#blockbag

Part 3 is here! So your opponent goes first and drops their bag right in that 7 o’clock spot creating a lane block. If you’re a lefty, that thing is definitely all up in your lane. Now what do you do? We asked four ACL Pro players what they would do. Let's analyze their answers and see if we can figure out what the best answer is: A, B, C, D, none of the above, or all of the above!When playing at the competitive level and below, the blocker seems to get most people rattled. They just can't figure out what the best thing to do is or how they will play out the round finishing with points or not giving up a bunch. The lane block bag becomes one of the biggest mental hurdles especially if your opponent doesn't have much of an airmail or any roll, flop or cut shot. Which, let's face it, not too many competitive/intermediate players have those in their arsenal. Lets check out how the Pro players handle the lane block and maybe you can get some tips on what you should do or at least what you should work on doing next.How the Pros Handle the Lane BlockBret’s first inclination would be to shoot it straight up the gut and hopefully knock that blocker out to the left with his bag going in. But if that darn blocker is doing its job and in the way of his slide, Bret is staying true to his aggressive style (as mentioned in PART 1: The Standard Block) and you won’t be catching him trying to counter block or block behind--nope! He’s sending it. Airmail every time, baby! Kenzie Beach gives himself a couple un-Bret-like options. Option number one is the more traditional route of a counter lane block, or placing a response bag right in that 5 o’clock spot--which is also what Steven Bernacet would do. Typically, a slide up the middle at a slowed down block speed will get the job done, as the block already in place will nudge it to sit right next door. Now, with neither party able to push their bags in (for 95% of the cornhole world anyway), it’s an airmail or roll party. Steven would confidently go bag for bag with anyone in an airmail show. Kenzie would feel just as confident going roll against airmail. So they both welcome these scenarios. And that’s just option number one for Kenzie. Number two involves what is known as a cut shot in which the bag is thrown at such an angle that once it lands slightly to the right of that lane block, it will take a turn or cut back towards the hole. The curve ball of cornhole, if you will. Isabella Suprenant, wants to take the lethal cut shot a step further and not only does she want to get around that lane block, she wants to shoot a cut blocker to stop short of going in and sit to the right and in front of the opponent’s bag, gaining a hole advantage. As a top level player comfortable with her roll bag, she loves a bag hanging over the hole that welcomes all sorts of mistakes from her opponent. And, if all goes well, her final bag could very well be a super gangster cut push for a four bagger! So what’s the right answer? For now, the shot that works best with your current skill set! Is it worth developing a cut/roll/flop?? Well that’s an entirely different blog coming soon, isn’t it? Next entry is the final one! What to do against a V BLOCK!

Welcome to our newest series called Pro Level Game Theory and first up, we are going to talk about the Standard Block. We asked four ACL Pros how they would typically respond to each of these block scenarios. Their (response) bag would be thrown from the left side. Below are their answers. (Spoiler: they're not all the same). Now let's break down why each player may have answered the way they did and really begin to ask ourselves the million dollar question: is there a correct way? One thing is clear from the gate: there is no consensus here. Cut around like Bella? Roll? Airmail? Block behind? Push through? For some time now, in the non-pro world, it has been the consensus to cover/pin/block behind a standard block (but apparently we can’t come to a consensus on what to call this move). Common cornhole wisdom dictates, “Hey, great block, allow me to place this bag behind it to negate any attempts from you to push it in, and let’s start the airmail party. May the best airmailer win.” How the Pros handle the standard blockThat’s what Kenzie Beach would do. Well--some of time. He also has a roll bag option he can pull out at will--probably how he crushed his competition in his conference qualifier to get his pro spot. But notice how he says he wants to “see what they can do.” We all know plenty of players in the recreational cornhole world who would rather hack off their right big toes with a butter knife than throw an airmail under pressure . However, a dirty little secret in the Pro cornhole world is that even they lose their confidence in their airmails from time to time. So if that’s what makes your opponent lose his or her mind, forcing an airmail contest rather than allowing pushes, then the proper play might just be a standard block behind! Isabella Suprenant, reigning coed world champion, said she even goes the extra mile of purposely making the covering bag actually cover the bag and sit on top of it. That's if you didn't leave her space for her to execute her killer cut shot. By the way, all these youngsters with these fully mastered flops, rolls and cuts...what do they put in school milk nowadays? Now here we have another ACL Pro and one time national singles champion Steven Bernacet saying that he only practices covering bags during rounders, where I can only assume he’d rather play it safe in order to better guarantee that he goes undefeated--as is the goal for everyone during those qualifying rounds. But when it’s time for the big boy brackets, he’s willing to risk it for the biscuit. It is indeed a bold move any way you slice it. By airmailing right over that standard block you are emphatically stating to your opponent that your airmail rate is greater than their push/replacement