Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey [Paperback]

David McCumber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

At the age of 17, David McCumber was stricken with "road fever" that irresistible call to the itinerant life of a professional gambler. Twenty-two years later, he got the chance to follow that dream-not as a player but as the "stakehorse" (financial backer) for Tony Annigoni, a non-smoking, macrobiotic-eating "Renaissance Pool Hustler," student of Eastern religion, and master of the pure green-felt poetry of the dead stroke." With $27,000 in David's pocket they took off together on an astonishing four-month odyssey across America-traveling from seedy, hole-in-the-wall billiard parlors to high-class snooker rooms to high-tension pro tourneys, from Seattle to Miami and back again-exploring a shady twilight subculture and uniquely American mythos, in search of serious money, local glory...and the perfect hustle.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A billiard parlor insider's on-the-road memoir of the felt.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This book provides a nonfiction account of the pool hustler's world, where the color of money can be a very dingy green. The author is a reporter who hooks up with a pool player and agrees to put up the money to travel the country while gambling his finances on the hustler's skills. In this entertaining on-the-road journal, we meet a host of colorful characters and run a gauntlet of high stakes, low-life, pool hall activity. Befitting the smoky atmosphere of the pool hall, the language is strong and the threat of violence is always imminent. Over the course of the book, the action becomes repetitive, but the story is told from a unique perspective that captures the genuine flavor of pool hustling. Recommended for most libraries.?John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, N.J.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: It Books (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380729237
• ISBN-13: 978-0380729234
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Billiards & Pool

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, May 20, 2001

By 

richard_t "richard_t" (Overseas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey (Paperback)

Tony Annigoni - house pro and part owner of the Q-Club in San Francisco. David McCumber - pool devotee and writer with some money to spare. These two go on the road across North America hustling games and looking for action. Annigoni plays and generally wins. McCumber bankrolls his bets and sweats on the sidelines taking the notes that turned into this book. McCumber's writing is strong, sometimes a bit too Hunter Thompsonish, but he loves the game and has a visceral sense of humor about the odyssey that could cost him a bundle. Annigoni is a great player, but the opponents are world class and life on the road in cheap hotels, late trains, and all night pool halls is a tiring exercise. This is a good book. Those who play a little pool will enjoy the tense action and will be able to follow the games closely. Those who just enjoy a book about a little-known facet of America's underbelly will be swept along. Those who liked "The Color of Money" will appreciate the reality check.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't get any more realistic than this, September 4, 2002

By 

D. Uwate (Miami, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey (Paperback)

I just read it again--for the third time and I still found myself laughing out loud at McCumbers dead on the money descriptions of high level pool hustling. The players he describes are authentic, anyone who has met Keith McCready or Bucktooth can vouch for that, and that is what makes this book so entertaining, that it is an authentic glimpse of big time pool gambling. If you would like to see this in real life, just go to Louisville Kentucky during the first few weeks of January every year and check out the Derby City Classic tournament.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some fine shots, May 5, 2008

By 

K. Swanson (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Playing Off the Rail (Hardcover)

Very enjoyable read. Well-written, moves along, lots of good humor mixed with a longing for the glory days of the great pool rooms and the legendary hustlers, some of whom make appearances here.

Certainly one of the finer pool books but not as amusing as Fats' autobiography, which is so funny it's in a league of its own.

Still, McCumber delivers some very fine moments, and this is well worth the time if you've ever thought you knew how to shoot some pool.