You Can't Tell a Crook by His Cover

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You Can't Tell a Crook by his Cover is a season one episode of the sitcom Frasier. The premise involves a bet Martin makes his son, that he can't identify which of his 3 poker buddies is an ex-con rather than an ex-cop. Inevitably, Frasier picks the wrong one, but not before questioning the sexuality of one woman ,asking whether anybody in the room plays the harmonica, and overlooking another man's knowledge of antiques ("they had no vacancies in the prison laundry, so they put him in fine china & glassware" is Martin's wry attempt to explain this.

Unfortunately, Daphne has agreed to go on a date with the ex-con. Both Frasier and Niles are terrified at this idea, and trace the bar he is taking her to, with the intention of protecting her. When they arrive a burly barman tells them that Daphne pushed the ex-con away when he tried to make a move on her. Amusingly, the barman said he immediately knew the guy was rotten. Daphne manages to hustle the regulars, showing hitherto-unknown pool-playing ability.

There is still trouble however, as Niles bumps into a brutal-looking man as he lines up a shot in a high-stakes game of pool, who misses the shot as a result and asks him for the money. To get them off the hook, Daphne agrees to attempt a really difficult shot. She misses it due to a double-kiss, but they run away before they can be stopped.