Lucky Hand

This is the add-a-ball version of Jacks Open with different scoring. Assuming add-a-balls are Off and the “Wow”s score points instead, finishing the top 4 lanes lights scores a 50,000 point “Wow” and lights one of them for additional “Wow”s for the remainder of the game (the lit lane alternates on switch hits). The side and return lanes are worth 1110 instead of 1000; I believe this is the only pinball machine ever made with such identical 3-reel scoring for any feature.

The drop target value increases as you complete more lanes at the top. Drops are worth 1000 \+ 1000 per completed suit lane. Here’s where Lucky Hand’s scoring causes a strategy change from the Jacks Open replay version. With “Wows” worth 50K, you don’t want to “milk” the drop targets. You want to finish each hand as quickly as possible to get to Royal Flush. You get 5000 points for completing the next “hand,” e.g. the two jacks, then the three queens, then the kings-queens full house, then the royal flush. Once you complete the Royal Flush, though, it lights all the targets for each of them to score a 50K Wow. That’s your big points on this game, repeating Wows.

Lucky Hand encourages you to think “flow” and “dead bounce” a lot. When the ball rolls down a return lane, it will often be going too slow to transfer across to the other flipper, yet too fast to cradle. You’ll need to be ready to shoot on the fly. If the ball is inbound towards a flipper at an angle and you hold up the flipper to get it to roll up the wire guide, it may roll right on up and out the drain at the outer end of the wire guide. That makes cradling not as easy as on modern games. Dead bouncing is the best way to get to a cradle. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to do dead bounces off shots to the drop targets but be careful: a too-fast dead bounce will also roll up and out the gap above the flippers.

The top four suit lanes also light corresponding lanes at the bottom; more lights, more points.

When the ball is headed out one of the side lanes, you can often still save it with a well-timed nudge as it gets to the post below the outer edge of the bottom of the lane. Don’t nudge too soon\!