--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once in the racket you're always in it." description: "\"Once in the racket you're always in it.\" — Al Capone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png" --- # Once in the racket you're always in it. ![“Once in the racket you're always in it.” quote by Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png) > “Once in the racket you're always in it.” [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Once involved in crime, it's hard to escape its grip; the lifestyle becomes a permanent identity. **In simple terms:** Criminal life is hard to leave. Key Takeaway Break cycles early. Themes crime identity addiction Mood somber realistic Type cautionary reflective When to use this quote - rehabilitation programs - community support - career transition - legal reform Key Concepts psychology sociology Questions to Reflect On - What can help someone exit crime? - How does identity shape choices? A Different Perspective Societal factors also influence recidivism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/capitalism-is-the-legitimate-racket-of-the-ruling-class/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [It's a racket. Those stock market guys are crooked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/it-s-a-racket-those-stock-market-guys-are-crooked/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [It means so much to me when someone tells me that they picked up a tennis racket because of me or that they tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-gauff/it-means-so-much-to-me-when-someone-tells-me-that-they-picked-up-a/) [Coco Gauff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-gauff/) > [I had not picked up a tennis racket in 15 years, so I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-ashford/i-had-not-picked-up-a-tennis-racket-in-15-years-so-i-tried/) [Matthew Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-ashford/) > [It was not until I got sponsored at 12 that I finally owned a racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-tiafoe/it-was-not-until-i-got-sponsored-at-12-that-i-finally-owned-a-racket/) [Frances Tiafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-tiafoe/) > [War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-just-a-racket-a-racket-is-best-described-i-believe-as/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [It is good to have a racket that you play well with, but for myself I also want to have a racket that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sakkari/it-is-good-to-have-a-racket-that-you-play-well-with-but-for-myself-i/) [Maria Sakkari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sakkari/) > [The day I'm not improving will be the day I hang up the racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/the-day-i-m-not-improving-will-be-the-day-i-hang-up-the-racket/) [Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/) > [Scriptwriting is the toughest part of the whole racket... the least understood and the least noticed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/scriptwriting-is-the-toughest-part-of-the-whole-racket-the-least/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [If you live in America, you don't have to work. You can just drift along in the smiling and nodding racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/if-you-live-in-america-you-don-t-have-to-work-you-can-just-drift/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Manners are manners. Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase have no respect. I don't want my kid seeing Nastase play. The demeanor you show on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-laver/manners-are-manners-jimmy-connors-and-ilie-nastase-have-no-respect-i/) [Rod Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-laver/) > [As things get worse and the State seems powerless to help, the State will seem less and less legitimate. People will lose their moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-donovan/as-things-get-worse-and-the-state-seems-powerless-to-help-the-state/) [Jack Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-donovan/) > [Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/intelligence-is-silence-truth-is-being-invisible-but-what-a-racket-i/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I'm trained as an actor for the stage - classically trained, believe it or not - and I worked closely with Stella Adler for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richards/i-m-trained-as-an-actor-for-the-stage-classically-trained-believe-it/) [Michael Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richards/) ## More by Al Capone > [You can get farther with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/you-can-get-farther-with-a-kind-word-and-a-gun-than-with-a-kind-word/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [This American system of ours,call it Americanism,call it capitalism,call it what you will,gives each and every one of us a great opportunity if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/this-american-system-of-ours-call-it-americanism-call-it-capitalism/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [What? You talk to me like that in front of my son? Fuck you and your family!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/what-you-talk-to-me-like-that-in-front-of-my-son-fuck-you-and-your/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [Hell must be a pretty swell spot, because the guys that invented religion have sure been trying hard to keep everybody else out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/hell-must-be-a-pretty-swell-spot-because-the-guys-that-invented/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [Vote early and vote often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/vote-early-and-vote-often/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [I got nothing against the honest cop on the beat. You just have them transferred someplace where they can't do you any harm. