I will look at the flipper and shoot, then immediately look at the shot I am going for. Let's say it is from the right flipper. If I miss left I know I flipped too late, miss right then I flipped too early. I have a mental picture of where the ball was on my flipper. So next shot I adjust where I flip the ball on the flipper based on if I missed too early or too late. It's something that I have gotten better at over the years. Now I know that if I miss a shot I need to know HOW I missed it so I can correct on the next shot. By the 2nd or 3rd shot I should be able to make it.

QUOTE "I haven't been playing as long as many of you, but I've come to rank pinball skills in this order:

1. Make your shots (aim).
2. Keep the ball in play (saves/nudging)
3. Control the ball (cradling/post-pass/dead-pass)"

I would say 3, 1, 2. Controlling the ball is very important, but if you're not hitting the shots.....

Then when you do miss, nudging and flipper saves are so important.

I run a pinball league with about 20 players. The biggest difference between the "good" players and the "great" players is probably nudging skills. Countless times I see a player watch the ball drain down the middle or outlane and just stand there and watch it go out.

I used to be the same way. In fact, before getting into competitions about 5 years ago, front to back nudging was the only thing I did! Practice side shoves when the ball is in the outlane area. I try to use my thumbs to grip the inside edges of the side rails. This allows me to actually shove the game to the right with my right hand, and shove the game to the left with my left hand. This causes smaller movements and of course, I do assist with the other hand as well.

The other technique you can practice is a "slide save". You don't actually slide the machine(although it does sometimes happen). When the ball is coming SDTM, hold a flipper up and shove the game sideways, moving the flipper tip into the path of the ball. If you have no dangers yet, you can often get away with one of these if the tilt is not super tight.