This is the fifth 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!
FLIPPER SKILLS
Ball control is critical to success in pinball, and flipper skills are the most important element of ball control. Nudging the machine can also be extremely important—but without flippers your ball is on a one-way journey down the center drain.
MIND THE DRAIN!
One function of the flippers is to serve as a shield to the center drain. Pay careful attention to the direction of ball approach and identify whether a raised or lowered flipper does more to shield the ball from the center drain.
IMPORTANT TIP!!
Many new players adopt the bad habit of flipping both flippers at the same time. This is widely considered bad practice, since it can expose the ball to the center drain at a time when the ball might otherwise be within reach of a flipper and launched back onto the playfield.
LEARN TO CRADLE
As you start to think about ball control, one of the first and most fundamental concepts is that of capturing and cradling the ball. This stops the motion of the ball and allows you to devote undivided attention to the playfield, assess scoring objectives, and plot out your next move.
Cradled Ball
THE SET SHOT
Considered by many to be the most controlled shot in pinball, the set shot describes a flipper shot that follows from a cradled position. The great benefit of this shot is that the speed and motion of the ball are repeatable and, by extension, predictable. This eliminates variations in ball speed and ball spin that accompany balls in motion.
THE BACK HAND
A variation on the set shot in which the ball is directed back up the same side of the playfield is referred to as a backhand shot. In many instances, a backhand shot may present a safer or more predictable way to shoot a target.
Learning ball control is one of the many elusive pleasures of pinball, and a skill that you will devote a lifetime to trying to master.
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.
BONUS CONTENT
In the spirit of keeping it fun and developing your pinball vocabulary, try your luck at PINBALL WORD SEARCH! This may help foster the related and essential skill of focus.
AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES JUNE 28. PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW →
Coming soon to your favorite online pinball stores and resellers.
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