Topic: Casual player - very important game next week!

[bbtuna]

oh, and you want to play fun and free without thinking about anything being "on the line"...just play each ball as fun and as hard as you can and let the chips fall where they may

the more you make of winning and losing, the more it will distract you from the "goal" at hand

[timtebow]

Thanks for all the replies! Really you are helping me out a lot more than I could ever imagine! Really really great!

No, I don't really know what "push", "pull" are. But I am assuming push means pushing the ball with your player and pull means pulling the ball with your player. The "kick shot" is the most common shot for beginners I would assume. Just moving your player about 90 degrees backwards and shooting?

I do not know anything else about the table or rules apart from the fact that they have said that I should expect it to take maximum 2 hours. But that includes some extra time to shoot something for TV I would think..

But I am pretty sure the table will be in a very nice condition and the ball will roll straight etc. I have understood that "spinning" is not allowed in normal rules, but I don't know what rules will apply for this game. So if it is allowed would you recommend me to use spinning? Is there any special way in which to defend "spinning"?

EDIT: thanks for the video. Videos showing how to actually grip the stick and so on seems a little bit more helpful. And yes of course it would be great if I could try to forget about what is at stake. But not sure I can do that, but I'll do my best.

[ClearScreen]

If you have a week to practice and access to a table, I would definitely try to learn a simple push kick and pull kick.  Very basic shots, but easy to learn and execute well enough against a beginner.  Should be able to score lots of points against someone who is inexperienced at defense.  I taught my wife (a non-player) in an hour a basic push kick and pull kick and she can still score on me because her timing is so unpredictable.  I suspect you wil similarly frustrate your opponent.

Here is a video of a push kick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnlI_nOXq4k&feature=related

Here is a video of a pull and push kick - the video is a little more advanced than you need, but you get the general idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWpOYRxVEGw

Otherwise, the tips on here are all pretty spot on - these guys are experts.

Also, I would not resort to spinning except as a last resort -no control and relying purely on luck.

Good luck.

ClearScreen

[Old Meister]

Timetebow, I take it you are a fresh beginner.  So your first shot should be to hit the ball from a side player to the middle player and hit it in. Otherwise smack it in when ever you can! Bang bang bang! go for it on steroids! When he gets the ball do like I said but otherwise BANG
IT!

[Chase Pennell]

I am not trying to spam...
Go to www.mindsetfoosball.com "Click on the Forum" and look for "ProMaster Advice" for some hardcore tips...YouTube has tons of small clips and Matches of ProMasters
Search: "Learn to play Foosball" "Tony Spredeman" "Billy Pappas" There is also a guy on there that has some great vids "Zeke" those are a good start! you can see how top players play the game! and that will help you know how to play a controlled game

IF: You have time to practice on a table dont worry about shooting or defence. Work on ball control!!! Ball control is the key to this game...Move the ball around and figure out how to control the ball if you can do that you can control the game and take the risk out of losing... This would be one of the best things you can do! what good is it if you cant move the ball around...know what i mean?
-Things to work on if you have this time-
#1, Tic-Tac the ball around (Between as many men as you can)#
#2, Pin the ball and move it around (Start with the closest man to you and work it to the next man and then the next man....) Do this from a front pin and back pin...
Then you can start working on shots....
This is the best way to learn quickly!

Chase

[bbtuna]

i don't want to be contrary but because you have only a week, I really don't recommend you taking the approach Chase is talking about...I am 100% in that "Ball Control" is THE essential ellement to getting good but it takes time and layers and you only have a week

I also recommend staying away from the Pro Master tips for now so you don't get your head too full of stuff you can't apply or use

I am trying to keep this simple assuming you don't know anything and assuming the person you will play doesn't either  KISS...Keep It Simple Sam

only so much you can do in a week, lets make the most out of it we can

[timtebow]

Hi guys, thanks for all the new replies.

I have now bought my table. This is what it looks like:

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4999/dsc04300w.jpg

It feels a little small and the ball doesn't roll straight at all times. I imagine the table I will play the game on will be top notch. Is there a big difference?

[marty]

one week ha  i would say all of the above   starting with ball control then plan a shot make it your shot . get some time on a table with someone with a little experiance not only for tips but to pratice your defence    good luck

[rios820]

Since you from Sweden I am gonna assume you are going to be playing on a Garlando or possibly TecBall??? Anyways, the table probably isnt going to make much of a difference. I think you will have plenty of time to be able to work on your ball control and shooting. Checking out the pic of your table, ball control practice is gonna be hard... and I am sure that if you shoot on that thing enough times the rods are going to bend like tin foil.

