Ask a Pro

Is there a correct style of throwing?

The jury’s out on the ideal toss. A lot of great players have unique styles. Some styles seem to be better-suited for certain equipment and conditions. However, with only the rarest of exceptions the best players use a variation of a spinning “flat” or “pancake” style throw. When the bags fly flat and land flat they hug the board more consistently, slide true, and hole-in more frequently under the widest variety of conditions. But how each player steps, releases the bag, and gets the bag flying flat is different from player to player, even among the pros. Few great players actually throw the bag like a Frisbee. Instead they swing their arm like a pendulum directed towards the hole and add spin to the bag flattening it out with a flick of the wrist or a turning over of the hand upon release. There seem to be limitless different and creative methods to achieve this.

What’s the official length of a cornhole court, from board to board?

The official rules state that the boards should be 27 feet apart for regulation play. It’s become accepted as a standard distance for competitive play. But any distance is fine for casual or recreational play which is sometimes played from 24 feet, 21, or 20 feet. And allowing some players to throw from closer is a great way to equalize play for younger, less-skilled, or wheelchair-confined players.

Is it legal to throw overhand?

The official rules don’t prohibit overhand throws and we’ve never heard of any throwing style being banned in competition. In fact, although it’s rare, we’ve met players who are quite accomplished with overhand deliveries. There is however a popular and entertaining Professor Cornhole video produced by the ACO that describes overhand throwing as “considered illegal and an abomination to the game”. But the ACO’s own rules don’t include any such restriction, so we assume the statement on the video is tongue-in-cheek.

Where can you stand to throw the bags? Is it legal to stand behind the board?

According to the official rules, and in most sanctioned tournaments, two rectangular Pitcher’s Box areas are marked (or at least imagined) on either side of the board. Players can throw from either side but cannot switch within a round of play. Players must not step over the imaginary line created by the front edge of the board when tossing or be charged with a foot foul.

Players must begin their toss from within one of the pitcher’s boxes, which means that throwing from directly behind the board is not be allowed. We’ve found that some beginners want to throw from behind the board to have more direct angle to the hole like in bowling, but they soon realize that the added distance more than nullifies any possible advantage.

What do you call it when you make all four of your bags in the hole?

We call it a four-bagger. It’s a great accomplishment! We’ve also heard it called a baggo, gusher, or double deuce.

I play horseshoes where we score extra for a leaner. Does bags have something similar?

In bags, you either score one point for a bag on the board, or three points for a bag completely in the hole. A bag that partially covers the hole but does not drop is only scored as one point.

At the start of each inning or round, who throws the first bag?

The ACO and ACA rules differ slightly on this point. In all rules, the player on the team that scored in the previous inning throws first in the next round. In the ACO rules (see 5.5 Cornhole Pitching Rotation), bar rules, casual play, and in most competitions we’ve experienced, the same team continues to throw first until there’s another score. But in ACA rules (see Pitching Rotation During The Game), and in some tournaments, when neither team scores in an inning, the order switches.

Is there an advantage to throwing first or last?

Throwing first is a big advantage for good players. When you throw first you can set the tone of the round and turn on the pressure by holing the first bag. But if you miss you could leave a blocker in front of the hole. Once there’s a blocker, not only is it much tougher for the opponent to slide a bag in the hole, but you or your opponent can nudge the blocker in as well, sometimes even scoring more than one bag at a time. Whenever there are bags on the board, there’s a big advantage to the team or player with a bags that are in front of the hole with the potential of scoring on a later throw.

Are there professional cornholers?

Someone asked ‘Are you really a pro?’ No, that’s just a useful way to portray what the page is about. I don’t pretend that I play like a pro either. But I’m confident that my information is reasonably competent. And any question that requires a real pro, well I’ll happily leave to them. If you are reading this as a pro yourself and I’ve gotten anything wrong, please let me know.

Seriously, professional cornhole is just beginning. The American Cornhole Organization has taken the lead as the governing body of cornhole and has organized a “pro tour” consisting of a handful of sanctioned pro tournaments each year. It culminates with the King of Cornhole nationals in Las Vegas in late January of the following year. The ACO ranks players using a combination of a skills challenge and a point system based on players’ finishes in sanctioned tournaments. They also maintain a CornyForty list of the top cornholers in the country.

Matt Guy, Randy Atha, and Steve Vanderver are currently considered the top players in the world, and they are among the few who consistently average over nine points per frame! Matt can be seen on YouTube videos playing some top notch cornhole.

Has there ever been a movie made about the sport?

Cornhole the Movie made it to post-production but was never released. Otherwise cornhole has been conspicuously absent in the popular media, but we expect that to change soon. News is that the movie is finally being released in 2010. It’ll probably be a very limited release but will hopefully be out on video.

