Topic: I'm doing a pull kick what are you going to do to block it?

[Old Meister]

 Virtual foos,,,, I set it up as long as it can be and I know I can go long but short is good, Oh yeah I like a dink pull angle and of course the short and middle. I might even go so long that I take it back angle from the near man. Hey we need a scenario to keep this place interesting and I want to hear what the professors would use against this "onslaught".

[Steve]

force the long dont give in to the shorts or dinks try to catch the long use your far two man on some longs Hell I dont know

[EDGEER]

Run interference with my lead 2-bar man and brick you with my goalie. 

[Old Meister]

So I set it up  by starting with a front pin(far man) if you're going to front it Ed. Now I can use a Euro pin pull too , the straight(short) or the spray angle and I love to kick long from there. I do like the fakey pull from there too which is something I'll use against being fronted. I'm not trying to sound arrogant in asking these  hypotheticals but honestly like hearing the different takes on different defense philosophies to a certain problem. I always fronted pushkicks but the weakness always was the push angle. I zoned pull kicks and did a half race part of the time.

[PatRyan]

I would need to actually see the shot to decide how to defend it.  I would need to see where the placement of your dink is, as well as the release point for the dinks.  Are the long and middle square shots actually square, or do they spray a little.  Do you slide the ball the full length available or do you bump the ball.  Do you have any hitches (as many kick shooter do) when you go long.  how smooth is the take-off?  can you actually square the short or do you spray from short to middle when you execute the short?  is the long really deadman or is it actually a 3/4 spray.  Can I race the long?  All of these things combines would determine which defense I would use.  I would start off with a reverse defense covering the short and short-middle while wiggling the 2-bar to take away the big dot middle, then watch you shoot on me a couple of times looking for all of the aboved mentioned things, and adjust based on what I see.

[grandmaster]

In all my years of playing foosball the most common question I hear after a demonstration is "How do you block that?" My answer has never changed. You have to put a MAN IN FRONT OF IT!

[bbtuna]

reverse Defense, working with the 2 man just inside the Big dot working in toward the short keeping my men no more than a ball apart...this effectively takes all but the most blinding fast long away and makes you think short where I will play a bait defense trying to force you to hit the most difficult angles in the short game...basically it is a "long-to-short" defense...to keep things interesting I mix in 2 bar taking short away, a race version of this, and a cross-over defense made for kickers using both men on the 2 rod

the cross-over has been my best defense (I feel pretty good with it against Chris Dube) but the reverse I talked about is one a good goalie around here uses on Chris Dube and he probably blocks Chris better than anyone I have seen...if Chris is going to have success against him he has to hit perfect shorts and Chris has a very fast long (and all points in between)

[georgefoos]

Its all in the quickness and experience.

[Old Meister]

Bbtuna, the defense you describe is why I go to that euro-pin pull spray angle from the front pin position which is where I start the pull kick. I agree that that defense is the best as long as the short angles aren't effectively exploited but once those short holes are pounded it opens up the long.

[bbtuna]

I have never seen a front toe starting on the 33 that I am concerned about...and just because you get a couple of angles, I won't be a believer that you can hit them all the time and I still think I can get in the shooters head baiting them for those holes

if the ball is pinned, trying to get a consistent quality long off of that is very hard...you have that chip thing but I am not afraid of that over the course of a match, again, i have never seen anyone who can hit that with tournament consistency enough to worry about it

if you have it pinned I take away the short and bait you long if I have any confidence that you might be able to hit that 33 to 32 chip thing ...if it is better than average I would probably use the two bar to move in and out of cutting off the short and baiting the long...I might throw that in a little just to make you think and guess timing but mainly if you have it pined I will take the short away and move inside out in a reverse defense...

I have not met or seen anyone on Tornado that can hit a tight #1 hole and a tight #2 hole on a chip angle and aren't much better with the drag...on other tables that allow accurate consistent angles, it might be different but I would have to set up a tight split hole and see you hit it from 3 different position, stationary and moving and then do the same with a real tight #1 hole like 17-18 out of 20 times at each position before I would become a believer and I would be willing to bet real money there is no one shooting on Tornado that can do that

so, basically, bring it on but remember, I get to see/face one of the best pull kicks in the game...now, saying all that, you would probably just slice me up like a hot knife through soft buddar



Chris Dube...one of the best pull kick shooters of all time

[Old Meister]

Now that's what I like, Bbtuna. You always get me riled enough to go slam some shots on the table. You probably are right in what you say as that pin spray shot does take alot of practice to hit it at will, but that is what practice is for. As for the shot starting on a pin, I can set it static long and go for the standard set of shots in the process but I like the options from the pin, going fakey and all.  As far as slicing anyone up like "hot budda" I truly don't have any idea how effective my game is. I'm basically a time capsule from the 70's who has gotten my game back plus learned the shots of today from Youtube and talking with you guys. I think I'm playing as well or better than I ever did but maybe I'll get totally schooled when I finally get some real competition. My situation is such that I have to travel around 60 miles one way to find a DYP tournament. I get up at 4:30am for work  so staying up late and driving that far isn't an option. So I practice and talk to you and the others. I might truly be an "American Idol" dreamer, or not. I certainly wasn't when I stopped playing in the early 80's and I kinda got a feeling I would do ok now.

[foosinaround69]

Is that you bbtuna? playing with Dube?

[bbtuna]

no, that is Larry Finley the guy that blocks Dube well...I am as big as Dube is small...here you go

[bbtuna]

here is the best player in our area, the best in KS and MO...Joe never practices or plays any more because of life, you all know what I mean, and he is still in the top 25 players and if he could play and practice I think he would be in the top 5 very quickly...mad skills, child prodigy growing up and he is super nice

Joe wins 99% of every local draw he plays in no matter who he draws...Chris Dube is second best in our area and Joe's dad Kent is still a crafty player great 5...Joe's older brother, Chris Rhodes, is very good too but rarely comes out and then there is JP Brown but he is never here any more...of those left playing there is a group of us scrappy Rookie/semi unrated or near unrated types...me (unrated) Chris Traynor, Steve Tran, and Jeff Stark...i am am leaving people off but that is what happens when you start a list

Joe Rhodes - forward on the left (Chris Traynor playing goalie for him, rookie I only know by face playing goalie for Chris Dube)

[Old Meister]

Well if I ever get to Kansas City I'm gonna look ya up big guy. It would be too much fun to play you. I couldn't say that will happen any time soon but who knows? Maybe there will be a tournament in the Northwest and you can return the favor. One of these days I'm going to do a road trip with foosball locations being the reason for the trip. When I see pictures of good players  like that it really makes me want to get out and play.  It's not in the cards around here.