"Proposition" wagers in the pool room

A guy that used to come in the pool hall and had bunches of those magic tricks you can buy the props for. I was sitting at the bar drinking a beer. He was sitting next to me and as I finished my beer he picked up one of my quarters from the bar and said “ I’ll bet you a dollar that I can put your quarter in this beer bottle. I said Ok so he goes through the hocus pocos and sure enough there is a quarter in the bottle. He hands it to me to show me rattling it around in the bottom of the bottle, I said “now that’s MY quarter in MY bottle?” he replies “yes”. Holding the bottle close to my chest I said wow that’s a cool trick! here’s your dollar. He said “no,no,no now I’ll take it out now”. No it’s MY quarter in MY bottle I’ll just leave it in there ( I figure a dollar for one of those hinged quarters is a pretty good price!). Anyway he gets pissed grabs the bottle out of my hands, takes his trick quarter out of the bottle tosses he my original quarter and leaves with my dollar. It’s been over 10 years and I have not seen him do any stupid magic tricks since, so in retrospect it was a good buy anyway.

a couple of cheep sure things for the right person at the right time are.


( this only works once and make sure the prop bet is more than the game bet !) Playing eight ball during the game on your inning facing a difficult run out look over the possibilities and state to your opponent “ I bet you don’t get another shot this game”When he accepts, play easy shape on the eight ball and fire it in. Game over.

Darts 301 or 501. This works best if you are really much better than your victim. Propose a game of 301 or 501 darts to your opponent and say “ since I’m much better than you I’ll double all your scores” When they accept try to beat them as many games as you can before they get close to getting out. When they do get close to getting out they will realize the trap. In 301 or 501 you have to get the number exactly to get out. 301 and 501 are odd numbers so when you double all the scores they are even numbers ( say if your opponent hit a 19 he would score a 38 an even number) so it is impossible for your opponent to win no matter how well he plays.

Cheers
 
Cane said:
...within 3 attempts, he could hit the cue ball from the headstring, make it launch into the air from the foot rail and catch it in his shirt pocket.
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I know a guy who can do one similar, but he makes the CB hit the light switch to turn the table lights off.
 
Here is one that I have made a few cookies with. Place the qball and 9ball as I have diagrammed them on th WEI table. I bank the 9ball one rail in between the diamonds I have labeled A and B and I make it in the side pocket that I have labeled C. REMEMBER, it is one rail between the two diamonds. Pretty good shot, if I do say so my self.



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Brickman said:
... as I could carry a brick for days and still lift it to any height that I could reach......so if this what the book mainly consists of then it is probablyy ludicrous as they have previously stated ..
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Fair enough. In memory of Ty, I'll offer you the same bet he offered the kid, in case we ever happen to be in the same place. I'm not a bettor, but I'll go as high as a hundred just to see if the scam works. No fair practicing.

You may want to take out anti-cider insurance.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Fair enough. In memory of Ty, I'll offer you the same bet he offered the kid, in case we ever happen to be in the same place. I'm not a bettor, but I'll go as high as a hundred just to see if the scam works. No fair practicing.

You may want to take out anti-cider insurance.
Click to expand...
Referring, I presume, to the jack of spades that will jump out of a deck of cards and spit cider in your ear should you ever be fool enough to bet that it won't?
 
my favorite - "legends"

