly winning except the money and drinks.

I really enjoy bar room scuffling from time to time, a couple drinks or a couple dollars and some fun. I have gotten good action in the bars and worse case scenario is usually I drink for free and rarely have had trouble other then one guy saying he was going to the bar to get change and walked out and then some other dude wanting to get physical because I beat his buddy at a $100 a game.

I used to do a loop when I lived in NY hitting up all types of bars, there would be around 10-12 I could stop by at for a game. Sometimes it would be dead and I would be lucky to get a few drinks and other times I would walk into a score and you never know when it will happen.The lady I am dating is a solid C player and we can go into a bar and have more drinks then we (she) can handle fairly easily. I just say we are backed up with drinks and try the cash angle making a few dollars to pay for the night out on the town. Good times coming home with some crumpled money from bars. Here is my road partner and no one refuses to play. :p

Hot Lenny, Very HOT!
 
I once kicked everyone's a$$ at the Ale House by my house. Got my nachos covered all night. Suckers.
 
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