foosball.com :

This FAQ can be distributed, emailed, faxed and printed by anyone, anywhere. It will be posted occasionally in alt.sport.foosball. I do not use a spell checker, and frequently do not make sense. These are my theories on the art of foosball. I have no scientific studies or data to back up these ideas but I think you'll find them logical and useful.

YOU ONLY NEED ONE GNARLY SHOT

OK Slick, remember back when you were "wet behind the ears" hanging out at the old college bar. You posessed over 37 great shots...Like the Pull-Kick Angle Long, the Push-Me Pull-You Back Pin, the Back Pin to 5-bar Trickster...Well those shots are all fine and dandy to amuse and amaze your friends but rarely do they win a serious game of foosball. Perhaps if there was a freestyle event these shots would dominate but in RL they suck. Anyways, this game is simple because you only need One Shot! You need one shot that can be executed into one of the three holes (short/middle/long or up/middle/down).

You do not need 10 shots. You do not need 3 shots. Why? Because there are only so many hours in the day and you need to practice, and you need to become an absolute expert executing your one shot. In a critical match would you rather execute a shot that you practiced 10,000 times or would you wiff a shot from your 30 shot repertoire. You need to train your body to consistanly hammer out your best effort. I'm even against wasting time practicing a back-up shot. If you have to go to your back-up, it means you have praticed your "One" shot enough!

WHAT SHOT SHOULD I SHOOT?

If you haven't picked a shot yet, I strongly urge you to choose either the Pull or the Roll-Over. These two shots win 90% of the major foosball tournaments and are both fairly easy to learn. It's easier to find pro's that shoot Pulls and Snakes and you can watch these men and women and study their form and execution. If you want to stand out in the crowd then you might choose a Pull-Kick or Push-kick. These are also good shots yet less popular and harder to master and harder to find pro's for instruction. And if you really want to make it hard on yourself then choose a back-pin or a push.

YOU ONLY NEED ONE GROOVY PASS

I still here some pros say you need 10 great passes. This is bullshit and again a waste of practice time. You need "One" pass aimed at the up or the down (lane or wall). Greg "Jeep Perrie" taught me everything I needed to know about passing...One pass with two holes and hit the pass as hard as you can! Many will disagree but at a (4-4) 5th game situation, the last thing I want to do is have to pick from 10 marginal passes that have a low chance of success. I'd much rather look at the two holes, choose up or down and hammer that red sphere. I've also argued with many no-goods about the speed of the pass and I say full speed is the only speed. If you are a soft to medium speed passer, you may dominate at the local level, but you will get chewed to bits by the Tommy Atkisson's and Johhny Horton's of the world who have ultra-fast vibrating defences that always get a chunk or tip of your soft pass. Fast-handed baiters will destroy soft-medium passers at the higher levels. Pick one Pass! Hammer that Ball!

WHAT PASS SHOULD I USE?

The Brush series is used by 70% of pro playersand can be hit uphill or downhill. It is a great pass to learn and very effective. The Stick series is fast and hard and at the lane or the wall and is very effective when executed and caught properly. Choose either Brush and Stick series and you will soon become a pro-master ;) No Chips, No middle men, No rookie downs...these all suck. Near-wall and Far-wall are equally good. The Far-wall works well because it is less popular and defences aren't as advanced on that side. I prefer the Near-wall because I'm lazy and hate reaching over the table 5,000 times to position the ball to practice.

PROBIBILITY THEORY

Foosball is really a game of math percentages. You have the ball, you now must make a choice...every choice has a percentage chance of success. For example, I have the ball on the five rod, I have fired 17 left hooks and made 3 and I've attempted 2 passes and made 1. I've got a 17.6% chance of scoring the left hook and a 50% chance of making the pass... I think "If I make the left-hook, the sexy mini-skirted babe playing pool will think I'm pretty cool" "If I pass, the game will be boring"...So I shoot the 5-bar, wiff, and loose....AAAUUUGGGHHH - Keep your game simple and effective. Think about what is working and what is not. Do the things with the highest chance of overall success.

THIS GAME IS SIMPLE...AND DULL

It really is the basics that win foosball games. So that's it...Shoot a Pull or a Snake, and do a Stick or Brush passing series. Keep your game simple and focused. I know it's dull, but the more you win, the less dull it will become. If you want wild excitement play 2-ball roller ball and rocket ball. Here's 5 examples of top Pros and there simple styles:

Terry Moore Snake-Brush
Dave Gummison Pull-Stick
Johnny Horton Pull-Stick
Louis Cartright Snake-Brush
Adrian Zamore Pull-Brush
Enjoy Life...Play Foosball More Often
A.D.