I'm always curious about the old "throw a coin in the telephone slot" play because "this guy" came thru my hometown a few years ago and "got the money". Unfortunately, I did not get to see and fortunately I did not get to bet on this feat...but...this is the story I was told.
First, I am curious if this is the same guy. I have gotten so many conflicting descriptions that I threw out being able to identify him. Actually I would like to shake his hand...hellova feat. This is no urban legend.
This guy bet he could do it in three tries and was successful on the third try. He stood approximately 8 feet from the old black payphone and held a dime between his index and tall finger and tossed the coin backhand (like a dart with the back of his hand facing the slot) into the slot. A friend of mine who was there said he made sure to check the coin return slot on the phone to verify there was no coin already in place. He went so far as to say "I knew we were in trouble when the coin tittied out on his first throw" and " I actually saw it go in the slot...no dount about it...we just had to pay off"..."it was a hellofa shot".
Does this amaze only me? I have actually tried this a few hundred times (when I was bored in the poolroom) and never even got what I call close.
On my website, I have a small forum set up for "Legends of the Road" to try and authenticate such amazing feats as this. If you have seen another such feat, please consider recording it on this site for posterity. We lose a lot of history every time someone dies and I would like to preserve this small section of our roots so we can all look back on it now that Mr. Trudeau is going to bring us into the mainstream.
www.hittcues.com - go to the forum to post/read and the "Legends of the Road" section for a description. I've posted a few that some of you may find interesting.
Thanks,
Andy
 
sizl said:
For most of us that frequent pool rooms we often see proposition wagers such as throwing quarters to the spot, throwing a set of keys in a pocket of a pool table from 20 yards,etc. One of the BEST ones I have ever seen was the guy that threw a quarter in the slot of a payphone from about 3 feet away. I have more, but I want to hear your stories.
What is the most amazing proposition wager that you have witnessed?

I would rather not hear any names, I am not trying to slow down anybody's hustle.
Click to expand...
For an article and discussions on sharks and scams, see:

Sharks and Scams article
 
Someone mentioned a variation of this shot in this thread in a earlier post. I can place a ball with a quarter on top of it on the 6ball spot on a 5x10 snooker table, then I take the qball and spin it (with my hand) 5 rails and hit the ball on the spot WITHOUT knocking the quarter off. It has brought the cheese on several occasions ;)
 
chefjeff said:
My uncle could jump up from a flat-footed standing position and land on his feet on the bar...that's like a 48" vertical jump! He was too old to do it for me, but my aunt said he made a ton of money on it over the years.

Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...

Bakersfield Bobby could do that. He could also land on one foot onto a bar stool.
 
A friend of mine could jump in and out of a 55 gallon drum without using his hands. A real money maker.

Tennessee Joe
 
All this sounds like Frat House Stuff, like the famous 100 OUNCE CLUB at the University of California @ Verdugo Park (aka Genndale JC....).

Drink 100 Ounces of BEER in 50 Minutes, One 1 Ounce Shot every Thirty Second for 50 Minutes.

If you don’t PUCK, Piss On Yourself, Pass Out, Die, or. you get your name on a Plaque, and don’t pay for the BEER.

Other wise you pay for the BEER :p
 
Bet you can’t eat a piece of bread in 30 seconds.

-regular white bread
- nothing else to drink or eat.

It’s much tougher than it sounds, I’ve seen people just about kill themselves trying to do it in 1 minute so 30 seconds is pretty much a lock for the average Joe. Give it a try if you haven’t, it will surprise you
 
sizl said:
For most of us that frequent pool rooms we often see proposition wagers such as throwing quarters to the spot, throwing a set of keys in a pocket of a pool table from 20 yards,etc. One of the BEST ones I have ever seen was the guy that threw a quarter in the slot of a payphone from about 3 feet away. I have more, but I want to hear your stories.
What is the most amazing proposition wager that you have witnessed?

I would rather not hear any names, I am not trying to slow down anybody's hustle.
Click to expand...

LOL I have a friend that could jump a pool table the long way,with cowboy boots on.And that's no story!And the bet is min 1000.
 
Scotty Townsend

Ryan McCreesh said:
LOL I have a friend that could jump a pool table the long way,with cowboy boots on.And that's no story!And the bet is min 1000.
Click to expand...

So, Ryan, you know Scotty Townsend huh? LOL
 
Ty can hit a golf ball 500 yards.

Playing only, smart shortstop speed, I was into this type of thing through the 70s and 80s. I agree, the book, The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson, is a fantastic read if you like cons. This is an excerpt from the book.


