If you are just getting started or looking to make a foray into the exciting and intense world of foosball, you probably want to be acquainted with the basics first. Here are five top foosball tips from buying the best foosball table for your needs, to developing your foosball playing skills, to proper maintenance.
Buying Your First Foosball Table
While a good foosball table will cost you a little more, it is a worthwhile investment that will offer years’ worth of service. You want to buy a solid and stable table weighing not less than 200 pounds with a recommended rail thickness of 1 ½ inches. Another feature to look out for is the shape of the foosball men’s toes— buy a table with men whose toes are pointed and have a cross-hatching design for better ball control.
You also want to ensure that the foosball men are counterbalanced to allow a smooth and fair one on one game. Ensure that the table has octagonal shaped wooden handles to allow a comfortable handgrip and efficient shooting.
A good foosball table should come with adjustable legs so you can lower or raise the table at your convenience. Lastly, look out for tables with sticky foosballs; avoid smooth foosballs because their lack of grip makes it difficult to pin them down against the table, making for a frustrating game.
How To Serve: Foosball Serving Tip
Did you know that you could serve the ball to yourself in foosball? That’s right. Here’s the thing, if your intention is to only get the ball through the hole, you are actually giving your opponent an easy chance to score. So, what you want to do instead is to sharpen your ball spinning skills so that at the drop, you can spin the ball toward the men on your midfielder rod. Dropping the ball in this way gives you greater control over the game.
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Shooting: Foosball Shooting Tips For Beginners
One of the most common challenges for beginners is gripping the foosball handle.
Another important shooting tip is to ensure that you turn your wrist swiftly while spinning the rod 180 degrees to make effective shots. Most beginners typically turn their wrist a quarter way, so you find the shot is not strong enough due to lack of speed.
Here’s a great tip to improve your speed and your shots as well: spin the handle with open hands so that the handle just rolls on your wrist (instead of gripping it). Try this a couple of times until you get it right; it could improve your shots immensely.
Maintenance Tips: How To Maintain Your Foosball Table
One way to lubricate and clean the rod is to slide the rubber bumpers across the length of the rod. This works just fine to get rid of the build-up on the rod. Some silicone typically remains inside the bumper and the sliding motion will lubricate the rod slightly to make it smoother and to allow for a faster spin.
A word of caution, if you want your foosball bumpers to last longer, don’t slide them up and down the rod too frequently—this should be a one-off maintenance tip.
A best practice is to simply slather the rod with more silicone for lubrication and cleansing. To apply silicone, squeeze it onto a cotton rag and rub it along the length of the rod. Stay away from WD-40 D0—while this type of silicone will lubricate your rods, the results will only be short-lived. WD-40 will dry out your bearings and bumpers causing your table to wear out pretty fast.
So, to wrap it up, look to purchase a high quality table if you are serious about playing foosball; it may cost you more but it is entirely worthwhile. Be sure to look at features such as the men’s toes, ball consistency, and the table’s stability.
When it comes to playing technique, what is really important is practicing your handle gripping, speed and ball control tactics. Finally, to get the most from your foosball table, be sure to undertake regular maintenance according to the recommend best practices.
