Read it.
Control it.
Make the shot.

Shot timing depends on the starting feed and ball speed. A settled ball and an inlane return need different practice.

Use it when: Make one deliberate shot instead of collecting accidental rebounds.

1. Pick one target and one starting feed.
2. Watch where the ball is when you press.
3. Compare the miss with your chosen target. Change one timing variable.

Hold the flipper up to collect a suitable slow return near its heel. If it will not settle, abandon the attempted trap before it falls off the tip.

Use it when: Use the pause to choose a shot and check the other balls.

Also called: Trap; cradle

1. Identify the arriving side.
2. Hold that bat; watch the ball, not just the button.
3. Call it controlled only after it settles.

Leave the receiving flipper down and let the ball rebound across. Heel or metal-guide contact can spoil the transfer.

Use it when: Choose it when the opposite flipper is useful and the feed crosses reliably.

Also called: Dead pass; bounce pass

1. Keep hands quiet through the first contact.
2. Track the rebound.
3. Prepare the other side after you see where it is landing.

A small cabinet movement made just before flipper contact can help a short dead-bounce rebound reach the other side. The useful direction depends on the approaching angle and the table’s geometry.

Use it when: Learn the ordinary dead bounce first so you can recognize when its natural rebound will fall short.

1. Watch the ball approach the lowered flipper.
2. Move the cabinet once, just before contact, so the flipper meets the ball at a more helpful point.
3. Stop moving and judge the new landing before raising the receiving flipper.

Start with the bat raised. Release through ball contact; the resulting ball can still be rolling, ready for a new shot.

Use it when: Reduce a difficult return without assuming it becomes a cradle.

1. Prepare the raised bat before arrival.
2. Release at the contact phase shown.
3. Read the slower rolling feed before pressing again.

Press shortly before contact so the ball meets the flipper near the end of its rising stroke. Pressing too early creates an ordinary rebound; pressing too late can shoot the ball away.

Use it when: Attempt it when a controlled return is approaching the same flipper and you want to settle it there.

Also called: Some teachers use “stall” for a live catch. Other post-catch names can describe different contacts.

1. Watch the shrinking gap between the ball and the lowered flipper.
2. Press early enough for the flipper to be almost fully raised when contact occurs.
3. Keep holding if the ball settles. If it rebounds, follow the live ball and choose a recovery.

A sling may fail to fire and send the ball toward the middle. Protect the relevant gap; also watch the opposite side during an inlane shot.

Use it when: Replace reflex double-flipping with a decision about the next arrival.

Also called: Shielding

1. Locate the ball and the threatened gap.
2. Raise the useful guard.
3. Change sides as the ball crosses; watch what the next rebound actually does.

On the same rolling feed, press earlier than you would for a forehand so the ball meets the flipper nearer its heel. A backhand from a cradle uses a different start.

Use it when: Use a same-side route when that shot is available.

1. Choose the same-side target.
2. On a rolling feed, press before the ball reaches the forehand contact point so it meets the heel side.
3. Observe the heel-side contact and adjust from the actual miss.

Release a cradle and re-engage to bank off the lower rubber. In the demonstrated transfer, keep the sending bat up until the ball crosses the center.

Use it when: Move to the flipper that can make your intended shot.

1. Choose the destination before releasing.
2. Make the release/re-engage and observe the bank.
3. Receive the actual return; geometry varies between machines.

A rolling inlane feed can cross a bat that is already held up. A slow landing may need the receiving bat down rather than prematurely raised.

Use it when: Use a passive transfer when the feed supplies enough travel.

1. Raise the sending bat before arrival.
2. Let the rolling feed do the work.
3. Choose the receiver from the actual landing speed.

A nudge can assist the approaching rolling feed; it is not a guaranteed rescue for every short transfer.

Use it when: Recognize this as a variation of an already-understood ski pass.

1. Keep the sending bat raised.
2. Identify the remaining contact opportunity.
3. Follow the landing, including a shortfall.

Briefly release and re-engage a held bat as the rolling ball approaches its tip; a later microflip can produce a transfer.

Use it when: Add a little bat action to a feed that will not cross passively.

Also called: Flick-pass terminology varies; match the start and contact, not only the name.

