An Old Billiards Hustler's Trick

Old Billiards Hustlers!

Here's an old hustler's trick that's been pulled (or attempted) against me. It underscores a billiards truth.

When playing for cash, your "friendly" opponent holds your cue stick out to you, so you need not go to much trouble picking it up between shots. They hold it out to you with a bit of tension in their hand, tempting you to tense and pull the stick from the grasp.

Think about it. Once you build enough tension in your dominant arm, it will reduce your ability to stroke the cue. I play most shots between 1 and 1.5 tension in my arm, with 10 being a deathly hold and 0 being light enough to drop the stick to the floor during play.

I had a fellow do this to me a dozen times one session. It got to be a dramatic contest between us, if albeit a silly one. He wanted to see me grow tense; I thanked him for my cue each time and limply slipped it from his grasp. He never did up our bet amount, as I figured he wouldn't.

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Billiards photo (c) Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc.