Customer Reviews

Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

A day, actually several, in the life of a pool hustler and his stakehorse. A very colorful and well told/written story. Sometimes the language gets a little ruff; but that's what happens when you write a true life account. Worth the read, especially for anyone considering pool for more than just a hobby.

Read while flying to San Francisco, and truly enjoyed the long flight. The writing flows and makes this a great read. The Q Club is still there, although the name has changed, but the description of it and the neighborhood were dead on. A great book for anyone interested in the many games to be played on the billiards table, and for learning about life on the road.

This is without a doubt the most fun I've had reading a book about pool. I couldn't put it down, and I finished it in about two days.

About a true life story, this book just makes you want to play. There are some really funny momments in the books with some of the characters. Eventhough I'll probably never play that good, it just made me want to play.

If you're looking for a really fun read that will revitalize your interest in the game this is the one.

I read this book because I play a lot of billiards. Play in tournaments and this is a great read for all billiards players. He tells it like it is! But unforunately, I don't play for money!

This book was one of the few I have ever read that I simply could not put down. I must say, the author captured the true sensation of the hustler's hunt, the feeling in your stomach that you might eat a fancy steak dinner, or go hungry. As a small-time player myself (or a "shortstop," as the author calls us), I found this book to be truer to life than any other. Moreover, the people and places are still around, for the most part. As a player growing up in Philadelphia, the reference to my old pals was more than accurate; I could barely get a game with those tightwads either, and when I did, I had to run for my life after winning! This is one fantastic book.

A fantastic insight into the sordid life of pool hustling. McCumber paints a fantastic picture of the dark and smoky, dangerous world of urban poolrooms, dive bars, and their clientele. He delves also into the subtleties of the modern game and the juxtaposition with historic people and places.

In the vein of "Gonzo Journalism" Mccumber has written a book that is certainly appreciated by anyone interested in the various games of pool and billiards, but uses enough imagery and verbiage to capture even those with a smattering of insight of the game.

Having found this book in a WSJ review on the top 5 gambling books, I elected to order. I had spent two high school years in "small town america" in the 60's, where one of the major local activities was "Drew's pool hall". Looking back, I see alot of similarities in McCumber's book. The "stale cigar smoke, the stale aspirations of old men,the rebellious 8th graders slouched eating slim jims"....and the 9 ball table at the front near the bar where all the real action was.

What other game gives you colorfull names like Bucktooth (the "Tooth"), Kamikazie Bob, Waterdog, among many others?

McCumber takes us on a whirlwind tour of the U.S. and Canada with one pool player (hustler?) and one money staker, McCumber himself. The locations and pool games are timeless and one has to wonder if this tradition continues today.