What do you think?
Rate this book
Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler
From a popular senior writer for Sports Illustrated comes this high-stakes, boys-on-the-road story about the most unlikely of phenoms--a heavyset, bipolar, and endlessly charming pool hustler named Kid Delicious
In most sports the pinnacle is Wheaties-box notoriety. But in the world of pool, notoriety is the last thing a hustler desires. Such is the dilemma that faces one Danny Basavich, an affable, generously proportioned Jewish kid from Jersey, who flounders through high school until he discovers the one thing he excels at--the felt--and hits the road.
Running the Table spins the outrageous tale of Kid Delicious and his studly--if less talented--set-up man, Bristol Bob. Never was there a more entertaining or mismatched pair of sidekicks, as together they go underground into the flavorfully seamy world of pool to learn the art of the hustle and experience the highs and lows of life on the road. Their four-year odyssey takes them from Podunk pool halls to slick urban billiard rooms across America, as they manage one night to take down as much as $30,000, only to lose so much the next night that they lack gas money to get home. With every stop, the action gets hotter, the calls get closer, and Delicious’s prowess with a cue stick becomes known more and more widely. Ultimately, Delicious sheds his cover once and for all and becomes professional pool’s biggest sensation since Minnesota Fats.
In a book sure to appeal to fans of Bringing Down the House and Positively Fifth Street, Wertheim evokes a subculture full of nefarious but loveable characters and illuminates America’s fascination with games and gambling. He also paints a lasting portrait of an insanely talented and magnetic hustler, who is literally larger than life.
In most sports the pinnacle is Wheaties-box notoriety. But in the world of pool, notoriety is the last thing a hustler desires. Such is the dilemma that faces one Danny Basavich, an affable, generously proportioned Jewish kid from Jersey, who flounders through high school until he discovers the one thing he excels at--the felt--and hits the road.
Running the Table spins the outrageous tale of Kid Delicious and his studly--if less talented--set-up man, Bristol Bob. Never was there a more entertaining or mismatched pair of sidekicks, as together they go underground into the flavorfully seamy world of pool to learn the art of the hustle and experience the highs and lows of life on the road. Their four-year odyssey takes them from Podunk pool halls to slick urban billiard rooms across America, as they manage one night to take down as much as $30,000, only to lose so much the next night that they lack gas money to get home. With every stop, the action gets hotter, the calls get closer, and Delicious’s prowess with a cue stick becomes known more and more widely. Ultimately, Delicious sheds his cover once and for all and becomes professional pool’s biggest sensation since Minnesota Fats.
In a book sure to appeal to fans of Bringing Down the House and Positively Fifth Street, Wertheim evokes a subculture full of nefarious but loveable characters and illuminates America’s fascination with games and gambling. He also paints a lasting portrait of an insanely talented and magnetic hustler, who is literally larger than life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2007
23 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
L. Jon Wertheim
23 books65 followersL. Jon Wertheim is the executive editor of Sports Illustrated. A sports journalist with a passion for psychology and economics, he is the author of such New York Times bestsellers as Scorecasting (written with Toby Moskowitz) and You Can’t Make This Up (written with Al Michaels).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
November 25, 2023
I absolutely LOVED this book and I think anyone would enjoy it. The ‘Kid Delicious’ character is such a great little slice of America I never would’ve known about. Loved.
April 12, 2025
incredible story, but way too many mean-spirited comments about his weight :( really took away from my enjoyment
December 29, 2014
This is a very interesting book, telling the tale of Dan Basavich, known by the moniker "Kid Delicious" in the pool world. Delicious is a pool hustler, and the book documents his life on the road scratching out a living by playing, and beating, a lot of excellent pool players for money.
The book also details some of Delicious' battles with depression. Basavich was diagnosed, later in life, as bipolar, and he suffers through depressive periods, mostly when he isn't playing pool. He has a fear of doctors and doesn't like the way the anti-depressants make him feel, so he self-medicates through pool, the rush of gambling, and the thrill of winning.
