So you fancy yourself as bit of a pool shark and want to make some money from hustling poor blokes who don’t know any better do you? Well my morally ambiguous friend, we’ve got the tips you need to hustle every last dollar out of your unsuspecting foe!

It’s worth noting right off the bat that you better actually know how to play pool. You can’t be trying to hustle someone if you can’t even pot simple shots. If the cue ball spends more time in the pocket than out when you play, then perhaps you need to brush up on your basic skills first. Once you can be confident you’re moderately skilled then it’s time to hustle!

How to hustle strangers

Notice that the title said strangers? Don’t hustle your friends. For one thing, they won’t be your friends for long if you rip them off. If that doesn’t bother you, then how about the fact that they probably know how good you are and your strengths and weaknesses so all the dirty, sneaky, underhand tricks that you would normally use against a target will be wasted since they actually know not to bet you.

Okay, so the hustling tips; let’s get to it.

• If you’re a real pro, you might want to consider buying a decent quality pool cue. The hustlers weapon of choice is a top notch cue which looks like the piece of crap house cue. Of course, the cue doesn’t make the man so if you’re terrible at pool it won’t matter how good your cue is. Many a hustler can whip opponents with a standard house cue.
It’s always good to play a couple of ‘friendly’ games first to assess your mark to see whether they are hustle material. At this stage it’s essential to get them comfortable by missing easy shots.
• Occasionally you can pot a tough shot and play it up as if it were a fluke, letting your opponent win a few games. Often known as sandbagging, this age-old technique can be used to build up your opponents confidence so you can bleed him dry later
• Many hustlers pretend to be hammered or stupid to lull their target into a false sense of security. Then, when it’s least expected, they’ll run the table and make game-winning shots.

As you can see, the actual hustling is less about actual pool skills and more about picking the right target and staying in your mediocre pool player character. So what else do you need to know?

Advanced hustler skills

Playing with your weaker hand

It will take a lot of time and determination to learn to play pool with your weak hand, but it can be worth the pay off if you’re looking to take some serious cash.

Once you are comfortable playing with your weak hand, put the hustle in motion as usual. Play a few games for fun and lose them, then bring in the money and start running the table. When your opponent has had enough of you taking his money and goes to walk away, offer him a double or nothing if he can beat you while you play with your ‘weak‘ hand. Easy money.

Mastering the hustler shot

As a pool hustler, you don’t want to draw attention to the fact that you could take everyones money without even breaking a sweat. You need to make it appear like you’re getting lucky with your shots. One way to do this is to master the art of almost potting. This is where your shot leaves your ball just short of the pocket, blocking your opponent from potting a shot into it. This, coupled with your character reaction, will make it look like you’re just getting unlucky. Then you can blitz the table and clean up, you unscrupulous S.O.B!

So there you have it. A few hustling tips to rip of unknowing old men down at your local pub and make a bit of money. Of course, if you pick someone who is a really great pool player you’re still screwed. Hustling is all about the mark; it’s not cheating. Oh, and don’t try to hustle a hustler or you’re likely to get burned.

Leave a comment with some of your pool hustling tips and tricks so we can all brush our morals aside in the pursuit of a few easy bucks.

Images by the-o-ster

This is an original post from Just A Guy Thing

The Hustlers Guide To Pool

Other articles you might like:

• The Man’s Man Guide To Dating: 8 Simple Dating Rules
• How I Learnt To Play Poker (And Bluff!)
• The Manly Link Roundup: Spring Break Edition
• How To Improve Your Physique Without Lifting Weights

Image by lecercle

You could be the most well-dressed man in the world with an amazing charisma, a magnetic personality and the charm to get any woman or any job you like - but it could all come crashing down like a house of cards if your shoulders look like the Swiss Alps. Grooming is often overlooked and unless you actually want to smell like a sweaty wilderbeast, you should pay at least a little attention to your personal hygiene.

Here’s a quick guide to banishing the likes of body-odors and bad breath. Trust me, you’ll thank us for it later.

Death Breath

Image by Hendricks_NY

There’s nothing more disgusting than talking to someone in close proximity and witnessing your eyebrows fall from your face due to extreme halitosis. Sometimes bad breath can be a sign of a kidney infection, so if your toxic fumes don’t go away after vigorous tooth brushing and tongue scraping, a trip to the doctor may be in order. Also try to chew sugar-free gum because sugar is known to exaggerate bad breath. Try a bottle of breath freshener instead.

Rash Reactions

Image by getoutdoors

Skin flare-ups can be triggered by any number of things, the most common of which is too much ale and a reaction to shower gels. Unless you want to look like a scabies-infested hobo, you should treat serious skin reactions with an intensive repair lotion. Eucerin’s Redness Relief also uses green pigment to cancel out the redness of your skin and leaves you looking a lot less like you’ve been scrubbing yourself with a wire brush.

