A strike is a term used in bowling

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

 to indicate that all of the pins have been knocked down with the first ball of a frame. On scoresheets, a strike is symbolized by an X.

Scoring

When all ten pins are completely knocked down with the first ball (called a strike and typically rendered as an "X" on a scoresheet), a player is awarded ten points, plus a bonus of whatever is scored with the next two balls. In this way, the points scored for the two balls after the strike are counted twice.

Frame 1, ball 1: 10 pins (strike)

Frame 2, ball 1: 3 pins

Frame 2, ball 2: 6 pins

The total score from these throws is:

• Frame one: 10 + (3 + 6)= 19
• Frame two: 3 + 6 = 9

TOTAL = 28

Strike scoring works similarly for Five-pin bowling

Five-pin bowling

Five-pin bowling is a bowling variant which is played only in Canada, where most bowling alleys offer it, either alone or in combination with ten-pin bowling. It was devised around 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Club, in response to customers who complained that...

, except strikes are worth 15 points rather than 10 (as the pins are scored with the values of 2, 3, 5, 3, and 2).

Consecutive strikes

Two consecutive strikes are referred to as a "double". Three strikes bowled consecutively are known as a "turkey" or "triple". The origin of this dates back to before the turn of the 20th century. During Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 or Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 week, the proprietor would present a live turkey

Turkey (bird)

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

 to people who scored three consecutive strikes

Any longer string of strikes is referred to by a number affixed to the word "bagger," as in "four-bagger" (four baggers are also known as "hambones") or "five-bagger" (also called yahtzee

Yahtzee

Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley , which was first marketed by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier dice games, such as Yacht and Generala. The object of the game is to score the most points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations...

) for four or five consecutive strikes. This terminology is used most often when a bowler is "off the strikes." (i.e. has previously bowled a string of several strikes but failed to strike on his most recent ball.)
When a player is "on the strikes," a string is often referenced by affixing "in a row" to the number of strikes bowled consecutively. Six strikes in a row are sometimes referred to as a "six pack." Six strikes and nine strikes in a row can also be referred to "Wild Turkeys" and "Golden Turkeys" respectively. Any string of strikes starting in the first frame or ending "off the sheet" (where all of a bowler's shots from a certain frame to the end of the game strike) are often referred to as the "front" or "back" strikes, respectively (e.g. the 'front nine' for strikes in frames 1-9, or the 'back six' for strikes in frames 7, 8, and 9 with a turkey in the tenth). A perfect game or 12 strikes in a row is also colloquially referred to in the US as the "Thanksgiving Turkey."

A player who scores multiple strikes in succession would score like so:

Frame 1, ball 1: 10 pins (strike)

Frame 2, ball 1: 10 pins (strike)

Frame 3, ball 1: 4 pins

Frame 3, ball 2: 2 pins

The score from these throws is:

• Frame one: 10 + (10 + 4)= 24
• Frame two: 10 + (4 + 2) = 16
• Frame three: 4 + 2 = 6

TOTAL = 46

The most points that can be scored in a single frame is 30 points (10 for the original strike, plus strikes in the two subsequent frames).

A player who bowls a strike in the tenth (final) frame is awarded two extra balls so as to allow the awarding of bonus points. If both these balls also result in ten pins knocked down each, a total of 30 points (10 + 10 + 10) is awarded for the frame. These bonus points do not count on their own, however. They only count as the bonus for the strike.

A "Longo" strike - is a strike which occurs without the ball hitting the headpin, yet all of the pins fall as if in slow motion