The problem with a book like this, and Wertheim acknowledges this in the text, is that it is nearly impossible to describe a pool shot in such a way as to bring to life the difficulty of the shot; likewise the amazement of those watching it executed. There is a lot of drama in Delicious' pool life, and he wins some amazing matches. But it is nearly impossible to convey this in text.
I tried to supplement my reading with watching videos of Delicious online. It helped a little, but of course there are no videos of him hustling. Most of what is available was from televised professional tournaments. Delicious turned pro as he became better known in the pool world. As his reputation increased, his ability to hustle others at pool decreased. It's hard to get someone to bet money against you when they know how good you are. These videos showed some of his skill, but it still was difficult to get the full picture.
I like a lot of Wertheim's work in Sports Illustrated, and he doesn't disappoint here. He does a good job of describing the other drama in Danny's life - the depression and the toll it takes on his relationships. The only reason I only give it three stars is the difficulty in getting across some of the drama of the pool.
The book also details some of Delicious' battles with depression. Basavich was diagnosed, later in life, as bipolar, and he suffers through depressive periods, mostly when he isn't playing pool. He has a fear of doctors and doesn't like the way the anti-depressants make him feel, so he self-medicates through pool, the rush of gambling, and the thrill of winning.
The problem with a book like this, and Wertheim acknowledges this in the text, is that it is nearly impossible to describe a pool shot in such a way as to bring to life the difficulty of the shot; likewise the amazement of those watching it executed. There is a lot of drama in Delicious' pool life, and he wins some amazing matches. But it is nearly impossible to convey this in text.
I tried to supplement my reading with watching videos of Delicious online. It helped a little, but of course there are no videos of him hustling. Most of what is available was from televised professional tournaments. Delicious turned pro as he became better known in the pool world. As his reputation increased, his ability to hustle others at pool decreased. It's hard to get someone to bet money against you when they know how good you are. These videos showed some of his skill, but it still was difficult to get the full picture.
I like a lot of Wertheim's work in Sports Illustrated, and he doesn't disappoint here. He does a good job of describing the other drama in Danny's life - the depression and the toll it takes on his relationships. The only reason I only give it three stars is the difficulty in getting across some of the drama of the pool.
January 3, 2014
Even though I knew nothing about pool, especially the entire subculture of pool hustling, I found this to be a very entertaining audio. Kid Delicious is a true original and even though his life is not perfect I could not help but root for him as he tried to live his dream. The narration was done by Butch Engle who was excellent.
April 29, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “POOL HUSTLING CHAMP FIGHTS DEPRESSION AND CONSIDERS SUICIDE!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeez, that fat man, look at the way he moves. Like a dancer.
And those fingers, them chubby fingers. That stroke,
It’s like he’s playing the violin or something.”
- Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) marveling at
- Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) in “The Hustler”
-
The above quote is what begins the PROLOGUE of this gripping true story of Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich. Danny is a 5 foot 9 nine inch 320 pound, charming, bipolar, depressed, suicidal, crowd-pleasing, warm-smiling, ice-breaking, pool-hustling, professional champion, Jewish mensch, from New Jersey, by way of Brooklyn! Danny as a kid would buy candy and treats in bulk, bring them to school and sell them at outrageous markups between classes. He also ran poker games during study hall and football pools on Fridays. He ingeniously figured out that packs of baseball cards that included valuable bonus cards were slightly thicker than the regular packs. Using a micrometer Danny could figure out which packs had the valuable cards in them without opening the pack and would then buy those packs and resell the bonus cards at a huge markup. In summary, before Danny started playing pool he already had the makings of a classic hustler. Due to his girth Danny was teased and bullied unmercifully in high school and dropped out when he was fifteen. Danny became overridden with depression. He would sleep all day and eat unbelievable amounts of food. Then he discovered pool, which probably saved his life and made this writer’s dream of a story reality.
