The First 100 Tricks

The First 100 Tricks

One path through the basics, from your first throw to every style of play. Each name links to a free tutorial, most from the YoYoTricks.com library, which runs from first throw to master level.^[15][17][13] Gravity Pull links to Yomega’s video list.^[29] Skip around; there’s no wrong order.

Prefer a shorter list? Our own Trick Reference Guide slides start with 16 beginner tricks on a responsive yo-yo, then group intermediate and expert tricks into families by mount.^[2]

Stage 1: Throws and Responsive Classics

Learn these on a responsive yo-yo. Most come from classic trick lists and the 2000 World Yo-Yo Contest beginner ladder.

1. Basic Throw and Sleeper
2. Gravity Pull
3. Forward Pass
4. Breakaway
5. Walk the Dog
6. The Creeper
7. Around the Corner
8. Elevator
9. Rock the Baby
10. Around the World
11. Loop the Loop
12. Hop the Fence
13. UFO / Sleeping Beauty
14. Sidewinder
15. Shoot the Moon
16. Dog Bite
17. Pinwheel
18. DNA
19. Punching Bags
20. Warp Drive

Stage 2: Picture Tricks

Make a picture out of the string. Let the yo-yo hang without spinning while you learn the shape.

21. Eiffel Tower
22. Jamaican Flag
23. Throw the Baby
24. Itzy-bitzy Baby
25. Rock the Baby in the Pyramid
26. One-Handed Star
27. Two-Handed Star
28. Spelling Yo
29. The Cross
30. British Flag
31. Four-Leaf Clover
32. Big Tokyo Tower
33. 3D Spaceship
34. Darth Vader
35. Rock the Baby on the Eiffel Tower

Stage 3: Looping Basics

Responsive looping, the root of 2A. Great for building wrist control.

36. Leg Wrap
37. Arm Wrap
38. Chain Wrap
39. Elbow Wrap
40. Flips
41. Stalls
42. Regenerations
43. Guillotine

Stage 4: String Trick Basics (1A)

Mounts and the first string tricks. These work on responsive yo-yos and lead into unresponsive play.

44. Man on the Flying Trapeze
45. Brain-Scrambler
46. Brain-Twister
47. Double or Nothing
48. Reverse Flip Front-Mount
49. Side-Mount Flips
50. Split-Bottom Mount
51. Trapeze and His Brother
52. Houdini Mount
53. Under or Nothing
54. One-and-a-Half Mount
55. Brent
56. Cross-Arm Trapeze
57. Crazy 8
58. Kamikaze Mount
59. Wrist Mount
60. Split the Atom
61. Barrel Rolls
62. Double Trapeze
63. Zipper
64. Skin the Gerbil
65. Ripcord
66. Keychain
67. Buddha’s Revenge
68. Mach 5
69. Halley’s Comet
70. Eli Hops
71. Boomerang
72. Gondola
73. Roller Coaster
74. Hydrogen Bomb
75. Kwyjibo
76. Seasick
77. TMNT Cafe
78. Cold Fusion

Stage 5: Unresponsive Basics

Once you can bind, a wider-gap unresponsive yo-yo opens up slack, whips, and grinds.

79. Binds
80. Easiest Bind Ever
81. Unresponsive String Tension
82. Throw Start
83. Hook
84. Unresponsive Stop N’ Go
85. Plastic Whip
86. Green Triangle
87. Jump Rope
88. Laceration
89. Slackicide
90. Finger Grinds
91. Finger Spins
92. Ninja Vanish
93. Iron Whip
94. Jade Whip
95. Magic Drop and Shockwave
96. Boingy-Boing

Stage 6: Try Every Style

One starter from each of the other styles.

97. 2A: Two-Handed Loops
98. 3A: Gunslinger
99. 4A: Offstring Throw and Bind
100. 5A: Hold and Catch a Freehand Yo-Yo

A Contest-Tested Ladder

A trick ladder is a set list of tricks in rising difficulty, used at contests to ease newer players into competition.^[23] The 2000 World Yo-Yo Contest ran a 30-trick sport ladder in three levels: one try per trick, one miss forgiven.^[23] It still makes a great checklist.