For me the biggest problem I have with shooter games the the bail out button. For whatever reason, I am always a split second too late in hitting the bail out button. The Bail Out Button of course are where you can get a temporary shield, a bomb, a loop de loop, or some other thing that give you a reprieve from the game for a second or two. It doesn't really matter what the game is. 1942, Juno First, Do Don Pachi, Space Firebird, or some other game, if it has a bail out button, you can rest assure I will lose at least one or two unnecessary lives because of failure to hit the BOB.
So is there some kind of trick to stop this? For me, I think I have stopped progression on too many games to count because of being too late on the BOB.