Stinky Pits

Image by eazy_pics

While there are a few rare women who revel in the musty smell of a mans arm pits, the vast majority prefer you to not fester in your own juices. If you’re an extreme sweater, you can paralyse the sweat glands with botox. If that’s too metrosexual for you, don’t sweat it (excuse the pun). Stick to wearing natural, loose fitting fabrics and keep the colors dark to avoid the circle of death under your arms. A cold shower after exercising will close the sweat pores and wash off odor-causing bacteria. A hardcore antiperspirant is also essential.

Foot Fumes

Image by justjenn25

If your feet still stink after you’ve cleaned them, you could be a victim of athlete’s foot. Which is ironic if the only exercise you do is getting the beer from the fridge. It can be easily treated using foot gel to kill the odors instead of just covering them up. You can also whack on some foot spray to really show that bacteria who the man is.

Dandruff Disaster

Image by Simon Pais-Thomas

Looking like a ski slope in the south of France is unbecoming for anyone and people will avoid you like it’s contagious. The cause of dandruff is an imbalance in the scalp’s PH level. Sooth your inflamed noggin by applying a pre-shampoo treatment and then avoid further snowy days by regularly using a dandruff lotion.

Okay fellas, it’s your turn. What’s your worst grooming atrocity? Ear fungus? Lice in your beard? We want to know! Ladies, feel free to chip in and reveal your mans worst habits.

This is an original post from Just A Guy Thing

How To Rectify Appalling Grooming Atrocities

Similar articles you might like:

• Male Hair Loss Myths Exposed
• Intense Tabata Interval Routines For Ultimate Conditioning
• The 7 Essential Habits Of A Successful Fitness Routine

Image by guy paterson

Proper tipping etiquette is still a trait rarely found in modern men yet, when perfected, it can actually become quite enjoyable. It’s a selfless act of giving to others based on the level of service you’ve received. A lot of these people get a pitiful wage and the tips they get go a long way to supplement their income. Make them happy and you’ll be looked after. Annoy them and you’d be best advised to eat your meal with caution!

Tipping like a Gentleman

Tipping really is an art form and when you’re giving your tip you want to be as discrete and gentlemanly as possible. Hand over the tip with your palm facing down and shake hands with the person you are tipping, simultaneously placing the money in their hand. What you want to avoid doing is waving the money around and making a big deal of it. You’ll look like an idiot for starts and if that isn’t enough, you’re going to make the person receiving the tip feel uncomfortable because, believe it or not, you’re coming across like a condescending jerk. You’re not throwing a treat for Fido here.

So how do you figure out how much to tip? Well the truth is there are no tipping rules per se, however there are guidelines which suggest how much is appropriate to give. Let’s investigate.

The restaurant waiter/waitress

This is the one that causes most debate because there is no hard and fast rule. It is also made even more difficult by waiting staff who have lost sight of the fact that a tip is a gratuity and is not actually required. As a guideline though, I’d say you can safely use the following without a disgruntled waiter spitting in your salad:

• Self-serve/Buffet restaurant - 10-12%. If the service was fantastic, you could up this to 15%.
• Local restaurant - 15%. Again, you could up this by a few percent if the server worked particularly hard or went out of their way to help you.
• A 4-star restaurant - You’ll want to tip the maitre d’ as you’re being seated, particularly if you’re a regular and he/she goes out of their way to reserve you a table or get a table when the restaurant is busy. The standard tip here is anywhere from $20-100. For the service of the meal itself I’d recommend a tip of around 20-22%. Don’t forget to tip the wine steward (a few dollars per bottle of wine) and/or the coat check attendant ($1 for a couple of coats).

Taxi driver

Unless you want to annoy the Travis Bickle-esque taxi driver by stiffing him on a tip you’d better go ahead and give 15% of the fare.

Hair salon

You want to make sure your hair looks as good as possible and tipping will ensure that your hair stylist gives a polished cut. They’ll also be more likely to look after you next time you visit too (I’ve been given a free colour before simply for tipping well). An acceptable amount is somewhere in the region of 10-15% of the cost.

Hotel staff

There are a number of staff members at the hotel that can make your stay very pleasant or a living nightmare depending on how you tip them. Here’s who you should tip and how much to give them:

• Chambermaid - $5 per night you stay. That is, if you want clean sheets, towels and plenty of toilet roll.
• Room service waiter - Again this is the standard 15%.
• Bellhop - If you let the bellhop carry your bags up to your room and show you around said room without giving them a tip then you’re going to hell. Tip them around $10-15 for their efforts.

The casino

If you’re going for a night out at the casino, you better be prepared to tip. Of course if you’re a professional gambler (or just extremely lucky) you’ll be able to tip from your winnings.

