The true cost of hustling
- Thread starter Straightpool_99
- Start date
I don't gamble at pool, beyond an occasional really cheap ring game with friends. Mainly because I suck at this game, and I dont have a lot of money that I can afford to lose. If that makes me a nit, so be it.
I dont have an issue with folks gambling at pool, happens all the time at our room, and what i generally see is all cool. However, there is one guy that fits the premise of the discussion.....he's better than most of the room, but slides up to anyone new in the room and asks if they like to gamble. Does it all the time when there is a league event there. He did it to me years ago. I knew who he was anyway. The weight he would have to give me would be stupid. So why play? (And I cant afford to anyway.) Not that he would have offered that weight....
Thats the type of guy that is bad for pool in the long run. Not the guys that like to gamble. The guy who takes advantage of those he shouldn't be. In my example, he could play with anyone in the room with an appropriate spot either way. But he tries to get the league bangers to gamble. He's not looking for a game, he's looking for an easy score. I laugh when I watch him, cuz he's so predictable.
I dont have an issue with folks gambling at pool, happens all the time at our room, and what i generally see is all cool. However, there is one guy that fits the premise of the discussion.....he's better than most of the room, but slides up to anyone new in the room and asks if they like to gamble. Does it all the time when there is a league event there. He did it to me years ago. I knew who he was anyway. The weight he would have to give me would be stupid. So why play? (And I cant afford to anyway.) Not that he would have offered that weight....
Thats the type of guy that is bad for pool in the long run. Not the guys that like to gamble. The guy who takes advantage of those he shouldn't be. In my example, he could play with anyone in the room with an appropriate spot either way. But he tries to get the league bangers to gamble. He's not looking for a game, he's looking for an easy score. I laugh when I watch him, cuz he's so predictable.
I wonder how many people who are advocating "If you got hustled it's your own fault" would be ok with me hustling their son for their last $100 because they thought I got lucky...
help on the way
All of the regulars at CLUB FRIENDLY where I play have decided instead of just sitting
around crying crocodile tears for the poor victims who have, through no fault of their
own, lost everything too, (do I dare say it ) POOL HUSTLERS. We are having a large
tournament, with all proceeds going directly to VOHATS
( Victims Of Hustlers And Thieving Sandbaggers ) plus CRYBABIES INT. have
donated a crying towel with I AM A VICTIM printed on it, to each HAT (that's what
they call each other) that show up for the tournament. We will also have copies of
the book " How to spot a Hustler ". This is a must read for anyone that is planning
on going into a pool room. " ... they will ask you play a friendly game for fun or maybe
a soda. After you have won every game for an hour or so, he springs the trap. 'I only
have time for one more game, instead of a soda lets play for five or ten thousand dollars
and just like that before you know what hit you, you have lost every thing..... So sign
up now Remember everyone gets a trophy, there are no winners or losers.
jack
All of the regulars at CLUB FRIENDLY where I play have decided instead of just sitting
around crying crocodile tears for the poor victims who have, through no fault of their
own, lost everything too, (do I dare say it ) POOL HUSTLERS. We are having a large
tournament, with all proceeds going directly to VOHATS
( Victims Of Hustlers And Thieving Sandbaggers ) plus CRYBABIES INT. have
donated a crying towel with I AM A VICTIM printed on it, to each HAT (that's what
they call each other) that show up for the tournament. We will also have copies of
the book " How to spot a Hustler ". This is a must read for anyone that is planning
on going into a pool room. " ... they will ask you play a friendly game for fun or maybe
a soda. After you have won every game for an hour or so, he springs the trap. 'I only
have time for one more game, instead of a soda lets play for five or ten thousand dollars
and just like that before you know what hit you, you have lost every thing..... So sign
up now Remember everyone gets a trophy, there are no winners or losers.
jack
I would be ok with it.
When I was 13 or so, a bunch of us went to the state fair. Short story: Within 20 minutes all 5 of us had lost about $15 each on a scam carny game. We were all broke then for the next 4 or 5 hours at the fair. fun fun fun...NOT.
As you can tell, the lesson stayed with me and still serves me. It has kept me out of some stupid deals, I can tell you that.
Good lessons sometimes hurt....most times, I suppose.
Jeff Livingston
W.C. FIELDS said it there is a Sucker Born every minute
Sometimes we are the Suckers
Sometimes we are the Suckers
Last edited:
W.C. FIELDS said it there is a Sucker Born every minute
Sometimes we are the Suckers
Sometimes we are the Suckers
Jeez, you had to go to the nit repellent move TWICE?? You need some new moves.
I don't really know what a "nit" is in pool....and I don't really care. After 55 years of playing this game, such things matter to me as much as who "wins" the selection or what team wins the big game or other such things.
I play pool. I love it. I spread the word about its goodness and stay honest in my dealings with the game and with others who play it, too. It's the least I can do for myself..... and the game.
Jeff Livingston
There will always be those who scream " I got hustled" every time they lose " Most of these guys have a vision of anyone who plays better than they do is a hustler.
To me a hustler is the guy who hides his speed and uses any con he can to get as much of John Q Ball bangers money he can . these guys will not match up with a player of comparable skill because its a bad bet for them they will not touch a game they don't think they have an absolute lock on. Like I said before these are the coyotes of the pool world.
Then you have the guys who have a way higher opinion of their game than actual skill. they can make a few balls , might have beaten a few folks in their local league or bar . and think this makes them a money player. these guys usually get took pretty quick and mostly by their own greed and inexperience . Some learn after the first good drilling they receive some it takes longer . I think most players have had experience with this scenario. Its part of the education you receive at billiard U .
