OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I've just started testing one of Gambler's surprising new entries into the pips-out rubber market: GXM, a medium pip with 1.0mm sponge (it's also available in 1.5mm and 2.1mm). GXM's pips are wide-spaced and grippy. I'm interested in seeing if it can replace my OX LP on backhand to increase the offensiveness of my game. Initial results are promising! One thing I can tell you already, Gambler GXM 1.0mm is the absolute king of sink! I've never seen such profound sink effect on flat-hit balls, and that's with a 40+ poly ball! It's easy to manipulate spin on BH drives, sending anything from a topspin to a dead ball with little change in stroke. Serves like back/side are downright evil and give opponents a lot of trouble. Not good at chopping.. too grippy/pops ball way up. Serve returns requires an active stroke (no LP bump strokes!) but are devastating when done correctly. More later..

From Zeropong.com:

"Gambler GXM is made specifically for hitting, chopping, and aggressive style of defensive play. The pips are very small and widely spaced. GXM has much more control when hitting than long pips yet still manages to produce a strange dead ball to elicit mistakes from your opponent.

Speed: 70
Spin: 70
Control: 94
Hardness: Very soft around 35"

Sounds great! Can you compare it to any other MPs? Like Aggressor in 1,5? How is it for blocking/countering spinny loops? How is control, blocking, attacking compared to Aggressor and other MPs?

I have Aggressor in 1,5 but have only tried it very briefly. As long as I don’t add any speed myself it is ok, but when I try to hit with it, ball often flies like a rocket straight to the wall behind my opponent .

I also have a sheet of Giant Dragon 8228A that I like. It is much more controlled and easy to block and hit with, and it can generate some spin. But it is much more harmless compared to Aggressor. Perhaps Neubauer KO would be somewhere in between but this new MP you are describing sounds great.

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The 1.0mm soft sponge would certainly help a lot to give better 'sink', even inverted that sponge would probably give you some sink.

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Is the sponge really that soft? Does it then make it slow?

Does it look like the topsheet will separate from the sponge easily? I was thinking of trying it in OX too....

I like how that hellcat MP works in the video from the WRM guys, and was hopping to find something like that...something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

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The sponge is soft but I haven't gotten the feeling that it's bottoming out, even at 1.0mm. It is slow when played completely passively but add just a little forward motion and the speed is more than adequate to rush an opponent, and faster than any LP I've been playing. Evil service spin is a big plus over LPs. I've seen no evidence of sponge/topsheet separation.

Thanks!

The reason I asked of the sponge separation is because I actually want to separate it. They don't offer the topsheets in OX.

I am also considering this in thicker sponge for FH play (still not determined where I'm going style-wise).

So, it sounds fairly grippy for a Mid pip.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

Projects: Player Equipment Grid ⇝ Comprehensive Thin Inverted Chopping Rubbers Grid ⇝ Please send me corrections or new submissions

Just an update to my previous post.. GXM 1.0mm *does* bottom out its sponge fairly easily but that's not necessarily a bad thing! I don't feel the pip produces unexpected results regardless of how hard I hit the ball.

Very tempting...

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As the person that was on the receiving side of nathanso's hits, I can confirm that this is a very offensive and consistent medium pips.

Wish there's a video showing the two of you playing...

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Further notes on Gambler GXM 1.0mm after a 3rd day of play:

o Ball grip is different when engaging the ball vertically vs horizontally, with vertically providing significantly more grip. This is evident during aggressive pushing where leading with the blade's edge produces a weak, spin-killing ball whereas leading with the blade's tip produces a stronger, spinnier ball. Opportunity for spin variation..?

o The pip is remarkably consistent when used in a standard BH drive stoke, generating good speed and even some topspin. Imparting spin variation isn't too difficult simply by flattening the stroke to produce a deader ball.

o Side/backspin serves continue to cause trouble for opponents.. whiffs past the back line.

o Backspin serves rise up unexpectedly after the second bounce and are nearly dead. Effective when used sparingly.

o Fast, low corner-to-corner topspin "surprise" serves are better than any rubber I've tried.

o Chopping remains problematic for me.. simply too much grip from the pips either pops the ball up or, if I over-compensate, sends it into the net. Very narrow window for success.

When I'm aggressive with GXM -- especially on serve return -- it rewards handsomely. But it's a difficult pip to master.. much like any MP, though it doesn't seem to have the steep learning curve of, say, 563. The jury is still out on whether I'll stick with it or return to OX LP.

I have tried this pip and still testing it. Its a hard to explain but its sometimes fast and sometimes slow just a little inconsistent or unexpected returns. Trying to figure it out, coming from playing with pogo its harder to tame.

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Gambler Burst
Gambler Long pips

After about 4-5 play days I've soured on this pip and have removed it from my blade. While it was excellent on service and made some impressive attacking shots, I found it lacked in the short game, especially when pushing. Sometimes the ball would just die on the pips and I suspect this had to do with the angle of ball contact relative to the pip alignment as I noted below.. too much variation between vertical and horizontal produced unpredictable results for me. Back to GD Talon OX.

Interest lowered too here...

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Same here, couldn't come to terms with the variable results from this one, also my opponents didn't seem to have as much difficulty returning it as some others suggested. Of course my practice partners are used to my spin or lack there of, and that probably contributed to this. I thought GXM looked a lot like a Pimple Mini or MilliTall II, but they are both faster with equal control as far as my memory goes, it has been a while since I used them. I think I would like GXM better with a thicker sponge which I used with both PM and MT II, which like OX they don't sell.

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