Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-09-21
WILES OF THE SHARP
THIS ONE PLAYS POOL AND NIPS THE
SELF CONFIDENT MAN.
Master In Bunlko, He Offers Himself as an
Easy Mark at the Pool Table Till Bets
Are on the Game, and Then He Lets Him

'See that man over thereY' remarked
the manager Of an m town pool and bill
lizard room TO friend one night last week,
pointing to O we'll dressed, apparently in
toxicated, young man, who was idly knock
ing the balls around pool table. "Well,
he's what we call pool sharp You may
notice that he is making frantic efforts to
knock the balls into the pockets, and it
may also occur to you that he is very
drunk. But he is not drunk, nor Is he try
ing to put the balls intothe pockets. He
is acting part, and if you watch him for
little while you'll see one Of the clever
est bits of swindle you ever saw in your
life"
Nine out of ten persons who saw the
young man would have wagered their lives
that he was drunk. He seemed scarcely
able to stand on his feet, and every jab he
made at the balls with his cue seemed to
go wild. When he did manage to sink q
ball, he would let out whoop of exulta-
ton. He would then begin to brag about
his ability to beat anything on two legs,
and in other ways made it look as though
he were foolish young man waiting to
be robbed. No one took up the mans
challenge to play, but he finally managed
to get into game with two other young
men, who evidently thought they had an
easy thing of it.
'Now you'll see the fun," remarked the
manager. Just watch that fellow"
Two or three games were played, in
each of which the inebriated young man
was ANONYMOUSLY beaten. Defeat seemed
to enrage him, and pulling out roll of
bills he offered with drunken enthusiasm
to play for any amount. For two or three
games the others ignored his Offers but
finally one of them became exasperated at
the mans blatant remarks and said:
YOU'RE doing an awful lot of talking.
Now, if you really want to gamble, We'll
make pool of So each, the winner of the
game to take all. "
A couple of onlookers protested that it
was not right to take advantage of
drunken man, but the game went on. The
drunken mans game improved wonder
fully. His position playing was magnifi-
cent, but somehow or other he didn't seem
to get any balls. Finally point of the
game was reached when the others had
five balls apiece, while he had but one. 1t
was the strangers shot, and he made
wonderful combination. Then, without
much effort, he got the other four balls,
come that he would hear of nothing but
that each one should add IS moro TO his
stake.
This was done, and the game began.
The drunken man Strengthened up consid-
erably now and played like an expert.
Before either of the others had a ball he
had eight and was still making them
when the manager of the house stepped up
II L 4. 1 L ,
remarked, "You git"
"Why, what do you meanF" demanded
the man Indignantly. All the signs of
intoxication had disappeared, and the on
lockers began to realize that they had been
witnesses to an exceedingly clever bunko
game.
The two victims began to look angry,
and in another minute there would have
been trouble, but the manager took the
stakes from the stakeholder, gave each
man back his $40 and then marched the
sharp to the door, through which the lat
ter lost no time in disappearing.
THAT'S a sample of the pool sharp" re-
marked the manager when he came back.
There are any number of them around
New York but Brooklyn is the place where
they flourish most. Some of them ought
to make their fortunes on the stage, for
the way they act their part would put
many member Of the profession to shame.
They are men who have as complete con-
troll over pool balls as it Is possible for
man to have They are almost masters Of
the game, and can win at any stage if they
want to.
1.-THE ruse you saw is only one Of many
that they employ. A favorite method is to
get into an open game of pool and then
induce one or two of the other players to
withdraw to some other table. Every bill
lizard room has one open game Of pool.
That is a game where any and everybody
may play, be they strangers or friends.
Sometimes there are as many as q dozen
playing at an open game. The sharp will
get into this game and will manage TO
lose in q most systematic manner. Then
when two or three games have been played
he will approach one or two of the other
players who have been losing and say:
we haven't got chance in this game.
Let's go to another table
mine times out of ten this will work,
and then the next step is to get to playing |
for money. They rarely fail to secure
bet, these fellows, and although they oc-
casionally run against snag they win 80 |
times out of 100.
"There are probably few games which
bring mans natural weaknesses to the |
front quicker than pool. A man learns to |
play the game, and he Immediately thinks |
he is world beaten When he makes a |
poor shot, he attributes it to hard luck. In |
fact, there are almost as many hard luck |
stories told about pool games as there are |
about horse races. Every stranger that !
you play pool with will insist that he |
knows nothing about the game, and then,
when he has demonstrated that fact, will |
proceed to tell how much better he was
able to play at some time in the dim past.
The pool sharp is a student Of human ma
ture. He knows all these things and works
his knowledge to his advantage. A drunk
en- man who has been beaten at pool al
ways wants to bet, and consequently is
mark for the sharp. Why, I've seen some
of those fellows pick up 800 in less than
two hours. Now York Sun.