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Steinway billiards3/16/2023 Billiards for Bored Players - Honolulu April 6, 2016.Billiards For Bored Players - Reverse Pool May 17, 2016.Viva Las Vegas: Your Guide to the Championship Tournament July 19, 2016. I would love to get some feedback on this – what do you think of The Hustlers? What would you do differently? Do you enjoy it, or think that it detracts from our sport? Please feel free to contact me at or come to to join the discussion.ĭo you have any suggestions for future articles? Drop me a line at You can also find me hanging out at various pool rooms in the East San Francisco Bay Area. It has its place, I suppose, but do not look to this show to help us promote the sport. Pool is just the vehicle that allows this drama series to exist. But the show is not about true hustlers, and is quite obviously aimed at reality TV fans, not pool players. It’s not a horrible show… I see The Hustlers as a show about some friends who like to challenge each other to see who is the best. But I still find it hard to believe she would just sit there with a smile on her face, watching “the men” go at it during her match. I have a lot of respect for Barretta’s game and personality. If I were playing a game for $1000 and a spot on the list, and my spouse interrupted my game and caused me to forfeit by fighting with my opponent, I can assure you that we’d have some serious problems. I’m sure these guys are true players in real life, but in this show, they act like disrespectful idiots. True pool players have a lot more respect for the game than that. And Jennifer Barretta’s husband Gregg McAndrews interrupted her game, throwing balls and causing her to forfeit that game while he was “fighting” with Gary. Recent episodes had the Irish guy, Gary O’Callaghan, getting incredibly steamed and threatening to fight other players. You just couldn’t have a “reality” series without drama, could you? My impression of this show is that the producers told all of the players to add some drama and fighting to make things more “interesting.” They say things to each other that I wouldn’t say to my worst enemies… and the reactions are almost always a smirk with some lame comeback. This shows me that the producers really don’t care about the pool… they just care about the drama.Īh yes, the drama. I get that sometimes shots need to be re-filmed, but how hard is it to set it up the way it was previously? It gives the impression that everything is fake. Or, they clearly got hooked behind the 8-ball, but the next shot shows them making a clear shot, with no 8-ball in the way. I have seen numerous shots where the player was lining up for a shot in the corner, and the next frame shows them pocketing the ball in the side. The editing of these games is the worst part. The best way to watch a game of pool is to see the whole table, not following a ball into the pocket. The camera work is fast and jerky, sort of like an MTV video. The music is all “original” tunes that sound like they belong in a porno. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with such a list, but it is not representative of the typical hustler.Īs for the games themselves… when they do finally get down to playing pool, this is where I believe the producers of this show got it all wrong. He does not want others to know how good he is, especially ranked against other players. I have heard that the producers give the money to them, so they are not even betting their own cash.Ībout that list: a true hustler would never have his name put on a list. These matchups are almost always a challenge between two players on William Finnegan’s list, and they are always for $500 or $1000. These people are all regulars, and know each other very well, and you rarely see them play anyone outside the Hustlers circle.Įvery challenge match has all of the cast members sitting around the table watching the latest matchup. Every episode takes place at Steinway Billiards in New York. Here are the problems I have with The Hustlers: The fewer people that know you, the better. Any good shots you make are just “dumb luck.” Give yourself an advantage, take their money, and move on. To hustle pool meant that you travelled around the country, betting people on a game or series of games while making them think you stink at the game. Although there are multiple definitions for “hustler,” we all know that in this context, we’re talking about getting an advantage over your opponent, usually by underselling your skill set or making a sucker’s bet. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is quite living up to that expectation. Recently, Tru TV brought us a new series about the “cutthroat, high-stakes world of competitive pool.” I had been looking forward to finally seeing a show that can let the rest of the world know what playing pool is all about. A review of one of TruTV’s newest reality series
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