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/i-got-nothing-against-the-honest-cop-on-the-beat-you-just-have-them/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [Some call it bootlegging. Some call it racketeering. I call it a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/some-call-it-bootlegging-some-call-it-racketeering-i-call-it-a/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/i-have-spent-the-best-years-of-my-life-giving-people-the-lighter/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/all-i-ever-did-was-supply-a-demand-that-was-pretty-popular/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [A crook is a crook, and there's something healthy about his frankness in the matter. But any guy who pretends he is enforcing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/a-crook-is-a-crook-and-there-s-something-healthy-about-his-frankness/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [When I sell liquor, it's bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lakeshore Drive, it's hospitality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/when-i-sell-liquor-it-s-bootlegging-when-my-patrons-serve-it-on-a/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/i-am-just-a-businessman-giving-the-people-what-they-want/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [These guys are not from the Iraqi army, ... These are not Iraqi soldiers. They are not members of any of the Iraqi armed forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/these-guys-are-not-from-the-iraqi-army-these-are-not-iraqi-soldiers/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [A smile can get you far, but a smile with a gun can get you further.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/a-smile-can-get-you-far-but-a-smile-with-a-gun-can-get-you-further/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [They've hung everything on me except the Chicago fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/they-ve-hung-everything-on-me-except-the-chicago-fire/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) [Explore all 54 Al Capone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) ## More Racket quotes > [I'm trained as an actor for the stage - classically trained, believe it or not - and I worked closely with Stella Adler for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richards/i-m-trained-as-an-actor-for-the-stage-classically-trained-believe-it/) [Michael Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richards/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/intelligence-is-silence-truth-is-being-invisible-but-what-a-racket-i/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [As things get worse and the State seems powerless to help, the State will seem less and less legitimate. People will lose their moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-donovan/as-things-get-worse-and-the-state-seems-powerless-to-help-the-state/) [Jack Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-donovan/) > [Manners are manners. Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase have no respect. I don't want my kid seeing Nastase play. The demeanor you show on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-laver/manners-are-manners-jimmy-connors-and-ilie-nastase-have-no-respect-i/) [Rod Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-laver/) > [If you live in America, you don't have to work. You can just drift along in the smiling and nodding racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/if-you-live-in-america-you-don-t-have-to-work-you-can-just-drift/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Scriptwriting is the toughest part of the whole racket... the least understood and the least noticed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/scriptwriting-is-the-toughest-part-of-the-whole-racket-the-least/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [The day I'm not improving will be the day I hang up the racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/the-day-i-m-not-improving-will-be-the-day-i-hang-up-the-racket/) [Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/) > [It is good to have a racket that you play well with, but for myself I also want to have a racket that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sakkari/it-is-good-to-have-a-racket-that-you-play-well-with-but-for-myself-i/) [Maria Sakkari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sakkari/) > [War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-just-a-racket-a-racket-is-best-described-i-believe-as/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [It was not until I got sponsored at 12 that I finally owned a racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-tiafoe/it-was-not-until-i-got-sponsored-at-12-that-i-finally-owned-a-racket/) [Frances Tiafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-tiafoe/) > [I had not picked up a tennis racket in 15 years, so I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-ashford/i-had-not-picked-up-a-tennis-racket-in-15-years-so-i-tried/) [Matthew Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-ashford/) > [It means so much to me when someone tells me that they picked up a tennis racket because of me or that they tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-gauff/it-means-so-much-to-me-when-someone-tells-me-that-they-picked-up-a/) [Coco Gauff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-gauff/) > [I'm in the wrong racket if I didn't want a public life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantegna/i-m-in-the-wrong-racket-if-i-didn-t-want-a-public-life/) [Joe Mantegna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantegna/) > [I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-helped-make-mexico-especially-tampico-safe-for-american-oil/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) Browse all 181 Racket quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once in the racket you're always in it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Al Capone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Racket" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/al-capone-12480_racket_once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it-1_1613205.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once in the racket you're always in it.” — Al Capone", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Al Capone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Once in the racket you're always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/once-in-the-racket-you-re-always-in-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```