PODCAST · sports
The Pin Deck
by Allen Forkner
You watched the PBA Tour on Sunday. Now let’s unpack what you saw and heard. The Pin Deck is a companion to the PBA telecast that helps you understand the strategy behind professional bowling — lane conditions, oil patterns, ball motion, equipment, scoring and the decisions pros make under pressure. Host Allen Forkner puts the moments and concepts from each tournament into context, because the more you understand what’s happening between the foul line and the pins, the more fun bowling is to watch. Every shot has a story.
Episodes
-
Bowling Terms Explained: What Are Brooklyn Strikes, Stone 8s and Ringing 10s?
Ever watched a PBA bowling broadcast and wondered what the announcers were talking about? Brooklyn strikes. Ringing 10s. Messengers. Stone 8s. Greek Churches. Bowling has a language all its own, and behind many of those strange expressions is some fascinating science, history and strategy. In…
more -
Meet EARL: The Bowling Robot That Couldn't Throw a Perfect Game
What happens when you take the human element out of bowling? No missed targets, no bad releases, no nerves or fatigue. Just a machine capable of delivering a bowling ball with extraordinary precision, shot after shot. You'd expect a lot of strikes, right? In part two of our bonus series, The...
-
Bowling Pin Carry Explained: Why Your Ball Only Hits Four Pins
You throw what feels like a perfect shot, hit the pocket exactly where you wanted, and leave a flat 10. Two frames later, you miss your target, get a lucky break, and strike. Why does bowling work that way? In part one of our two-part bonus series, The Science of a Strike, we're digging into the...
-
PBA Match Play Explained: Why Losing by 100 Pins Can Be Just Like Losing by One
What happens when losing by one pin and losing by 100 pins mean exactly the same thing? At the 2026 PBA New York Classic, the best-of-seven match-play format changed everything. Unlike total-pinfall competition, where every pin follows you, elimination match play resets the scoreboard after every...
-
Why a 230 Can Win—or Lose: PBA Ohio Classic Scoring Explained
Is 230 a great game—or are you already falling behind? In this episode of The Pin Deck, Allen Forkner goes back to the 2026 PBA Ohio Classic to explore one of the most important pieces of context when watching professional bowling: scoring pace. A number on the scoreboard doesn't mean much by...
-
USBC Masters Explained: Qualifying, Plus/Minus Scoring and Double-Elimination Match Play
Before Boog Krol climbed the stepladder to win the 2026 USBC Masters, 390 bowlers had already spent three days fighting for just 63 qualifying spots. And before EJ Tackett lost the championship by a single pin, he'd put together one of the greatest match-play performances in Masters history. In...
-
From 240 Averages to a 152–136 Final: What Happened at the PBA Indiana Classic?
How does a tournament where the top qualifiers average more than 240 end with a championship match of 152–136? The 2026 PBA Indiana Classic delivered one of the most dramatic scoring reversals of the season. At David Small's Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the best bowlers in the world…
more -
Why the U.S. Open Is So Hard: Bowling Oil Patterns Explained
Why can a tiny miss be the difference between a strike and disaster on one bowling lane, while that same miss gets back to the pocket on another? In Episode Two of The Pin Deck, host Allen Forkner uses the 2026 PBA U.S. Open to explain what makes an oil pattern difficult. It isn't simply how much...
-
Do Left-Handed Bowlers Have an Advantage? Lessons From the PBA Pete Weber Classic
Four of the five bowlers on the PBA Pete Weber Classic TV finals were left-handed. So was the left side simply easier? Not exactly. In Episode Two of The Pin Deck, host Allen Forkner uses the 2026 PBA Pete Weber Classic to explain why bowling isn't really about left side versus right side — it's...
-
Beyond the Strike: What the 2026 PBA Players Championship Can Teach Your Game
What does it mean when a bowling ball goes through the pins “the right way” — and how can you actually see the difference? In this episode of The Pin Deck, Allen Forkner goes back to the 2026 PBA Players Championship to look beyond the scores and into what the pins were telling us. Using the TV...
-
Why Do Bowlers Need So Many Bowling Balls?
Why do professional bowlers need so many bowling balls — and why would someone change balls even when they’re striking? In Episode Zero of The Pin Deck, host Allen Forkner, bowler, USBC Bronze coach and lifelong student of the game, breaks down one of the most visible but least understood parts…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
You watched the PBA Tour on Sunday. Now let’s unpack what you saw and heard. The Pin Deck is a companion to the PBA telecast that helps you understand the strategy behind professional bowling — lane conditions, oil patterns, ball motion, equipment, scoring and the decisions pros make under pressure. Host Allen Forkner puts the moments and concepts from each tournament into context, because the more you understand what’s happening between the foul line and the pins, the more fun bowling is to watch. Every shot has a story.
HOSTED BY
Allen Forkner
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Pin Deck have?
The Pin Deck currently has 11 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Pin Deck about?
You watched the PBA Tour on Sunday. Now let’s unpack what you saw and heard. The Pin Deck is a companion to the PBA telecast that helps you understand the strategy behind professional bowling — lane conditions, oil patterns, ball motion, equipment, scoring and the decisions pros make under...
How often does The Pin Deck release new episodes?
The Pin Deck has 11 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Pin Deck?
You can listen to The Pin Deck on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Pin Deck?
The Pin Deck is created and hosted by Allen Forkner.
URL copied to clipboard!