Danny starts practicing pool in every waking minute of his life and his burgeoning talent gives him a reason to live. It gives him a self-worth that he never had before when he looked in the mirror and saw an unattractive overweight man-child going nowhere, as he seriously considered suicide. From the moment he sees the potential in himself, the reader is then taken on a roller coaster ride from one pool hall to another. Some venues are pig sties, and others are glimmering palaces. When Danny wins a big hustle against a “slender, flashy, up-and-coming player called “Kid Vicious” a legend is born. As Danny unscrewed his stick and prepared to leave, a fan whistled and then cracked, “Kid Vicious” just got hustled by “Kid Delicious”! “Kid Delicious” would become Danny’s moniker from there on out. Along with fighting his depression “Delicious” had to fight the “catch-22” of not becoming too famous, because no one would play him. A number of times ill-fated professional pool leagues would start with grandiose plans and go bust. There was the quandary that hustling paid more than a professional match, but “Delicious” also wanted the celebrity and acknowledgement of his talent. But if he got the professional victories that would put him on TV and in billiard magazines, and then he could no longer enter backwater pool halls in North Dakota, Minnesota, Alabama, and wherever his car would take him, incognito, “under the radar” for a big hustle, and that’s where the real money lies!
This book takes you through the back alleys, the cheap hotels, the dives, along with “Delicious’s” weight gains and losses, mood swings and rubbing of elbow’s with more nefarious character’s with more nicknames than the mafia. Some of the “classic” nicknames include: “Scorpion”, “Black Widow”, “Gunslinger”, “Rifleman”, “Freezer”, “Ice Man”, “The Lion”, “The Cobra”, “Spanish Mike”, “Scott The Shot”, “Shannon The Cannon”, “Earl The Pearl”, “Weenie Beanie”, “Ginky”, “King James”, “Portuguese”, “Shaggy”, “Chewy”, ”Oil Can Larry”, “Larry The Lizard”, “The Prince Of Pool”, “Puerto Rican Pete”, “Gypsy”, “Chili”, “Fifty”, “The Crow”, “Cornbread Red”, “Bristol Bob”, “Snake”, “Double J”, “The Hurricane”, “Harry The Hat”, “The Korean Dragon”, “Big City Smitty”, “The Professor” … and many, many more! I recommend this book highly! Buy it and get to know the rest of the gang!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeez, that fat man, look at the way he moves. Like a dancer.
And those fingers, them chubby fingers. That stroke,
It’s like he’s playing the violin or something.”
- Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) marveling at
- Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) in “The Hustler”
-
The above quote is what begins the PROLOGUE of this gripping true story of Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich. Danny is a 5 foot 9 nine inch 320 pound, charming, bipolar, depressed, suicidal, crowd-pleasing, warm-smiling, ice-breaking, pool-hustling, professional champion, Jewish mensch, from New Jersey, by way of Brooklyn! Danny as a kid would buy candy and treats in bulk, bring them to school and sell them at outrageous markups between classes. He also ran poker games during study hall and football pools on Fridays. He ingeniously figured out that packs of baseball cards that included valuable bonus cards were slightly thicker than the regular packs. Using a micrometer Danny could figure out which packs had the valuable cards in them without opening the pack and would then buy those packs and resell the bonus cards at a huge markup. In summary, before Danny started playing pool he already had the makings of a classic hustler. Due to his girth Danny was teased and bullied unmercifully in high school and dropped out when he was fifteen. Danny became overridden with depression. He would sleep all day and eat unbelievable amounts of food. Then he discovered pool, which probably saved his life and made this writer’s dream of a story reality.
Danny starts practicing pool in every waking minute of his life and his burgeoning talent gives him a reason to live. It gives him a self-worth that he never had before when he looked in the mirror and saw an unattractive overweight man-child going nowhere, as he seriously considered suicide. From the moment he sees the potential in himself, the reader is then taken on a roller coaster ride from one pool hall to another. Some venues are pig sties, and others are glimmering palaces. When Danny wins a big hustle against a “slender, flashy, up-and-coming player called “Kid Vicious” a legend is born. As Danny unscrewed his stick and prepared to leave, a fan whistled and then cracked, “Kid Vicious” just got hustled by “Kid Delicious”! “Kid Delicious” would become Danny’s moniker from there on out. Along with fighting his depression “Delicious” had to fight the “catch-22” of not becoming too famous, because no one would play him. A number of times ill-fated professional pool leagues would start with grandiose plans and go bust. There was the quandary that hustling paid more than a professional match, but “Delicious” also wanted the celebrity and acknowledgement of his talent. But if he got the professional victories that would put him on TV and in billiard magazines, and then he could no longer enter backwater pool halls in North Dakota, Minnesota, Alabama, and wherever his car would take him, incognito, “under the radar” for a big hustle, and that’s where the real money lies!
