when van boening was 18, he hit the road. loaded into an rv looking for money games. >> came to play pool. >> reporter: of course they did. the hustler, that's stealth road man armed only with a wooden stick and confidence, divorcing the locals from their cash, been romanticized for decades, not least by paul newman. this reporter was so taken by pool hustling he once wrote a book about it. for van boening, the romance hit the rocks. abruptly. >> yeah. i actually was playing poolroom in tennessee and i would find this guy for money. and we were playing for a whole lot. he was losing. and he picked up the cue ball and threw it at me. >> reporter: where did he hit you? >> right on the chest. >> reporter: it's the kind of thing you do to start a fight. >> yeah. >> reporter: how did you react? >> i told my uncle. i said i don't want to do this anymore. i don't want to live on the road anymore. just too dangerous. >> here we go, for the title. >> reporter: he chose to go legit and began playing and winning proper tournaments.he ra