Bowling Handicap Chart: 90% of 220, 80% of 200 and 100% of 220

League · Reference · Updated 2026-08-07

A bowling handicap chart turns your league average into the bonus pins added to every game you bowl, so bowlers of different skill levels can compete on even terms. Every chart on this page comes from the same formula: handicap = (basis score - your average) x percentage, rounded down, never negative. The three systems you will actually meet in league play are 90% of 220, 80% of 200, and 100% of 220, and all three are charted in full below.

Skim the chart that matches your league rules, or read on for the arithmetic behind the numbers, worked head-to-head and series examples, team totals, and the rounding mistakes that quietly change standings. If you would rather plug in one exact average than scan a table, the bowling handicap calculator walks the same formula step by step.

How a handicap chart works

A handicap is a per-game pin bonus based on how far your average sits below a fixed target called the basis score. The league picks the basis (a number above almost everyone's average, most often 200 or 220) and a percentage (usually 80%, 90%, or 100%). Your handicap is the gap between your average and the basis, scaled by that percentage: subtract your average from the basis, multiply, and drop any fraction. If your average is at or above the basis, your handicap is 0 - it is never negative.

The percentage is the interesting part. At 100%, the system erases the entire average gap between two bowlers, so a match is decided purely by who beats their own average by more on the night. At 90% or 80%, the higher-average bowler keeps a slice of their edge - 10% or 20% of the gap - which rewards skill while still keeping matches close. That is why sub-100 percentages are the norm in most leagues.

Find your handicap in four steps

1. Get your entering average: Your average is total pins divided by games bowled. Most leagues drop the fraction: 3,050 pins over 20 games is 152.5, which enters as 152. The bowling average calculator guide covers the division and the truncation rules in detail.
2. Look up your league's basis and percentage: Both numbers are printed in your league rules. 90% of 220 means basis 220, percentage 90. If you are not sure, ask the league secretary before week one.
3. Subtract, multiply, drop the fraction: With a 152 average in a 90% of 220 league: 220 - 152 = 68, then 68 x 0.9 = 61.2, and dropping the fraction gives 61 pins per game. Never round 61.2 up to 62 - handicap always rounds down.
4. Floor at zero: If your average meets or beats the basis - say a 205 average in an 80% of 200 league - the formula goes negative and the handicap is simply 0. High-average bowlers just bowl scratch.

Handicap chart: 90% of 220

This is the most widely used of the three common systems. Each entry below is (220 - average) x 0.9 with the fraction dropped. For averages between the listed rows, remember that every extra pin of average costs 0.9 of a pin of handicap, then drop the fraction.

At an average of 220 or higher the handicap is 0.

Handicap chart: 80% of 200

With basis 200 and 80%, each pin of average is worth 0.8 pins of handicap, so every 5-pin step in the chart moves the handicap by exactly 4 pins and none of these rows lose anything to rounding. The lower basis means anyone averaging 200 or better bowls scratch.

At an average of 200 or higher the handicap is 0.

Handicap chart: 100% of 220

At 100% the math is pure subtraction: handicap = 220 - average, with no fraction to drop. This system fully levels the field - on paper, every bowler's expected handicapped score is 220 - which some leagues like because it welcomes beginners, and others avoid because it removes any built-in reward for carrying a higher average.

The three systems side by side

The same average produces a very different bonus under each system. Here is the comparison at four checkpoints.

Between two bowlers, the higher average keeps whatever share of the gap the league does not give back. Take averages of 150 and 185 under 90% of 220. The 150 bowler gets 63 pins and projects to 150 + 63 = 213. The 185 bowler gets (220 - 185) x 0.9 = 31.5, dropped to 31, and projects to 185 + 31 = 216. The 35-pin scratch gap shrinks to a 3-pin handicapped edge - 10% of the gap, less a fraction lost to rounding.

Worked example: a head-to-head night

Say the 150-average bowler shoots 165 and the 185-average bowler shoots 192 in that same 90% of 220 league. Scratch, it is not close: 192 beats 165 by 27 pins. With handicap, the 150 bowler posts 165 + 63 = 228 while the 185 bowler posts 192 + 31 = 223, and the underdog wins by 5. That is the system working as designed: the 185 bowler beat their average by 7, the 150 bowler beat theirs by 15, and the bigger overperformance carried the match.

