Do it! My first foray into pinball was tournaments. I knew nothing about pinball beforehand and just joined up. I was hooked after one tournament. My wife and I now have been playing for 2 1/2 years and love every minute of it. Some of our best friends were made thru the pinball league here. To me playing in a league or tournaments is socializing with people who share a similar love. I play with some of the top people here in Texas and I can assure you that every single one of them love new people and will never ever look down upon you. We are one big happy family and it is one of the best decisions I have made. It irks me so much when I listen to podcasts or watch videos and people say "I am not a tournament player". What the hell does that even mean? They act like people that play in tournaments are some hardcore people that don't have fun. Yes there are people who are serious about it but I can assure you again that 95% of the rest are there just to have fun and mingle. The other 5% love having fun as well. Playing in tournaments will 100% make you a better player. You will learn from better players and they will happily help you get better. You will start making goals for yourself and you will notice a change ASAP. Get involved with your local pinball league or group. It will force you to play games that you will never play and will make you friends that you never would have made outside of tournaments. I also have gotten real close with some individuals in league in that we all do temporary game swaps with one another. I now run one of the leagues here and my wife helps run the Belles and Chimes chapter here in Houston. It's awesome. Have fun and don't look back.