One of the most notorious was on a chilly day in Chicago when he kept bragging to his fellow golfers that if he was forced to he could drive a golf ball 500 yards. After listening to this outlandish boast all afternoon, one of the golfers said, "Consider yourself forced." Ti bet each of them $500 on the condition that he could choose the golf course and that they wouldn’t quibble over whether the ball stayed in the fairway. They all agreed to the terms and put them in writing. Then they drove with Ti to a course on the outskirts of the city. The unsuspecting golfers were already counting their money when Ti got out of the car, stepped up to the first tee and teed up his ball. Then, without hesitation, he made a right turn and smacked the ball toward a frozen lake alongside the first hole. As the ball bounced once or twice it quickly skidded out of sight. Ti turned to his cohorts and said, "Gee, that ball is still going. I’ll bet it goes at least a mile." The golfers grudgingly paid him off because he did live up to the terms of the bet which was in writing.
 
While having the palm of your hand on the playing surfice and your fingers on top of the cue ball (in the headstring) bet that they can't hit the end rail.
 
kyle said:
While having the palm of your hand on the playing surfice and your fingers on top of the cue ball (in the headstring) bet that they can't hit the end rail.
Click to expand...
Lick your fingers first.
 
Posted nearly eight years ago in RSB:
One night I was hanging out at the Sonra Lounge (tucked in behind the cinema and on a canal) on Veterans Hwy. in New Orleans,it was THE action
spot from the mid 70's to the mid 80's and EVERY form of hustle was run AND bet on in this bar.
* * On this particular night a stranger says to everyone and no-one in particular," I can KNOCK DOWN the headpin in a bowling alley with a
playing card." Twenty heads swiveled at the same time to see who had made this claim.
The stranger says," I'll stand at the foul line and I get to throw the complete deck and I'll knock the front pin over." So, right away I pipe up with ,"yeah,you'll leave all the cards in the box and throw the whole box."(Which would still be a pretty neat trick) The stranger says," no,I'm going to throw the cards ONE card at a time and I get to use the whole deck." So, once again I butt in and say," sure,you're going to tape one of the cards to a bowling ball or some other object and then throw it and knock over the pin." He says,"Nope,it will be knocked over with only one card or else I lose."
* * *Well, it just so happens that there's a bowling alley about 3-4 blocks up the street, which is closed,BUT,the manager comes to this bar
every night after closing and is willing to re-open for all of us to make this bet(plus he wants some of the action too).
* *Well, everybody in the bar puts up all the cash they can afford and Billy the owned takes some cash from the register and since no-one will stay and
keep an eye on the bar,they close up and 35-40
people (poolplayers mostly and a few degenerate gamblers) empty the parking lot and drive down to the bowling alley. Since there's forty of
us and only two of them and WE'RE holding the money,we aren't about to lose because of the "wording" of this bet. After all, there's over a
$1000 riding on this.
* * *Well, what none of us knew then (But we do now) is that a bowling pin is not completely FLAT on the bottom and this stranger,squatted
down low and slung the 1st card out of a brand new deck AND lo & behold, it slid UNDER the front edge of that pin. And as he continued to throw,each subsequent card slid at what looked like a hundred miles an hour and landed under the pin OR a previously thrown card. After a few more throws,you could see the light dawning on the faces of forty very unhappy campers (including my total net worth betting ass) The pin started to lean and while still holding a few cards the next throw toppled the pin.You could have heard a pin drop ( I just COULDN'T resist the pun) as the banker handed over all our cash. I mean , he did what he claimed and he got paid.
* * *That night was one of the saddest nights ever back at the Sonra Lounge as everyone sat around bumming drinks and blaming each other for
taking the bet. I'd like to say that it was the last time I went tapped betting on someone's hustle,but I'd be lying. Once a sucker,always a
sucker. Oh, and long before he was on TV, Harry Anderson came in on the hustle and snagged quite a few of us (he shot pretty good pool too).
