A reverse bracket replays the same three games in the opposite order. It is a genuinely different result from the same scores, and the program builds and runs it for you from the scores you already have.
Once your third game scores are entered, the program mirrors each bowler's games: game three becomes game one, game two holds its position, and game one becomes game three. The bracket then runs on that reversed order.
The scoring itself does not change — the highest score still wins each match. What changes is who meets whom and when, because a bowler who started slow and finished strong now enters the bracket the other way round.
It is worth being precise about this, because “the same scores in a different order” sounds like it should produce the same winner. It does not, and the reason is that a bracket is a sequence of eliminations rather than a total.
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowler A | 221 | 168 | 175 |
| Bowler B | 179 | 183 | 238 |
| Forward — round 1 uses game 1 | A wins, 221–179 | ||
| Reverse — round 1 uses game 3 | B wins, 238–175 |
Bowler A had the better opening game and went through in the forward bracket. Bowler B finished strongest and goes through in the reverse one. Neither bowled a single extra frame. Multiply that across four first-round matches and the two brackets diverge completely from round two onward.
That is what makes a reverse bracket a real second competition rather than a rerun, and why bowlers who lost early in the forward brackets are willing to buy into it.
Of everything on a side-action card, this is the cheapest addition to make: the scores already exist, the entries are already at the desk, and the format explains itself in one sentence. The side action guide puts it in context alongside the other formats.
The reversal, the rebuild and the payouts. You enter the three games once. The reverse bracket is generated from those same scores, and the sheets and payout reports come out of the same session as everything else.
This runs inside the same session as your brackets and side pots. You are not exporting to a second tool or keeping a separate sheet — entries, scores, counts and payouts all live in one place, and the printed reports come out of the same program, so the drawer reconciles against one set of session totals rather than several.
The free demo is the complete program, not a limited trial — every feature unlocked, capped at 16 bowlers per session so you can see exactly how it works.
Download the free demo See pricingA bracket run on the same three games in the opposite order: game three becomes game one, game two stays where it is, and game one becomes game three. The bracket is then played out on that reversed order.
Usually, yes. A bracket is a sequence of eliminations rather than a total, so changing which game decides the first round changes who advances — and the two brackets diverge from there. A bowler who finished strongest can win a reverse bracket after losing round one of the forward one.
No. It runs on the same three games already bowled, so the session does not get any longer. That is what makes it the cheapest format to add to a side-action card.
Only in which game decides which round. The field size, the single-elimination structure and the scoring are all identical — the highest score still wins each match.
Yes. In J&K Brackets Pro both run in the same session off the same entry list and the same scores, and both appear in the same session payout reports.