This book takes you through the back alleys, the cheap hotels, the dives, along with “Delicious’s” weight gains and losses, mood swings and rubbing of elbow’s with more nefarious character’s with more nicknames than the mafia. Some of the “classic” nicknames include: “Scorpion”, “Black Widow”, “Gunslinger”, “Rifleman”, “Freezer”, “Ice Man”, “The Lion”, “The Cobra”, “Spanish Mike”, “Scott The Shot”, “Shannon The Cannon”, “Earl The Pearl”, “Weenie Beanie”, “Ginky”, “King James”, “Portuguese”, “Shaggy”, “Chewy”, ”Oil Can Larry”, “Larry The Lizard”, “The Prince Of Pool”, “Puerto Rican Pete”, “Gypsy”, “Chili”, “Fifty”, “The Crow”, “Cornbread Red”, “Bristol Bob”, “Snake”, “Double J”, “The Hurricane”, “Harry The Hat”, “The Korean Dragon”, “Big City Smitty”, “The Professor” … and many, many more! I recommend this book highly! Buy it and get to know the rest of the gang!
December 25, 2018
I met Danny at the PA State Championships during the timeframe accounted for during this book. He was an electric personality and a joy to talk with!
All of us pool players dream of the road. The stories will last a lifetime! Once at a tournament in New Bedford, CT. Earl Strickland went up to wife and gave her an autographed photo of himself. I had never seen her laugh so hard!
All of us pool players dream of the road. The stories will last a lifetime! Once at a tournament in New Bedford, CT. Earl Strickland went up to wife and gave her an autographed photo of himself. I had never seen her laugh so hard!
November 8, 2024
THIS BOOK IS FOR EVERYONE!!!!! Don't be afraid to read this book if ur not a pool aficionado. A series a great stories about being a pool hustler on the road. Excellent writing. Great content. A must read!!!
January 8, 2019
Great book about the rise of Kid Delicious, one of the last pool hustlers of the modern era.
January 17, 2019
Interesting but a little slow paced for my liking.
February 19, 2021
This is a book I read. It was quite good. 4 stars.
January 30, 2022
Incredibly well written and reported. Very repetitive towards the middle and end.
January 31, 2023
Just an awesome story! Had a lot of fun reading that one. What a life style for sure
October 7, 2023
Exceptionally well written.
Few things seem more romantic than what pool (and everything that comes with it) in the U.S. has been and continues to be since the 1930s.
Few things seem more romantic than what pool (and everything that comes with it) in the U.S. has been and continues to be since the 1930s.
January 8, 2024
I’m gonna make this into a movie one day, you’ll see.
March 2, 2024
Wonderful yarn about a legendary pool hustler who battles depression throughout his life. Very entertaining read for anyone who loves the game of pool & hustling.
June 21, 2024
Good story about someone I've never heard of and a sport I know nothing about.
January 18, 2025
Easy and entertaining
Some great road tales for pool lovers. Very easy to get into and a fun trip to some very strange locations with amusing characters
Some great road tales for pool lovers. Very easy to get into and a fun trip to some very strange locations with amusing characters
October 10, 2008
Following the death of Paul Newman, potentially anti-American controversy surrounding the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the eventual prize going to a Frenchman, it’s time for aspiring American writers to turn their focus to pool hustling.
I don’t know why you’d pick up Running the Table by L. Jon Wertheim unless you’re a pool aficionado such as myself.
Which is too bad because the world of pool is a fascinating one. More of a cultish hobby than a sport sadly; pool is as intriguing as any other subculture, colored with its own lingo, characters, and history, so Running the Table has a lot to offer. It is the tale of Danny Basavich, aka Kid Delicious, a modern day pool hustler.
