Can you cheat at bowling?

Factual Questions
1

I have a friend who bowls. The other day he told me that you can get bowling balls that have weights in them, and the holes arranged just right, so as to enable the bowler to “put it in the pocket” every time. When I asked him whether this was cheating, he said, “Of course!” Fascinated, I asked him about other ways to cheat in bowling, and he abruptly changed the subject and started talking about Clinton’s trip to India.

So. Are there ways to cheat in bowling? I have been bowling exactly once in my life, and I remember being told that you could be disqualified if you jumped up and down on the wooden floor while your ball was rolling down the alley, because they said the vibrations might cause the ball to roll differently.

Can you get those kinds of bowling balls (if you know where to go, << wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more >> )? Do they check the balls before a tournament, and if so, how?

I know a baseball pitcher can alter the surface of a baseball so as to make it go different ways. Can you do that with bowling? DO people do that? I’m fascinated–Mom’s Wednesday Night Ladies’ Bowling League, with rattail files and Vaseline in their bowling shirt pockets, eyeing each other for illegal wads of chewing gum.

I found these in the Thread Archives:
the physics of bowling http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002786.html

Bowling scores http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/004054.html

I will leave you with the worst pun I have ever heard, courtesy of my bowling friend (if I tell it to you, maybe that will get it out of my head):

“My friend bowled a three hundred and one.”
“A three hundred and one?”
“Yeah, he bowled a three hundred–and won.”
Just shoot me.

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen

2

Why bother with doing stuff to the ball. When I was a kid (when I last bowled) I just volunteered to keep score. :wink:

3

You could have a weighted ball, but you still are going to have to throw it straight.

Most of the cheating in bowling comes from the lane operators who oil up the lanes in such a way that the ball tends to go toward the pocket.

If you bowl a 300, the proper authorities will usually want to check out the lane conditions before they certify it.

4

Bang! :smiley:

The ABC (American Bowling Congress) has a strict list of rules about the size, weight, and balance of balls and pins. IIRC, the ball cannot differ by more than 4 oz. between the left and right halves and the top and bottom halves. (Halves are based on the location of the finger holes.)

The finger holes have limits on how deep they can be drilled. If you have big fingers and subsequently big finger holes, these might disrupt the balance. A counterweight hole can be drilled in this case to bring your ball into compilance.

There’s also limits on the decorative etchings on the surface.

Even with “crooked” equipment, there’s still a lot of skill needed to throw the ball just right. A cheater would probably have to practice just as much with their rigged equipment as a legit bowler. (I liken this to a counterfeiter making fake $20 bills that cost him $20 to make.)

I’ve seen some people in league jump up and down, but not to excess, just to vent. (My preferred method is cursing. :D)

Rigging the pins would be near impossible. You’d need an “inside” man stocking your lane with pins when it was your turn. And in league play, opposing teams alternate lanes every frame; e.g., team 1 and 2 are assigned to lanes 3 & 4. All of the members of team 1 bowl their first frame on lane 3, team 2 on lane 4. For the 2nd frame, team 1 uses lane 4 and team 2 uses lane 3. The inside man would be too rushed to keep up.

Adulterating the ball with substances is, of course, prohibited. You can clean the ball with stuff if it completely removed before throwing, and if it doesn’t abrade the ball. The lanes are oiled, and if you think the oil that gets on your ball is helpful, you’re welcome to leave it on. (Same goes with any gook that the lane machinery leaves on your ball.)

Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination.

5

I’ve never heard the “jumping up and down disqualifies you” rule. Whoever told you that was pulling your leg.

I suppose a bowling ball could be weighted in such a way as to make it easier to hit the pocket, but why bother? If you have enough skill to control a weighted ball, you have enough skill to control a non-weighted ball. Either way you have to learn how to throw it into the pocket.

