Mystery Career #7: Who Am I? Can You Guess My Job?

I make my living by playing a game that most play in their leisure time. What could be better than that? As far as I'm concerned, it's the best game on the planet! To be successful in my profession, one has to meet plenty of fresh faces to play with. In my case, this means a town with a lot of tourists, but many of my colleagues work in big cities or travel from place to place to earn a living. Some of them are actually professionals and compete for money and prizes in competitions worldwide. Can you guess my profession?

Still can't guess? My workplace is a rustic little bar & grill in the great state of Alaska. It is the only watering hole in town, so everyone passes through these doors! You wouldn't think there'd be much action in a town with a population of 103, but summer is kickin'! All of the sports fishermen from the lower 48 come to fish our pristine lakes, rivers and streams. They spend their nights at the bar & grill, bragging about the day's biggest catches. I can relate, because I am a fisherman, of sorts, only I don't catch my fish in water!

I'm a friendly sort and a good listener. I'm always ready to drink a beer and take my cue at the table to rack and break, while listening to the fish tales. Once I make my mark, I go in to action, usually playing poorly at first, so they'll want to play some more for higher stakes. I call this my "bird with a broken wing" act! I scratch a lot. They are always so surprised when I make my miraculous comeback and end up with all the money wagered in the end!

If they get too rowdy and drunk or become sore losers and decide not to honor our bet, I introduce them to my stakehorse, Willy. He's the best spectator you ever want to meet. At 6-4 and 300 pounds, he settles a lot of disagreements for me. In return, I split my lucky winnings with him.

These are some of the techniques I practice every day to stay at the top of my game: making marks, trick shots, "sneaky petes", sandbagging and dumping.

I learned my trade during high school, nights at the bar & grill. Luckily, I've always looked a bit older than I am, so I never got carded back then when I was a kid!

If you still can't guess what I do for a living, perhaps the names of some of my more famous colleagues will help: Minnesota Fats, Chef Anton and Kid Delicious.

Still haven't quite got it? This clue should give it away: My profession was featured in the 1986 movie, The Color of Money, with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. They did a good job of portraying the ins and outs of my profession!

If you guessed that I am a pool shark, you are absolutely right! I prefer to be called a billiards wizard. Some call me a hustler, mostly the sore losers that play against me. I'm not trying to hurt anybody! I'm just having a good time and taking a few friendly wagers along the way to pay the bills!

If the jargon I used kept you guessing a bit, the definitions follow below:

1. break: the first hit of the pool game with a cue stick and the cue ball in which one tries to spread the pool balls as far apart as possible on the table
2. cue ball: the ball that is used to hit all the other balls on the pool table
3. cue stick: pool stick
4. dumping: losing on purpose
5. mark: a pool shark's unsuspecting opponent
6. rack: a triangular frame and the first step in the pool game, where the balls are set close together in the frame to prepare for the break
7. sandbagging: another term for dumping
8. scratch: prematurely sinking the wrong ball in a pool table pocket or missing a shot altogether
9. sneaky pete: a high quality cue stick disguised as a lower end, "house" stick
10. stakehorse: a pool shark's protector and often times, financier
11. trick shot: a shot that looks impossible, but in reality can be done by a pool shark with ease

To read the previous Mystery Career Installment, click here

Sources:

1. "Happygrrls :. How To :. Be a Pool Shark," happygrrls.com/howto/pool3.html

2. "Hustling," Wikipedia