rate. Multiple title holder and recent Pro Shootout Doubles Champion Bret Guy says if he’s feeling his airmails, he’s always going to let it fly. Notice here, a top pro admitting that he can lose his confidence--but if you’re seeing him on the national broadcast he’s almost definitely “feeling it." And what’s really interesting here is if his airmails aren’t feeling too hot that day, he’s still not going to drop a standard block behind it! I believe this reveals how much some players value the emotional/mental battle on the boards. Play mind games or play the math?A standard block is not an easy bag to land. Not only does your left/right alignment have to be on point but you need to be extremely accurate telling that bag precisely where to hit the brakes. So, imagine you nail the standard block. You quietly fist pump in your mind. And then, without hesitation...swish...Steven Bernacet or Bret Guy just airmails over it. He might as well look over at you and add on a, “Nice try, little buddy.” Try to understand the mind screw taking place here! And when Bret isn’t on his airmail game, he wants to make sure he cleans up the board. Another emphatic, “Not today, young fella.” But does this statistically make sense? Or is it that Bret and Steve are so good that they can pull this off? These are the questions that we need answered in order to establish whether there is such a thing as optimal game theory in cornhole.So let's look at some numbers. The opponent will henceforth be referred to as the Sucka. Here’s a theoretical scenario with theoretical success percentages attached.Sucka: Standard Block - 70% (success rate)Bret: Push through - 85%Sucka: Frustrated Bold Second Block - 70%Bret: "Nice Try Buddy" Airmail - 75%Sucka: Replacement Bag - 65%Bret: "Lol in yo face" Airmail - 75%Sucka: Push through - 75%Bret: Slide - 90%Versus this scenario:Sucka: Block - 70%Steven: Cover - 85%Sucka: next three airmails at 65%Steven: next three airmails at 75%Now go back to each scenario and replace those percentages with yours and your favorite local nemesis’s. How would you rather play it? Do you think your airmail rate is strong enough to play with such Bret Guy or Steven Bernacet level aggression? What conclusions do you draw from breaking this down? Is it possible that Steven and Bret are playing this standard block the wrong way statistically but it’s somehow the right way mentally? Did we help you answer any of life's questions? At all? Tune in next time as we do a two for one special breaking down the answers these ACL Pros gave about standard blocks in your lane and missed blocks in their lane. If blocking is your game and the route you chose to go then here are some great Slick & Stick bags you will want to try.

Part 3 is here! So your opponent goes first and drops their bag right in that 7 o’clock spot creating a lane block. If you’re a lefty, that thing is definitely all up in your lane. Now what do you do? We asked four ACL Pro players what they would do. Let's analyze their answers and see if we can figure out what the best answer is: A, B, C, D, none of the above, or all of the above!When playing at the competitive level and below, the blocker seems to get most people rattled. They just can't figure out what the best thing to do is or how they will play out the round finishing with points or not giving up a bunch. The lane block bag becomes one of the biggest mental hurdles especially if your opponent doesn't have much of an airmail or any roll, flop or cut shot. Which, let's face it, not too many competitive/intermediate players have those in their arsenal. Lets check out how the Pro players handle the lane block and maybe you can get some tips on what you should do or at least what you should work on doing next.How the Pros Handle the Lane BlockBret’s first inclination would be to shoot it straight up the gut and hopefully knock that blocker out to the left with his bag going in. But if that darn blocker is doing its job and in the way of his slide, Bret is staying true to his aggressive style (as mentioned in PART 1: The Standard Block) and you won’t be catching him trying to counter block or block behind--nope! He’s sending it. Airmail every time, baby! Kenzie Beach gives himself a couple un-Bret-like options. Option number one is the more traditional route of a counter lane block, or placing a response bag right in that 5 o’clock spot--which is also what Steven Bernacet would do. Typically, a slide up the middle at a slowed down block speed will get the job done, as the block already in place will nudge it to sit right next door. Now, with neither party able to push their bags in (for 95% of the cornhole world anyway), it’s an airmail or roll party. Steven would confidently go bag for bag with anyone in an airmail show. Kenzie would feel just as confident going roll against airmail. So they both welcome these scenarios. And that’s just option number one for Kenzie. Number two involves what is known as a cut shot in which the bag is thrown at such an angle that once it lands slightly to the right of that lane block, it will take a turn or cut back towards the hole. The curve ball of cornhole, if you will. Isabella Suprenant, wants to take the lethal cut shot a step further and not only does she want to get around that lane block, she wants to shoot a cut blocker to stop short of going in and sit to the right and in front of the opponent’s bag, gaining a hole advantage. As a top level player comfortable with her roll bag, she loves a bag hanging over the hole that welcomes all sorts of mistakes from her opponent. And, if all goes well, her final bag could very well be a super gangster cut push for a four bagger! So what’s the right answer? For now, the shot that works best with your current skill set! Is it worth developing a cut/roll/flop?? Well that’s an entirely different blog coming soon, isn’t it? Next entry is the final one! What to do against a V BLOCK!

