yeah true. he's basically saying, "should I do something to make me seem like a better player?" since his weight worked for him.
The Fearmakers Blog
https://thefearmakers.blogspot.com/

this is part of Amos' "hustle"…he puts on an act to disarm the victim…part of his act is that he is just a guy worried about this weight..

Eddie's pointed question: "Are you a hustler" is meant to intimidate Amos out of his twitchy, talky-guy routine. Eddie most likely thinks he can still outplay his younger, brash and overweight opponent. Amos does not answer Eddie's question until the very end of the match when he finally says the famous line: "Do you think I need to lose some weight?" The answer to both questions is of course: 'Yes'. The reason Amos answers him in this fashion is because a good hustler will always remain in character. Losing the match finally enables Fast Eddie to relinquish his own hustle and become a serious pool player again.

trex, you are correct. he was playing into the con, because him being overweight was one of the things that made Eddie never assume he'd be such a good pool player, and this has nothing to do with minn fats or jackie gleason.

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^ Good call indeed. I never thought of it like that.
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Definitely a double entendre.

Giving up "weight" would mean playing less to your abilities to for the other player. So when Amos say "think i need to lose some weight" he's asking eddie if he should let eddie win

You a hustler, Amos?

I agree with Paul right above me. However, as another (remote) possibility, maybe he was also asking that because he'd just taken a few hundred dollars off of Eddie, and it was "weighing him down", so he was being an ass about it. Paul's explanation is better though
Also, this role really made me despise Forrest Whitaker, at least for a few hours afterwards. Shows what a great job he did with that little bit part.

Eddie has just been hustled and humiliated by Amos in front of Vincent and Carmen. Amos knows Eddie is burning with rage and hatred for him at that moment. He knows Eddie probably wants to scream every insult under the sun at him, so he sarcastically says: "Do you think I need to lose some weight?" when he knows that Eddie probably want to tell him much worse. Amos is taunting Eddie, trying to add salt to the wound.
Just my opinion.
This what I also figured.
I think that the idea of 'losing weight' with reference to dumping back some money to Eddie could have been implied as it is also an insult to Eddie. No one wants to know that someone lost some money to you out of pityit is humiliation. Adding salt to the wound is all Amos wanted to do.

Eddie has just been hustled and humiliated by Amos in front of Vincent and Carmen. Amos knows Eddie is burning with rage and hatred for him at that moment. He knows Eddie probably wants to scream every insult under the sun at him, so he sarcastically says: "Do you think I need to lose some weight?" when he knows that Eddie probably want to tell him much worse. Amos is taunting Eddie, trying to add salt to the wound.
Just my opinion.