How do people who are “good” at pinball manage to consistently avoid those random bounces that just go right down the middle out that there is no counter-play for?

Question

I have always wanted to get into pinball. But the few times I decided to really give it a go. I could do alright but most of my games seemed to end with a bounce that went straight down the middle out with nothing I can do about it.

When you watch professional pinball players. It doesnt matter what game it is they always seem to be able to avoid those shots even if its their first time on a machine.

So there has to be a method or developable skill to it. But I cant for the life of me understand it.

In: Other

Answer 1

It’s a mix of naturally predicting geometry and muscle memory.

You can’t stop a ball that’s rolling towards the gap (except by tilting the pinball machine) – but you can not send it on a trajectory that’s likely to ricochet the ball towards the gap between the flippers.

It’s said that ten thousand hours is what it takes to become an expert in something – the more experience you have, the easier it is to gauge shots around the pinball machine and avoid getting into situations where the ball *could* roll between the flippers.

Being on a new or unknown machine will make it harder but all your experience, both conscious and automatic, is still there.