7 Pickleball IQ Tips to Outsmart Every Opponent

Stop just hitting the ball. Start thinking about why you're hitting it, where it's going, and what your opponent is expecting.

Most players step on the court and just... hit the ball. No strategy. No plan. Just reaction after reaction, point after point, until someone wins and someone loses.

But what separates the players who consistently win from those who don't comes down to one thing: intelligence. It's all about understanding the game at a deeper level.

That's exactly what Tanner Tomassi breaks down in his latest video. With a 6.0 rating and two APP tournament wins under his belt, Tanner has spent thousands of hours drilling and competing at the highest levels.

Now he's distilling that experience into seven concrete, actionable tips that can transform how you think about the game.

1. The Net-Cord Rule: Don't Speed Up a Dead Ball

When your opponent nicks the net during a dink rally and the ball lands on your side, your instinct might be to attack it. Speed it up. End the point right there. But Tanner says that's exactly wrong.

Here's why: when a ball hits the net, it loses all its momentum and speed. Trying to speed up a dead ball is "next to impossible to make," according to Tanner.

Instead, he recommends using that moment as an opportunity to take control of the rally. Hit an aggressive dink to set yourself up to win the point. It's a small adjustment, but it's the kind of thing that separates amateurs from pros.

2. The 'Hold' Deception: A Legitimate Cheat Code

When you're in a dink rally and you get a dead ball (one that sits up), most players rush to dink it back immediately. But the pros? They hold their paddle underneath the ball for an extra second. That pause creates deception.

But Tanner takes it further.

He explains that when you hold, you're also reading your opponent's positioning. Are they leaning toward their backhand? Anticipating a speed-up? Once you understand what they're expecting, you can do the opposite. Speed it up to their chicken wing. Lob them when they're braced for an attack. Tanner claims he has about a 90% success rate on the hold-into-lob combination.

That's not just deception; that's control.

3. Drive vs. Drop: Know When to Attack

The third shot is crucial in pickleball, and knowing whether to drive or drop can make or break your point. Tanner breaks this down into clear scenarios.

Hit a drive when the return bounces short and high in the court, or when your opponent hits an aggressive deep return that has you off your back foot. In those situations, driving gives you an easier next shot to drop.
But if the return is shallow and low, or if it's deep but soft, drop it. Driving a soft ball won't give you much advantage anyway.

It sounds simple, but it's the kind of decision-making that happens in milliseconds during a match. Getting it right consistently is what separates competitive levels.

💡

Need some new gear? Get 20% off select paddles, shoes, and more with code THEDINK at Midwest Racquet Sports

4. Handling Nerves: Put Pressure on Them Instead

Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough in pickleball: mental game management.

Tanner's insight is refreshingly straightforward; your opponents are just as nervous as you are. No matter the level, from beginner to pro, everyone feels the same butterflies.

So how do you counteract that? Transfer the pressure.

When you're nervous, hit third shot drives at about 70% power instead of attempting drops that'll sail.
Make your opponent handle your shot instead of you trying to execute a difficult one while shaking.
Set a rule with your partner that you'll dink at least 10 balls before speeding up.

Often, by the time you reach that 10th ball, your nervous opponent will make a mistake. You've just turned your nerves into their problem.

5. Pro Patterns: Think Two Steps Ahead

The majority of players try to run around and find their forehand. It's a natural instinct. But pros use this predictability against them.

Tanner explains the pattern:

Dink two balls out wide to condition your opponent that you're going wide.
On the third ball, go to their inside foot.
Now they're off-balance, their return comes back more neutral, and you have endless options.

This is chess-level thinking. You're not just hitting the ball; you're setting traps.

You're conditioning your opponent to expect one thing so you can do another. As the match progresses and you keep using this pattern, your opponent becomes increasingly confused. They're on ice skates, as Tanner puts it.

6. Winning the Fourth Ball: Apply Maximum Pressure

The hardest shot in pickleball is hitting a reset from the middle of the court. If you're not applying pressure on the fourth ball, you're giving your opponent a free ride into the kitchen.

The mental checklist is simple:

Can you take the ball out of the air? If yes, do it. If no, turn sideways, step back, and drive the ball like you're playing tennis.

You want to hit it hard enough to force them to hit that difficult reset. That's how you create opportunities to put the ball away.

Heads up: hundreds of thousands of pickleballers read our free newsletter. Subscribe here for cutting edge strategy, insider news, pro analysis, the latest product innovations and more.

7. Reading Opponents: Reverse Engineer Their Play Style

This might be the most important tip of all. You need to dissect your opponent's play style and use it against them. Tanner gives two examples.

If your opponent uses a lot of two-handed backhand dinks, they're probably not looking to reach into the kitchen and flick balls. So shrink the court, lean in, and take their ball out of the air aggressively. They're not a threat there.
On the flip side, if your opponent is crowding the kitchen line and attacking everything, their weight is forward. Lob them. Body bag them. They can't get back for a lob because everything's so forward.

Understanding these patterns before the match even starts means you can walk in with a game plan tailored to their weaknesses and your strengths.

The Bigger Picture

Pickleball, at its core, is a thinking person's game. The physical skills matter, sure. But the mental edge, the ability to read situations, anticipate movements, and execute deception; that's what separates the good from the great.

These seven tips aren't just tricks. They're frameworks for understanding how to play smarter. Whether you're working on your third shot selection or learning to read your opponent's positioning, each of these concepts builds toward a more complete, more intelligent approach to the game.

Stop just hitting the ball. Start thinking about why you're hitting it, where it's going, and what your opponent is expecting. That's when you'll really start to outsmart every opponent you face.