How to Win (Dominate!) at Beer Pong: 18 Tips, Tricks & Strategies (Up Your Game)

Last Updated on January 25, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco

Beer Pong is a popular game at most college and home parties. It involves tossing ping pong balls into your opponent’s partially-filled beer cups and removing the ones in which the balls land. The team that has all its cups removed loses the game.

I will explain how the below-mentioned tips can help you get to the top of the game. It’s never a dull moment drinking while having fun with friends and family. 

These are 18 tricks you can use to dominate at beer pong:

1. Choose Your Teammate Well

Excellent eye-hand coordination is a must-have skill to master beer pong. A former or current athlete would make a perfect teammate. Although short players are equally as good, a player’s height would be critical if you want to win at beer pong.

How about you pick a partner who excels well at your weak points? A team member with complementary skills will make up for your insufficiencies. If you aren’t good at hand-eye coordination, pick someone who is. If you’re 5’10” (1.778 meters), pick someone 6’4″ (1.93 meters) to toss the balls further and more accurately.

2. Have the Right Tools

Winning the game will depend on how well you prepare, and you can’t play well without the right tools. It would be best to have several party cups, preferably red or blue 16-ounce (0.47 l) plastic types, and two ping pong balls for each.

Remember, you’ll be drinking as you play, so you’ll likely get drunk at the game’s peak. Therefore, it would be best to have extra balls and cups as some will probably get lost.

Get an 8-foot (2.4 meters) table and a few clear water cups to rinse the balls that get soaked in beer.

3. Hold Your Ball Correctly

Winning beer pong depends on how well you hold the ball and toss it targeting the cup. Holding things properly as you get drunk might be challenging, but you’re playing to win, so try to hold and toss your ball correctly.

Practice playing beer pong when you’re still sober, then try replicating your moves after a few sips. You’ve mastered the game if you can still hold your ball correctly even after several cups of beer. There’s no fun in playing beer pong if you’re still sober.

4. Pick a Cup Arrangement

The beer pong cup arrangement resembles the cue-ing of a pool rack. You can play with six or ten cups in 3-2-1 and 4-3-2-1 arrangements. You can adjust the arrangement upwards depending on your mastery of the game.

5. Don’t Cease To Play

The best way to become good at what you do is to do it more often. Don’t just play once a month. Do it at your regular house parties and bar visits. Playing beer pong repeatedly will help you become better at it. 

Of course, you have to look for the right people to play with. It would help if you had team members as eager to learn.

6. Drink! Drink! Drink!

Why would you tell someone you’re playing beer pong yet aren’t drunk or soaked in beer spills? Playing beer pong is about getting loose and breaking away from your busy life for a moment.

Drink enough beer to get the confidence and arrogance you need to win. But avoid going too far. There’s a thin line between getting drunk to play beer pong like crazy and getting so drunk that you can’t see the cups on the table properly.

7. Develop a Playing Style

Do you get better as you drink, or are you the type that begins to falter after a few sips? You might start playing on the wrong foot but finish with a bang.

Determining your strengths and talents can help you develop pre-game tactics, choose the right teammate to complement your weaknesses, and prepare for the worst. It doesn’t have to end with a win.

8. Target for the Back of the Cup

Don’t aim for all the cups in one go. That’s where you go wrong. Focus on one cup instead and toss your ball. You focus your shot perfectly by aiming at the back of one cup.

However, you’ll need to change your strategy if you’re tipsy and begin seeing double. Maybe you can wait a few minutes while sipping some water to lower the booze in your body.

9. Refine Your Tossing Angles

Working on your ball-tossing angles will help you dominate at beer pong.

One golden rule in playing beer pong is never to let your elbows cross the table when shooting your ping pong ball. You don’t have to shoot while standing behind the table. Move around and find the best shooting angle. Stick to a position and find that angle that helps keep up your scoring rate.

10. Master the Three Types of Throw

Dominating at beer pong requires that you master these three types of throw:

• Arc throw: Shoot the ball in a long, high, and slow descent curve into the cup.
• Fastball throw: You toss the ball fast, low, and aggressively.
• Bounce throw: You bounce your ping pong ball once off the table.

The bounce throw is my favorite. Bouncing the ball off the table takes off most of the energy, meaning the ball doesn’t rebound when landing in the cup.

11. Pay Attention

Playing beer pong while drinking beer might make you take the game less seriously, and you shouldn’t fall for it. Keep tabs on the number of cups taken off and those remaining on the table.

Let consistency become your reflex. Take note of your heartbeat. If you feel it pounding fast, you need to relax, and if it’s pounding slowly like slow jazz, it’s time to spice things up.

12. Spice Everything Up

There is a tendency for the playing mood to die down as you drink more beer, and you might falter eventually.

Why not introduce some fear pong to play truth-or-dare when the mood starts to die down? Everybody is likely to jump back on the table for the new twist in the game. The secret is keeping it lively.

13. Perfect New Tricks

Beer pong playing tactics aren’t cast in stone. You can learn new tricks that will make you a champion and unlearn those that don’t work.

Practice the high arc and bounce shots from different positions and see which one works for you. Some in-house rules allow players to learn while others don’t. You need to know which rules give you success.

14. Don’t Overdrink

If you’re out for a stag night, taking a little more is okay, but you can be sure the game won’t last long. However, if you’re out for camaraderie or some bragging rights, try not to drink much.

15. Pick the Right Ball

Choose a ping pong ball that isn’t messed with spilled drink or dirt from a dirty floor. A clean ball is easy to toss and doesn’t stick to your hands.

A sticky ball will most likely not bounce off the table if you try the bounce throw. Be on top of your game. Remember, you want to be a champion.

16. Keep Tabs on Your Opponents

Playing with your opponent’s psychology is the greatest tool for winning beer pong. Why not chat with one of them to get an idea of who they’re and whether they like the game? Don’t thump your chest if they seem weaker or more inexperienced than you. You’ll never know your true expertise until you win.

17. Stand Steady and Firm

Try to stand firm with your two feet shoulder-width apart. Take a slight bend at the knee when tossing your ball but be careful not to topple over.

Notice when you begin losing balance and take a break. Freshen up and get back to the table. Yes! You’re a beer pong champion.

18. Remain Competitive

Yes, we know! Beer pong should be all about having fun. But, if you want to come ahead in the game, remain competitive. Maybe if you take that game seriously enough, you could one day become a true beer-pong pro!

Final Thoughts

Dominating a game of beer pong takes a few strategic moves. Remember to always be a team player and never stop practicing! Just focus on the game, and you’ll get there in the end.