Oil Patterns

Oil has perhaps the greatest influence on scoring in bowling today! Place too much oil on the lanes, and scores drop. Dry up the oil, and scores can go through the roof! As the late co-founder Hal Kee put it, "Oil is the great equalizer!" In the EBT, we have been studying oil patterns for some time now and have developed some of our very own patterns specifically designed for league bowlers.

Pictured below are the 11 Elite Bowlers Tour proprietary patterns. The lengths of all our patterns range from 36-46 feet. Keep in mind that all EBT proprietary patterns are more difficult than a typical house pattern. This is because typical house shots are designed to be extremely easy and send the ball to the pocket regardless of the bowler's true skill or accuracy. Most bowlers even average 30-40 pins higher on them. For this reason, since typical house shots are designed to inflate a bowler's average and ego, in our opinion, they serve no real purpose in tournament competition, and why they are not used in the Elite Bowlers Tour, Professional Bowlers Tour, State and National Bowling Tournaments, European Bowling Tour, World Tenpin Bowling Association, and others to name a few.

Consider when reading the overhead graphs, different factors play into how best to adjust to the patterns or how you might score. Factors such as lane surface, lane topography, oil conditioner type, temperature, humidity, and other bowlers on your lane can vastly affect how an oil pattern plays. Whether you are properly rested, properly trained and practiced, or just fought with your significant other can affect how quickly you can internalize and adjust yourself to what you're seeing. Therefore, bowlers must be ready and able to adjust to whatever style the lane dictates and be of clear mind when trying to bowl. As a good starting point, use the Rule of 31 (take the length of the pattern and subtract 31 to determine your approximate breakpoint board). As always, every bowler and every bowling center is different! YOU are ultimately responsible for YOUR game!

ELITE BOWLERS TOUR PROPRIETARY PATTERNS

EBT PATTERN #1: PEGASUS 36 Feet

24.15ml

Ratio 3.17 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 172.55

Professional Bowlers Average: 224.98

High Game: 290 Cristian Azcona

High Series: 802 Cristian Azcona

EBT PATTERN #2: MERCURY 37 Feet

22.65ml

Ratio 5.59 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 191.02

Professional Bowlers Average: 225.00

High Game: 268 Danny Battles

High Series: 715 Mason Ward

EBT PATTERN #3: FREE LOADER 38 Feet

28.50ml

Ratio 2.17 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 162.58

Professional Bowlers Average: 195.19

High Game: 288 Chris Polizzi

High Series: 731 Kevin Hoeppner

EBT PATTERN #4: VENUS 39 Feet

24.95ml

Ratio 4.13 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 195.26

Professional Bowlers Average: 218.59

High Game: 300 Karl Critchlow

High Series: 793 Brandon Hott

EBT PATTERN #5: MILKY WAY 40 Feet

25.20ml

Ratio 5.50 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 207.55

Professional Bowlers Average: 206.37

High Game: 289 Cristian Azcona

High Series: 672 James Williams

EBT PATTERN #6: MARS 41 Feet

26.75ml

Ratio 3.75 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 184.00

Professional Bowlers Average: 226.07

High Game: 279 Chis Polizzi

High Series: 726 Chris Polizzi

EBT PATTERN #7: GOLD DIGGER 42 Feet

27.85ml

Ratio 3.00 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 187.02

Professional Bowlers Average: 222.57

High Game: 290 Colin Champion

High Series: 756 Jason Mahr

EBT PATTERN #8: JUPITER 43 Feet

26.40ml

Ratio 2.38 to 1

Asymmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 174.09

Professional Bowlers Average: 217.71

High Game: 276 Allen Woodard

High Series: 718 Toni Biondi

EBT PATTERN #9: ANDROMEDA 44 Feet

26.60ml

Ratio 3.70 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 205.33

Professional Bowlers Average: 235.60

High Game: 300 (x2)

High Series: 816 Chris Polizzi

EBT PATTERN #10: NEPTUNE 45 Feet

28.95ml

Ratio 1.23 to 1

Symmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 162.98

Professional Bowlers Average: 170.10

High Game: 266 Allen King

High Series: 761 Bailey Purcell

EBT PATTERN #11: PAN HANDLER 46 Feet

28.50ml

Ratio 3.83 to 1

Asymmetrical

EBT Bowlers Average: 195.20

Professional Bowlers Average: 225.50

High Game: 299 (x2)

High Series: 750 Chris Polizzi

OIL PATTERNS

The 11 Elite Bowlers Tour oil patterns are listed below. We welcome any other tournament or league to use them to give your bowlers a new challenge!

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