• Blackjack dealer - $5 chip (or more) per session. It’s also common place in casinos for the players to place a small side bet for the dealers. You can agree the amount with other players but a $1 chip is usually sufficient.
• Craps dealer - Those craps dealers love the action as much as you. It’s common to place up to a 10% side bet for the dealer.
• Poker dealer - $5 per session. Winners usually tip at least $10 and sometimes as much as 10% on bigger wins.
• Drink waitresses - $1 chip per drink.

Parking attendant

You don’t want some juvenile attendant ruining your prized Bentley Continental because you didn’t tip the lad, do you? On second thoughts, why would you let a juvenile attendant park your prized Bentley Continental unless you’re asking for trouble?

You should tip, at the very least $1 ($5 if they help with your luggage) but I would tip a little extra to get a better level of service. Perhaps $10-15 to make sure they don’t take it for a joy-ride á la Ferris Bueller. Oh, that reminds me, always check the mileage of the car before handing it over to a parking attendant!

But what if I don’t want to give a tip?

There are some occasions where you feel unjustified to give out a tip, but let me tell you why you should.

• The food was terrible. If the food was terrible, then complain to the manager (you might get a discount on the bill) but don’t take away the tip from the waiting staff because you’re punishing them for someone else’s mistake. Chances are they worked very hard for you and to not reward them would be unfavourable.
• The service was below par. If the service was below par then you should tip at a lower rate than normal. Usually, I’d speak to the waiter I’m tipping and politely explain the reasons for the lower tip. Just make sure you’ve eaten all your food before you tell them!
• You are a stingy and grumpy old man. So you don’t want to tip. Why not? You’re rewarding someone for doing good work. How would you feel if your boss decided to not give you the pay raise you’ve been asking for or taking your bonus away from you just because he felt like it? As the old saying goes, “Treat other people the way you expect to be treated yourself.”

Oh and for those of you wondering how to deal with people who flat out ask you for a tip. I like to go with the following:

Yeah, I’ve got a tip for you. Never eat yellow snow.

What’s your etiquette for tipping? Is it more or less than I’ve suggested? Also, if you’ve got a great tipping story from a restaurant for example, let us know in the comments.

This is an original post from Just A Guy Thing

How To Tip Like A Gentleman

Other articles you might like:

• The Worlds Least Scary (And Slightly Girly) Murderer
• The Anti-Male Personified
• Car Maintenance 101 For Men
• 10 Things Your Dad Never Told You About Sex

Image by The Book of Biff

I haven’t had a splinter since I was a troublesome young boy who made dens and treehouses in the woods. That was, until the other day when I had this nagging, dull pain in my thumb. I looked down and it was one of those annoying ones. Really small and really deep. It was parallel to the skin’s surface too so getting it out wasn’t as easy as just pushing it up from the bottom!

Unlike Biff above, however, I decided to not go overkill and removed the little bugger as easily as I possible could.

Three simple steps to splinter removal

First off, the splinter may actually be forced out naturally by your body. But if, like me, you’re an impatient guy who wants it sorted right away, here’s how to go about it.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly before removing the splinter. Not only will this prevent nasty infections, but it will also soften your skin so that it’s easier to get the splinter out.
2. Sterilise a needle and use it to open up the skin enough to grab the annoyance with a pair of tweezers.
3. Grab the end of the splinter with the tweezers and back it out of the skin. Wash the area and you’re done.

More difficult splinter removal

Removing a splinter is easier than cracking a joke about Britney Spears going off the rails again. But sometimes, the splinter will find it’s way too deep to reach, or worse still, behind a nail.

• Splinter behind the nail. If the splinter is behind the nail, the best thing for you to do is go to the doctor and see if he can cut the nail away to remove it. If you’re a badass, you can do this yourself. Also, if you’re a tough guy, you can just leave it until the nail grows out and forces the splinter to the surface.
• Organic splinter material. Organic splinters such as animal spines and plant thorns are much more likely to cause infection or toxic reactions. Look for signs of infection. Redness, swelling, oozing pus, and severe pain are all signs you may need amputation. Only kidding! But you may need to see a doctor for some drug-related treatment!

If you’ve got a man-related problem that you’d like to know how to cure, please leave a comment or contact us detailing your ailment (be it life-threatening or otherwise) and you might see an article show up that answers your prayers - so to speak!

This is an original post from Just A Guy Thing

The Easiest Way To Remove A Splinter

Other articles you might like:

• Spandex Rock God & Liquid Lace Video
• The First Just A Guy Thing Competition
• Hardcore Training: H For Hardcore
• The 7 Day Quest For The Perfect Hangover Cure

Okay, so most of us are not in any imminent danger of being lifted at home or work and then taken to a remote location to be tortured for information. That being said, you may be looking to take a job in the Middle East or perhaps you’re worried about the husband of the woman you were sleeping with while he was serving with the SAS in Iraq! Either way, it doesn’t hurt to know what may happen to you if you get captured and how you can survive interrogation.