Series and team handicap

A league series is 3 games, and series handicap is the per-game figure multiplied by 3 - you never rerun the formula on series totals. A 150 average at 90% of 220 carries 63 pins per game, so 189 pins per series. Shoot 148, 152, and 160 for a 460 scratch series and your handicap series is 460 + 189 = 649. How strikes and spares push pins into later frames is covered in how to keep score in bowling.

Team handicap is the sum of the members' individual handicaps. A four-person team averaging 132, 149, 167, and 188 in a 90% of 220 league gets 79 + 63 + 47 + 28 = 217 pins per game, or 651 per series. Run each bowler through the formula separately - (220 - 132) x 0.9 = 79.2 drops to 79, (220 - 149) x 0.9 = 63.9 drops to 63, and so on - rather than averaging the team and computing once, because the drop-the-fraction step happens per bowler.

Common mistakes that change the standings

• Rounding up. 61.2 becomes 61, never 62. Over a 3-game series a wrongly rounded handicap shifts the team total by 3 pins, which is enough to flip close matches.
• Applying a negative handicap. An average above the basis produces 0, not a deduction. Nobody ever subtracts pins.
• Recomputing mid-session. Most leagues lock your handicap to the average you entered the night with, so a hot first game does not shrink your third-game bonus.
• Reading the wrong chart. 90% of 220 and 100% of 220 differ by 7 pins for a 150 average (63 versus 70), so one wrong column changes every score sheet in the league.
• Truncating versus rounding the average. 3,050 pins over 20 games is 152.5. Truncated, the average is 152 and the 90% of 220 handicap is 61; rounded up to 153, the handicap is 60. Know which rule your league uses - this page truncates.
• Series shortcuts. Multiply the per-game handicap by 3. Do not apply the formula to a 3-game total, and do not compute one handicap from a team's combined average.

Which system should your league use?

Pick the basis first: it should sit above your highest regular average so nearly everyone receives pins. A basis of 220 covers most house leagues, while 200 suits lower-scoring groups but zeroes out anyone at 200 or better. Then pick the percentage by how much skill you want to preserve: 100% is the friendliest to beginners and turns every match into a contest of who beats their own average; 90% keeps a modest edge for the better bowler and is the common middle ground; 80% preserves the most skill advantage. Whatever you choose, publish the chart and the rounding rule in the league packet so every scorekeeper computes identical numbers.

One closing note: handicap protects you, but it never pays as well as raising your average, because a sub-100 system returns only 0.8 or 0.9 of a pin for every pin of average you lack. Converting more spares is the fastest way to move that average, and the 3-6-9 spare system is the standard starting point.

Keep your average and handicap current automatically. Bowling Score Keeper & Tracker for iPhone scores every frame as you bowl - strikes, spares, and the 10th frame handled correctly - and maintains your average, series totals, and league handicap from the history of every session. It works offline with no account and no ads, so the number you bring to league night is always up to date. Download Bowling Score Keeper & Tracker on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common bowling handicap systems?

The common systems are 90% of 220, 80% of 200, and 100% of 220. In each one the handicap is the basis score minus your average, multiplied by the percentage, rounded down, and never negative.

What is my handicap if I average 150?

At 90% of 220 it is (220 - 150) x 0.9 = 63 pins per game. At 80% of 200 it is 40, and at 100% of 220 it is 70.

Can a bowling handicap be negative?

No. If your average is at or above the basis score, your handicap is 0 and you bowl scratch. Pins are never deducted.

Is a bowling handicap rounded up or down?

Down. The standard formula drops the fraction, so 61.2 becomes 61. Fractions are never rounded up.

Keep reading

• Bowling Handicap: 90% of 220, and the Full Chart
• Bowling Average: How to Calculate It (and What's Good)
• How to Keep Score in Bowling (Strikes, Spares & the 10th Frame)