I play them out. Some of my best games start that way.

Life can be similar.

Turn off the feature

I’ll be honest. I’m guilty. Happens a lot on iron man

No, none of my games have that option. If I did my Indy 500 would have triple the games started.

Also who knows you might catch lightning on the next one or two.

Depends on the game. If its scared stiff, it doesnt matter if your first or second ball sucks as you still have a good chance at the stiffo meter/monster multi with only one ball.

When playing tron for portal or sea of simulation....yeah, i use that feature heaps!

My roommate does it all the time. My met would probably have a quarter of the games played if I just turned that off

I’m sure a few of my 90,000 plays came after a bad first ball.

Never. Some of my best games have been on balls 2 and 3.

Nope...it only takes one good ball.

I’m going to be nice and leave that one alone....

Some of my best games were 3rd and final ball.

Start a poll.

If everyone is honest, I'm guessing probably almost everyone does that. Including me.

I used to do it a lot. Then said oh well lets see what second ball is like. If I two bad balls then just leave the 3rd one drain.
I don't have the feature so either have to turn my games off and back on or just let the balls drain. If I'm chasing a GC score and time is limited I do it every time I get a bad ball.

I did early on then it occurred to me that I can use the remaining balls to exclusively practice tough shots and forget about score or modes or anything else. So if I miss my shot or drain really quickly, who cares. My shooting got a lot better and sometimes those games still turn into really good games.

I used to do that a long time ago, now I just roll with it. Sometimes I need that first ball or game to warm up or get used to the feel and aim especially of an unfamiliar machine, then it’s go time

If I have a bad first ball I first generally turn the machine off to resist the temptation of holding down the start button. I then throw my Out of Step LP onto the turntable, and repeatedly punch holes in the ceiling with my studded gloves. Then, power the machine back on and try again. Rinse and repeat as needed

never have never will - beauty of pinball is that I can have a great game on ball 3 and it feels fantastic. Plus what a hassle.

I am guilty of doing that. I try my best not to... I should turn the feature off.

If I'm going for a high score I keep playing. If I am after some other goal, then I'll restart.

If I have a bad first ball I still have 4 to go !

I used to do this. Somewhere along the way I just stopped. I figure the other 2 balls are good practice if nothing else.

*cough* FIVEBALLSISCHEATING *cough*

I'm so bad about doing this as well. I especially do this on my Stern games because I want to make it deep into the rules on every game. Sometimes I will be playing for like 20 minutes - all bad ball ones lol. Sometimes I do play it out and end up with a pretty good ball 2 or 3. Even if I get a good ball one, I pretty much always choke ball 2 or 3. Still can't resist restarting if bad start.

With more experience you will learn to lose this habit. It is only inexperience and playing by yourself, nothing more.

I mean let's think about this: if the score or the goal in a particular game is not important, why would it matter how bad your first ball is anyway? Is it a time issue? Wouldn't it be more memorable to accomplish your goal or task on one ball (even ball 3 with two tilt warnings) as opposed to over the course of one game?

Would you do this in a multiplayer game? Of course you wouldn't.

Never. I've had ball 1 go SDTM, but have had excellent balls 2 or 3. All it takes is one good ball.

I would do it if I knew that feature existed. All these years and I just found this out. I used to just power cycle or open the coin door and reset

Only if the scoring doesn't change when you change the ball count. Gottlieb System 1 tables drop the pops from 1000 to 100 when you go to five ball, and I've found my scores are pretty much identical regardless of going three or five.

I've managed to avoid using the "can start a new game and abandon the old" feature that Solar Ride happens to have. I've done it accidentally before, which is how I know System 1 tables support the feature.

I ahve a different bad pinball habit; buying more pinball machines when I barely have room for what I have. I can't seem to let one go when I get something new! Case in point, I just bought a Centaur... It's a desease.

I've struggled with that problem also for decades. And I'm still struggling letting any go. However in the past 3 years I went from over 70 down to 42. I still can't set all my pins up and have games at friends houses. You're right it is a sickness.

Do it all the time and no guilt at all.

I do it on my Walking Dead all the time. Game is just so brutal. I shut it off on my Metallica though.

I do what the OP does sometimes too, but I totally agree with this statement. ^^^

I sometimes do it on Pinball Arcade, usually after an early cheap drain or I do something stupid on the first couple shots, and still feel like a coward for it, and have been trying to get out of the habit. When I am down a ball early, I tend to play better for it, and sometimes end up with a massive haul on the next ball. Probably pick up a couple extras in the process and it's a whole new game, often with more balls left than I started with.

This morning playing MM on TPA, I blanked and missed STDM on a ball orbiting fast on the joust loop. Brutal, but it was my fault. I resisted that urge to back out and quit (because pause-quit is so easy). Next ball, I wound up winning Royal Madness and activating Barnyard Multiball where I had three balls falling from the jets at the right flipper, and machinegunned them on the fly into the joust, peasant ramp and catapult for huge points. I was so dialed in after a complete whiff. Next few balls were nothing special, but it was a respectable 210 million score in the end.

Would never do it on a real machine, not that I've ever owned one where I can just abort and start over. I plan to get on a live MM at a location (only one around I'm aware of) next week after Christmas and 210M is now my score to beat.