Hustler

"Fast" Eddie Felson knows the pool-hall world inside out: the drinking, the life on the road, the men who play, and above all the hustle. He has spent years beating everyone he can in town after town, and he is growing tired of it. He wants something bigger.

In his eyes, the best pool player alive is Minnesota Fats, the top player in New York, who has not lost a game in years. Eddie has the talent to be the greatest, but only if he can keep his arrogance from getting in the way of his skill.

Tevis builds the story around the idea that a person loses when he chooses to lose, and that an opponent takes the advantage when he chooses to win. The book first appeared in 1959 and was adapted into a 1961 film starring Paul Newman. Walter Tevis also wrote The Queen's Gambit.