OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I played and lost twice to players using dead/old rubbers.

The ball has no pace. I couldn't flat hit it and light chop or push would lift it high enough for them to flat hit it.

I can't get used to their style of play as their game play is unique.

If ever I play them again, I will try to topspin by forehand and follow up with a flat hit if I get a high ball back.

SLAP IN FACE.
When you willing to play the game against some gooney guy who brought in a trashy rubber, You got slap in your face to discredit yourself.
Do not lose your face, never.

(text revised and reworded for the sake of good modesty)

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WE SECURE FAIRNESS FOR YOU ALL.

I sense that Igor doesn't know how to play against these people and kept losing to them. So now he just refuses to play against them and forfeits his match... This is very much like "ostrich sticking head in sand". Should everyone follow his "advice"? Heck no, this is a skill to be developed, not something to turn your nose up at to avoid an imaginary "slap in face". At the club, you should seek out and play them every chance you get, how else would you learn how to handle them?

Iskandar

SLAP IN FACE.
revised for ethical reason.

--When you willing to play the game against some gooney who brought in a trashy rubber, You got slap in your face to discredit yourself.
Do not lose your face, never.
___________
text revised and reworded for the sake of good modesty

Try playing doubles against a pair where one person uses long pips on one side and the other has double inverted. You'll get confused as to which one is which... It really forces you to concentrate, and to work on tactics. And you really do have to work with your partner on signals before serving.

The good news is - if you regularly play against people using low-spin rubbers you'll get used to them fairly quickly. There was a time when three of the half dozen or so regulars at Social Doubles switched to long pips (thanks, Rob ) plus there was one person who continued to play with bare wood on the reverse side (penholder). Initially everyone (including the long pips people) were gingerly pushing the ball around but everyone's gotten over it and now it doesn't bother anyone any more, they've gotten used to it. The level of play has continued to go up over time. There's only two or three of us who really bother with the theory behind spin and the effect of rubbers (we're the ones who constantly signal before serves), yet even the ones that don't aren't confused any more - I suppose one eventually develops an instinct.

Iskandar

I don't understand this discussion at all, because I thought

1. Dead rubber is same as anti (which is legal at all levels of play)
2. If I show up to play again with my dead but fully ITTF legal 40 year old Sriver or Mark V (that was hidden in my attic by my spouse so I cannot play ping pong, along with some dead bodies), what rules prevent me ? Is there a minimum friction requirement for anti as well, just like for pips ? Maybe there is but how do you test it in a low level tournament (where most of these dead rackets are more likely to show up than at an international event).

Unless this is a new backdoor way of whining about anti

Hi s-jan. Nice to hear you got married, and sorry to hear your bat got locked up in the attic. Hope the pips haven't fallen off the Feint Long yet.

Yes, it's whining about antis. Most of us don't have any problems with it, it's just Igor. The rest of us are more interested in discussing how one should play against someone using old rubbers rather than whining about it. I like his solution - just boycott anyone that plays with old dead rubber (or anti), even though it means forfeiting the U-1100 finals... I'd rather learn to play against it instead.

Iskandar

he s not sober, just an angry bitter rusian umpire who is obsessed with ito mima.

I think this is the right way to think about (or play against) dead rubber. There is however the question-is dead rubber unreactive to spin, but actually faster to hit with than anti (realizing characterizing all antis are the same is a fallacy of overgeneralization)? I do not know, but I think ancient mark V would have at least some different characteristics than anti.

I confess that I did it before. I brought a pre-made racket to the club on my first day there, everyone just didn't like me That was a $20 racket and it was sold for $2 as a clearance item in the local sports store. That was the best table tennis racket I had at that time, the other one I got was $10 and sold for $2 as well but it doesn't have a ITTF label on it while the one I brought to the club has it.

That's not a happy day to me. But in fact, I didn't beak any rule.

If I play with someone using similar racket, I will be nice to him. He didn't do anything wrong, and it is a good chance to test my fundamental skills.