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Author Topic: How much $$ do you need?  (Read 2035 times)

Gene J Kanak

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How much $$ do you need?
« on: January 04, 2007, 09:31:59 PM »
Hey everyone,

I have the chance to possibly bowl nationals for the first time, and I have a question:

How much $$ do you need to set aside (entry, brackets, mini events, etc) in order to make it worthwhile? I mean, it seems as if, for most people, the side things are where the real money is made. I know that everyone plays differentely, so just give me your opinion on how much $$ you think you need to be able to put up in order to truly take advantage of the opportunity out there?

Any insight you guys/gals can provide will be appreciated.


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Pinbuster

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2007, 06:22:14 AM »
Boy it is hard to say.

It really depends on how hard you want to go after it. How confident you are and what you can afford to lose.

You can spend over $500 a session at the USBC nationals on brackets.

Most of the side events allow multiple re-entries. So you could spend varying amounts there.

That being said I would recommend you take $200 extra for side event entries like the BTM, Bowlers Journal, and Forty Frame game.

Then allow another $200 for brackets. I would get in $100 worth of brackets your first session and see how you do. If you had good results then you could use those winnings and the extra $100 to load up in doubles and singles brackets.


Goof1073

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2007, 01:22:56 PM »
My memory is a little fuzzy on exactly how many brackets they run, but I recall one of our guys putting at least 1k into the team brackets.
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Strapper_Squared

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2007, 01:51:55 PM »
Yes, I'm quite sure you can put around $1k into brackets, 3,6,9, 30-clean, etc during the team event.  If you are confident that you can shoot 620+ on a relatively tough shot, you would do well investing in brackets.  

Personally, I take an extra $400 for gambling purposes.  I usually put up $100 for the team event.  Depending on the outcome, I either invest in more brackets during S/D or pocket the rest.  Also, we typically bowl the BJ tournament and sometimes the 40 framer...    

If I had to put my money in one thing, it would probably be the team brackets as usually the most people enter them.

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stone8

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2007, 12:23:11 PM »
I believe all the side events are listed on the tournament website on bowl.com.

For team event there are $5 brackets with a limit of 20 brackets per person and $10 brackets with a limit of 80 brackets per person.  For the minor events there are only $10 brackets available.  

It's been my experience, in a typical year, that games consistently 190 or better will get you to about to the break even point.  With a little luck you may make a little money.  The key is to avoid the 170ish scores in the first or second game.  The year I did the best I tripled and quadrupled my investment with 650 series.  

It is never fun to lose money, but to lose money that you can't afford to lose is a really bad feeling.  So just be honest with yourself and only put up money you can afford to lose.
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charlest

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2007, 01:46:33 PM »
since no one really cares about bowling ... eited for sanity's sake.

Edited on 1/12/2007 6:09 PM
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

Leftyhi-trak

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2007, 05:55:00 PM »
$200-$250 for side events - do the BTM its harder but a great warm up for USBC's and try a re-entry at a different time of day. (1 early-1late)

BJ has become primarily a house shot tourney.

Teams- if you feel confident put your larger chunk here. As it is a first day event many more people get in. Usually double what i put into doubles/singles. I have had better luck in the $10 brackets. (no clue why just statistically true of my investments)
D/S - very dependant on  what shift after oiling (1,2 or 3) I had scored better on shift 1 or 2. Higher scores tend to come out of 2 and 3 as holes get put in the pattern. If you follow good groups who break down the pattern together you can shoot some bigger numbers.

I try to bring about $800 total for side events and brackets. I do not get in the clean or other sides.

janderson

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2007, 10:35:15 AM »
I haven't bowled particularly well (1700) the last couple of years and have still made plenty of money in sidepots and brackets. Obviously don't gamble with what you can't afford to lose, but if you don't enter, you can't win.  In Baton Rouge, we saw a gentleman on the payout sheet who shot 192-190-194 and won just over $1600, but that's because he entered about $400 worth of brackets.  At least get in the two "cheapies", the clean game and the 1-5-9.  They're $10 each, usually have payouts of $1000 and up, and anyone can win them.

Here is the link for the brackets and other pots at the National Tournament:
http://www.bowl.com/tournaments/usbcopen/national/sideevents.aspx

Side events:

The 40-framer is great fun as a group and a chance to win some legitimate bucks.
http://www.fortyframegame.com/home/index.html

The BTM (Bowling This Month as in the magazine) is flat (sport compliant) pattern and a very challenging tournament
http://www.bowlingthismonth.com/BTM/

The Bowlers' Journal (as in the magazine) tournament is also available
http://www.bowlersjournal.com/tournaments/
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Edited on 1/9/2007 11:35 AM

230-n-up-or-bust

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2007, 10:39:56 AM »
Gene, before you worry about how much you're gonna spend at nationals, acquire the spreadsheet for the oiling pattern.  After that, get a couple of the guys you're gonna bowl with and practice EXACTLY like you're gonna bowl at Nationals.  Put in a precise effort to concentrate as if you were at the Big Show.  That way, you'll have some experience how the lanes will transition and you'll be able to determine how much extra cash to set aside for brackets.
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janderson

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2007, 10:50:10 AM »
...Assuming your local lane's machine can get the correct pattern (most can not) and that the surface is similar...

I would urge caution in putting too much faith in what you find practicing at your local center.  You can get a general idea, but transition, especially in singles and doubles where you get the leftovers from other bowers, is not something you can accurately reproduce at your local center even if the surface is close and the machine is capable of putting the shot down correctly.
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J.J. "Waterola Kid" Anderson, the bLowling King  : Kill the back row


Edited on 1/15/2007 2:59 PM

DrBob806

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Re: How much $$ do you need?
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2007, 03:35:29 PM »
As with all bracket games, the luck of the draw comes into play. I was on the squad last year when a kid from Wichita State rolled an 820 in team, and he won everything. I lost all $100 in team brackets that I invested, and shot a somewhat-decent 587.
The next day I decided not to get into any brackets, shot 1307 in S & D. I'm not so sure I would have won my $100 back in that squad either, as scores were high.
I guess my point is, $100 for me is a good gamble on team day...if I lose, I'm done, if I win some $$, I re-invest in S & D. In my 4 trips to Nationals, I'm probably down around $150 total. You'll see plenty of bowlers investing $1k per squad.