Language of the 10-pin.
A lot of you don't care that much, so that's why this is behind a cut, but I bet someone will be vaguely interested.
In theory, the perfectly thrown strike ball looks a little something like this:
The ball enters the pins on the right side of the head-pin while also hitting the 3-pin. This is called the "pocket". If the ball catches significantly more 3-pin than head-pin, we'll usually call it a "light" hit. If the ball catches significantly more head-pin than 3-pin, we'll say that it hit "high." If the ball pretty much ONLY hit the head-pin, we'll call it "through the nose/face," but if it hits the left side of the head-pin (and the 2-pin), we'll call it "brooklyn."
Anyhow, so the ball enters the pins through the pocket and deflects very little, if at all, and hits the 5-pin. The head-pin ricochets off the ball and knocks down the 2, which knocks down the 4, which knocks down the 7. The 3-pin does the same in the opposite direction, taking down the 6, which takes down the 10 if the ball was thrown right.
The 5 acts like the 1 and the 3 as it bounces to the left and hits the 8-pin, while the ball deflects off the 5 a touch and catches the 9. Usually when you hit this right, all the pins will be falling backwards into the pinspotter and you'll get a strike that can be described as "10 in the pit."
But sometimes it doesn't quite work out that way. If the ball is rolling too straight (parallel to the gutters) what may happen is that you won't get the right ricochet of the 3-pin. The 3 may go more backwards than sideways and only catch the left side of the 6-pin. When the 6-pin falls weakly in front of the 10 and fails to knock it over, we call it a "flat 10." If the 3 hits the 6 a little more squarely, the 6 will sometimes fly in front of the 10, off the wall, and then back around the backside of the 10. We call that a "ringing 10." If everything looked just about right and we're puzzled that the 10 is still standing, we'll say it was a "stone 10."
On the other hand, if the ball is humming in there really solidly, the ball may hit the 5-pin squarely, not deflect, and miss the 9 entirely. The ball may also be hooking a little early and wind up high, making too much contact with the head pin, and drive the 5-pin straight back into the pit with the ball continuing to hook into the 8-pin. Sometimes bowlers will say too each other that they "threw it too well" if they leave only the 9. For reference, I've bowled 72 games in league this year... I've left 114 10-pins and only 16 9-pins.
The two things that matter the most about getting strikes are the angle that the ball is taking as it enters the pocket, and the location in the pocket that it is entering. We like it when the ball hooks, in general, but if the ball is hooking particularly hard and ends up hitting light, you may end up with a 4-9 split, which is pretty annoying. If that ball was hooking a little less hard but still just as light, you'd probably end up with a 4-pin, which is my second-most common leave (46 times). If the same ball hits a little higher, you might leave a 7-pin (I've left it 23 times; third-most common).
Generally, I would say, you worry about getting it too high. It may not always be trouble, the pins on the left side may still knock each other down (or "carry"), but you may hit the 3-pin too sharply, causing it to miss the 6-pin entirely. Sometimes the 3 will carom off the wall and carry the 10, but more commonly you'll leave the 6-10.
Of course, there are a lot of ways to achieve a strike. People throwing straight still put 10 in the pit even without proper entry angle. There are a lot of bowling terms for other strike characteristics, like a "mixer" where the ball doesn't plow the pins as it would on the perfect strike, but pins appear to be falling into each other somewhat haphazardly. A "can opener" is when the pins appear to be falling away from the ball to the right and the left. Finally, a strike is sometimes made on late carry when a bowler throws a shot that would leave a single-pin, but hits the other pins with such force that one of the pins flies across the pin deck and hits the last one. The pin that does that is called a "messenger." I had a couple odd strikes tonight where I sent a messenger to carry the 9.
In theory, the perfectly thrown strike ball looks a little something like this:
The ball enters the pins on the right side of the head-pin while also hitting the 3-pin. This is called the "pocket". If the ball catches significantly more 3-pin than head-pin, we'll usually call it a "light" hit. If the ball catches significantly more head-pin than 3-pin, we'll say that it hit "high." If the ball pretty much ONLY hit the head-pin, we'll call it "through the nose/face," but if it hits the left side of the head-pin (and the 2-pin), we'll call it "brooklyn."
Anyhow, so the ball enters the pins through the pocket and deflects very little, if at all, and hits the 5-pin. The head-pin ricochets off the ball and knocks down the 2, which knocks down the 4, which knocks down the 7. The 3-pin does the same in the opposite direction, taking down the 6, which takes down the 10 if the ball was thrown right.
The 5 acts like the 1 and the 3 as it bounces to the left and hits the 8-pin, while the ball deflects off the 5 a touch and catches the 9. Usually when you hit this right, all the pins will be falling backwards into the pinspotter and you'll get a strike that can be described as "10 in the pit."
But sometimes it doesn't quite work out that way. If the ball is rolling too straight (parallel to the gutters) what may happen is that you won't get the right ricochet of the 3-pin. The 3 may go more backwards than sideways and only catch the left side of the 6-pin. When the 6-pin falls weakly in front of the 10 and fails to knock it over, we call it a "flat 10." If the 3 hits the 6 a little more squarely, the 6 will sometimes fly in front of the 10, off the wall, and then back around the backside of the 10. We call that a "ringing 10." If everything looked just about right and we're puzzled that the 10 is still standing, we'll say it was a "stone 10."
On the other hand, if the ball is humming in there really solidly, the ball may hit the 5-pin squarely, not deflect, and miss the 9 entirely. The ball may also be hooking a little early and wind up high, making too much contact with the head pin, and drive the 5-pin straight back into the pit with the ball continuing to hook into the 8-pin. Sometimes bowlers will say too each other that they "threw it too well" if they leave only the 9. For reference, I've bowled 72 games in league this year... I've left 114 10-pins and only 16 9-pins.
The two things that matter the most about getting strikes are the angle that the ball is taking as it enters the pocket, and the location in the pocket that it is entering. We like it when the ball hooks, in general, but if the ball is hooking particularly hard and ends up hitting light, you may end up with a 4-9 split, which is pretty annoying. If that ball was hooking a little less hard but still just as light, you'd probably end up with a 4-pin, which is my second-most common leave (46 times). If the same ball hits a little higher, you might leave a 7-pin (I've left it 23 times; third-most common).
Generally, I would say, you worry about getting it too high. It may not always be trouble, the pins on the left side may still knock each other down (or "carry"), but you may hit the 3-pin too sharply, causing it to miss the 6-pin entirely. Sometimes the 3 will carom off the wall and carry the 10, but more commonly you'll leave the 6-10.
Of course, there are a lot of ways to achieve a strike. People throwing straight still put 10 in the pit even without proper entry angle. There are a lot of bowling terms for other strike characteristics, like a "mixer" where the ball doesn't plow the pins as it would on the perfect strike, but pins appear to be falling into each other somewhat haphazardly. A "can opener" is when the pins appear to be falling away from the ball to the right and the left. Finally, a strike is sometimes made on late carry when a bowler throws a shot that would leave a single-pin, but hits the other pins with such force that one of the pins flies across the pin deck and hits the last one. The pin that does that is called a "messenger." I had a couple odd strikes tonight where I sent a messenger to carry the 9.