Strike (bowling)


A strike is a term used in bowling to indicate that all of the pins have been knocked down with the first ball roll of a frame. On a bowling scoresheet, a strike is symbolized by an X.
In nine-pin bowling, a ringer is an equivalent term for knocking all nine pins in the first ball roll.

Scoring

When all ten pins are knocked down with the first ball roll, a player is awarded ten points, plus a bonus of whatever is scored with the next two rolls. In this way, the points scored for the two rolls after the strike, are counted twice.
Strike scoring works similarly for five-pin bowling, except strikes are worth 15 points rather than 10.

Consecutive strikes

Two consecutive strikes are referred to as a "double" aka the "rhino". Three strikes bowled consecutively is known as a "turkey". Any longer string of strikes is referred to by a number affixed to the word "bagger," as in "four-bagger" for four consecutive strikes. Broadcaster Rob Stone created the name "hambone" to describe four consecutive strikes.
When a player is "on the strikes", a string is often referenced by affixing "in a row" to the number of strikes bowled consecutively. Six strikes in a row are sometimes referred to as a "six pack" or "sixer". Six strikes and nine strikes in a row can also be referred to "wild turkeys" and "golden turkeys" respectively. Any string of strikes starting in the first frame or ending "off the sheet" are often referred to as the "front" or "back" strikes, respectively. Twelve strikes in a row is a perfect game; 36 consecutive strikes constitutes a 900 series. Due to the difficulty of achieving a game of 300 or a series of 900, many Bowling establishments have plaques engraved with 300 and 900 club members.

Publications

*