To roll, or not to roll, that is the question........

There are certain questions in life we all tend to ask ourselves at some point in our lives. Things like, what happens when we die? Should I drink less? (No). Is a hot dog a sandwich? Should I learn the roll bag? I have no idea on some of those things, but let's attack that last one.

Let's start this by asking the question, do I HAVE to learn this shot to compete well? The answer to that I can confidently say, is hell no! Let's talk about some pros in the ACL. Daymon Dennis, does nothing but throw down the middle, and airmail, and this dude finished number 3 in the 20-21 season. Matt Guy! Need I say anything more? Dude throws a slide, and an airmail, and is the most winning person in professional cornhole! Not so long ago I watched Mark Richards throw a perfect game to win a national doubles title, after winning a singles title in the same event, is he a roll bag guy? Nope

Let's also say, if you can't consistently throw a normal slide shot into the hole, you should not worry about a flop shot. In this game, learning consistent mechanics is key, and mixing in trying to throw a flop shot during that process, will screw up your normal throw.

Moving on, why should I learn to roll or flop? The answer is simple, law of averages. Let's talk numbers, now I am not the greatest cornhole player around, I am an advanced player and so I used myself as a lab rat. I set 2 bags horizontal 2 inches short of the hole on my boards, and did some throwing and some math. I threw 100 bags throwing a roll shot, and 100 bags throwing airmails.

Here is the results, out of 100 airmails, I got 43 in the hole. Of the remaining 57 that missed, a total of 6 stayed on the board. Out of 100 flop shots, I got 32 in the hole. Now the big difference, is of the remaining 68 bags, 61 stayed on the board. Ok, now what does that mean?

Well let's make this easy, with 100 bags being airmailed, I scored 135 points. With 100 bags throwing flop shot, I scored 157 points. Quite honestly, I am not great at the flop shot, but even with my average ability, I scored more points because I kept bags on the board.

What does this mean for you? Well if you are interested in putting the time and effort into this shot, it's probably worth learning. Let's face it, not all of us can drop airmail bombs at a ridiculous Matt guy, ghost 11 rate. So we can play the law of averages and gain an advantage. Flop shots keep more bags on the boards and create more points on average.

Another bonus, when you miss a flop shot, it often ends up in a defensive position. Landing as a back up blocker, or on top of another bag is a common occurrence. Another luck of the draw is often missed bags will land behind the hole, yes this can act as a backboard, but I would rather it was there, then on the side of the hole acting like a bumper. People still have to throw down the middle on their own.

Is the flop shot easy? Hell to the no, frankly, to me it was the most difficult shot to learn and I still suck at it. But even, EA, Windsor, Harbaugh, Smith, and all the other crazy floppers, had to struggle through it. I can tell you that there isn't a bag that feels better to sink on purpose than a flop. It's like that feeling you get when crack open a cold beer Friday after work. Yes, that good.

Thanks for reading!

Check out this VIDEO to hear Tony Smith break down how he throws the Flop shot!