Diff'rent times for things. Sometimes just do a game drop catch every time you can. Usually just play for mode progress on new games, points on older.
Dedication you can rip the same shit 200 times in a row.. but its hard to keep my attention like that.

When I first started, I would spend hours doing one specific thing over and over again. Once i had a lot of the flipper tricks down, I just started to step up and play.

I usually just naturally try out whatever skill I'm trying to learn a lot while playing for 'fun'. I've come up with a few ways I could repetitively practice (eg, setting Demo Man on auto-plunge to practice catches from the orbit feed on the lower right flipper) but past a certain point I feel like you're just over-fitting yourself to one machine. If you want to 'know' a skill, you need to be able to execute it on most games you come across. I did a lot of live catching while playing a williams game, got pretty good at it, then I picked up a Stern JP and I can't live catch for crap on it

Practice? We talkin bout practice? Not a game, not a game... but practice?

Just play when I even turn them on. They get wiped with a diaper more than they get played!! I enjoy making them the beat that they can be. Kind of works in progress. Once they’re done to my ability they are more admired then played. I know, weird

Play. Sometimes just to kill time, others to beat (or try to beat) friends. Its for fun.

Good show so far!

I just play.. but I'm now 20 years into pinballs and still an average player with limited skills, so maybe I should start to practice..

What I’ve been doing lately is trying to play ball 1 and 2 like I’m going for the grand champion score. If that doesn’t work out from an errant shot or something, I practice specific shots and skills for ball 3 and any other extra balls I get.
Example would be I just try and hit as many back to back ramp shots or loops I can make on Maiden until I drain. Or I’ll see how many times I can pass the ball back and forth on the flippers etc.

That’s how I am after my restorations.
Don’t get me wrong I like driving a race car but I’d rather be the mechanic.

Life is too short to make work out of playing pinball.

By default, playing is a form of practice and vice versa.

For me, yes at times I specifically focus on one skill or one type of objective.

I feel skills learned allow for extra flips per game which means the games last longer, the scores increase, and different goals/modes are reached. All of that increases my enjoyment. Having the skills to make something happen with the ball is more enjoyable than simply hoping something will happen.

However, batting the ball around to listen to the sounds and watch lights blink is ok too. Whatever you are into

I just play but I always like to win free games (I know, they're all free in the basement....) - but I still like to pop that knocker.

I try not to overthink it because life is too complicated to make pinball stressful. However on occasion I am very deliberate in the strategy I intend to go for on a specific game (for example, in Medieval Madness am I going to go all out for the castle or work on the other objectives first?) Oddly enough I find success when I don't intend to. Great example is my game of Medieval Madness last night. I wasn't going for the castles at all except during multi ball. I suddenly found myself on my last ball and going up against the last castle. Unfortunately I lost the ball with maybe 2-3 more hits to go.

Your best performance is your best practice. Always be practicing and go in with a game plan of what you want to practice and accomplish.

Even when I set out to practice, I end up just playing for fun. Now, I wonder, does anyone take the glass off to practice specific shots/scenarios?

I just step up play and usually not very good!

I set a target score and play until I achieve it. I like to play for enjoyment though, ie, I would never let a mode time out for instance.

I just play. Thus...why I haven't really improved in 25 years.

I tell myself I am going to practice after I play just one game ... I never get to practice.

I really hate the Dead End shot on Twilight Zone. Every now and then I like to try and “practice” hitting it. But the consequences of missing that shot are not worth it.

In case anyone missed this classic reference -