The four strokes, and the angles that change them.

Polo's basic strokes are named by two things: the side of the pony the ball is hit on, and the direction it goes. The offside is the pony's right and the nearside is its left. A forehand sends the ball forward and a backhand sends it back the way the player came. Put together, those give four basic strokes. This page describes them as clubs and coaches do; the technique itself is for your instructor to teach.

The four basic strokes

England captain Luke Tomlinson, interviewed by Shortlist in 2011, describes the offside backhand as the reverse of the offside forehand. The offside forehand has its own section on the swing, and both nearside strokes are covered in more depth on nearside shots.

Angles: open, neck and tail

Each basic stroke can be angled. The terms schools use:

Neck shot

Dallas Burston Polo Club's glossary defines it as a ball hit under the pony's neck. Argentina Polo School (June 2026) says the forehand neck shot sends the ball diagonally across the front of the pony, to change the angle toward goal, to pass, or to get around a defender. It describes the backhand neck shot, in its own words, as a shot for tight spaces.

Tail shot

Dallas Burston Polo Club places the tail backhand under the pony's tail. Argentina Polo School describes it as struck behind the rider's body to redirect play or avoid defenders. The St. Moritz snow polo rules guide (2024) calls the tail stroke one of the trickiest manoeuvres in the game.

Open shot

A backhand sent away from the pony, in Dallas Burston Polo Club's description.

Argentina Polo School's 2026 list of shots also includes an under-the-neck shot as a separate entry. We did not find a coach's written description of how that shot is played.

Why the backhand matters

Meadowbrook Polo Club describes the No. 4 (the back) as a long hitter who takes the hit-ins and relies on strong backhands. Dallas Burston Polo Club calls the offside backhand mainly defensive. POLO+10's "Playing Field" (2004) adds a principle for any stroke that goes wrong: after a poor hit, the player keeps the same speed rather than slowing or turning for a second try, and leaves the next hit to a teammate or circles round to come again from behind. More on this on team play.

Strokes and the rules

Which stroke a player can use is shaped by the rules on precedence and hooking:

• HPA 2026 rules, Rule 27b: where no two opponents are making a play on each other on the exact line of the ball, a player on the exact line with the ball on their offside has precedence.
• USPA 2024 Outdoor Rules: Right of Way is the central concept (Rule 24), and the rule interpretations note there is no nearside Right of Way. The USPA revises its rules each year, so check the current book.
• HPA 2026 rules, Rule 30: an offside backhand can be hooked during the wind-up, while the stick is behind the player, but only on the part of the stick below the shoulder. A nearside backhand may not be hooked behind the player.

For the full precedence rules see the line of the ball.