(About the Author)

This is a simple hustler’s trick. This distraction tactic is most effective when there isn’t a lot of room around the pool table. This means that there are not always designated chairs for the players.

This shark can be used in any informal competitions, such as team matches, local tournaments, and any playing areas that have to crowd a lot of players onto the tables. It cannot be applied during formal competitions where players have designated seats in which to wait while the other shooter plays his inning. Continue reading →

(About the Author)

All pool hustlers have a library of sharks based on different tactics. Many sharks can be categorized. There are a large group of conversation-based sharks and another group based on delaying tricks. The “Thinker” shark is one of those delaying sharking tactics. Continue reading →

(About the Author)

Everyone experiences some natural and ordinary nervous anticipation at the beginning of an important match. These reactions are the body’s natural fight or flight response. Some of the symptoms can include:

• Fast breathing.
• Constriction of the throat.
• Tightness in the chest.
• Sweating and dizziness.
• Difficulty in concentration and focus.
• Hyper-awareness of sounds and movements.

Continue reading →

(About the Author)

If you expect your match to go smoothly through to the completion with a winner (hopefully you) and a loser (hopefully your opponent), this shark can bother you. Continue reading →

(About the Author)

Somewhere, someplace, maybe in an alternate universe, there is a book entitled “The Correct Behavior of Bad Sportsmanship”. If there was such a book, there would be a section that talks about proper behavior of a player when his competitor suffers a massive reversal of fortune. In that section would be recommendations for proper decorum of competitors, spectators, and friends. These gamesmanship responses to the player’s tragedy would range from unsympathetic observations to expressions of heartfelt sorrow for the poor suffering victim. Continue reading →

(About the Author)

You can play for 50 years against all types of pool players with skills great and small. Each and every one of these opponents owns a variety of sharks of varying effectiveness. Many of these are of the minor variety, relatively benign in effort, intention, and application. Watch anyone play pool for half an hour and you can spot a minimum of three sharks. Some people, when their sharks are identified, are surprised. Generally, these relatively minor sharking tricks have become part of his playing routine. Continue reading →

(About the Author)

This shark is designed to seriously consider whether your health is may not be as good as you thought – and maybe you need to have a serious discussion with your medical practitioner. This trick is a diversionary tactic to redirect some of your game focus from the competition onto thoughts and worries about your personal abilities to be alive tomorrow. If you are an introspective personality, this can be very effective. If you are a hypochondriac, it would be easier to pay up and go home. Continue reading →

(About the Author)

This shark is designed to interrupt the continuity of your game focus. The pool hustler begins this scheme by establishing an apparent over-anxious desire to improve himself. He exhibits some minor flaws in his fundamentals, such as gripping the cue butt a little too far back, getting down in a slightly awkward stance, setting up a shot with a bridge that is too long, or any of a dozen minor problems. Continue reading →