Televised Matches - Score Difference

[QneQuest1on]

I've just recently gotten interested in PBA Bowling, and I've watched a few weekends of televised matches now. I noticed on the score display there's a +/- number, saying who's ahead and by how many pins. I don't understand how this score difference is calculated. At first I thought it was the difference in maximum possible scores, but I don't think it is. If a bowler gets a spare or strike, how do they score it before their next throws? At the end, the difference is of course the difference between final scores, but during the match how do they change the difference after every single throw? I would enjoy watching more if I understood how this worked.

[J Anderson]

I've just recently gotten interested in PBA Bowling, and I've watched a few weekends of televised matches now. I noticed on the score display there's a +/- number, saying who's ahead and by how many pins. I don't understand how this score difference is calculated. At first I thought it was the difference in maximum possible scores, but I don't think it is. If a bowler gets a spare or strike, how do they score it before their next throws? At the end, the difference is of course the difference between final scores, but during the match how do they change the difference after every single throw? I would enjoy watching more if I understood how this worked.

The +/- number assumes, (pretty safe assumption with pros), that the fill will be ten pins. So if bowler A gets a strike in the first they assume he will get a spare in the second, giving him a first frame score of 20. If bowler B gets a spare in the first, they assume that he will strike in the second. Again a first frame of twenty so they are even. Suppose B had missed a spare and only had nine in the first. There is no fill on an open so B is -11.

[QneQuest1on]

Thank you so much. I looked all over the internet for an answer before posting here, I'm surprised more people haven't asked this question :P

[martinezsam2495]

interesting I didn't know this as well..

[J Anderson]

interesting I didn't know this as well..

This is why you should always pay attention, even when you think you know enough. You never know when someone will ask a question that you didn't even know you needed the answer to.

[bowl1820]

The PBA also uses another +/- system during a tournament.
The scoring system (plus/minus) is derived by adding or subtracting the amount of pins from a 200 score for each game, on a cumulative basis.

Example:
your first game you shoot a 230, your +30
your second game you shoot a 210, your now +40
your third game you shoot a 160, you drop to 0
your fourth game you shoot a 180, your -20 now

[billf]

That's the one I wasn't too sure about.

[J Anderson]

The PBA also uses another +/- system during a tournament.
The scoring system (plus/minus) is derived by adding or subtracting the amount of pins from a 200 score for each game, on a cumulative basis.

Example:
your first game you shoot a 230, your +30
your second game you shoot a 210, your now +40
your third game you shoot a 160, you drop to 0
your fourth game you shoot a 180, your -20 now

This explains why the guys I know who bowl in regionals say things like 'I was plus 20' or 'I was minus 15'

[QneQuest1on]

Ok, I understand now how the system works on frames 1 through 9, but what about the 10th frame? It seems like there's a little bit of a difference, but I can't tell what it is

[J Anderson]

Ok, I understand now how the system works on frames 1 through 9, but what about the 10th frame? It seems like there's a little bit of a difference, but I can't tell what it is

The plus/minus system is just a way to estimate who is ahead and by how much. By the end of the tenth frame you have the actual score. Also by the ninth the broadcasters usually switch to talking about maximum possible scores, what one bowler needs to get to either clinch the game or force the opponent to mark or strike and so on.