I have never seen a reverse block.  What I have seen is lots of patterns where the oil carries down from second arrow out because most people will try to over play the swing area.  Then when that doesnt work they try to find hold that is not there in the middle.  It is the same reason you see guys hook the ball in the gutter shooting the 4 pin on a flat pattern.  No carrydown in that area yet. 

Swing area is addictive, and the majority of house shots give almost unlimited swing area.  An extra couple of loads 2 to 2 takes away the unlimited swing but is still fairly playable if you play a little straighter.

The term reverse block originally came about in the 70s and refered to a pattern where there seemed to be more oil outside than in the middle because of stripped back ends and the carrydown that immediately resulted as described above. 

I feel like this thread is going way off course.

Bourbon Street is a tougher house shot (according to ratio), but it’s still a house shot. It should not be much more difficult than your normal house shot, if any. In fact, my home house has such a lousy shot, tournaments they run on Bourbon Street actually play easier (due to better tapering).

If you’re struggling, either:
1. The shot isn’t being put down correctly, which is always possible.
2. You’re using the wrong balls.
3. You’re just not throwing the ball very well.

It seems like you’re trying lots of different equipment, something should’ve rolled fine enough by now. It’s possible a stronger solid will blend the lane better. Otherwise, you’ll have to check with the house to see if they’re putting it down right. As another poster mentioned, it’s possible they aren’t using the drop brush. If that’s not the case, you might have to look at your own release and try to understand why it isn’t matching up to the pattern. Sucks to admit it, but sometimes it’s you.

The pattern is flat from 14 to 14 and from 8 out.  Trying to play up 5 is sure not the answer.

How long is it

40ft

OH MY GOD THERE'S OB AND NO HOLD! 

This started in the late 70s.  ABC was so concerned about using oil to steer the ball to the pocket, that they came up with some ill advised lane conditioning rules.  They certainly took away the hold area, but the short oil allowed gir unlimited swing area.  By the time they figured this out and promulgated a rule requiring at least 3 units of oil to the gutter, resin balls were coming in the pretty much made 3 units of oil like nothing.   The result is that  we are now 35 years into an environment that allows unlimited swing area unless you are competing on something other than a pure top hat condition. 

The sad thing is that a little bit of taper is more playable than the THS once you learn to cut the angles down.

The sad thing is that a little bit of taper is more playable than the THS once you learn to cut the angles down.

I agree 100% ... the over/under caused by the mega-walls is minimized.  The problem is the house heros will blow up the middle of the lane by refusing to go straighter.