[andyfox]

1. I don't think pool hustlers actually cheat people. They may pretend they're lesser players than they are, but they don't actually cheat. Some poker players do the same thing, either in terms of trying to come across as inexperienced players when they first join a game or in how they play. And since gambling for money is involved, cheating, or being cheated, is part of the game.

2. Some poker players still do play in dangerous places. I don't think it's as common as it was 40-50 years ago though.

3. Most people who gamble lose. So it's not unexpected that people imagine all gamblers lose.

Having said all this, with the advent of the internet, nad poker gaining respectability through TV publicity, the attitudes you mention are probably less prevalent than they've been at any time in the past.

3.