A quick tip to add, maybe a controversial one.

A true pinball wizard is someone who plays well consistently. A beginner often doesn't play well or consistently

A suggestion: if you've just been previously trying to play well (do catches, moves, etc), instead try to play consistently by picking a strategy and shooting those shots. You might see your overall performance rise with some practice.

I tried doing that on Attack from Mars one time in a pizza place. Before I tried to be consistent, I had many sub-billion games, a few 2-3 billion games, and then a random 6.5bil. After I tried to be consistent in my strategy and shots, I found that i would consistently put up 1.9bil. Personally, I'd take a "reliable" 1.9bil over a random 6.5bil any day.