1. Start with the bat UP.
2. Release briefly, then re-engage near the tip.
3. Read the landing instead of assuming a perfect catch.

An earlier microflip can stop the rolling feed instead of transferring it.

Use it when: Keep the ball on this side when its next shot is preferable.

Also called: Tip Backhand (Maya)

1. Keep the held-bat starting state visible.
2. Use the earlier release/re-engage shown.
3. Watch whether it returns to a cradle.

From a cradle, release toward the tip and shoot into the opposite inlane.

Use it when: Use it only when that lane award is worth the risk.

Also called: Alley pass

1. Name the lane reward before attempting it.
2. Use the diagram to distinguish inlane from sling.
3. Protect the returning side.

Start with a moving feed and the bat down; time the tip shot toward the opposite inlane.

Use it when: It uses a different start from the settled Shatz.

1. Identify the incoming speed.
2. Follow the ball to the tip.
3. Read the inlane return or miss.

Release a cradle, then use a short button pulse for a small transfer.

Use it when: Consider it only on a machine where the small stroke is controllable.

1. Let the ball begin rolling.
2. Pulse rather than hold a full stroke.
3. Watch the receiving ball.

The tap transfer begins with a moving ball instead of a settled cradle.

Use it when: Treat this as a demanding moving-feed variation.

1. Identify the feed first.
2. Keep the partial stroke visibly distinct from a full flip.
3. Track the landing.

Earlier microflip action can regain same-side control; a prepared backflip is distinct from an ordinary cradled backhand.

Use it when: Choose whether you want control or a transfer before the pulse.

1. Begin with the bat held.
2. Choose the intended endpoint.
3. Read the return before adding another pulse.

A delayed drop catch can send the return toward the inlane; its next shot timing differs.

Use it when: Recognize the new feed rather than force the usual drop-catch follow-up.

1. Identify the approach.
2. Release through the catching phase.
3. Read the inlane return before choosing the next input.

A tip drop catch can lead directly into a shot, including when another ball is cradled.

Use it when: It is an advanced immediate follow-up, not a mandatory cradle.

1. Watch the tip contact.
2. Separate the release from the follow-up press.
3. Track the shot after it leaves.

A parked ball reduces the moving traffic, but returning balls can reach its occupied flipper.

Use it when: Your first task is the next dangerous arrival, not perfect parking.

1. Count balls you can identify.
2. Catch a suitable arrival while watching the others.
3. Recount after every collision or drain.

Keeping one ball controlled leaves another to play, but the occupied-side return remains a threat.

Use it when: Use the free side for a planned shot when its return is manageable.

1. Keep A visible and held.
2. Follow B all the way back.
3. Abandon the park if keeping it prevents a useful recovery.

Two deliberate cradles are a controlled starting state, not panic double-flipping.

Use it when: Turn a pause into a target decision.

1. Choose the next lit shot.
2. Release only its shooting side.
3. Keep tracking the launched ball while holding the other.

The illustrated separation lifts one ball while another stays, then transfers the lifted ball.

Use it when: First identify which ball is near the heel and which is nearer the tip.

1. Name A and B before touching anything.
2. Watch the small separation action.
3. Track both balls through the crossing.

Separation attempts can be too small or too large; successful control is not automatic.

Use it when: Transfer one ball without losing track of the one you meant to retain.

1. Begin with a stable pair.
2. Try the small release/re-engage.
3. Judge the actual result before repeating.

Lift one ball, move the remaining ball while the first is away, then regather the returning ball.

Use it when: Use the separation window to change which ball is on each side.

1. A begins at the heel; B is lifted.
2. Move A underneath while tracking B.
3. Recover B as A reaches the other side.

Move stored balls before an arriving ball crowds their space. Expert examples show this as a contextual choice, not a universal pulse recipe.

Use it when: Prevent an occupied-side collision from surprising you.

Also called: Tap-back and Valet are related community labels; exact usage varies.

1. Spot the incoming ball early.
2. Choose whether there is time to make room.
3. Recount after the arrival.

Teachers use catch names differently. The reviewed post-catch cartoon does not establish a specific hidden post or spin mechanism.

Use it when: Match the arrival, flipper state, contact and outcome before borrowing a label.