Also, Waylon Flowers came in and got drunk after his last local performance and then sent a gofer back to his hotel room for his puppet
"MADAME"(the old-broad puppet,from Hollywood Squares) and put on the FUNNIEST most risque' show that I've ever seen in my life.
* * Now, I sit and play on the web,ho-hum !
Sometime,I'll tell you about the guy that swallowed the pool stick.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Doug W. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 
From Smorgass Bored October 1997:
Re: Bar Bets,Tricks,Scams with Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves.........
Bob,
* *Not all tricks are confined to the table. ON this particular night I
was twice as big as my opponent and had a S&W .38 derringer in my
pocket, when he laid his cue stick down on the floor and asked one of
the sweaters to hold the back door open. I said what's going on and he
said ,well, it's getting late and I'm up $100 so I'm going to get a
running start and when I get to my cue I'm going to "long jump"
thirty-nine feet or more in the air and I don't want to run into the
back wall and that's why that guy is holding the back door open and I'm
giving you a chance to get your $100 back. So, I look at this little
jerk and just know that he's not pulling a fast one on a guy that could
CRUSH him. I also know that the world record is a lot less than
thirty-nine feet or more.We both put up a $100 and he does a few knee
bends and TAKES OFF running through the bar and whooping and when he
gets to his cue he LEAPS forward and I run up and MARK the spot where he
landed.
It's obviously FAR short of thirty-nine feet or more and I'm surprised
when he asks for a measurement. Someone goes out to their truck and
returns with a tape and measures the jump at 42". I'm smiling and he's
putting MY money in HIS pocket. WHOA, Nelly Bell, what's going on I
scream. Well, I won he says. I said that I'd run and jump third-a-nine
feet or more and third-a-nine feet is THREE FEET and I jumped more than
3'. And all my "friends" at the bar say, yep,yep,uh-huh,that's what he
said alright, WE heard him. They used to call me "Air Mail",
I got rid of my money so fast. Hey, will somebody buy me a drink ?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Doug W. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 
Smorgass Bored* Oct 8 1997:
* * You know, that's the same question we asked ourselves back at the bar. Just how DID he knock that pin over ?
* * As near as we could figure, the base of the bowling pin was approx. 4" wide and when he threw that 1st or second card and it stuck under the
pin,only a corner or portion of the playing card which ALSO was approx. 4" long stuck. Thus giving him 8" to shoot at,and when a card stuck under the other side of the pin,the "target" increased to 12" approx.. So that after a few throws, he was no longer aiming AT the pin,but instead,the PILE of cards which seemed to measure 15-18" across. We were less amazed by his accuracy than we were by the SPEED and FORCE with which he was able to throw the cards. I know that this feat sounds
improbable and I guess that's why he emptied everyone's pockets. I find myself wondering how people figure out to TRY these tricks or skills the 1st time. I mean was this guy just sitting somewhere and THOUGHT," I'll bet I can knock a bowling pin over if I can just jam enough cards under it."
* * * Someday, I'll tell you guys(gals) about the guy that was about 5'2" tall that Kicked a 2'X4' ceiling tile OUT of the eight foot high
metal grid ceiling at the lounge I owned. AND, the night that I had 5 customers and THREE of them had an artificial leg/foot and the money I lost when one of them wanted to bet on the TOTAL number of FEET in my bar at that moment. I figured that since he was so insistant to bet,that he had walked in on TWO artificial legs,so I subtracted two from the
total number of people, 5 customers,1 barmaid and myself =14 minus his two and my answer was 12. His answer was ELEVEN and after I saw that he was only missing one foot, I DOUBLED THE BET. When two of the other customers showed that they were also missing one foot/leg each, I SHIT.
* * *I don't know if there was a One-Leg convention in town or if these 3 guys just traveled the country reeling in the sucker-fish like me. I guess I won't have to tell you this story someday,because I just DID.
* * Don't get me started !
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Doug W. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 
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