The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-08-28
WILES OF THE SHARP
THIS ONE PLAYS POOL AND NlPs THE
SELF CONFIDENT MAN.

/ bNAA NhA anu n AteNtb Ills LAMB
"Sce that man over thereY" remarked
/ the manager of an up town pool and bill
| lard room TO friend one night last week,
/ pointing to well 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 into the pockets He
Is acting a part, and if you watch him for
q 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 lab he
made at the balls with his cue seemed to
go wild When he did manage to sink a
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 n foolish young man waiting to
be robbed No one took up the man s
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 OF three games were played, in
each of which the inebriated young man
was ignominiously beaten. Defeat seemed
to enrage him, and pulling out q 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, Wen
make pool of S5 each, the winner Of the
game to take all.
A couple of Onlookers protested that it
was not right to take advantage of a
drunken man, but the game went on. The
drunken mans game improved wonder
fully. His position playing was magnif-
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,
tying the game. So exultant did he be-
come that he would hear of nothing but
that each one should add SO more to his
stake.
This was done, and the game began
The drunken man Strengthened up oonsid-
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
to him. touched him on the shoulder and
remarked, "You git"
"Why, what do you mean?" 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 Il 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.
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
fV,1 OF 6n ~ 30
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 a dozen
playing at an open game, The sharp will
get into this game and will manage to
lose in a 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 60 to another table
"Nine times out Of ten this will work,
| and then the NEXT step is to get to playing
for money. They rarely fail to secure a
bet, these fellows and although they oc-
Casionally run against a snag they win 90
times out of 100
There are probably few games which
| bring a mans natural weaknesses to the
front quicker than pool A man learns to
| play the game, and he Immediately thinks
| he is a world bcater, When ne 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 a
mark for the sharp. Why, I've seen some
of those fellows pick up 500 in less than
! two hours. New York sun.
| Cage Blindness.