A Proper Beer Pong Shot

Found a great how-to on throwing a proper beer pong shot. Dan DiSorbo and Ben Applebaum, authors of "The Book of Beer Pong" (Chronicle Books), break down the perfect shot into five parts, which I have copied below. For the original article, check out How-To Wiki on Wired.com.

1. The Grip: The ball grip is one of the sports most critical elements. It's what controls ball spin and speed. Find one that feels the most natural. Try the Traditional Grip: the ball is held between the thumb and forefinger, resting on the middle finger for stability.

2. The Stance: This is the foundation upon which to build your shot. Figure out your personal equilibrium so you feel the most comfortable. Bend your knees slightly and make sure you're balanced. And remember, keep your elbow behind the table!

3. The Aim: Proper aim is imperative to sinking cups. Many beginners focus on all the cups in a rack when shooting. A good player will always focus on a specific cup. This is clearly the most basic way to develop and maintain throwing accuracy. Aim is one cup at a time.

4. The Toss: The optimal shot should fall within a 30 to 70 degree angle of entry. Keep in mind physics proves it more difficult to control distance when shooting with higher arc. However, the higher the arc, the better your chances of sinking the cup.

5. The Celebration: All sports talk about the thrill of victory. But few let it be flaunted. Beer Pong sets itself apart by embracing the emotional outbursts and allowing them to become part of the game itself. Consider the full spectrum of celebration options to provide the right level of intensity.

Hope this helps you to perfect your shot. Party on, my fellow pongers.

House Rules

I am having trouble deciding what to make my official house rules. Having moved from California to DC, I have now been subject to many different beer pong rules. Most rules overlap, especially the following:

• Bouncing it into the cup counts for two cups. 
• You must be heard calling "heating up" and "on fire." Being "on fire" means making three cups in consecutive turns, and once you are on fire, you get to shoot till you miss. 
• If you do not make any shots during the game, you must sit underneath the table for the duration of the next game (known as trollin', the namesake of this blog). 
• Game play begins with eye-to-eye, and from that point on the winning teams from the last round starts each game. 
• If both people from one team make it during the same turn, they get balls back. 
• Islands must be called, and if you make it an additional cup must be pulled. 
• You  must be far enough back from the table that your elbow does not pass over the table while shooting.

Certain rules are pretty easily defined by household, such as how many re-racks and whether or not gentleman's (lining up the final two cups and centering the final cup) is allowed. How many islands per person and the consequence for making a non-island cup after calling island also vary widely by household. 

There are, however, some rules that I take major issue with, and would never allow in any house of mine. For example, if the person who shoots the ball picks it up off of the table a after missing a cup without it hitting the floor, they are allowed to re-shoot. On the east coast, for whatever reason, boys have to shoot behind their back and girls can shoot with their left hand. I personally think this is ridiculous. What about being a girl preempts you from a behind-the-back shot? Where I come from in California, it is a behind-the-back shot for everyone. 

The rule that I take major issue with is somewhat related to death cup. Here in DC, cups are pulled from the table immediately if they are made. If you leave any sort of cup on the table that has already been made, be it in the rack or on the edge, and someone makes it, it is a "death cup" that ends the game. In my hometown (and mind you, that means it likely does not apply to the whole of the west coast), cups are pulled at the end of every turn, and two balls made into the same cup counts for three cups pulled from the rack. This basically does away with any sort of death cup rule. I am usually in the minority with my advocacy of this rule, however, and I am not really sure where it came from. 

No matter your house rules, party on, my fellow pongers.

Table Purchasing

I recently discovered that Walmart.com is the best place for all of your beer pong table needs. I had not realized it before, but it aggregates tables from all of the major table retailers, including GoPong, Red Cup, and BPONG. This makes it really easy to browse all of the table designs, and with Walmart you can usually work out free shipping. 

I am particularly fond of this one, if you want to express your patriotism while playing beer pong. It's only $134.99, with free shipping to boot. 

Never fear however, if your flag does not wave with the stars and stripes. If you hail from Canada (mind you, Barney Stinson would say, "You poor thing. Having to grow up in Canada, with America right there.") you can show your pride with this table: 

Again with free shipping from Walmart, this table is $124.80 in standard aluminum, and $134.99 in black aluminum. 

Party on, my fellow pongers.