Why did we not win a toy with the grab machine when I caught it perfectly?

That’s because the claw is programmed to grab tightly only part of the time! It’s not just that the stuffed animals are packed tightly together. The machine's owner can fine-tune the strength of the claw beforehand by programming the voltage sent to the claw so that it only has a strong grip a fraction of the time that people play. The dropping skill can be adjusted as well which means that the claw will drop a prize that it's grabbed before it delivers it to you. The machines also allow the owner to select a desired level of profit automatically adjusting the claw strength to make sure that players are only winning a limited number of times. If someone manages to get something out of the machine it is little to do with skill! If you play, only have a few tries for fun. Don’t waste your money!