How Many Points Is a Double or a Turkey in Bowling? Scoring Consecutive Strikes and a 300 Game
Two strikes in a row is a double, three is a turkey. They’re big moments, but surprisingly few people can say exactly how many points each one is worth. This guide uses tables to show frame scores when strikes keep coming, running totals after a double or turkey followed by a 7 and a 2, how a perfect 300 game works, what you score when you miss 300 by a single pin, and how to count strikes in the 10th frame.
What a double and a turkey are
Bowling has names for runs of strikes. Two in a row is a double, and three in a row is a turkey. The story goes that bowling alleys in the United States once gave a turkey to anyone who rolled three strikes in a row. Four or more are usually described by the number, such as “four-bagger” or simply “four strikes in a row”.
A strike frame scores “10 + the pins from the next two balls” (the basics are in our guide to calculating a bowling score). If the next two balls are also strikes, it’s 10 + 10 + 10 = 30, the most one frame can score. The longer the run of strikes, the more 30-point frames pile up.
| Next two balls | Score of the strike frame |
|---|---|
| 7 and 2 | 10 + 7 + 2 = 19 |
| 7 and spare | 10 + 7 + 3 = 20 |
| Strike and 7 | 10 + 10 + 7 = 27 |
| Strike and strike | 10 + 10 + 10 = 30 |
Running totals after a run of strikes
If you start the game with consecutive strikes and then leave a 7 and a 2, your running totals look like this. Each extra strike adds roughly 30 points.
| Balls | Frame scores | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| X → 7, 2 | 19, 9 | 28 |
| X X → 7, 2 (double) | 27, 19, 9 | 55 |
| X X X → 7, 2 (turkey) | 30, 27, 19, 9 | 85 |
| X X X X → 7, 2 (four in a row) | 30, 30, 27, 19, 9 | 115 |
If the first ball after a double is a 7, the first strike scores 10 + 10 + 7 = 27 and the second scores 10 + 7 + 2 = 19. With a turkey, the first strike finally reaches 30. While strikes keep coming, not even the first strike’s score is settled, so the running total on the score sheet stays blank.
How a perfect game (300) works
Strike on all 12 balls, from the 1st frame through the third ball of the 10th, and you score 300, a perfect game. Frames 1 to 9 each score 30 because the next two balls are strikes, and the 10th frame is X X X for 30, so 30 × 10 frames = 300.
300 needs 12 strikes in a row, not 10. Even if you strike through the first ball of the 10th, a slip after that loses the 300. Here is how much the last few balls change the total.
| How the game went (up to 11 strikes) | Total |
|---|---|
| All 12 balls strikes | 300 |
| 11 strikes, then 9 on the last ball | 299 |
| 10 strikes, 9 on the 2nd ball of the 10th, spare on the 3rd | 289 |
| 10 strikes, 9 on the 2nd ball of the 10th, miss on the 3rd | 288 |
| 9 strikes, 10th frame 9 / X | 279 |
| 9 strikes, 10th frame 9 - | 267 |
Leave one pin on the very last ball and you score 299. Leave one pin on the second ball of the 10th, and it also cuts the bonus for the 9th-frame strike, so the total drops to 289 or 288. Get 9 on the first ball of the 10th, and the bonuses for the 8th and 9th frames shrink; even with a spare you finish on 279.
Counting a strike in the 10th frame
Strike in the 10th frame and the pins are reset so you can throw a second and third ball. The 10th frame score is simply the pins from those three balls added together; no outside bonus is added on top. In exchange, the first and second balls of the 10th also count as bonuses for strikes in the 8th and 9th frames.
- X X X: the 10th frame is worth 30. If the 9th was a strike, the 9th is also worth 30
- X X 9: the 10th frame is worth 29. If the 9th was a strike, the 9th is worth 30
- X 9 /: the 10th frame is worth 20. If the 9th was a strike, the 9th is worth 29
- X 8 1: the 10th frame is worth 19. If the 9th was a strike, the 9th is worth 28
Even after an ordinary first nine frames, X X X in the 10th adds 30 points. Someone who threw 9 and a miss in every frame and then a turkey in the 10th scores 81 + 30 = 111. This 10th-frame bonus is why a comeback is possible right to the end.
To work out “how high can I go if I strike out from here?” mid-game, use the “maximum possible score” idea in our guide to target scores for bowling 200.
FAQ
- How many points is a double in bowling?
- It depends on the first ball after the double. If you throw a 7 and then a 2, the first strike is 10 + 10 + 7 = 27, the second is 10 + 7 + 2 = 19, so 46 for the two. Add the 9 from the 7 and 2 and the running total after three frames is 55.
- How many points do you get for a turkey?
- A turkey locks in the first strike at 30. The second and third strikes depend on what comes next. If a 7 and a 2 follow the turkey, the total after four frames is 30 + 27 + 19 + 9 = 85.
- How many strikes in a row do you need for 300?
- Twelve. Nine in frames 1–9 and three in the 10th, all 12 balls strikes, gives 300. Eleven in a row followed by a 9 on the last ball gives 299.
- Is there a bonus for a strike in the 10th frame?
- The second and third balls of the 10th frame act as the bonus. The 10th frame score is the total of its three balls, so X X X is 30. Nothing else is added from outside.
Tools in this article
Related articles
How Bowling Scoring Works: How to Count Strikes and Spares
A bowling score isn't just the number of pins you knock down added up. Strikes and spares earn a bonus from the next balls you roll, which is why the running total on the screen suddenly jumps or stays blank for a while. This guide walks through the basic rules for frames 1 to 10, how strike and spare bonuses are counted, a full game scored frame by frame, why the running total goes blank, and the most common scoring mistakes.
Read article →How to Set Handicaps for a Bowling Tournament | The Formula from Averages, and Women's Handicaps
At company, community or club bowling nights, experienced bowlers and beginners compete for the same prizes. Without some adjustment the same people win every time, so the usual answer is to add a handicap to each score to narrow the gap. This guide is for organisers. It covers the formula for working out handicaps from averages, how to choose the base, percentage and cap, a handicap chart by average, how to add a women's handicap, a worked example of ranking players on a 2- or 3-game total, and how to deal with ties and the booby prize.
Read article →How to Calculate Your One Rep Max (1RM) | 100 kg for 10 Reps Is What Max? 7 Formulas Compared, Charts, Rep Max Table, %1RM and Training Loads by Goal
“I benched 80 kg for 8 reps, so what is my max?” “My 1RM is 100 kg, so what should I load for sets of 10?” You don’t have to attempt a true max to know your one rep max (1RM): you can estimate it from a weight you lifted and how many reps you got. This guide covers the most common formula, Epley (1RM = weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30)), how the seven well-known formulas (Brzycki, O’Conner and others) and the NSCA chart differ, why they drift apart as reps go up, a weight × reps chart, a rep max table that works backward from your 1RM, how to adjust with RIR and RPE when you didn’t go to failure, loads for strength, hypertrophy and endurance, and how to warm up and load the bar when you test a real max. Every number was calculated, not copied.
Read article →