How to Improve Your Carrom Technique

Carrom may have a simple premise--sink all of your pieces before your opponent sinks his--but even champion carrom players will admit that mastering the game involves an almost-flawless technique. Improving your carrom technique usually requires not only practice, but also becoming aware of your body's position.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Clear board

1. Sit with a comfortable distance between you and the carrom board. It is very difficult to balance yourself if you are sitting on the edge of the chair or if you are sitting far away from the board. You may develop tension in your playing hand by stretching to reach the board from the chair.

2. Change your body movement to fit your shot. If you are aiming the striker in a line to the pocket, line your body straight to the pocket. If you are trying to bounce the striker to a pocket, your body and the striker should move in the same direction.

3. Avoid placing your feet under the carrom board. This is not an adequate position to shoot the striker. Keep your feet moving with each shot for consistent blood flow as well as improved accuracy.

4. Maintain a consistent height to the carrom board. Chairs and stands differ in height from each board. Your grip may change if you height changes often. Sometimes the addition of a pillow will help improve your height to the carrom board.

5. Flick the striker in different styles. There are several main techniques of flicking the striker: index shots, middle finger shots, thumb shots and scissor style. Index, middle finger and thumb shots place the corresponding finger as close to the striker as possible without moving it, and then flick it toward the carrom pieces. Scissor style involves resting your index on top of your middle finger close to the striker, releasing the index finger and using the middle finger to shoot the striker. You may improve accuracy by changing your current flicking technique. However, a drastic change may hurt your game more than help.

6. Improve your speed. Players face 1 of 2 common problems: there is not enough momentum to sink the piece into the pocket or hitting the piece so hard that it bounces off the frame. Use a clear board to practice sinking just the striker.

7. Determine whether you are hitting the pieces in the right spot. Sometimes the striker will move along the exact line you aim for, but the piece misses the pocket. Practice hitting the correct spots by flicking the striker at a few pieces lined up in the middle of the board.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are trying to move in your chair while shooting, be careful not to move the chair. This will result in a foul.

• Do not cross the imaginary diagonal line with any part of your body except your hand.