Tips & strategy
Do not flap the flippers constantly. Holding them up or hitting empty air just means the flipper is down when the ball actually arrives. Watch the ball, wait, and hit only as it reaches the flipper. A still flipper catches far more balls than a panicking one.
Learn to trap the ball. If you raise a flipper as the ball rolls onto it and hold it, the ball settles against the flipper instead of bouncing away. From that dead stop you can aim a deliberate shot rather than swatting blindly, which is the single biggest jump in control.
The gap between the flippers is where balls die. When the ball is heading straight down the middle, a late flip from either side can nudge it back into play, but the reliable fix is to catch it on one flipper first and never let it reach the centre at speed.
Aim for the same high-value targets repeatedly rather than hitting whatever is closest. Most tables reward combos and repeated hits far more than scattered ones, so a controlled ball you can aim is worth more points than a fast one you are merely surviving.