How To Play Beer Pong Like a Pro

Beer pong is a sport that requires a unique combination of skills to win. In addition to having a good arm, or wrist, you must understand the physics behind your shots. It’s an all-too-common mistake for beginners to simply throw the ball at their opponents’ cups. Nine out of ten times this results in the ball going over past the cups and over the table. In this post, we’re going to talk about the science and geometry behind beer pong, revealing how players can increase their chances of winning through a basic understanding of arches.

As you may already know, the ultimate goal in beer pong is to land the ball in one of your opponents’ cups. This sport doesn’t rely on body strength or mass but rather technique and finesse instead. Beer pong shots are all in the wrists. A good snap of the wrists should send the ball in a desirable arch towards your opponents’ cups, at which point it will hopefully land in a cup to give your team a point.

Arch Shot vs Fastball

There are two primary techniques used to throw the ball in beer pong — the arch shot or fastball. The fastball lives up to its name by relying on a speedy shot aimed directly at a specific cup of your opponents. Fastballs incorporate just a very minimal amount of arc (15-30 degrees). Some players prefer this type of shot because of the increased accuracy it offers. By throwing your ball at a high velocity, you’ll naturally have more control over where it lands. The disadvantage to fastballs, however, is the reduced target area. With a reduced arc, you’ll have to land the ball in a smaller area around the cup, making it slightly more difficult to score.

On the other side of the fence we have the arc shot. These shots are done by relying more on gravity and less on speed. Tossing the ball in a high arc offers several unique advantages, one of which is a larger target zone. Looking down at the beer pong table from a bird’s eye perspective will reveal just how much available target area there is with an arc shot. Fastballs, however, don’t have this same benefit. Arc shots also take advantage of slight miscalculations in your throw. If you happen to throw it too hard, the ball may travel and land in a different cup. Of course, your team will still get the point even though you didn’t intend for it to land there.