Guide to Basement and Family Ping-Pong by Greg Letts

Table tennis is a sport that a large number of people around the world have played at one time or another - and usually had a lot of fun doing so! But what most of these dabblers don't know is that table tennis is also one of the very few sports that has two very distinct versions - you have the basement game which is played and loved by millions of people all over the world, and you have the serious sport which is played by only a small fraction of that player base - I'd guess maybe 5% of overall players?

Unlike sports like tennis, which pretty much looks like tennis regardless of what level you play at, the sport of table tennis played at the basement level is completely different to the sport that is played at an advanced level - mainly due to the magic of spin.

Strangely enough, most of what is written on the Internet about table tennis caters for that small percentage of serious players, and the vast majority of basement or family ping-pong players are left out in the cold. There is very little good advice on the Internet about how to play better ping-pong without spending a fortune on custom bats, expensive coaching, or attending training camps. Most information that you will find that is aimed at complete beginners is either written by other beginners (which results in some strange advice!), or is written in the expectation that the new player is planning to start playing with expensive custom equipment and become a serious table tennis player as soon as possible.

But what about those ping-pong players who simply want to play for fun in their garage, family room or workplace, using their trusty Wal-Mart bats, but who would also like to play a bit better and beat their buddies more often?

If you are one of these players, then this Guide to Basement Ping-Pong is for you. This guide is written by an advanced table tennis player for the ping-pong player who has only ever played for fun, who doesn't know the real difference between basement ping-pong and advanced table tennis (and who probably doesn't care!), but who still wants to improve his game and win more matches against his family, friends and work mates.

In the weeks to come, I'm going to walk you through the basics of basement ping-pong. We'll cover everything a basement player needs to know, including:

• What is Basement Ping Pong?
• Is it OK to be a basement player?
• Should you start with basement ping-pong or serious table tennis?
• How do you tell the difference between a basement bat and a custom table tennis racket? Why does it matter? Should you start with a cheap bat or an expensive custom racket?
• If you are a basement player who wants to get serious about table tennis, how do you know when you are ready?
• What are the basic table tennis grips? Which should you choose? Does it matter how you hold the racket?
• What are the basic strokes of table tennis, and how do you play them with a cheap basement bat? Are their any strokes that you shouldn't try to play?
• What are the basic rules of table tennis that you should know?
• What are some simple tactics and strategies you can use to win more points?

Stick with me, and you'll discover that you don't have to spend a fortune on a custom racket in order to play better ping-pong. And if you get bitten by the table tennis bug (watch out!), you'll have a good grounding in the basics so that you will be ready to step up to advanced play more easily - and don't worry, I have a wealth of information already on the website for serious players!

What is Basement Ping-Pong? by Greg Letts

While you can ask 10 different players and probably get 10 different opinions, I'm going to start this article by explaining exactly what I mean when I talk about basement ping-pong. While originally deriving from the simple fact that many people play at home, often in their basement, some players now use that term in a derogatory sense, implying that basement players aren't "real" table tennis players. I don't mean that at all, although it is true that most basement players are much more casual about the sport than serious players.

For me, the distinction between basement ping-pong and serious play is marked by several factors, none of which are the single defining issue. Here's what I consider to be the main differences:

1. Equipment - the first thing that will give other players a clue about whether you are a basement or serious player is your table tennis bat. I'll explain more about this in another article, but as a rule of thumb the racket used by basement players is generally going to be different to rackets used by more serious players in 2 ways:
• it's going to have less power, especially when trying to spin the ball, and
• it's going to provide much less spin.
While both are important for advanced play, it's the lack of spin that prevents basement players from being able to consistently play the advanced strokes used by serious players (such as theloop, powerloop, chop, and flick).

Note also that you can be a new player and buy an expensive custom racket and still play basement table tennis since you won't be able to use it properly, or you could buy a cheap racket and play advanced table tennis - it's just that it is much easier to perform the advanced techniques with a custom racket that is designed to provide extra power and spin. But these custom rackets are harder to control if you have not been taught how to handle them.

2. Technique - more than anything else, I would say that this is the real difference between basement and advanced players. There are a handful of advanced strokes that serious players use that basement players don't. These techniques require a great deal of extra time and effort to master, and are much easier (but still not easy) to perform with custom rackets that provide extra power and spin. An experienced player can look at an unfamiliar player and estimate his level by watching the person's technique when playing different strokes, and more importantly by how he puts those strokes together during a rally.

The above two points make up the bulk of the differences between basement and advanced players, but there are some other factors to consider as well, including:

3. Training - most serious players will train on a regular basis, usually once or twice a week at a minimum. Some advanced players no longer train regularly, preferring to perhaps just play games at their local club once a week. But it's a good bet that they didn't get to that standard without a lot of training hours under their belt. In contrast, basement players tend to just play endless games against each other, or even just enjoy rallying with each other for those who aren't looking for competition. Which leads us to:
4. Competition - while I know that beating your family, friends and work buddies can sometimes be the fiercest of battles, that is usually where the competition stops for basement players. Most serious players seek out other opponents to conquer (and socialize with!), attending clubs and organized competitions on a regular basis.
5. Conditions - playing at home or at work can be a bit of a crap shoot in terms of playing conditions. Sometimes you have to work around the lack of space or pieces of furniture in the way. Sometimes the furniture can be useful, allowing you to cramp your opponent's swing, or maybe lean against the furniture yourself when you are off-balance. Sometimes the table has dents or drink rings that you can aim for. But for serious play, good lighting, quality tables and plenty of space are needed.
6. Rules - competition play has rules laid out by the ITTF that are supposed to be followed strictly, although in practice you will often find that some of these rules are bent or broken due to the lack of umpires available to control matches. In basement play, "house rules" are common, such as the skunk rule or even playing matches up to 21 points instead of the modern 11 points. At home, you can play any rules you like, as long as you are having fun!

And speaking of fun, that should be at least one thing that both basement players and serious players have in common. Regardless of rackets, rules or time spent training, no matter whether you play once a month or five times a week, you should be having fun while playing ping-pong. Whether in the basement or the stadium, table tennis is a great sport to be enjoyed by all.