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WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT PINBALL, YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN.

Training, secrets, and the full athlete's system from Jason Zahler, three-time IFPA World Champion, the threepeat, and Steve Zahler, the coach-dad who built him.

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The Story

A dad, a kid, and three straight World Championships

A dad lifts the glass off a pinball machine and starts placing the ball by hand for his kid. Years later, that kid is ranked #1 of the 70,000+ competitive pinball players on Earth, with three consecutive World Championships. Players keep asking us how. So we're finally writing it all down.

Jason Zahler

World #1 of 70,000+ · 3× World Champion

Playing since age two and a half, competing since childhood, studying nutrition and exercise science in college, and now the only player to threepeat the IFPA World Championship. As of July 2026 he's also the only player ever to win the Pinburgh World Match-Play Championship three years in a row. He'll show you the saves that look like magic, and prove they aren't. Still hasn't beaten his dad at PAC-MAN (some records take longer to threepeat).

  • IFPA World Championship3× IN A ROW
  • IFPA World Ranking#1 OF 70,716
  • Pinburgh2024–26 · THREEPEAT
  • Pintastic Silverball Rumble2022–25 · 4× BACK-TO-BACK
  • First titlesNJ STATE CHAMPIONSHIP · PAPA JUNIORS

Steve Zahler

Head Coach · The Dad

Taekwondo guy, owner of Modern Pinball NYC, where he taught lessons and ran classes for school groups. Glass-off drills, warm-ups, sleep schedules: he coached Jason like a taekwondo drill sergeant, and now puts the same regimen in your inbox. Once did seven minutes on FOX's Good Day New York, then caught a flight to Germany for IFPA10.

  • Started competingAGE 41
  • PAPA A Division finalsMONTHS LATER
  • Peak world ranking#19 · AT AGE 55
  • NJ State Champion2013
  • Ranked #1 · NY & NJ2012 & 2013

AGE DOESN'T MATTER

It cuts both ways. Jason played his first tournament at age 7 and won his first at age 9, against players multiple times his age. (That same year, he and his sister Maxine were featured on NBC's TODAY Show with Lester Holt.)

Meanwhile, Steve started competitive pinball at 41 and achieved his highest world ranking 14 years later, beating players half, even a quarter, his age. Whatever your age, you're not too late. You're right on time.

Pinball University with Jason & Steve

What you're going to learn

Not just flipper tricks. The complete system: the same one that built a world champion.

FLIPPERS & PHYSICS

Master the ball itself, on any machine: electromechanical (EM), solid state, or modern.

  • Saves that look like magic (most drains only look unsaveable)
  • Read the ball before it reaches your flippers
  • Playfield physics: learn which shots give you safe ball returns
  • Rubbers, bounces, and the right way to shake the machine

TOURNAMENT CRAFT

How Jason qualifies #1, and how to survive every format.

  • Entry management, game selection & player order
  • The Little Black Book: our tournament note system
  • Venue conditions & climate, before you plunge
  • Format playbooks, TD diplomacy, travel planning

BODY & BRAIN

The part nobody else teaches. Pinball is a sport — train like it.

  • The Perfect Pinball Warm-up (taekwondo-derived, no gym)
  • The Pinball Diet, hydration & the sleep pattern that peaks at finals
  • The Pinball Mindset: zen, breathing, staying calm under pressure
  • Energy management for 11-hour tournament days (sometimes over several days)

What lands in your inbox

Things you'll wish someone had told you years ago

Not vague advice. The specific stuff (the moves, the routines, the tournament habits) that took Jason and Steve thousands of games to figure out so you don't have to.

  • SAVE №1 The save that looks like magic Most balls headed straight down the middle only look that way. Learn to see the lean, and what your hands should already be doing.
  • VISION Read the ball before it reaches your flippers Knowing the future has its rewards. Rubber types, bounce angles, and where the ball is going next.
  • BODY The Perfect Pinball Warm-up Taekwondo-derived, takes minutes, needs no equipment. Steve and Jason do it before every tournament day.
  • BRAIN The sleep pattern that peaks you at finals Most of this game is mental. Sleep, caffeine, hydration, and focus, timed so you're sharpest when it counts.
  • STRATEGY How Jason qualifies #1 almost every time Entry management, game selection, and "which games to avoid." (A lot of it is situational. He'll explain that too.)
  • NERVE Playing calm when everything is loud Breathing, tilt discipline, handling pressure. Play calm and carry on.
  • NEW ON THE FLOOR Reviews of new machines Rules breakdowns and early strategy before you waste your first game guessing.

PLAYER 1  ·  ENTER EMAIL TO BEGIN TRAINING

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Launch Exclusive

THE SECRET TAPES

Minutes after the threepeat, Dad hit record.

Jason had no idea. Steve wanted his son's real, unfiltered reaction: what actually went down at the IFPA World Championship, in private, champion to coach, son to dad.

No cameras. No interviews. Just the truth. Newsletter subscribers hear it first.

Unlock the tapes

Fair questions

Is it actually free?

Yes. Signing up is free, and every new edition lands in your inbox free. Some day there may be paid extras: back issues, courses, coaching, an emergency pinball hotline (really). The tips keep showing up either way.

I'm a beginner. Too early?

No. The fundamentals are where champions are made. Steve coached Jason from age two and a half. If you can reach the flippers, you're ready.

I'm already ranked. Too late?

Also no. Tournament craft, qualification strategy, energy management: this is the layer above flipper skills. It's the part most ranked players never train.

One more time, for the players in the back

What we know about pinball, you're going to learn.

No fluff, no fixed schedule. Just the secrets of a three-time world champion and his coach dad. Free.

Friends of the Flipper

We promote the people who make pinball great

Pinball gave us everything. The least we can do is point you toward the organizations, people, and places keeping it alive.

PLAY COMPETITIVELY

THE IFPA

The International Flipper Pinball Association runs the rankings, the World Championship, and thousands of events worldwide. It's where our whole story happened.

  • Find tournaments near you
  • Get a world ranking of your own
  • Yes, your first event counts
WATCH & LEARN

WHAT & WHO WE LOVE

People, projects, and channels putting in real hours for the hobby. Go support them too.

  • Tournament & gameplay streams
  • Rules deep-dives & tech talk
  • Podcasters and commentators
  • Broadcasts
  • Social media pages, groups, etc.
FIND YOUR SCENE

PLAY WITH PEOPLE

Pinball is better loud, crowded, and slightly too competitive. Wherever you are, there's a scene:

  • Local leagues & events (the IFPA calendar lists them all)
  • Facebook pinball groups — ask anything, someone knows
  • Pinside & the forums (deep lore, strong opinions)
  • Bring a friend. Blame us later.

FINAL BALL  ·  DON'T LET THIS ONE DRAIN

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