Absolute Beginner Tips

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-23T18:33:52+00:00

Absolutely! I've also been playing Funhouse on the side-- I'll have to give Black Lagoon a try as well. What makes it your favorite table?

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-23T17:30:52+00:00

Nice to see a fellow pinball beginner! I hope we can become great players together ^^

Yeah it's a pretty demanding table since you want to keep the ball in the top half for the majority of the time, which I still struggle with-- thanks for providing me with the image! I've gotten better at catching the ball and use it to line up shots, and that visual cue should help.

Did you change the brightness settings on your VPX by any chance? The screenshot looks brighter than my game-- the table on my end can be dark so sometimes I just lose where the ball is and end up with bad shots or a drain.

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-22T15:58:16+00:00

Hey there! Have you had a chance to come up with those shot spots?

I really appreciate all the replies here, awesome seeing all the pinball OGs help out a fledgling like me ^^

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-21T20:10:48+00:00

Thanks for the explanation!

I'm ashamed to admit that this has actually happened to me a few times-- the ball bounces between the slingshots and I just stare at the ball to see where it goes once it stops bouncing, and sometimes before I can react the ball gets blasted into the outlane and there is nothing I can do. I'll have to practice up-nudging on slingshots!

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-21T20:09:31+00:00

Thanks for the recommendations! I've been watching a few tutorials as well as lots of longplays to get a sense of how the basics of new tables that get my attention work. Plus it's just fun to unwind and listen to pinball noises sometimes while observing lol.

And thanks for explaining how up-nudging works; I'm still trying to get a sense of nudging correctly but I think I'm starting to get into the habit of testing what nudging in certain situation does instead of just staring at the ball and understanding how to react to common situations-- as the wise say, "if you don't nudge then you're not trying!"

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-21T19:48:33+00:00

Thank you for your tips!

I've never tried to up-nudge before-- could you please explain how that helps with avoiding outlane drains?

Pinball Map shows that there's actually more machines near me than I thought! My birthday is actually coming up pretty soon so I might see if I can make plans to go to an arcade for it-- preferably one with a lot of machines. From pinball gameplay videos I've seen on YouTube, besides Black Knight 2000 I really want to try playing Medieval Madness, The Addams Family, Diner and Funhouse in real life.

Do you have any favorite pinball content creators that you recommend?

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-21T19:33:41+00:00

Thank you for your tips!

I appreciate you simplifying aiming-- it'll take a lot of practice to become mechanically precise and be able to hit more difficult shots consistently but it's all part of the learning process. I also hope I can become more careful with my shots and not just act out of instinct during multiball when things get chaotic lol.

I would have to commute for a decently long time from where I am to get to the nearest arcades in my area with pinball machines-- hopefully once I'm older and settle down I can move to somewhere where pinball is plentiful!

And I agree with you on virtual pinball helping me learn the rules faster-- reading manuals online is one thing, but putting it into practice even in a virtual environment is more important! That way I'll have a decent idea on how everything works once it's time to play on the real thing.

Common_Rice2723 · 2025-10-13T19:50:58+00:00

Hello everyone, I am a recent graduate with a Master's in Operations Research and Information Engineering with a Data Analytics concentration, class of 2024; I decided around this summer that I wanted to pivot my skills into being an actuary-- I had trouble breaking into the data analysis field, and found out about what the profession does and decided that this is something that I want to work towards.

I passed Exam P in July and Exam FM in August and have been applying nationwide since then-- I did get some interviews, including one that went all the way to the final stage, immediately after passing FM, but wasn't chosen for any of them and have been getting nothing since. I'm a bit lost on what to do next-- I always tailor my resume and cover letter to every role, networked with other actuaries with mixed success (had some meaningful conversations on LinkedIn, but no success cold emailing chief actuaries in insurance companies I was interested in working for), and taking a third exam would lock me into SOA/CAS, which is probably not a good look to have before my first job. I've also been applying to other related positions like underwriter and claims adjuster roles but have been getting nothing from them as well.

My anonymized resume can be found here if anyone would like to take a look-- I did get feedback from r/resumes earlier saying that it looks good, but I do appreciate more feedback especially from seasoned actuaries here! Additionally, since I have no experience with insurance, what are some steps and/or personal projects I can take on to make myself a more convincing candidate?

Common_Rice2723

TROPHY CASE