We learned from it became better because of it , pushed ourselves to get better and smarter and prevent a reoccurrence of the above outcome.
Not all Players are Hustlers and not all Hustlers are Players
I don't have much Use for the Coyotes. They usually don't last long around the halls I play at they get knocked pretty quick
The Player who matches up badly due to his own inexperience , arrogance and or ignorance they made their game , in my opinion doesn't have anyone but themselves to blame when they lose .
Losing to a better layer is not getting hustled , making a bad game is not getting hustled
To me a hustler is the guy who hides his speed and uses any con he can to get as much of John Q Ball bangers money he can . these guys will not match up with a player of comparable skill because its a bad bet for them they will not touch a game they don't think they have an absolute lock on. Like I said before these are the coyotes of the pool world.
Then you have the guys who have a way higher opinion of their game than actual skill. they can make a few balls , might have beaten a few folks in their local league or bar . and think this makes them a money player. these guys usually get took pretty quick and mostly by their own greed and inexperience . Some learn after the first good drilling they receive some it takes longer . I think most players have had experience with this scenario. Its part of the education you receive at billiard U .
We learned from it became better because of it , pushed ourselves to get better and smarter and prevent a reoccurrence of the above outcome.
Not all Players are Hustlers and not all Hustlers are Players
I don't have much Use for the Coyotes. They usually don't last long around the halls I play at they get knocked pretty quick
The Player who matches up badly due to his own inexperience , arrogance and or ignorance they made their game , in my opinion doesn't have anyone but themselves to blame when they lose .
Losing to a better layer is not getting hustled , making a bad game is not getting hustled
One extra point that should be brought up in any "hustling" thread is this...
There do exist bad players that play for money only to get the experience of watching a good player destroy them. They like to watch the good player's shot selection, english, etc., etc., up close and personal. I have witnessed this myself.
When I was an up and coming player in the pool room, I didn't play for money, but many times I played one of the best players in the room and I paid for his time so I could learn from his game.
So like many have said before, if you see someone that you consider a bad player "wasting" his money playing a much better player -- just leave them be -- as it might just be that the bad player is perfectly fine with the situation and is using the time like paying for lessons.
There do exist bad players that play for money only to get the experience of watching a good player destroy them. They like to watch the good player's shot selection, english, etc., etc., up close and personal. I have witnessed this myself.
When I was an up and coming player in the pool room, I didn't play for money, but many times I played one of the best players in the room and I paid for his time so I could learn from his game.
So like many have said before, if you see someone that you consider a bad player "wasting" his money playing a much better player -- just leave them be -- as it might just be that the bad player is perfectly fine with the situation and is using the time like paying for lessons.
What should be discussed is: The true cost of handicapping
1. Penalized for improving - best to not practice - loss of revenue for the pool rooms. Yes more people may come in for league night but the side effects are costly.
2. No one giving lessons - No one wants them because it will cause them to move up
3. Buy better equipment - No need. Might improve game too much.
4. Good players excluded from events - No chance to learn from the better players
I'm sure there are more.
The best handicapping is your own talent on any given day. The winners should be celebrated and put on pedestal.
The top guys should be helping lower level players to play better. More customers.
Events should include some pool training. What really gets people excited about the game is when you learn something new or correct a flaw in your game.
How to switch to non-handicapped? Slowly. I think, at this point, it must be a transition. Maybe both will always be there. I don't think that's a terrible thing. Pool should and can have something for everyone
Best of luck out there y'all,
Ray
1. Penalized for improving - best to not practice - loss of revenue for the pool rooms. Yes more people may come in for league night but the side effects are costly.
2. No one giving lessons - No one wants them because it will cause them to move up
3. Buy better equipment - No need. Might improve game too much.
4. Good players excluded from events - No chance to learn from the better players
I'm sure there are more.
The best handicapping is your own talent on any given day. The winners should be celebrated and put on pedestal.
The top guys should be helping lower level players to play better. More customers.
Events should include some pool training. What really gets people excited about the game is when you learn something new or correct a flaw in your game.
How to switch to non-handicapped? Slowly. I think, at this point, it must be a transition. Maybe both will always be there. I don't think that's a terrible thing. Pool should and can have something for everyone
Best of luck out there y'all,
Ray
Burt, you're a loser because you're dead inside.
I, like everyone else in this world, choose the level of integrity I exhibit and it's nor make believe. I choose not to be a liar or a thief.
Excuses. The politicians are dishonest so I can be too. That is a misguided sense of entitlement if you conduct yourself based on the laziness and dishonesty of others. But I guess that is where integrity comes into play. Lack it and you see where we end up.
Someone hiding their speed isn't of consequence? If it isn't about you, that's what makes something of consequence? YOU sound like Hillary.
justaplayer
Banned
Bunch of nits here.
Look fellas if you can't run with the big dogs, just stay on the porch.
If playing a bunch of housewives for patches and honorable mentions is you bag, then the future of pool looks bright.
Look fellas if you can't run with the big dogs, just stay on the porch.
If playing a bunch of housewives for patches and honorable mentions is you bag, then the future of pool looks bright.
Cowboy Dennis
Banned
This is a great post. If I knew how to do the childish "rep" thing I would give you all I could.
Love it! Name calling and I think, sarcasm... let me add to the sarcasm piece. Sorry, I'm not into the name calling thing...
No way we could make the image of pool better. It's stellar. We need to make sure what brought this game into the mega-industry, pro tour, juggernaut is preserved.