Bowling splits

The common splits, with a diagram of each, their nicknames, and a realistic plan. Directions are for a right-handed bowler.

What counts as a split?

The USBC rulebook defines a split as a leave after the first ball where the headpin is down and at least one pin is down either between two standing pins (like the 7-9 or 3-10) or immediately ahead of two standing pins (like the 5-6, with the 3 gone). So the 7-10 is a split but the 6-10 isn't (those two pins touch and nothing in front of both is missing), and a leave like the 1-2-10 is not a split however wide it looks, because the headpin is still standing. Scoresheets usually mark a split with a circle around the first-ball count.

A pin hiding directly behind another, like the 2-8 or 3-9, is called a sleeper. It's a spare, not a split: no pin is missing between the two, so one ball hitting the front pin nearly full takes both.

The ones you can make

3-10 (baby split)

Usually makeable

Hit the 3 on its left side so it slides into the 10, or let the ball take both. The most common split, and worth practicing.

2-7 (baby split)

Usually makeable

The left-side mirror: hit the 2 on its right side.

5-7

Makeable

Hit the 5 on its right side so it flies left into the 7.

5-10

Makeable

The 5-7 and 5-10 are nicknamed the dime store or Woolworth. Hit the 5 on its left side so it slides into the 10.

Fit splits (5-6, 4-5, 2-3, 8-9, 9-10)

Usually makeable

Two side-by-side pins with the one in front gone. The ball fits between them, so aim right at the gap.

Christmas tree (3-7-10)

Hard

Hit the 3 thin on its right so it slides into the 10 while the ball runs on to the 7. The 2-7-10 is the lefty version.

Lily (5-7-10)

Very hard

Also called the sour apple. Hit the 5 on one side to send it into a corner pin; most bowlers settle for two of the three.

The hard ones

7-10

Bedposts, goalposts

The famous one. The ball can't touch both pins, so one pin has to bounce off the side wall or back out of the pit into the other. Only a handful of pros have ever made it on TV. Most bowlers take the single pin they make most.

Big four (4-6-7-10)

Very hard

Also called the double pinochle. Play to get two: hit the 4 or the 6 flush so it takes the pin behind it.

Greek church (4-6-7-9-10)

Very hard

Five pins in two groups. Take the bigger group; the 4-6-7-8-10 goes by the same name.

4-6

Very hard

Too wide for the ball. Pick the side you shoot best and take one.

4-7-10

Very hard

Hit the 4 on its left so it takes the 7, and accept the 10 will probably stay. The 6-7-10 is the mirror.

8-10

Hard

Sometimes called the Cincinnati. Hit the 8 on its left side and slide it into the 10, or take one. The 7-9 is the mirror.

Should you go for the split, or take one pin?

Each pin is worth exactly one point, but a missed split you went for can also cost you the pin you would have made. On the 7-10, 4-6 and big four most good bowlers take the sure pin. On baby splits and the 5-7 / 5-10, going for both is usually the right call.

Know your own numbers

StrikeKeeper flags every split you leave, records whether you converted it, and shows your split conversion over time, so you'll know if the 3-10 is a strength or a leak.