If you are roughly the same level as the crafty veteran, then the key thing to understand about them is that they are in a state of desperation. Why? Because they can’t beat you, shot for shot, and they know it. That’s why they are forced to be crafty veterans in order to win!

But table tennis is a highly tactical game, and thinking you can beat them because you have better shots is like thinking you can solve math equations on paper better than a math professor because you have a really nice pen and he has a crayon.

On the other hand, once you realize he’s playing with a crayon and you have a nice pen (even if you aren’t a penholder), which in this metaphor means you have better shots, and understand that the crafty veteran can only win if you beat yourself, you can learn to adjust your tactics so that you can beat him, instead of yourself.

For example, suppose the crafty veteran knows you have a powerful and (usually) consistent loop and aren’t afraid to use it. And so he loads up his pushes with extra backspin, and your powerful loop becomes inconsistent, and so you lose. What should you have done? Take advantage of his letting you attack first with his push, and learn to do a slower, more consistent opening loop. Place it well and deep on the table, and the crafty veteran will likely become a drafty veteran with holes in his game. The key thing to learn is he’s trying to win on your mistakes with that heavy push because he has no other weapons that threaten you. He wants you to beat yourself; don’t do that, and instead you’ll beat him.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy to beat the crafty veteran. It simply means that once you understand how to beat him, then with experience and practice, he will become somewhat easy to beat . . . because he’s armed with a crayon and you have that really nice pen.

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