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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
Before league, I will be throwing practice balls. And I will get four or five strikes in a row. And someone often says, "Don't waste those strikes." They are not wasted. But some people seem to actually think that they are. People seem to think that they are allowed a certain quota of strikes, that there are only so many strikes out there. And some people will not throw their practice balls.
The laws of probability show that you will roughly get a certain number of strikes in a certain number of frames. When I say "roughly," I mean really roughly. The number of strikes will vary wildly. If this were a random process (like flipping a coin), then throwing one strike (in practice or whenever) would not affect the chance of future strikes, at all. But you are not throwing the ball randomly; you have some control.
Occasionally, a bowler will bowl better when fatigued. He/she will calm down and just roll the ball, getting better action. But usually, you will bowl worse when you are tired. So maybe you shouldn't throw your practice balls? If three games plus a few practice balls wear you down, then you are out of shape. You must train yourself to throw more than four games without a drop in score through fatigue. If you ever hope to bowl tournaments, you must train yourself to bowl six, nine, or even 12 games in a row without significant fatigue.
Practice makes future strikes more likely. Pregame practice does these things: 1. You get over your stiffness. 2. You figure out the lanes (the oil). 3. You push the oil off of your line. Strikes promote strikes for the same reasons. If I throw strikes in practice, I will probably throw strikes in the game. My practice balls move the oil off my line, and the target gets bigger, easier to hit (see Bowling: Exploring For Oil).
There is no strike quota.