It's a dangerous world out there. If you walk into the wrong place, you could get eaten by a shark!  Maybe not eaten, but you could lose a huge amount of cash if you don't have your wits about you and you fall victim to a professional hustler.  To help keep you out of trouble, I present this simple list of things to look out for when invited by a stranger to shoot a few frames.

Look out for people playing in hats

The Top 10 Ways to spot a Pool Hustler

1. They are not drinking as much as you, but appear more drunk.
2. They moan very loudly about their bad luck when they miss a shot
3. They are from ‘out of town’
4. They offer you one more game – a chance to get all your money back
5. They seem to know a lot about giving head-starts for someone who just started playing yesterday.
6. They set the balls up very quickly.  A hustler doesn’t want you thinking too much between frames.
7. They tell you they have just won the lottery and decided to take up pool for ‘fun’
8. ‘Fun’ turns out to be playing for £20 a frame
9. They are wearing a trilby hat
10. They tell you that their name is ‘Jeff’, but the barman calls them ‘Sharky’