Why would you be targeted for interrogation?

There are a number of reasons why you could be picked out as an interrogation target. If you work in a high profile job or have access to sensitive top level information, you could become a target. If you work, or are about to take work, in the Middle East, you may be lifted for ransom or - worse still - execution! Whatever the reason, if you feel you may be at risk of being taken, you need to know the procedures and steps that you can take to maximise the chances of your survival!

Now, there are a number of things that you need to plan for and be aware of if you do find yourself in an interrogation situation.

1. Accepting your situation
2. Always be the ‘grey’ man
3. Psychological torture
4. Stress positions
5. Stay strong
6. Always plan to escape

Accepting your situation

The first point to make is that if you do get kidnapped by a terrorist group or your mistress’ husband, you need to accept your fate. In his books, Andy McNab (former SAS commander who survived 6 weeks of torture in Iraq) often talks about the character accepting the fact that he is ‘in the shit’! Once you can come to terms with being in the situation you are in, you will be able to calm down and think more clearly to create a plan for survival. Panicking is not an option. If you panic, all logic goes out of the window and you won’t survive. End of story. You’ve been captured and your captors have physical control of you. You need to keep a focused mind and accept that you are in the shit. You will be beaten and possibly tortured, but for the time being there is nothing you can do about it!

Always be the ‘grey’ man

According to McNab, one of the worst things you can do in this kind of situation is puff out your chest and be aggressive with your captors. What will happen is they will beat you relentlessly, which damages your fitness and impedes any chance you may have of escaping. Worse still, they may mistake you for Special Forces and transfer you to another location which is more secure where you may receive a full physical interrogation. You need to appear at all times to be calm, placid and submissive. McNab also advises to overplay your injuries. Every time they touch you, moan, groan, scream, yell and even cry. This not only buys you time to escape if the opportunity presents itself, but they may provide you with more food and drink if they think you are badly injured.

Psychological torture

Interrogators are smart people and are very good at finding ways to make you talk. They will use a psychological approach in which they will assess your body language, how you react to their methods and your eyes can be a dead giveaway! They are looking to see what you are like and what factors scare you. If they find anything they think can be used to turn you, they will. They may also use the ‘Fear Down’ approach by bringing you a hot drink and food. They’ll tell you that it’s okay and you’re not going to be hurt. Nothing will happen to you and they will help you and your captured friends if you tell them what they need to know. Making you feel comfortable is a very good way of breaking you to get the information. You must always, always remain the grey man. You know nothing.

Stress positions

Stress positions are used throughout the world to interrogate prisoners. They put stress on muscle groups which over a long period of time can be very painful and dangerous for your health. A common stress position is to stand you a meter away from a wall with your legs spread apart and force you to lean forward with your hands above your head on the wall. Very quickly you will start to get pins and needles in your hands and after about half an hour your hands will start to swell and the position will be extremely painful to maintain. As soon as you move out of the position, you will be kicked and punched and then put right back into the stress position again! Quite often it’s not just the stress position that you fear, but the punishment you will receive if you move!

Stay strong

You will, at some point, be subjected to physical interrogation. If you are a soldier, it is very important that you maintain operational security. People that you consider friends could die as a result of you giving your interrogator information. You need to stay mentally strong and have the will power and resolve to not give up no matter what they do to you. You may come out with cuts and bruises or you may have more severe, life-threatening injuries - it doesn’t matter! You are in the situation and you need to hold out. As mentioned earlier, you should overplay your injuries. Look to make eye contact with your guards and try to get them to see you as a weak human being. This might get you more food and drink to keep your mind alert so that you don’t ever submit to your captors.

Always plan to escape

From the moment you are captured you need to be thinking about escape. You will have plenty of time to create “What if?” strategies for every eventuality. What if the guards forget to lock the doors? What if there is an air attack? What are you going to do? You should always be planning your escape. It will keep your mind fresh and focused despite the physical abuse you may receive and if you miss that one split second window of opportunity to get out, you may never escape! It is imperative that you always try to get out!

Now it’s worth mentioning that I’m not in the military and I have never been interrogated by mercenaries of any kind. Seek professional advice before going to Iraq, folks! Also please don’t go out and kidnap a friend, put him in the stress position and make him wet himself! That’s just not cool!

Image taken from Waiting For The Guards campaign by Amnesty International. The guy in the video actually held stress positions for over 6 hours to make the film as realistic as possible!

This is an original post from Just A Guy Thing

How To: Survive Interrogation

Other articles you might like:

• How Being The Perfect Gentleman Will Make Her Want You More
• Powerful Networking Through Business Card Etiquette
• A Link Roundup For The Guys: The International Babe Edition
• The Man About Town Guide To Effective Bar Hopping