Also called: Live catch is also called stall by some teachers; not all these names are synonyms.

1. Trace the inlane return.
2. Identify visible contact separately from flipper motion.
3. Describe the result in plain language.

After a failed separation, the new ball positions determine the next move.

Use it when: Recover the game instead of finishing a rhythm that no longer fits.

1. No separation? Stabilize before retrying.
2. Both released? Recount and track both.
3. Incoming ball on an occupied side? Reconsider the park.

Use this original practice scenario to choose between a planned shot and control. Actual multiball-ending rules come from the table guide.

Use it when: A target choice includes its return path.

1. Name the next award.
2. Choose the shooting flipper.
3. After a drain, check save/grace/restart state before assuming multiball ended.

Practice tracking a held pair plus one live ball, then one held on each side with a third live.

Use it when: The parked count does not erase the returning ball.

1. Identify A, B and C.
2. Choose which return needs the free side.
3. Recount when a collision releases the pair.

This original exercise adds traffic while preserving every ball’s identity.

Use it when: Aim for useful control, not an imaginary guarantee that everything can be parked.

1. Count known held and moving balls.
2. Identify the next dangerous lower-playfield contact.
3. Update that choice after each collision.

Ball-to-ball interception has been described as an uncertain rescue, not a reliable save.

Use it when: Learn to recognize the opportunity without treating a collision as guaranteed.

1. Identify the threatened ball and the available ball.
2. Ask whether their paths can actually meet.
3. Track both after any contact.

Use this original scenario: the next valuable shot changes sides after collection.

Use it when: Control is useful when it helps you collect something specific.

1. Read the current lit award.
2. Choose and make its shot.
3. After collection, update the target before repeating.

A ball save replaces an eligible drain; add-a-ball introduces another ball; a restart resumes an ended feature. Their gates and timers vary by table.

Use it when: Prepare the award, then collect it when it will help.

1. Before multiball: read the table’s exact save and add-ball rules.
2. During play: track the active indicator and balls actually served.
3. After a drain: check grace/restart eligibility immediately.

A two-stage flipper button can keep the lower flipper held while the upper flipper is released, then fire the upper flipper with the second stage.

Use it when: Use the lower flipper as a stable cradle while choosing when the upper flipper acts.

1. Verify that shallow and full button travel are mapped as separate stages.
2. Press fully to raise both, then ease back to the first stage so the lower stays held and the upper releases.
3. Press through the second stage again to fire the upper while preserving the lower cradle.

A nudge changes where a real playfield surface meets the moving ball. Make one cabinet movement before contact, then stop and play the rebound it creates.

Use it when: Use it when a post, rubber, guide, or flipper can still turn a dangerous path into a reachable return.

1. Name the next surface the ball will touch.
2. Move the cabinet so that surface meets the ball sooner or at a more useful point.
3. Release the cabinet, follow the new path, and prepare the receiving flipper.

An orbit return can often be redirected while it is still above the slingshots. Waiting until the ball reaches the lower drain area removes useful contacts and leaves fewer recovery choices.

Use it when: Use the first predictable contact to prevent trouble instead of waiting for a desperate final save.

1. Read the ball while it is still above the slingshots.
2. Predict the post, rubber, or guide it will meet next.
3. Make one restrained nudge before that contact, then prepare the flipper that will receive the changed return.

The useful opportunity depends on contact geometry; a switch position is not a universal rescue boundary.

Use it when: Recognize when a shown opportunity has already passed.

1. Find posts, divider and drain route.
2. Pause before the threatened contact.
3. Below this example’s opening, review the earlier decision.

A cabinet slap and a flipper action are separate inputs. The return determines whether a second action is useful.

Use it when: Keep the ball within a reachable, understandable sequence.

1. Identify which bat can still meet the ball.
2. Watch the first contact.
3. Use the other side only if the resulting return needs it.

IFPA/PAPA rules allow an unassisted natural rebound. Deliberately induced death saves and bangbacks are prohibited under the cited competition rules.

Use it when: Recognize the distinction without practicing induced returns.

1. Keep the natural rebound and player input separate.
2. Resume on a legitimately returning ball.
3. Refer disputed conduct to the tournament director.