4

Hustling Sometimes Gets Violent

People do not like being hustled. Over the years, Russ gradually put together a list of "warning signs" to let him know when someone was catching on to his scam: "They'll be watching more intently, they'll stop saying how lucky they are, they'll stop drinking. It's why we need to act, so they don't get suspicious."

Tpsdave/Pixabay
If they start sharpening a cue into a spear, run.

The stakes were always very real to him, thanks to something terrible he saw as a little kid, hanging at the pool hall with his grandpa: "My parents didn't do daycare, and my grandpa often watched me before and after preschool. So we would watch old-timers play 9-ball at this pool hall. My grandpa would occasionally point out who was a 'shark' in a whisper. Well, one day this happened, it was a 60-year-old taking on another 60-year-old. They did what I did, play two games badly to win at the third. But this guy shot them expertly, one after another. The 60-year-old being hustled put down his cue (another warning sign) and put his hands into his pockets. When the hustler finished, he said 'now, I believe you owe me-' and was stopped right there, when the guy who got hustled smacked him in the head with a wood block, like the type you whittle. 'You fucking shark-' was the last I heard, because my grandpa was running me out of there. We never went to that pool hall again."

And yes, Russ did get caught: "I was caught five times, four of which happened in my freshman year, because I was still really bad at it. Three times they figured it out, but graciously said 'Ok, you got me,' or something like that. One immediately called his girlfriend and said. 'Guess what! Somebody hustled me at pool! Like it's the '60s!'"

unealai_photo/iSotck
Thankfully, he didn't handle it like a man in his 60s (see: block [wood]).

3

Pool Hustlers In Movies Cause Problems For Pool Hustlers In Reality

As the months turned into years, Russ grew better and better at his illicit trade. He started to notice something: "A lot of people wouldn't take me up on games ... one excuse that came up a lot was them asking if I was a hustler, or not wanting to do it because they didn't want to be hustled."

2

Sometimes People Pay To Be Hustled

Yes, people actually threw down cold hard cash just for the opportunity to say "I got hustled by a pool shark."

"I was a little suspicious the first time it happened. A couple came up to me, and asked to play me. This was never how it worked, and I was afraid they'd hustle me. But I played the two games, but each time they raised the amount, it felt forced. Like it was scripted. I did my thing and got all the balls into the pockets to what, to them, seemed like really good shots. Then I got my extra $40 or $50 for the night. But then they called someone and said 'We just got hustled!' Like they were excited. They must have noticed me looking at them, so the girlfriend explained, 'We heard about someone who looked like you, hustling someone at the bar down the road last week, and when we saw you, we couldn't pass it up.' The boyfriend covered the phone; 'We always wanted this to happen.' It still confused me. Why would they want this? Pool isn't the most popular sport to begin with, and most people think this is like stylized robbery. But there's a mystique behind it. It's something you only see on TV, and seeing it in front of you can be cool. I only did this because it was fun for me and I didn't want a sucky college job. To them, this was like some amazing character come to life."

gpointstudio/iStock
"Thank you for metaphorically screwing me and my wife. And if you're free later ..."

1

Sometimes The Hustler Gets Hustled

Hustling hasn't been common for a while now, but back when Russ was active, he did notice a sort of code: "There's kind of an etiquette between hustlers, at least where I was. I knew the signs of a hustle, and I could see them working."

He liked watching other hustlers in action, for the same reason we break into the houses of great authors and install hidden cameras above their desks.

Tommaso79/iStock
He didn't use the exact words "THE SEXUAL HIGH!" but we could feel the similarities ...

"There's a pool hall near my college I liked, and it's where I saw the most amazing shot I've ever seen. A hustler I knew of was there. He was on his last game with someone, and I sat down to watch. He saw me, and without looking back down to the balls, he nodded at me, and fired. Four balls, all solids, went into four different holes, almost at the exact same time. I think he did that to psych me out ... but I was blown away. After he finished up, he left without a word to me. That's what it was like. Like ships passing in the night."

But the rivalries aren't always friendly. Russ knows of at least one loss he suffered that was definitely at the hands of another hustler:

"I had just tried to get someone to bet on a game, but he had chickened out. This was during my freshman year. A person who introduced himself as living in the area came by. He was dressed very casually, just like anyone who went to college there. He told me he overheard what I said, and said he wanted to play me. He didn't seem like a hustler, so we went at it."

ThamKC/iStock
"Watch me pool this hole-in-one."

Remember that "not seeming like a hustler" is the entire strategy of hustling. You live by the hustle, you die by the hustle.

"I did my thing, and I lost the two first games. He was good, but he had missed some good opportunities, so I had him marked down as an average 'just for fun' player. He asked if he could break, and I let him. I figured after one slip up, I could mop up the rest of the balls. Turns out, he was hustling me by pretending to be a regular player. He knew what I was trying to do earlier. He expertly broke and proceeded to down every single shot. And it wasn't like a movie. He didn't leave me with sage advice, or tell me 'You'll be here someday, kid.' No, he said 'Gimme my money,' and he walked out. I was really disappointed he didn't do something like that, but it's not like the movies."

Because in the movies, Christopher Walken makes trick shots on the first take.

Evan V. Symon is an interviewer, writer and interview finder for the Person Experience team at Cracked. Have an awesome job/experience you'd like to see here? Hit us up at tips@cracked.com today!

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