This is the lucky seventh installment of a 20 part series of tiny tips to help improve your fortunes in pinball. I hope you find it useful, and share with friends if inspired!
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
For this week’s tiny tip, a detour from actionable tips to reflect briefly on the relationship between luck and skill in pinball. Much like the lore of St. Patrick’s Day, where a bit of "luck of the Irish" can be the difference between finding a pot of gold or landing squarely in a pothole, a pinball player’s success often hinges on those split-second moments where we are tempted to attribute success or failure to divine intervention rather than physics.
Lucky 4 Leaf Clover
LUCK vs. SKILL
The concept of luck has a complicated relationship with pinball. The expression “Good luck” is frequently offered as a social kindness when someone steps up to a pinball machine. While positivity is never unwelcome, good “luck” has far less to do with high scores than a combination of skillful ball management, strategic gameplay, and emotional self-regulation.
Luck suggests a life force that is beyond our control, but truly, life is a matter of cause and effect. I prefer to think that we make our own luck, and that the harder you work, the luckier you get. Furthermore, it is essential to know that blaming bad performance on “bad luck” will rob you of insights that can lead you to higher scores in the future.
Lucky Wishbone
It is the micromovements, the nudges and bumps and skillful manipulations—
actions and inactions—that influence the path of the ball. It’s true
that the dramatic thrashing of a well-executed slap save may be required to
extend the length of a turn now and again, but it should always be the goal
of masterful nudging, flipper movement, and ball control to avoid the need
for a slap save altogether.
Lucky Horseshoe
Remember that the occasional “lucky” bounce might deliver you points, but it is the act of deliberate practice that will eventually lead to the pot of gold at the top of the leaderboard.
Time to go make your own luck.
Stay tuned for more tips to help you improve your game, and for deeper dives check out my forthcoming project published with Schiffer Books: Pinball: A Quest For Mastery, hitting book stores June 28, 2026.
Stay curious, practice with intention, and keep it fun: your fortunes in pinball (and in life) are sure to improve.
AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES JUNE 28. PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW →
Coming soon to your favorite online pinball stores and resellers.
Please inquire when shopping