6

Notthemama,

This is called a bias and almost all bowling balls have a bias, some intentional, some not. There are regulations governing the bias’ of bowling balls, but frankly too much bias is probably a handicap. I know of no pocket-seeking bowling balls…

Absolutely… keep your eye on the scorekeeper! There are regulations about the type of ball cleaner you use - some of them can soften the surface and make the ball ‘grip’ better. There are regulations governing the number of balls you can play in a single game. You can intentionally distract your opponent. Probably others…

Never heard this one. I don’t see how anyone could influence the roll significantly, let alone predictably, through vibrations in the floor. I suspect that this is discouraged because (1) It’s distracting to other bowlers and (2) It embarasses the other members of your party…

Yep. They have special equipment to check the bias and they do chemical and impact tests to check for use of solvents or evidence of softening.

Old joke, except the way it’s normally told is:

“My friend bowled a three hundred and one the other day.”
“A three hundred and one? That’s impossible!”
“Oh yeah? Have you ever heard of anybody who bowled a 300 and lost?”

Abbot and Costello, I believe…

7

Yes, you can cheat in bowling.

The easiest way is to lie on the scorecard, though in this era of automatic scoring computers, that’s becoming less likely.

What your friend talked about is the “weighting” of the ball. A bowling ball, before it is drilled, had a large mass in the middle of the ball. When the ball is drilled, depending on where exactly you drill, the ball with have side weight, where it is essentially off-center.

There are limits to how much side weight can be in a bowling ball, and for good reason. A ball that is “lop-sided,” so to speak, will kook a lot more, and hit a lot harder. If a bowler bowls a perfect game or 800 series in sanctione competition (league or tournament), the sanctioning body will send out a representative to examine the lanes and ball(s) used for the feat. If something goes against the rules, it does not count.

I mentioned the lanes… When lanes are oiled, they can be done so many different ways - varying in how far down and back the oil goes and also the thickness of the oil. At many centers, they will put a “crown” on the lanes, which is thick in the middle, gradually becoming thinner out to the channels. If you are throwing a hook (and you probably do if you’re in a league), a ball thrown a little outside your target will hit the drier area and hook more. Miss to the inside, and it gets caught up in the thicker oil and doesn’t hook as much. Result either way - Ball hits the pocket.

So, you can have your friend the lane maintennce man oil up the lanes in a way which is well-suited for your game, and even illegally easy.

I would also be remiss in mentioning that back int he old days of pin boys, if you becams pals with one of them, he would put a nail and have it sticking out of the toe in his shoe. For the right price, when you (or maybe someone on your team) was bowling, he would tip a pin over that needed help with the nail.

Yer pal,
Satan

http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif

I HAVE BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR:
Four days, 15 hours, 13 minutes and 46 seconds.
185 cigarettes not smoked, saving $23.17.
Life saved: 15 hours, 25 minutes.

8

[ul=http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/union/susoc/sutbc/intrules/abwibc5.html]ABC Equipment Specifications

9

Let’s try that again:

ABC Equipment Specifications

10

I always just used to shout “HEY! Look over there!” and when everyone turned around I ran down the lane and kicked over all the pins with my foot.

Uke

11

I don’t know about that, Satan. In the few times I’ve been bowling since they put in those scoring computers, I’ve noticed a button that allows you to “correct” any “errors” the computer has made. That sure looks like a CHEAT button to someone like me. > :slight_smile:

12

The easiest way to cheat at bowling is the same as wiining at golf: make your employees keep score.

13

Bah…holes in bowling balls…communists.
Candlepin…that’s the only way to play!

14

Can’t you just have a friend sitting in the back with a BB gun?

15

My little brother always cheats at bowling. He throws the ball so slowly that when his ball gets to the other end, the machinery won’t reset the pins. So then he throws another ball in and he keeps on doing that until I have to press the reset button.

I keep on telling him to throw the damn ball harder, but I think after typing that, I now know why he doesn’t.

Louie: young guy, possibly a bit green, but smart as paint. - Greg Charles

16

The trouble with changing the score using the computer is that it notes changed frames with an E or an A (edit or add). If the other team isn’t aware of the reason for an edit, they’ll question the whole game.

Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination.