Hi-Hand

Hi-Hand, manufactured by Williams in June 1957, is a flipperless novelty game built around a poker theme. Rather than flipper-based play, it uses a bingo-style playfield: the player shoots five balls onto the board, and where they fall into holes determines which cards light up to form a poker hand on the backglass.

The format places Hi-Hand in the tradition of multi-ball hole games popular in the 1950s, and its concept invites comparison with later card-themed games such as Bally's 1970 Joker Wild. The poker-inspired aesthetic reflects the enduring popularity of playing-card themes in coin-op games of the era.

Little is documented about the game's designer or production run, leaving enthusiasts to appreciate Hi-Hand as a curious single-player novelty from Williams' 1950s catalog, a reminder that pinball manufacturers of the period experimented well beyond the flipper game format.