Pinball Tips - How to Flip, Post Pass, and Stage Flip

Tim Sexton·video·6m 3s·analyzed·Mar 18, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.012

TL;DR

Instructional guide to proper pinball flipper technique, hand positioning, and advanced skills.

Summary

Tim Sexton provides comprehensive instructional content on pinball flipper technique, covering proper hand positioning, common mistakes to avoid, and advanced techniques like post passing and stage flipping. The video emphasizes two-finger flipper control, proper button edge pressing, and gradual finger movement for timing-based techniques.

Key Claims

Proper hand positioning uses two fingers (index and middle) resting on the flipper button, with thumbs on the glass joint and remaining fingers extended on the cabinet side
high confidence · Sexton demonstrates and explicitly teaches the two-finger hand positioning technique throughout the video as the optimal approach
Curling fingers when pressing flipper buttons creates unnecessary strain and can cause carpel tunnel syndrome
high confidence · Sexton explicitly warns against curled finger technique and states this causes pain and potential injury
Most players progress from curled finger stance to single-finger stance to two-finger stance through their development
medium confidence · Sexton states he reviewed tons of pinball video and observed this progression pattern across players
Post passing requires timing and gradual finger movement away from the button until the flipper drops only momentarily before re-engaging
high confidence · Sexton provides detailed step-by-step instructions for post passing technique with emphasis on timing over aiming
Stage flipping on Godzilla involves pressing the flipper button slowly so only the lower flipper engages initially, then the upper flipper joins
high confidence · Sexton demonstrates and explains the mechanical behavior of Godzilla's dual-flipper system and how to control it selectively

Notable Quotes

“flipping it is the main way we interact with the pinball machine most people don't think too much about what their hands are doing when they play Pinball”
Tim Sexton @ 0:00 — Sets up the educational premise that hand technique is an overlooked but critical skill for pinball improvement
“don't curl your fingers when trying to press the flipper buttons...curling the fingers over the button creates unnecessary strain that could potentially cause pain painful issues like carpel tunnel syndrome”
Tim Sexton @ ~1:20 — Health warning about a common beginner mistake with long-term injury implications
“don't flip with just one finger on the flipper button this is one of the most common issues I see when watching beginner players play Pinball”
Tim Sexton @ ~2:00 — Identifies single-finger flipping as the most prevalent mistake among players he observes
“post passing and tip passing are all about timing and to dial in the timing the player will move their fingers farther and farther away from The Flipper button until they get a feel for the distance”
Tim Sexton @ ~4:30 — Core instructional message that post passing is timing-based, not aim-based
“if you're just trying to do this technique by feel it's going to be impossible to pull this off reliably by practicing this technique I'm about to show you stage flipping will become just another piece in your pinball tool set”
Tim Sexton @ ~7:30 — Frames stage flipping as learnable through systematic technique rather than intuitive feel alone

Entities

Tim Sextonperson Godzillagame

Topics

Flipper technique and hand positioningprimaryPost passing techniqueprimaryStage flippingprimaryInjury prevention (carpel tunnel)secondaryPlayer skill development progressionsecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0)— Educational and instructional tone throughout; no personal opinions or emotional content, purely focused on technique delivery

Transcript

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flipping it is the main way we interact with the pinball machine most people don't think too much about what their hands are doing when they play Pinball and they're focused on just trying to keep the ball alive but there are some simple techniques that can dramatically help players improve their pinball game let's take a look at our hands first we place the inside of our palms on top of the lock down bar then place our thumbs along the joint between the Playfield glass and the game's armor this helps us grip the inside of the cabinet to move the game left and right more easily then drape our remaining fingers down the side of the cabinet keeping the fingers fully extended and flat in this position we want both our index finger and our middle finger resting on top of the flipper button not only is this technique going to help us flip better but it's critical for pulling off one of the most difficult techniques in pinball the stage flip many players may not think too much about how they put their hands on the pinball machine but you should definitely check to see if you're doing any of the following as they may be hurting you and your pinball scores don't curl your fingers when trying to press the flipper buttons John Youssi inside the pinball machines there are spring switches a little piece of metal that pushes back on the flipper button these switches aren't too strong but players tend to flip really hard because they want the ball to go fast curling the fingers over the button creates unnecessary strain that could potentially cause pain painful issues like carpel tunnel syndrome plus The Flipper buttons have a lot of play and by pressing in the middle of the flipper button flips will be much more inconsistent instead we want our fingers pressing on the edges of the button and maximizing the surface area of our fingers we use to flip this will deliver a smooth consistent flip every single time we press the flipper button don't flip with just one finger on the flipper button this is one of the most common issues I see when watching beginner players play Pinball and one that I struggled with for a very long time John Youssi here I'm using just my middle finger to press the flipper button and I see the majority of tournament and Casual players adopting this stance but without my index finger alongside for support I'm losing a ton of surface area and all the support that prevents the button from moving up and down Plus in a one finger stance a player's hand is going to retreat back away from the side of the cabinet and moving the game from side to side is going to become much more difficult in fact after reviewing tons of pinball video most players clearly progress from a curled finger stance to a straight single finger stance and then eventually to two fingers with the other fingers braced on the side of the cabinet but not only are two fingers important for flipping and nudging they're also incredibly important for stage flipping and I'll show you a technique that will make stage flipping feel like just another simple flip trick but first let's talk about post passing a post pass is a technique that players use when a ball is trapped to transfer the ball safely over from one flipper to the other a player releases The Flipper only to quickly flip again to shoot it into the bottom of the slingshot and then see it bounce over onto the other side and while some people may see this and think it's like a flip and they have to aim at the bottom of the slingshot this is not true post passing and tip passing are all about timing and to dial in the timing the player will move their fingers farther and farther away from The Flipper button until they get a feel for the distance to start only move your fingers away from the button a little bit and then immediately push the button back in again your fingers can move much more quickly than the button once it's released so you'll immediately flip again sometimes even though you took your fingers off the button there isn't even enough time for The Flipper to move so continue moving your fingers farther and farther away until you can find a distance where the flipper drops but only for a moment then flip again and the ball will bounce off the slingshot and flipper and execute a perfect post pass now let's talk about stage flipping on Godzilla the player has two flippers controlled by the left flipper button the lower flipper and the upper flipper when The Flipper button is pressed in very slowly you'll see that only the lower flipper flips at first and then later it is joined by the upper flipper and player ERS who could successfully engage just one flipper but not the other are able to open up shots like the left ramp on Godzilla while keeping a ball trapped but if you're just trying to do this technique by feel it's going to be impossible to pull this off reliably by practicing this technique I'm about to show you stage flipping will become just another piece in your pinball tool set first we want to use our two finger technique to press the flipper button all the way down then with both our fingers fully extended use your middle finger to pull on the button Edge towards your body curling that finger slightly gradually release the tension on the button with your finger on the button's far Edge holding it in place until the upper flipper is down and lower flipper is engaged this is the locked in position and for as long as you're trying to Stage flip keep your middle finger locked in this position now since the middle finger is busy holding the button in place use your index finger to gently flip on the button's edge this part is very precise but there's no need to slam the flipper button and lose that locked in position that your middle finger is holding and with some practice using these techniques you will see your flipper skills and pinball scores dramatically improve this has been another episode of pinball tips be sure to subscribe if you 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