Somehow made the finals in my first pinball tournament...preparation?

[McGuirk]

I started a job in NYC last fall, and was very happy to see that I was somewhat close to Modern Pinball, from Steve Epstein and Steve Zahler. I took advantage of this by joining their casual pinball league, and quickly found I was outclassed. But I just wanted to have some fun and make some friends, so it was all good. I ended up winning 4/10 weeks, which isn't awful, but was still towards the bottom. The semifinals were last Tuesday, and I even prepared by doing extra practice before. Turns out none of it was necessary, because my two semifinal opponents never showed. So here I am in the finals this coming Tuesday, on a bye, basically. It's one four-person group, rather than a 1-on-1 match.

How many of you have experience playing in tournaments, particularly the finals? The list of tables is a bit tough (for me, anyway). Spent about 3 hours there yesterday, and will be watching PAPA videos this weekend. What else do you do to prepare?

World Cup Soccer (hard not to do well on this table)
Metallica (at least I finally got multiball here, but the ramps weren't cooperating with me)
Star Trek [Stern] (did poorly on this last night...man that ball moves fast)
SPIDER-MAN (probably my best table)
Demolition Man (left f'n loop)
Avengers (AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!)
The Simpsons [Stern] (no clue)
Wizard of Oz (backup) (I won on this a while ago, surprisingly to me. There's so much going on, it's hard to keep track)

 

[Mayuh]

Play in control. Take your time. Cradle. Be calm (hardest part for me).

Metallica: forget about the ramps. Sparky for fast points. Make sure you have some picks lit before starting sparky (they're on the ramp entrances), if you have all four during multiball, shoot the lit snake for double scoring and add a ball. Then get the sparky super jackpot. Other strategy is shooting the cross inline drops. Also an easy multiball.

ST: start the mode, wait for the final shot. If you can, backhand the ramps, they're safer that way in case you miss them. Try not to start the mode via left scoop (really bad kickout sometimes), but under the upper flipper. Go for vengeance if you have the chance to.

That all said, I finished last in this years IFPA championship - lol!
But to be honest, after that experience of such an epic loss to the world's greatest players, I'm hardly nervous anymore when playing league or local tournaments... Thus playing better...

 

[stevevt]

Play in control. Take your time. Cradle. Be calm (hardest part for me).

Metallica: forget about the ramps. Sparky for fast points. Make sure you have some picks lit before starting sparky (they're on the ramp entrances), if you have all four during multiball, shoot the lit snake for double scoring and add a ball. Then get the sparky super jackpot. Other strategy is shooting the cross inline drops. Also an easy multiball.

Small correction: On the left side, the picks are outside of the grave marker inline drop target lane.

Also, if other people you playing are getting to a Crank it Up mode, you need to plan on doing the same. If they're doubling their CIU Collect jackpot, you need to plan on doing the same. Watch the PAPA tutorial or ask questions here for more info on getting to CIU, but note that it's a huge point scoring opportunity (and that progress continues during multiball), so it's more commonly seen than not at higher levels of competition.

 

[McGuirk]

The PAPA video I watched on Metallica emphasized hitting the pick targets, so I appreciate the advice. Making the actual shots to get CIU, or Invasion in Simpsons, is another story, but I feel a little better having watched some of the PAPA videos already. I did well the last time I played Star Trek in league play, but not so well in a 4P practice against myself the other day.

 

[Mayuh]

If you practice alone, drain the first ball and play a two ball game. This kinda simulates the pressure a bit. Once you're used to two ball games, it feels nice to get a free extra ball during tournaments
Also, if you have a dominant/weaker hand, try practicing by playing one handed. If I remember correctly Bowen plays one handed in his Funhouse tutorial... Besides it's really fun too

 

[McGuirk]

Just to bring some closure to the thread, I tied for first & lost the tiebreaker - damn Wizard of Oz! It was a great time, thank you all for your help.

 

[Carl Spiby]

Put vaseline on the flipper buttons.

 

[Shaneus]

If you practice alone, drain the first ball and play a two ball game. This kinda simulates the pressure a bit. Once you're used to two ball games, it feels nice to get a free extra ball during tournaments
Also, if you have a dominant/weaker hand, try practicing by playing one handed. If I remember correctly Bowen plays one handed in his Funhouse tutorial... Besides it's really fun too

Wow, both of those are REALLY good ideas. Might try them out on my own RBION.

 

[Mayuh]

My right hand is so dominant... So I tried that
I had a 850mil game on DemoMan playing left handed. Multiballs are over pretty quick, if you miss the ramps. But it's really, really fun, if you're playing for beer with friends...

Also I really like the pingolf format. Where you don't play for highscores but goals. I organized the second tournament this year, where we play, BBQ and donate to charity. Great fun goals were for example: get monster fish on FT, 5x multiplier on SpaceShuttle, get the jackpot in WCS94 and so on... Fun times

 

[thejake01]

This has some helpful info you don't see everywhere: http://krellan.com/pinball/skillguide.pdf

 

[McGuirk]

My right hand is so dominant... So I tried that
I had a 850mil game on DemoMan playing left handed. Multiballs are over pretty quick, if you miss the ramps. But it's really, really fun, if you're playing for beer with friends...

Also I really like the pingolf format. Where you don't play for highscores but goals. I organized the second tournament this year, where we play, BBQ and donate to charity. Great fun goals were for example: get monster fish on FT, 5x multiplier on SpaceShuttle, get the jackpot in WCS94 and so on... Fun times

This group does Pingolf quite a bit, and I may go one of these days, but I am strictly a casual player. It's an interesting concept for sure.

Jake - thanks! I've been looking for something like this. I'm all for giving people space at a machine; even when I'm playing a machine next to someone playing another machine, I get a little tense.

 

[Espy]

This has some helpful info you don't see everywhere: http://krellan.com/pinball/skillguide.pdf

wrt etiquette: I wish there was a standard pinball etiquette these days. Sometimes I think if I put a coin on the machine, the player would just be confused.

 

[Mayuh]

...hehe, yes, like trade/sell replay credits for beer or such those were the days...

 

[Espy]

...hehe, yes, like trade/sell replay credits for beer or such those were the days...

90% of people who get a replay (generally through the random match) will walk away from it these days. They don't even know what it is. I point it out to them, or if they've already gone, steal their credit. Which I now know is perfectly ethical thanks to that guide!