Knockers and the Poolroom Police

Cliff Joyner and Jack Cooney

How does one conduct ones self in the poolroom? It depends on whether you have a huster's mentality or a square-johns. A hustler is looking to CREATE action, ALLOW action, and WIN MONEY. If you are hanging in the poolroom with a hustler's mentality then you should learn to hate the knockers and the mother hens that run around looking to "protect" their flock, the self-appointed poolroom patrolmen. If you want to make sure that every game is exactly even (and who are you to make that determination?), and take it personal when you see someone going "off," why did you pick a poolroom to spend your time in the first place? When I was coming up, knocking was a dangerous profession. If a player came around that I knew and nobody else did, it was professional courtesy to keep my mouth shut and let grown men take care of themselves. The pluses for this type of behavior was many; you could bet on the side, you could discreetly ask the player for a piece of his action, and you could ask for a consideration bite after the player won. By keeping the player anonymous, you could take him to other spots and win more money. Lastly, If you had a treacherous nature, as some did then, after accumulating trust by keeping silent you could later steer the player into a game where he couldnt win. If the players knew they could go somewhere, get action and not get knocked, this encouraged other players, some not so good, to come around and want to play in your place. This made for an action spot where everybody had a chance to make money. In Chicago’s Bensingers, and Detroit's Rack and Cue, knockers were looked upon as pariahs and were always at risk for physical violence.

Here is a good example of how this works out well for everybody concerned (except the victims):
I brought Jack Cooney to the all-black poolrooms on the South and West Side of Chicago. There were several players in each room that knew Cooney. None said a word. However, after Jack took each joint off, they all came around with their hands out and all received fair consideration.

I always thought that you went to a poolroom to play, gamble and compete. Knocking does nothing

to further those concepts.