Welcome to our newest series called Pro Level Game Theory and first up, we are going to talk about the Standard Block. We asked four ACL Pros how they would typically respond to each of these block scenarios. Their (response) bag would be thrown from the left side. Below are their answers. (Spoiler: they're not all the same). Now let's break down why each player may have answered the way they did and really begin to ask ourselves the million dollar question: is there a correct way? One thing is clear from the gate: there is no consensus here. Cut around like Bella? Roll? Airmail? Block behind? Push through? For some time now, in the non-pro world, it has been the consensus to cover/pin/block behind a standard block (but apparently we can’t come to a consensus on what to call this move). Common cornhole wisdom dictates, “Hey, great block, allow me to place this bag behind it to negate any attempts from you to push it in, and let’s start the airmail party. May the best airmailer win.” How the Pros handle the standard blockThat’s what Kenzie Beach would do. Well--some of time. He also has a roll bag option he can pull out at will--probably how he crushed his competition in his conference qualifier to get his pro spot. But notice how he says he wants to “see what they can do.” We all know plenty of players in the recreational cornhole world who would rather hack off their right big toes with a butter knife than throw an airmail under pressure . However, a dirty little secret in the Pro cornhole world is that even they lose their confidence in their airmails from time to time. So if that’s what makes your opponent lose his or her mind, forcing an airmail contest rather than allowing pushes, then the proper play might just be a standard block behind! Isabella Suprenant, reigning coed world champion, said she even goes the extra mile of purposely making the covering bag actually cover the bag and sit on top of it. That's if you didn't leave her space for her to execute her killer cut shot. By the way, all these youngsters with these fully mastered flops, rolls and cuts...what do they put in school milk nowadays? Now here we have another ACL Pro and one time national singles champion Steven Bernacet saying that he only practices covering bags during rounders, where I can only assume he’d rather play it safe in order to better guarantee that he goes undefeated--as is the goal for everyone during those qualifying rounds. But when it’s time for the big boy brackets, he’s willing to risk it for the biscuit. It is indeed a bold move any way you slice it. By airmailing right over that standard block you are emphatically stating to your opponent that your airmail rate is greater than their push/replacement rate. Multiple title holder and recent Pro Shootout Doubles Champion Bret Guy says if he’s feeling his airmails, he’s always going to let it fly. Notice here, a top pro admitting that he can lose his confidence--but if you’re seeing him on the national broadcast he’s almost definitely “feeling it." And what’s really interesting here is if his airmails aren’t feeling too hot that day, he’s still not going to drop a standard block behind it! I believe this reveals how much some players value the emotional/mental battle on the boards. Play mind games or play the math?A standard block is not an easy bag to land. Not only does your left/right alignment have to be on point but you need to be extremely accurate telling that bag precisely where to hit the brakes. So, imagine you nail the standard block. You quietly fist pump in your mind. And then, without hesitation...swish...Steven Bernacet or Bret Guy just airmails over it. He might as well look over at you and add on a, “Nice try, little buddy.” Try to understand the mind screw taking place here! And when Bret isn’t on his airmail game, he wants to make sure he cleans up the board. Another emphatic, “Not today, young fella.” But does this statistically make sense? Or is it that Bret and Steve are so good that they can pull this off? These are the questions that we need answered in order to establish whether there is such a thing as optimal game theory in cornhole.So let's look at some numbers. The opponent will henceforth be referred to as the Sucka. Here’s a theoretical scenario with theoretical success percentages attached.Sucka: Standard Block - 70% (success rate)Bret: Push through - 85%Sucka: Frustrated Bold Second Block - 70%Bret: "Nice Try Buddy" Airmail - 75%Sucka: Replacement Bag - 65%Bret: "Lol in yo face" Airmail - 75%Sucka: Push through - 75%Bret: Slide - 90%Versus this scenario:Sucka: Block - 70%Steven: Cover - 85%Sucka: next three airmails at 65%Steven: next three airmails at 75%Now go back to each scenario and replace those percentages with yours and your favorite local nemesis’s. How would you rather play it? Do you think your airmail rate is strong enough to play with such Bret Guy or Steven Bernacet level aggression? What conclusions do you draw from breaking this down? Is it possible that Steven and Bret are playing this standard block the wrong way statistically but it’s somehow the right way mentally? Did we help you answer any of life's questions? At all? Tune in next time as we do a two for one special breaking down the answers these ACL Pros gave about standard blocks in your lane and missed blocks in their lane. Tune in next blog when we do a 2 for 1 discussing the Pros’ answers to a block in your lane and a missed block in their lane. If blocking is your game and the route you chose to go then here are some great Slick & Stick bags you will want to try.