In cancellation scoring, how are bags in the hole and on the board scored?

Cancellation scoring is the most common and exciting method of scoring. In each round (four alternating tosses by both players), only the highest scoring team scores points (if any) and they only score the difference in points. With one point for every bag on the board and three points for every bag in the hole, you add up all the points by both players and the player with the most points receives a score equal to their points minus the opponent’s. This is the scoring method described in the official rules, published by the American Cornhole Organization and it seems to be universally accepted.

Some confusion arises from the scoring rule published by the American Cornhole Association in their alternate version of the “official rules” (see Rule 7: Scoring). It suggests that bags in the hole and on the board are canceled separately, implying that one team can win the uncanceled points from bags on the board, and the other team can win the uncanceled points from bags in the hole, allowing potentially both teams to receive points in one inning. We’ve never seen this method in practice so we assume it’s merely a poor description.

In singles play, do players toss from the same side or opposite sides?

When playing singles (one on one), both players toss their bags from the same end of the court, alternating tosses just as in doubles. At the end of each inning, both players go to the other end of the court and toss from there. Thus with each new round both players are tossing from the opposite side of the board (left or right) as from the previous round.

How many points make a game? Do you have to win by two? Can you go over?

A cornhole game is won by the first team to reach 21 points. You do not have to win by two, and you can go over 21 without penalty. All of the officially published rules agree on this. However, a lot of recreational players play win by two or to reach exactly 21, so be sure ask.

Can you play with three players? If so how?

One way is for the third player to play from both sides, walking back and forth from round to round while the other two players stay put. It’s a fun way to play but a bit awkward. It’s also considered an advantage for the lone player who ends up throwing twice as many bags.

When we have an uneven number of players, we often prefer to play singles in a king of the hill format where the winning player keeps the court until beaten by a challenger. When conditions are tough or there are a lot of players to rotate in, games can be shortened to 11 points.

There’s also a three-player game called Cutthroat which is described in response to another question below.

Is there a skunk rule?

Some rules suggest a skunk rule where a team leading 15-0 wins. In Baggo 11-0 is a skunk. We’ve seldom seen this rule used and it’s usually unnecessary because 21 point games go fast with even moderately-skilled players.

Where and when did cornhole originate?

The most reliable sources seem to credit the origin of the modern game to the west side of Cincinnati. It caught on in the area and developed a local following. Eventually, it spread to the east side and gained more popularity with tailgaters at Cincinnati Bengals’ games. People visiting Cininnati for football saw the game for the first time, grew interested, and helped it spread. It spread throughout the midwest, then nationwide. Today it’s found almost everywhere, but it’s still best known in the midwest and north central states. Here in Arizona, it just started taking off in bars during 2008, largely due to promotion by Cornhole Arizona. Four Peaks first joined the fun in August of 2008. As we learned the new game, we quickly discovered that people who came from Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and so on had been playing for years and were thrilled to see it out west.

Can I make my own cornhole boards? Are there plans available?

Everyone loves making cornhole boards! It’s inexpensive and easy to build acceptable boards, but far more challenging and expensive to build boards that play as well as the best professionally manufactured boards. Several sets of plans can be found here.

What’s the best single piece of advice for players?

That’s a wide open question that could probably fill a whole blog. If I were pressed to give just one piece of advice it would be the same as what I focus on when I want to make a precise shot under pressure. I think I read this advice somewhere once and I did a double-take before comprehending it, or perhaps I never did understand what it really meant. The advice was to visualize the aperture. Well the hole is the only aperture in the game and there’s no need to visualize it; you can see it. Maybe they meant keep your eye on the hole, but I’d consider that fairly lame advice.

My version, to put it simply, is to visualize the apex (top of the arc of the throw). If I visualize my bag passing through the highest point on it’s trajectory toward the board, and then deliver the throw very close to that point, the result will be a consistently good toss. Ultimately, if I can also control the orientation of the bag as it passes that point (its spin and flatness), it’s a near certainty that the bag will score.

As you get more experienced you’ll find that ‘feel’ alone is sufficient to control the distance of the throw. Success then depends primarily upon the direction of the throw. Therefore, the location of the ‘hoop’ is less important than keeping the bag in the ‘plane’. It’s a lot easier to visualize the plane than a hoop in space.

What are the rules to the three player game called Cutthroat?

Cutthroat is a great way to play cornhole when you only have three players. You’ll need an extra set of bags of a third color, four per player, twelve bags total. All players throw from the same end of the court toward the same board on the opposite end. Players alternate throws just as in singles but with an extra player. One player throws his bags from one side of the board (left or right), while the other players take turns from the other side of the board. After all bags are thrown, points are tallied for each player in the usual way.

