Hustling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Hustle and Hustler (disambiguation).

Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick. It is most commonly associated with pool (and to an extent other billiards-family games), but also can be performed with regard to other sports and gambling activities. Hustlers may also engage in "sharking" - the use of distracting, disheartening, enraging or even threatening behavior to throw their opponents off. Hustlers are thus often called "pool sharks" (compare "card sharp"). Professional and semi-pro hustlers sometimes work with a "stakehorse" - a person who provides the money for the hustler to bet with (and may assist in the hustling), in exchange for a substantial portion of all winnings.

Contents

[edit] Pool hustling techniques

Pool hustlers use deception and misdirection in order to win cash from inexperienced players (or quite skilled players inexperienced with the world of hustling). A skilled hustler:

  • Will usually play with a house cue stick, or an unadorned but high-quality personal cue that looks like one, known as a "sneaky pete". (With the nascence of local league play in recent years, some may also play with flashy-looking but self-evidently low-end personal cues, to give the impression that they are league players who think they are "hot stuff" but presumably are not as good as the think they are.)
  • Will typically play a game or two for "fun" or for low bets (a beer or equivalent amount of cash, for example) in order to check out the opponent and give the impression that money can easily be won, often losing on purpose (known as "sandbagging" or "dumping") — with the intent of winning a much larger wager later against a predictably overconfident opponent
  • Will pocket some difficult and impressive shots or make surprisingly secure safety shots (ones crucial for winning), while missing many simple ones, thus making early victories appear to be sheer luck (a variant being the theatrical almost-making of shots that inexperienced players may think of as crucial mistakes, but which really give away very little advantage)
  • May pretend to be intoxicated, unintelligent, or otherwise impaired (that is, until it is time to run the table or make a game-winning shot)

Many of these ploys can easily be mistaken for the honest faults of a less-than-exceptional player. The engendered doubt and uncertainty is what allows hustling to succeed, with the "faults" being dropped when a significant amount of money is at stake.

Pool hustling was the subject of very well-received films such as The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986) (both adapted from earlier novels, see "Books", below), and a few less-acclaimed pictures (see "Films", below). It was also the subject of an episode of The Steve Harvey Show, as well as an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] Notable real-life hustlers

  • Chef Anton, trick shot artist and author several hustling manuals
  • Keith McCready, a legendary road player (and guest star in The Color of Money, below)

[edit] Notable books about (and in some cases by) hustlers and hustling

[edit] Notable films about hustlers and hustling

[edit] Notable fictional hustlers

  • "Minnesota Fats" in The Hustler (played by Jackie Gleason in the film version) — the smooth character whose moniker Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Jr. lifted after publication of Tevis's novel
  • "Edward 'Fast Eddie' Felson" in The Hustler and The Color of Money (played by Paul Newman in the film version)
  • "Vincent (Vince) Lauria" in The Color of Money (played by Tom Cruise in the film version)
  • "Johnny Doyle" (played by Mars Callahan) and "Brad" (played by Rick Schroeder) in Poolhall Junkies.
  • "'Cue Ball' Carl" (played by Ving Rhames) and "Jericho Hudson" (played by Freddie Prinze, Jr.) in Shooting Gallery


v • d • e
Cue sports
Pocket billiards (pool) Nine-ball • Eight-ball • One-pocket • Straight pool • Bank pool • Rotation • Chicago • Cowboy pool • Golf pool • Kelly pool • Bottle pool • Baseball pocket billiards • Three-ball • Cribbage pool • more
Carom billiards Three-cushion • Artistic billiards • Five-pins • Balkline & straight rail • Cushion caroms • Four-ball • more
Other games Snooker • English billiards • Russian pyramid • Bumper pool • Bagatelle • Novuss • more
Resources Glossary • Techniques • Billiards table • Billiard balls • Cue stick • Rack • Players • Organizations • Events • Categories
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/u/s/Hustling.html"