(By Larry Hodges)

It can be difficult playing someone with a fast attack or quick blocks, who rushes you and takes over the attack with his or her counter-attack. How do you beat someone like this? There are many ways, depending on your style. If you are an attacker, you may run into a problem that when you attack, you get quick-blocked out of position, and quickly lose the point. Instead of trying to make shot after shot against such an opponent, focus on making two strong shots. That means your first shot is designed to set up the second shot. That means placement and depth. It also might mean slowing down your first shot to give yourself time to prepare for the second shot. Often there’s nothing more effective against a fast, quick player than a slow, spinny loop, deep on the table, often throwing off their timing or jamming them on the backhand. It’s hard to block aggressively and can set up your second shot. The second shot should be aggressive, but placement is key – go wide to the corners or at the opponent’s middle (roughly the playing elbow).

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