Author Topic: The tale of how I came across pinball/2013 fall pinball tournament series info!  (Read 6476 times)

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Offline ndiniz

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I don't remember much about what caused me to start liking (and for that matter, loving) pinball, but it was in the early to mid 90s when it happened. It all started with a huge family reunion in Texas that I went to. I went to both the 25th & 50th street copper caboose, and these 2 places were where my passion for video games & pinball (almost pinball) had started. At the local commissary, I came across Dr. Dude. Then I came across Jackbot, and at a Casino, I came across a pin from Gottlieb, but I can't remember its name. This happened during the summer of 1993

Fast forward to about 6 or 7 years ago, and that's when I came across Visual Pinball. I've been on & off with VP, but I still like it. Now, we fast forward to modern day, and in just a short amount of time (nearly
5 months ago) I had 3 or 4 major milestones in my life happen. The first one was (of course) turning 30 years old. Apparently, the "man in the sky" (as I like to call him) had some plans for me within the next 6 to 8 weeks after that. In April, during week 7 or week 8 of the spring pinball league (Yes, I am in a pinball league, and I am severely, and seriously proud to be in one), I did something that N O B O D Y in the league had ever done before..... I had to play 5 games in one night, and I can tell you that I was NOT prepared for what would be the end result of some tough competition! We played 4 games that night, and one we had to play twice, so I had to play 5 games total. Anyways, I end up winning the first game..... moved on to the next game, won it, and then a strange feeling came over me. I had obviously felt that I had to trust my instincts, because there was a HUGE chance that I could end the evening with winning all 5 games. I decided to see if that was indeed possible, and you won't believe me when I tell you this, butI DID INDEED W I N  ALL 5 GAMES!!!!!! It was the biggest shock of my life! As far as I know, in the entire history of the league, NOBODY had ever done that before. Everyone on the league was just shocked beyond words! I won 35 points that night, because 1st place in each game wins 7 points.

About a week or two before we had our final spring pinball tournament, everyone was invited to my friend Mark's house for free play. I took this opportunity to collect some scoring data. I needed to figure out which games I was good at, and which ones I wasn't good at. The reason why I did this is because even though I am familiar with most of the machines Mark has, some are in better condition than others. Plus, because of league rules, everyone is either required to choose a game to play, or the playing order. Knowing what games I was good at, and which ones I wasn't good at ahead of time would allow me to be extra careful about which games to choose, and if I had to choose the playing order, I usually went 2nd. Doing so allowed me to monitor the scoring of my opponent, and by having them set the "baseline" allowed me to see how powerful they were versus me. Anyhow, I made it about either half-way, or past half-way into the tournament before I was eliminated once. We always do our final tournaments as a 1 vs 1, best out of 3, and it's always double elimination. Then, it came to the point where it was near the end for the B division players. Only 2 remained. Me, and a nice friend of mine named Molly. We both had to play against each other in 2 sets of 2 games to find out who'd win 1st and second place. When I found out I was playing against her for the championship, I was excited. I had made it to the end of the road, and got eliminated only once during the main part of the tournament. This meant an A U T O M A T I C win for me, no matter what the outcome. So, I beat her in the 1st set, 2 to nothing, and then I thought to myself "Well, you did it Nathan! You are now a winner!", so I beat her in the first game, and then I thought "You have nothing to lose now!" So, I did something that was, in my view, an act of sportsmanship. I let her win the last game. So, in the end, I win 2nd place. I got a trophy (that some of you have already seen), and $30. I could've chosen a pinball related prize to take home, but I felt I couldn't. The trophy was what I was after. I claimed my 2nd place division B trophy fair & square! I felt proud. I couldn't believe that I literally made it to the end of the final spring tournament for this year. A LOT of people are immensely proud of how much hard work I put in during my quest to claim victory. I couldn't have claimed this victory without my family, and most of all, I couldn't have done it without you guys, so thank you very much for your encouragement, and in less than 3 months, you'll find out how the final fall tournament went. In the mean time, I'll keep you guys posted here (in this topic) on how I'm doing. I've currently won 3 out of 8 games (37.5% efficiency), and won 29 out of 56 points given out. (52% in points claimed)
See you SOON! :Wink: :Wink: :Wink: :Wink: :Wink: :Wink:
« Last Edit: September 20, 2013, 08:37:53 PM by ndiniz »

Offline Itchigo

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Awesome Nate!! We're pulling for you! :Cool:
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Offline ndiniz

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OK guys, here's an update on week 3......


I had arrived early with plenty of time to spare. I ended up finding out that one of my friends in the league couldn't make it. So, that meant for me that I had a possible advantage. All I can say right now that out of a possible 28 points, I possibly gained 22. So out of a maximum of 84 points given out so far this season, I've won a possible 51 out of 84 points, and in terms of percentage, that's equal to almost 61 percent! As for games won so far, (including 3 that I may have possibly won this week) I've won possibly 6 out of 12, and that's a 50% winning streak! When the actual points on illinipinball.com are updated, I'll let you know. For now, I'm going to assume that I did win those 22 points (won only one point for getting 4th on the last game), and won 3 out of the 4 games on Tuesday night.

Offline ndiniz

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Tomorrow, and next Tuesday will be some of the most IMPORTANT days in my entire life (and this year for that matter!)


Tomorrow, I will be heading over to my friend Mark's house to do some practice for the upcoming final fall tournament which will indeed take place at my friend Mark's house next Tuesday.


He works on his own machines, and has a few accounts here in town, and since he has moved a few of the games I've played at his house, there'a chance that some games the league has never played before will be at his house. Even though I am not a boy scout, I know that as an individual, you have to be READY FOR A N Y T H I N G!!!!!!. Another purpose for this free-play invitation tomorrow is to assess the condition of the games that will be available for play next Tuesday. I am going to make sure I take some time tomorrow to practice at a few other places before I go to my friend Mark's house. I need not be there until 7 PM. Should be very interesting & fun. Tomorrow will be officially the first time I've been to Mark's house in nearly 8 months! I've made it a tradition to eat at a place in my town called Monical's pizza before I head to my friend Mark's house (there are several locations) and there is one that's located near Mark's house. So, I'll have some good pizza, and should be quite interesting.

Offline Itchigo

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Pizza? Pinball? I'm there! jk :Downapint:
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Offline ndiniz

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LOL! I will also be eating some pizza during the final tournament.