Running the Table provides a stirring adventure packed with, of course pool hustling and tales of outrageous gambling, but also a struggle with obesity, mental illness, and drug addiction. There are anecdotes of extreme bets and filthy pool halls. Money won and money lost. Partnerships born and friendships decayed. It is a road story, a buddy story, a pool story, and a sports story. It’s a story equal parts Rabelais and Odyssey.
And I really freaking enjoyed it.
Pool is notoriously full of colorful characters and Running the Table doesn’t disappoint. But Wertheim doesn’t just simply recount Basavich’s singular quest with all its exploits and escapades, he places it in context, sharing the sport’s history and present relevance. The defeat, the accomplishment, the heroes, the villains, the close calls, the subplots, the suspense; Wertheim, a writer for Sports Illustrated and a very capable storyteller, packs it all in.
As an aspiring writer myself, join me in giving the finger to the Swedish Academy and instead honing our breaks, cuts, banks, kicks, draws, caroms, and combos.
I don’t know why you’d pick up Running the Table by L. Jon Wertheim unless you’re a pool aficionado such as myself.
Which is too bad because the world of pool is a fascinating one. More of a cultish hobby than a sport sadly; pool is as intriguing as any other subculture, colored with its own lingo, characters, and history, so Running the Table has a lot to offer. It is the tale of Danny Basavich, aka Kid Delicious, a modern day pool hustler.
Running the Table provides a stirring adventure packed with, of course pool hustling and tales of outrageous gambling, but also a struggle with obesity, mental illness, and drug addiction. There are anecdotes of extreme bets and filthy pool halls. Money won and money lost. Partnerships born and friendships decayed. It is a road story, a buddy story, a pool story, and a sports story. It’s a story equal parts Rabelais and Odyssey.
And I really freaking enjoyed it.
Pool is notoriously full of colorful characters and Running the Table doesn’t disappoint. But Wertheim doesn’t just simply recount Basavich’s singular quest with all its exploits and escapades, he places it in context, sharing the sport’s history and present relevance. The defeat, the accomplishment, the heroes, the villains, the close calls, the subplots, the suspense; Wertheim, a writer for Sports Illustrated and a very capable storyteller, packs it all in.
As an aspiring writer myself, join me in giving the finger to the Swedish Academy and instead honing our breaks, cuts, banks, kicks, draws, caroms, and combos.
March 29, 2017
Kudos to narrator Butch Engle who does a great job with accents here such as Danny Basavich' New Jersey one. This American professional pool player called "Kid Delicious"was a notorious road player who hustled pool games across the country, but later decided to compete professionally in tournaments after becoming too well known to continue hustling, according to this biography. In there is part of the new media story national hustling itself. The rise of the Internet and forums and whatnot meant no longer the Kid could move around sub rosa> & unrecognized. Also, professional pool as a society failed to transition to cable, unlike poker, or build a sponsored tournament season that could support players of his caliber. Simultaneously the decline of a sport and a hustler, this is a fascinating story about an apparently extinct underground way of life.
January 7, 2008
I heard this interview with Kid Delicious on NPR and was intrigued. He was very open about being Bi-Polar as well as Pool Hustling skills. I believe, though, it was just his tone and affability that made me want to read this book.
I am not disappointed. Not only does the book talk about Kid Delicious and his life, but it goes into the history/details of pool hustling. It's a life that one knew vaguely existed but never to this extent. I also did not realize that it's a dying sport, which seems to follow the path of other sports/hobbies within America.
It's well-written, it's humorous, and in some ways, it does try to maintain a distance from its subjects. Even though, in the end, you still want the underdog to win. Addendum: The book did get a little old towards the end mainly because Kid Delicious never seems to get out of the cycle he has created. So the cycle starts to get old. However, apparently someone bought the movie rights so maybe you'll see this coming to a theatre near you.
I am not disappointed. Not only does the book talk about Kid Delicious and his life, but it goes into the history/details of pool hustling. It's a life that one knew vaguely existed but never to this extent. I also did not realize that it's a dying sport, which seems to follow the path of other sports/hobbies within America.
