Last Thursday, stadiums across the country opened their doors and baseball season started. With it comes the arrival of America's favorite pastime, game-day eats, and the ballpark beer scam.

What is the beer scam? It's the stadium's way to make a quick buck on beer-guzzling fans. Many places offer three sizes of draft beer: small ($6), regular ($8), and large ($10). However, the ounces are not listed, and the average concession stand worker doesn't know how much beer they hold.

After watching a video that clearly shows the small and regular sizes are almost identical — with the only difference being the shape of the glass — I decided to investigate and figure out what exactly is the distinction between these beer sizes. To find out, read more.

I purchased each of the beers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and sipped the regular, which comes in a tall glass, first. Then, I poured the small beer into the regular beer and discovered that it's almost the exact same size! Finally, I poured the large beer into the regular and found that it was bigger than the regular, but not by much. I took the glasses home and filled them with water to determine how much beer each holds.

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Ballpark Beer Chart Size Price Volume in Cups Volume in Ounces Small $6 2 1/4 cups 18 ounces Regular $8 2 1/2 cups 20 ounces Large $10 3 1/4 cups 26 ounces

Although there is an eight-ounce difference between the small and the large, the best bang for your buck is the small. It's 18 ounces for $6, which is three ounces per dollar. Following this rate, for $8, you should get six more ounces of beer (to be 24 ounces) and for $10, you should get 12 more ounces of beer (to be 30 ounces). But that's not the case! Moral of the story: if you don't mind waiting in line, buy small beers.

Have you heard of this scam? Will you pass on the message to your baseball-loving, beer-drinking friends?