CLIQUES

Every time you see “The Hustler,” you get the itch. Not to worry; in these days of retro-recreation, there are plenty of spots around town where you can rack ‘em up:

You don’t have to be Fast Eddie Felson to sink shots at Yankee Doodle’s at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica--it’s a fern bar with pool tables. Fashion runs street to straight, heavy on the biker chic. Twenty-nine tables, $14 an hour for two, weekend evenings. Domestic beer, $2.50 a bottle.

If your mood’s more shorts and sports, check out the big-screen action at Q’s Billiard Club in West Los Angeles. Dress is jock casual or straight-from-the-office. Eleven tables, 10 bucks an hour for two at night. A brew is $2.75.

For the real stuff, swing by Hollywood Billiards at Hollywood and Western. The theme is anti-hip. Thirty-two tables and none of that sissy smoke-free stuff. Eight bucks an hour for two at night. Domestic suds, $2.25.

Who says pool is back in style? At House of Billiards in Sherman Oaks, it never went out. This is the spot for a laid-back pickup game. Dress is Valley Chic: big hair, Levi’s and Lizwear. It’s $7.25 an hour for two, evenings. Draft beer, a buck and a quarter.

Ready for some A-list star scoping? Slap on some Attitude and head for the Hollywood Athletic Club. No, that’s not a Harley franchise out back, it’s the parking lot. Dress: if it’s hip it’s here, catsuits to kente cloth. Forty-two tables, $12 an hour for two, beer, about $3.

So dib a table, chalk a stick and start shooting.