It's well-written, it's humorous, and in some ways, it does try to maintain a distance from its subjects. Even though, in the end, you still want the underdog to win. Addendum: The book did get a little old towards the end mainly because Kid Delicious never seems to get out of the cycle he has created. So the cycle starts to get old. However, apparently someone bought the movie rights so maybe you'll see this coming to a theatre near you.
December 31, 2007
I got this book for Christmas and, once I started reading it, I could hardly put it down. More than a sports biography, this book gave me an excellent look at the world of pool hustling circa the turn of the current century. There was much to like: the descriptions of the pool halls; details regarding how hustlers move from locale to locale, looking for action; the incredible wagers these guys make over various billiards games AND props like coin flips; the dedication many of these hustlers have when it comes to perfecting their skills and honing their craft. And Danny "Kid Delicious" Basavich proved to be the perfect character to focus on. Pushing 300 lbs while in his teens, struggling with horrendous depression, it was amazing to see how pool and the next hustle emerged as Delicious' salvation, really.
Also riveting: how the internet essentially torpedoed this incredibly murky and colorful subculture.
Also riveting: how the internet essentially torpedoed this incredibly murky and colorful subculture.
February 14, 2009
I have had the good fortune to meet Danny Basavich at the Ocean State 9-Ball Championship in Providence, RI about 3 years ago. He really is a nice guy, who takes time to chat with us regular people while not playing world class pool. I did not have the opportunity to watch him hustle, although watching him beat top-class pros was almost as good.
I play some pool myself, and am somewhat immersed in the subculture. For me, the book was a lot of fun, very accurate in its portrayal of pool halls and the gambling therein. I enjoyed reading all of Delicious' crazy exploits and his teaming with Bristol Bob.
Reading this book has inspired me to move onto the Danny Diliberto Story, by Jerry Forsyth. I'm hoping to see Delicious back out there on tour soon -- he is a true character.
I play some pool myself, and am somewhat immersed in the subculture. For me, the book was a lot of fun, very accurate in its portrayal of pool halls and the gambling therein. I enjoyed reading all of Delicious' crazy exploits and his teaming with Bristol Bob.
Reading this book has inspired me to move onto the Danny Diliberto Story, by Jerry Forsyth. I'm hoping to see Delicious back out there on tour soon -- he is a true character.
January 7, 2009
Why I like stories about Pool, I don't know. But I do. This is a story similar to that told in the movie The Hustler, but this is real and actually more compelling than the movie. And just like life, this book ends without any sense of completion, which is due to the fact that Kid Delicious is very young and still alive. I don't believe that the title is completely accurate, as I fully expect that there will always be Pool Hustlers, they will just have to maintain a lower profile than Dave does in this book.
February 26, 2010
It's hard to believe that a tale about a local kid from NJ about pool would be so compelling but, as I learned from Strokes of Genius, Wertheim really knows how to tell a story. I blew threw this book in a few days because Wertheim really keeps the story going. By the end, I really cared about Kid Delicious and hope that he has found his way.
Wertheim is turning out to be one of my very favorite authors.
Wertheim is turning out to be one of my very favorite authors.
October 15, 2007
Better then Positively Fifth Street and Bringing Down the House. Really interesting look at the seedy underground world of a road hustler. It takes all the glitz and glamour out of that Newman/Cruise movie The Color of Money and restores it to its proper place and context. A must read for anyone who loves gambling( for lack of a better word) literature.
January 21, 2009
This is a great non fiction book for someone who takes an avid interest in pool. If you are not a self proclaimed addict of pool, this is not the story for you. It is very repetitive, but the tales... my oh my. I gota pratice more! It truely awakens the hustler in you!
March 21, 2008
An interesting story but a pretty superficial report on the man's life. Overall a big pile of meh.
January 22, 2008
Quick entertaining read that takes you to pool halls all over the country...rooting for a real life hustler and enjoying the ride.
January 24, 2008
Well written overview of the United States pool culture in the recent past. Told in a very readable style as the true story of "Kid Delicious" a road hustler and tournament player.
March 2, 2008
Pool sharks, gambling, hustling ... and a trip to Fargo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews