Northstar Pinball Collective · Savage, MN · 278 games · first seen Dec 3, 2023 · last seen Oct 9, 2026
Strategy notes, tutorial videos, and outside resources.
Black Jack pinball machine has 278 recorded tournament games in Savage, MN. A game runs about 15m, the median of 276 timed games, so budget for that in a round with a clock on it. The better-ranked player loses here 48.1% of the time, which puts it at 31/100 for difficulty. That is a low-variance machine: scores hold up and the stronger player usually wins, so it rewards the favorite.
If extra balls are off - worth 20,000 points and special awards 50,000 and stays lit at the saucer for rest of ball. Big points opportunity.
Top 4 lanes are not flipper controlled. Each one lights one pop bumper. All 4 lanes lights spinner
If your ball starts off with player beating dealer, short plunge into right kickout
Beating dealer awards 2x, 3x, 5x bonus, EB, then special. If both have the same hand, dealer wins. Spinner shot is safe to change hands.
Spinner adds bonus every 5 rotations and each rotation advances the dealers hand. Top lanes advance players hand.
When plunging the ball and you’re ahead of the dealer, try to plunge so that it falls into the lane that leads to the “Beat The Dealer” hole. This will light “2x bonus” if you are currently beating the dealer.
Saucer on right lane is bonus multipliers and are only awarded if your hand is beating the dealer.
Besides beating the dealer, the goal is to get all the suits to light the spinner (1K per spin), then hit the spinner all day.
