Almost every club table tennis argument is about the serve. Here are the rules, which are less complicated than the arguments suggest.
The ball must be thrown up, not dropped
The ball starts on an open palm, above the table, behind your end line. You must throw it near vertically upwards at least 16 centimetres — roughly the height of the net — before striking it.
Dropping it off your hand and hitting it is illegal, and it is what most casual players do.
The ball must stay visible
From the moment you throw it until the moment you strike it, your opponent must be able to see the ball. You may not hide it behind your body, your free arm, or your shirt.
This is the rule that changed the sport. Hidden serves used to dominate; making them illegal turned serving back into a skill rather than a trick.
The throw must be from an open palm
Flat hand, fingers together, thumb free. No cupping, no spin imparted by the fingers as it leaves.
Where it must land
In singles, anywhere on the opponent's half, after bouncing once on your own. There is no diagonal requirement in singles — that is tennis, and people import it constantly.
In doubles, the serve must go from your right half to their right half, diagonally.
What happens on a net
If the serve clips the net and lands legally, it is a let: replay it, with no penalty and no limit to how many times.
Scoring, briefly
Games to 11, win by two. Serve changes every two points, not five — that changed in 2001 and some club players still play the old way. At 10-10 it alternates every point.
What actually wins club points
Not the serve rules. Two things.
Spin recognition. Watching the opponent's bat at the moment of contact tells you more than watching the ball. Low-to-high is topspin, high-to-low is backspin, and the reply to each is different.
The third ball. Serve, their return, your attack. Most club players plan the serve and nothing after it.
Tables at KGB are on the same flat rate as every other sport.