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Foosball Tips

Foosball Tips Overview
This section has compiled a list of important foosball table tips ranging in subjects from purchasing your first table to learning how to master the game of foosball.
Foosball Shooting Tips
Most beginners tend to grip the foosball handle with their hand too hard. Keeping a loose grip on the handle will allow for maximum movement and speed and limit your resistance. You will know that you are holding the handle right if there is a small gap between the skin that connects your thumb and index finger and the handle. If this skin is completely wrapped around the foosball handle, you know you are gripping it too hard for shooting. Remember, a handle is not a tennis racket or baseball bat that you have to swing! Another tip when shooting is to turn your wrist quickly and the rod should spin about 180 degrees when taking the shot. Turning your wrist a quarter of a turn will not provide enough speed on your shot. You can also shoot an open-handed shot where you actually roll the handle on your wrist in order to increase the speed of your shot.
Foosball Serving Tip
An important tip to know about foosball is that it is legal to serve yourself the ball on the drop. Imagine how important the coin toss is in any other sport. If you are just sticking the ball through the hole you are basically throwing away a free possession and giving your opponent another chance to score. Instead, this tip suggests that you should learn how to spin the ball on the drop directly to the men on your 5 bar midfielder rod. Read our serve article to learn how to properly drop the ball to give yourself control and additional possessions.

Foosball Bumpers Lube Tip
One tip that you should know, especially if you play foosball on bar tables, is you can slide the rubber bumpers to the end of a foosball rod to clean and lubricate the rod. As the bumper slides down the foosball rod, it will clean some of the build-up off the rod. Also, some foosball silicone is usually still on the inside of the foosball bumper and this will lightly lubricate the rod to give you a smoother and faster rod. We do not recommend using this tip on your home foosball table because you should just apply more silicone to the rod instead of sliding your bumpers down the rod. Sliding your bumpers on the rod can cause them to flake and wear down the life of the bumper, especially if you have applied WD-40 to the rod in the past. Read our foosball silicone section to learn how to properly apply silicone to your foosball rods.
Foosball Table Shopping Tips
Like any big purchase, always do your research before purchasing a foosball table. The tricky part about this foosball tip is you may want to spend less on your table if you don’t currently play a lot of foosball. Knowing how much you will use the table is important before you spent $500+ on a good quality foosball table, especially if you don’t end up having anyone to play with. However, we recommend spending this money up front so you aren’t disappointed and end up suffering with a table that has low performance. There is a drastic difference between the capabilities of performing shots and ball control from one table to another.
Not only do you want to research individual foosball tables, but also do your research on the different brands that are available. Start your research by learning about all of the different foosball table features and foosball parts. This is an important tip and that’s why we have also put together an entire section dedicated to helping you research the numerous tables out there on the market today with detailed reviews to give you the pros and cons of each. 

Foosball Defense Tips
  • Move your 2 defense rods together as one solid defense unit. Make sure your defensive players do not overlap one another and try to avoid crossing back and forth. You can space your defensive men slightly apart in a formation so there is not enough width for the foosball to go between your men. This small gap (about 60-70% of a ball width) between your men can make a huge impact if you use it correctly.
  • Always be playing defense. Your job while playing defense is to always follow the ball no matter where it is on the table. A lot of beginner players when learning to play defense get distracted or don't realize that a lot of reflected foosball shots can be blocked simply by following the ball on the table. If the ball is on the left side of the table and your partner has the ball on offense, your men should be too! Your men should be constantly moving if you are doing this properly.
  • For one on one games, you can use your thumb and pinkie finger on your left hand to play both of your defensive rods at one time. You will have to hold the actual rod right in front of the handle but not the actual handle in order to get a good grip. This formation will come in handy when your opponent is taking foosball shots from the defensive side of the table. Learn this foosball tip and use it with the technique above for maximum effectiveness.
  • Avoid ricochets and bounces off your defense tip. The most annoying goals are the ones that can be avoided with a few defensive fundamentals. If you have a 3 man goalie rod like many Tornado tables, you will notice that numerous shots will hit your 2 outside foosball men that are not even in front of the goal. Remember that these men are strictly to keep the ball in play and are not used to defend any shots. By simply tilting your men backwards when obvious shots are going to hit the wall, it will avoid accidental bounces from hitting your men and scoring on yourself. Instead, let the ball hit the wall and catch the ball with your 2 bar defense rod.
  • Vary your movements and patterns. When playing defense against more advanced players, it is important to learn to alternate your defensive movements and patterns in order to distract and make your defense more unpredictable. Don't tip off your opponent by doing the same motions over and over. The mental portion of foosball defense cannot be overlooked.
  • You don't need to cover the entire goal. This is sometimes also referred to as a zone formation defense. The goal is a total of 5 widths of the ball, but this defensive tip will show you that you don't need to completely defend all 5 holes. Think about it while looking at the diagram below. Please also note that your man's toe is the same width as a foosball. If you have a defensive man covering 50% of hole 1 and 50% of hole 2, a straight shot towards either hole will still be deflected. What is the point in covering all of hole 1 and none of hole 2 with this man? The only disclaimer to this tip is for spray shots and bank shots that come in at angles that can take advantage of this zone defense. Watch your opponent to see if you can take advantage of this foosball tip.   
Foosball Defense Diagram
Foosball 101