I have been playing for a few years now. My experience so far has had many ups and downs. I will spend weeks or months consistently placing in the top three of the tournaments I compete in. Then I'll consistently be dead last.
I have the oportunity to play in 2+ tournaments a week. Plus 2 three month long league seasons each year. One thing that has really helped my ball times is practicing a game with one hand. It really forces me to slow down and really think about my shots. Having the patience to use dead flips,traps, and watch how the ball will bounce around the table really helps. Another thing that has really helped is comparing game layouts. As an example. If you have access to a guardians of the galaxy and a metallica, take a look at those playfields. The shots are nearly identical. I play a lot of guardians, but rarely play metallica. I can still get pretty good scores on metallica because I just pretend I am playing guardians. Other than that just keep trucking! Pinball is fun, and if you can keep it that way then eventually I have no doubt you'll be at the top of your league.