The advice I have for your match is to make sure that you have 2 of your defenders in front of your goal at ALL times and make sure that they arent directly in front of each other... spread them out just alittle over a ball width apart. Alot of times beginners totally forget about where their back guys are... also I would put directly in the middle of the goal when the other guy has the ball in the back... chances are he isnt going to be able to pick out holes.

As far as practice goes. At the start of any practice session just thow the ball in and work on hitting it in between every guy. I agree with Chase on that if you can control the ball, the game will be alot easier for you and you will not turn the ball over as much as the other guy. Just work on this for about a half an hour to an hour. Doing this everyday you will have gained enough skill to be able to control the ball.

When you practice shooting, NEVER place the ball where you want it with your hand. Always set your shot up as if you are in a match. That is where the ball control skills come into play. Not knowing how long you have been playing, I probably suggest a simple pull kick. It is a shot that alot of beginners use cause they can hit the ball harder than a push kick and more times than not it is more comfortable to shoot. Basically just practice what you see in that youtube video, and make sure you use all of your options with that shot in the match.

If you get the ball on your 5bar, hit the crap out of it and try and hit it towards the goal. Thats what I do when I play...

Have fun and good luck! Need any more tips let us know...

[pinalyzer]

awesome practice table, this will be perfect...the garlando and tecball have ball control issues in comparison with what most of us play on here Tornado, Warrior and even bozoni(sp?) are tables where you have and can control the ball with ease (with practice of course).

Your pactice table will show you how hard this can be and cut shots will work good on this table.  Where you hit it at an angle by hiting at the side of the ball, also called a chip.

You got ramps and either table you play on should have ramps as well.

[timtebow]

Hey guys! I guess I should post an update on how it is going!

So... as I said I bought a table (http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4999/dsc04300w.jpg) yesterday. It certainly isn't of the best quality, I am assuming it ranks among the worst tables around.. hehe. Anyway I didn't want to spend too much money just for this game, especially since I don't have too much time to work with (the game is on this tuesday).

What I have done is read and watch all the material you guys have given me and tried some stuff out. I have played some on my own and a lot against my 7 year old smaller sister (luckily I am beating her comfortably at least, haha!) Tomorrow I am planning to play some games at my University against friends of mine. They have a better table there..

Ball control is very hard on the table I have as someone already pointed out (or maybe is it that I just suck terribly much, hehe). But I have tried to pass the ball between the players on the 3-rod but it doesn't work very well and I don't think I will be able to work it out in time for Tuesday. My shot is pretty powerful, but its hard to do some special shoots. I have tried to work some on my pull shot and I have made some progress imo, but then again it is tough on this kind of table.. Defence is kinda hard to practice against a 7 year old, lol. But I hope to get some tougher opponents tomorrow at my university.

Btw, someone mentioned that I should learn how to make sure the ball goes to my own 5-rod and not the opponents when I "serve" after a goal has been scored. I have tried some stuff, but I haven't yet figured out how I can make sure of this. Help?

[timtebow]

Ok, now it's just 1 day left until the game. Today I got some more information about the game. It will be played on a table looking just like this one:

http://www.spelbord.se/products/4-1super.jpg

The game will end whenever someone has scored 3 goals (!!). That is not a very long game I would imagine.

I don't know how well you can see the tables from the pictures I have, but do you think it is a big difference between the two tables? (mine and the one the game is played on)

I'm starting to get nervous now..

[timtebow]

Oh, one more question. Someone once told me to always keep one hand on the goalie-rod, would you guys also recommend this? Like if my opponent has the ball on his goalie-rod should I have my hands on the 3-rod and the goalie-rod?

[pinalyzer]

Well...I have played on this table and yes ball control is really hard.  What I did was very short pulls from in back so I didn't have to move the ball much as I would lose it. When in my goalie area I would circle the ball with the man and then moved the ball a short distance say about 1/2 inch and then hit toward the hole.
In front I would hit angle shots are straight shots, don't try to move the ball too much as you might lose it.
John

[timtebow]

Well...I have played on this table and yes ball control is really hard.  What I did was very short pulls from in back so I didn't have to move the ball much as I would lose it. When in my goalie area I would circle the ball with the man and then moved the ball a short distance say about 1/2 inch and then hit toward the hole.
In front I would hit angle shots are straight shots, don't try to move the ball too much as you might lose it.
John

Thanks for the advice!

Just to make sure, you are talking about this: http://www.spelbord.se/products/4-1super.jpg table right? And not the one I mentioned earlier in the thread..

BTW, how does a game restart (i.e. start after a goal has been scored) on a table like this one? I cannot see any holes in the sides in which to drop the ball..