I started hobbying in the late '90s. The only way I found providers was by ads in the free weekly paper or looking up escort agencies in the yellow pages. I would call an agency up and ask them to send a girl over to my place at a specific time. Eventually, I learned that I could make more specific requests, like blonde or asian or short or busty. They didn't screen me and I had no way to screen them, so opening the door when my date arrived was always a surprise. Sometimes a bad surprise, but more often a good surprise. There was often a driver sent along as security, or two girls would show up, either to try to upsell a threesome or just so the extra girl could call if there was trouble.

Becoming a regular with a specific provider wasn't easy. I could call the agency up again and ask for her by name, but typically that girl wouldn't be available and I had to settle for someone else. A girl might give me her personal number, but that could be risky for her if the agency was checking up on her.

Providers got away with some lousy business practices back then. They often overbooked and would show up hours late or just NCNS. Upselling was practically a standard practice. Once you popped, the appointment was over. In short, most providers back then acted like the low-end Backpage girls do now. Probably some of the hobbyists behaved badly too, and maybe the agencies at least screened out those guys after offenses.

but the short answer to your question is that yes, it was pretty much a crap shoot.

 
Pre internet, most of us either called agencies out of the Yellow pages, classified ads in the newspaper or rags such as "Creative loafing" We also went to strip clubs, massage parlors, modeling studios and the like, and then of course there were street walkers.  

 
Believe it or not, somehow we managed. lol But I have to say, the internet has made it MUCH MUCH easier, less risky and more reliable than it ever was in the past, especially the combination of TER and P 411 which can make ordering up a quality lady for the afternoon/evening not a lot harder or riskier than ordering up a pizza. lol

the only definite in Australia or the US was the brothel line up.  
It helped that I worked at one.
On a few of my first business trips to the US in the early 1980's, the Yellow Pages had tons of ads. The problem was the crap shoot was usually more crap than shoot. I was staying at 4 and 5 star hotels and a few times I got lucky in getting some extremely beautiful and talented ladies. But, more often I was ending up with older ladies with grandma underwear prepared for a nasty rub and tug.  I gave up the pursuit and stuck to hotel bar waitresses who were enticed by a 20 something with an Aussie accent.

The internet has made this a smorgasbord of pleasure. Thank you  Al Gore (lol).

and came back from the bars to my hotel room around midnight.  I was on the fence about getting a girl for a nightcap, but when I opened the Yellow Pages and turned to the escorts section I found that someone had taken copious notes - names, measurements, rates.  I took it as a sign from God.

I never paid for sex.  I did okay seducing civvie girls up until I got married at 32.  Found myself suddenly single again at 49, but none of the 20-somethings wanted to date me, so I started paying.  By then, TER was well-established and the internet was full of provider and agency ads, so for me, there was no "before-TER."

I started in the Nevada legal brothels as my into to p4p, as I was fresh out of dissolving 20-year marriage and had NO experience with women other than my wife (and not much with her, either -- thus the divorce).

I did a few trips to Reno for business and decided to check out the Mustang Ranch, did the lineup and just got lucky with a woman who was not only stunning in looks but was playful, intelligent and seemed to like me. We connected outside of the brothel and did overnights at each other's places (me in LA, her in the Bay area) over the next few months. It was a great intro.

Civvie dating picked up for me for a while and I stayed out of p4p until the mid-2000s and web-based playtime was becoming reliable. Gotta love technology when it works, right?

I was going to Vegas on business regularly and a business friend introduced me to casino girls. You didn't have to worry about trick rolls back then. The casinos were independently owned, the mob was active, so CGs were just part of the Vegas landscape.

You consulted the yellow pages (yes the fucking yellow pages) or the weeklies. Either way you had about a 50% chance of a truly attractive woman showing up and NOT ripping you off. There was one decent agency I found here in LA that had a couple of hot girls but they charged a premium. There were a couple of small houses where you might find a 5 or 6 but no better.  Good lays were hard to find. Except for 2 regulars from the agency I mentioned my best luck was with a private dancer who turned tricks on the side and later introduced me to a couple of her friends.

Even worse was DC where I went often on business.  There your chances were down around 25%. I finally gave up and just brought some good porn with me when I went there. Later I found an agency that was decent but they got busted in a big national spectacle.  

These were dark times brothers. I'm sure there were wonderful women out there but not visible to the ordinary guy.  Even when early websites came into being they were pretty spotty--lots of bait and switch. Thank your lucky stars for the here and now.