How to play a bingo pinball machine and make numbered holes for in line payouts.

Well, how can you describe in words how to make a numbered hole on a bingo pinball playfield to connect for in line wins especially the "bally hole" number 16. The 16 is one of the harder numbers to make, but there are also many other tough numbers to make like the 4, 15, or 17 to name a few which to me are just as hard to make as the 16.

First of all there is no secret or magic trick to making the numbered holes you need. The best thing any player can do is play a bingo pinball machine everyday or as much as you can to give yourself a chance to get a feel for the way the ball rolls around through that "maze like field" of numbered holes on a bingo playfield. The foundation of a "stance and style" is important too. I hold the cabinet with my two hands tightly gripping the wood or metal side rails
starting at the top of the playfield after shooting a ball from the ball shooter lane. Then quickly when needed sliding my hands downwards when the ball moves downwards on the playfield, but always keeping my hands even with the ball as it travels downwards.

Example: If I am trying to make the number 23 my hands will end up at the bottom of the playfield after being on the top and middle of the playfield as the ball travels down i find that i have more control of the ball when my are hands "horizontally" even with the location of the ball on the playfield, making it easier to try to make the ball go where i want it to go. I also have my left thigh wedged under the front of the cabinet below the coin door at all times while the ball is in play too. This helps me a great deal for balance and comfort as part of my stance and style and i can nudge the machine with my thigh. I always crouch down some until I am comfortable, plus I am bent over forward leaning down towards the playfield leaving only 8" from my eyes to the playfield glass for that feeling of becoming part of the machine and always concentrating very hard with every move the ball makes. You know the old saying practice makes perfect and you will need plenty of time in on a bingo pinball to make some of the numbers! you need for a in line wins or hits. Hit is a term use by bingo players for collecting wins or replays for in line or numbered lights in a row on a backglass bingo card.

Being a serious bingo player/gambler on these magnificent games of luck and skill for about 40+ years growing up trying to make a living off of them as a kid and playing mostly everyday I am no expert, but the 16 can be made several ways if the playfield is correctly shopped out. Before I explain how to make the 16 or any other numbered hole the first tip and most important I can give in playing a bingo pinball is to only and I mean only, shake the machine when you need to move the ball in your favor towards a numbered hole or away from a number you do not need. Nudging is the key to learning how to make a numbered hole and becoming a great player. It's like any other game that is new to you.

To understand when to shake and when not to shake requires the person to learn this by themselves from getting a feel for playing a bingo on their own. The way I play is I only shake when I need to, carefully watching the ball at all times and always ready to shake in a split second if needed. When playing a bingo pinball you must be very focused and you need strong concentration while the ball is in the playfield heading for a numbered hole. Sometime you need to make the ball take it's natural path only shaking it away from all numbered holes except the numbers you need to make in order to get a hit. This will come when a new or novice player has dedicated some time each day to play and study the natural path of how the silver ball rolls. Once you have reached a "fair" to "good" level for playing a bingo you are now ready to look for the common rolls for making the 16 or any numbered hole on the playfield.

Here we go. First always shoot the ball on the correct side of the playfield! The correct side will be the side which you have a better chance of making the numbered hole you need for a in line win, you do this by following your blockers. Blockers are the balls already shot out that are now sitting in a numbered hole. By controlling the ball in play and making the ball in play hit another dead ball that is already in a numbered hole you give yourself a better chance to make it to the 16 or any other number you need before dropping in a unwanted hole. Blockers are a important part in making the numbers you need. Getting the ball near the numbered 16 hole is the first thing on the list to do. Using your blockers and being on the correct side of the playfield will give you a chance at making the 16 or any other numbered hole you may need.

Lets identify and label the 5 bumper posts that are just above the third row of numbers 14,15,16,17,18. We will label the 5 posts from left to right A,B,C,D,E. One of the most common ways the ball goes in the numbered 16 hole is by getting the ball between the B & C post or C & D post. Once the ball is there you can watch it closely and not choose to shake or and take your chances of the ball going into the 16 on it's own or when the ball is there you can shake the ball side to side gently between post B & C or C & D which ever two post you have the ball at and then watching it closely just as the ball is hitting post B or C for the last time is when you stop shaking side to side and try to allow the ball to drop into the 16 hole.

A lot really depends on if the bingo machine playfield is shopped correctly in the players favor for making the numbered holes you need for winning. Having good rubbers on the posts is a must for starters. Most operators would have dead rubbers throughout the playfield posts and the tilt set very sensitive so the player wouldn't be able to control the ball at all therefore taking away a players skill for making his numbers needed to win. This condition of the playfield could not give the player the best opportunity to make numbers for pay outs which allows the operators to make a fortune in cash from players losing all the time.

I used to put a empty soda can behind the machine in the center top section of the backbox and have a friend or partner I was playing with push the machine forward so I could wedge the soda can in between the wall and the backbox. By doing this it would give the machine some stiffness and wouldn't allow the tilt bob to move/swing as much when trying to shake the machine to make a number, therefore giving back some advantage to the player for winning. This helped me a great deal, but some bingo players hated it and would pull the machine backwards towards them allowing the soda can to drop down to the floor. I knew this because I would find the soda can on the floor under the machine and have seen them do it after I got off the machine. If I wanted to play again I would have to set back up the soda can trick, which always wasn't easy to do with the owner of the of the place watching you as much of the time as he did. There are other things players used to do to rig the games in their favor but operators and store owners didn't like it, but it was always all right for them to rig the machines against the players all the time.