A major weakness of many players is an inability to change the pace, and thereby throw their opponent's timing off. Not doing so is a quick way of helping your opponent's timing. Many players try to change the pace, but do so unsuccessfully - either because they don't know how to do it, or because they don't really understand the purpose of changing the pace.

Changing the pace doesn't mean hitting a weak shot. It means hitting the ball at a slower pace, but low to the net, with the ball landing shorter on the table. If the opponent is expecting a faster, deeper ball, he'll have trouble adjusting to this.

Against aggressive players, you mostly change the pace to win the point outright via the aggressive player's misses, though be ready to jump on a weak return as well. Against control players, you mostly change the pace to force a weak shot for you to attack.

Also try to find out which side the opponent is most vulnerable to changes of pace. Fast backhand players may have trouble if you suddenly give them a softer return to their backhand, but may jump on a softer ball to the forehand. Big forehand players may time faster balls but have trouble when you suddenly give them a soft one. Experiment, and find what works!

If you are primarily a forehand attacker, many of your opponents will get used to your relentless forehand attacks, often from the backhand corner, especially after your serve. Why not throw them off with a backhand loop? This is especially effective against an opponent who routinely pushes your serve to your backhand corner. Surprise them - sometimes serve and get into a backhand position, and follow with a backhand loop! Too often players only backhand attack when they are caught off guard and they aren't able to use their forehand. Imagine how much more effective this is if you plan it, and have time to prepare. It means you don't have to step around (and, of course, many of us can't do that effectively anyway), you won't be out of position, and perhaps most important, your opponent has to adjust his timing to a different type of loop.

The key is to be ready both to backhand loop if the ball comes to your backhand side, or to forehand loop if the opponent surprises you by going to your forehand. If they do, simply rotate your waist to your forehand side and you're all set. But once in a backhand position, you can, if necessary, cover half or more of the table with your backhand loop.

You may worry that your backhand loop isn't as strong as your forehand loop, but if used as a variation, that's not only not a problem, it's a strength - the contrast will force the opponent to adjust. Not only will the backhand loop throw him off, but it'll make your no-longer-so-predictable forehand loops more effective. One of my best tournament wins ever came when, at 19-all in the third (back when games were to 21, best two out of three), after realizing the opponent had adjusted to my relentless forehand attacking, I serve and softly backhand looped twice in a row - and the opponent missed both.

As an addendum, if you are the reverse - someone who serve and backhand loops against pushes to the backhand - then you should do the reverse as a variation, and sometimes serve, step around, and forehand loop, just to mess up the opponent's timing. Be unpredictable!

In the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer," there's a famous quote, "Don't move until you see it." It comes from a coach who is telling his chess-playing star not to move until he sees the line of moves he's about to play. Similarly, in table tennis (which we often call "Chess at light speed"), you shouldn't play a point until you have a game plan.

If you don't know the opponent, then the game plan at the start is a mix of forcing your game on him, and figuring out his game. Sometime in that first game you should have a basic game plan worked out. The game plan should be flexible, subject to change as needed. Against an opponent who gets used to or adjusts to what you do, you have to make changes. It is likely different when you are serving than when you are receiving. And the plan changes as the rally proceeds. But at any given time, you should have a basic game plan.

Here's an example of a game plan, one that I might use. On my serve, my basic game plan might be to serve a lot of short backspin, hoping to get a long push that I can loop. If my opponent pushes my serves long, and I am winning by looping those pushes, then my game plan is working. But suppose the opponent's pushes are very good and I have trouble with them, or he starts flipping or pushing my serve back short, and I'm unable to loop. Then I would have to change my game plan. For example, if he's pushing heavy or dropping my serve short, I might serve more no-spin serves, which are harder to load up with backspin or to drop short effectively. If he's flipping the serve, then I'd focus on varying the spin as well as making sure I'm serving very low. (In reality, my game plan would more likely have been to mix in short backspin and no-spin serves, so the opponent has to adjust to both - and I'd soon figure out which one is more effective against this opponent, and favor that one. Plus, I'd mix in long serves so he can't lean over the table waiting for the short serve.)

On the receive, my basic game plan might be to attack deep serves, so the server would be forced to serve short. Against short serves, my game plan might be to go for a consistent flip into the backhand, trying to force a neutral backhand exchange and thereby taking away his serve advantage. But suppose I have trouble flipping his heavy backspin serves, or perhaps he has a very good backhand and so this tactic doesn't work, and if I flip to the forehand, he attacks even better. Then I might decide to instead push his short backspin serves aggressively to his backhand, and see if that works. If he's able to attack them, then I might try dropping them short and low, making it harder for him to attack. Eventually I'll work out which of these is most successful, and favor that receive, though I'd still vary it so he can't get used to any one thing.

What's your game plan? Don't play a point until you have it.

Many players practice for many months, not playing in any tournaments until they feel they are completely ready. Then they enter a tournament . . . and flop. They don't understand it, so they go right back to practicing for many months, avoiding tournaments again. When they again feel ready, they enter a tournament again . . . and flop again. And the cycle continues. Others both practice and play regular tournaments, get lots of feedback on what works and what doesn't in tournament competition, practice it, get more feedback at tournaments, and their playing level spirals upward. They also become "tournament tough" - they get used to the pressures of playing in a tournament as opposed to practice, and they get used to playing new players and different styles. Which are you?

Some players have reputation as being "winners" because they seem to be able to pull out close matches. There are two aspects to this. One is mental – nervous players don't do well in close matches. The other aspect is tactical – you need to learn what to do tactically in a "Big Point" near the end of a game.

This means being aware of what has worked, and what hasn't worked, up until that point. Many players find a successful tactic, but don't think to use it when the game is on the line. Or they use a tactic that hasn't worked. You probably aren't going to keep track of exactly how many times each tactic worked or didn't work, but you have to develop a feel for it.

If you have a serve, receive, or rallying shot that really gave the opponent trouble, there's often this tendency to not use it at a key point, since you figure the opponent is expecting it. That's over-thinking - overwhelmingly it's better at key points to go with what was working. It's just as likely your opponent is thinking you will cross him up with something different! If you don't, say, use that serve that your opponent kept missing, you may end up losing, with your opponent perhaps asking afterwards, "I'm curious why, at the end, you didn't use that serve I couldn't return?"