When scoring, the player or players with the lowest score of the round receives no points in that round, while the other two players subtract the lowest score of the round from their total. For example, after all twelve bags are thrown in the round, Joe has two on the board, Bill has one in the hole and one on the board, and Shelly has two in the hole. Joe is low with two points, so he receives no points in the round. Bill subtracts two and receives two points for the round. And Shelly receives four points. As usual, the first player to 21 or more points wins. If there’s a tie, the tied players throw an extra round of sudden death.

The only other special rule involves throwing order. As you might expect, the highest scoring player of the previous round throws first in the next round, and the lowest scoring player throws last. Also, the highest scoring player of the round has their choice of sides (left or right) to throw from, and the the other two players alternate from the other side.

What’s the difference between Bags, Cornhole, and Baggo?

Bags is simply another name for cornhole (the true name). Baggo is a separate brand name version of the same game but with special equipment and rules. Baggo is played at 20 ft. rather than 27ft and with smaller lighter bags (9.5 oz as opposed to 16). Baggo is generally an indoor game and requires less space. Most of the rules are identical to those of cornhole.

Do you have to win by two points?

According to all three versions of official rules, those published by the ACO, the ACA, and BAGGO, you just need to get more than 21 points, to win, NOT win by two. A lot of tournaments and house rules add the win-by-two rule as a matter of preference, presumably because it’s such a prevalent rule in similarly scored games like volleyball, tennis, and ping pong.

Does it count if a bag bounces onto the board?

Any bag that bounces onto the board does not count as a point or even as three points if it goes in the hole. The same is true if the bag hits any interfering object (like a ceiling or fixture) in flight – though venues may post their own unique ‘ground rules’. Any bag that lands on the board after a bounce or interference must be immediately removed from the board and all other bags that it may have moved, knocked off, or knocked into the hole, should be replaced in their original positions before continuing with the next throw.

How do you judge whether a bag that is partially on the front of the board counts?

A bag that lands partially on the board counts unless it touches the ground as well or touches any interfering object such as a bag that itself touches the ground. Some people play that if there is any doubt due to a pile of bags, you remove the bags that are definitely off the board and any bag(s) that remain fully on the board count. However, that procedure can be ambiguous and lead to arguments that are hard to resolve. It’s far better in practice to immediately remove any bags that land right in front og the board so that they never interfere with one of the following shots.

What if a player throws out of turn?

Gentleman’s rules prevail unless a tournament specifies otherwise. If a player accidentally throws out of turn, simply let him know, throw the bag back, replace any bags if they have been moved, and allow play to continue. Some people play that the other team can choose whether to leave the throw as it was or have it returned. I’ve never seen an official rule about this. It’s not uncommon, so it’s best to discuss this in advance if you’re having a serious competition. Another rule that should be followed but I have not seen in print is that after the next player throws, that is after both have thrown out of turn, play continues as usual regardless of whether the error is caught later – otherwise it opens the door for abuse because the team that did not throw out of turn could take their next throw, then based on the result decide whether to call the first throw out of turn.

How should arguments about scoring be resolved?

There’s no clear answer of course, but I’ll suggest a few pointers. First of all I find a good score tower like the Sturdy-Up Tally Tower to be an essential piece of equipment (I admit to being biased since I invented it), but seriously it’s hard enough to count up the score each round without also keeping track of the game score.

Another important piece of advice is to count up the score of each round and get a member of both teams to agree BEFORE TOUCHING ANY BAG! Some players like to pull out canceling bags then count what’s left. That seems like a good idea until there’s a disagreement and players have to argue about where they remember the bags were. Never touch a bag until both teams agree on the score for that round. Once there’s an agreement and bags are moved, it should stand firm even if there’s doubt later. It’s better to stick with the agreement rather than argue about what each player may remember differently. Decide and agree before disturbing the bags, then stick with the agreement. In doubles, it’s the responsibility of the player nearest the bags who is responsible for verifying the score and his agreement stands. As a courtesy, it’s best to tell the player who threw what score you’ve agreed upon as well before moving any bags. And in serious competition, sometimes you can include a referee or official scorekeeper as well.

Experienced players get good at knowing the score as the round progresses and in counting the points based on the bags that are visible on or off the board (in reverse fashion) rather than remembering each bag that went in the hole. As a simple example, if you see red has one bag off the board and none other visible, red scored 9 points. If blue has two on the board and one off, you know he scored 5 points and the total is 4 for red. If you must move bags to verify the score, do it slowly with both players watching carefully. Common sense and courtesy should make arguments over the score very rare.