How do the pros practice and prepare for tournaments?

[Janzy]

I love competitive pinball, and I want to improve. I'm wondering how the top players practice, and if they practice at all. By that I mean practicing and playing aren't the same thing. Every time I've asked people how to improve at pinball, they just told me to play more, which does not make sense to me. Take this analogy. If I want to get better at tennis, I won't just go out and play games. I'll take a session to work on my serve, or find a practice partner to do drills to perfect and forehand, backhand, volleys, etc. I know I can't take pinball lessons like I can take tennis lessons, but the same logic should apply.

So, do any of the top players have drills that they work on to improve specific techniques? Do they prepare for a tournament by changing the settings on the machines they own to emulate the feel of playing a machine they don't know? Do they spent most of their time analysing the ruleset of the machines that will be at the tournament by playing them on virtualpin or something similar?

With the CPC approaching, I'm curious to see how the top dogs get ready for the event. Please share your insight!

 

[luch]

learn where the most points are scored and make the shots .

 

[movingpictures]

1 - Play with people who are better than you.
My play improved dramatically once I started playing with / against the best in the world.
The only way to do this is to goto big tournaments.

2 - Participate in serious competitive pinball events (aka not MPL)

3 - Set up your games at home PAPA competition style.
No ball saves, no extra balls, open out lanes, active slings, VERY tight tilts.
Don't restart your game if you have a bad ball 1. Instead try to achieve your goal in 2 balls.
Cayle George takes this a step further, setting all his games on 2-ball play.

 

[Chris Bardon]

Another thing you can try is just going for specific goals. If you want to drill things like post passes, live catches, drop catches, or specific shots on a game, then that's pretty easy to do. Start a game and try to do nothing but nail the orbit shot, or try to hit everything you can from a backhand. You can also learn a lot about game rules from watching tournament videos if you're interested in specific games.

 

[Janzy]

Thanks for the input guys. I do watch a lot of the PAPA tutorials to try and learn the rules but sometimes I'm not sure if it really helps. I mean, Bowen makes everything look so easy that I try to shoot for the same objectives as him and fail in the worst possible way, which leaves me wondering if I would have score better by setting my sights on more modest objectives.

Playing against better players is a good way to improve for sure, but unfortunately it seems tournaments are few and far between. Well, those that are at a reasonable driving distance from home at least. Maybe I should move closer to House of Targ

 

[movingpictures]

Playing against better players is a good way to improve for sure, but unfortunately it seems tournaments are few and far between. Well, those that are at a reasonable driving distance from home at least.

Be sure to check out the IFPA calendar.
http://www.ifpapinball.com/calendar/

I started the MPPL in 2013 to host competitive IFPA tournaments in my area since no one was / is doing it.
I have 2 upcoming next week:
The KISS launch at Startburst will be a short one, with $5 high score games on a brutal KISS, and the main event is on Sunday.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1646757338894805

My tournaments generally fill up within a day or two of being announced and happen several times a year.
If you are serious about wanting to get involved in competitive pinball, send me a message and I will squeeze you in on Sunday.

 

[fantasygoat]

Play every day. It's like any other sport - practice makes perfect.