Getting in

Getting the game started is sometimes the big glitch. You keep missing your intended double by the maddening width of a wire. It happens. Cultivate a couple of double in shots so that when one number fails, you can switch to another. Good players often have three or four different doubles they shoot at, all in opposite quadrants of the board. If the player can't hit one double, he will try another. Double 11 and Double 6 are good on shots when you are struggling because they allow most for vertical error. What often happens when the darts aren't flying well is that the player aims too much. This results in a soft dart that invariably hits below the target. With 11 and 6, a low dart might catch the double 8 or double 6.

Double 20 is a popular "in" because it has the most room for horizontal error, and should you hit, the trip 20 that lies directly below seems most inviting. Hitting the double one or double five to open a game is a positive thing. Any double is a good double when you're trying to get in. Double 18 offers the similar advantage of being close to the trip 20. And why is that important, the novice might ask? Because if you get on with your first dart, your second shot is going to be at trip 20. Throwing your darts at one portion of the board is simply a better percentage play, than scattering shots all over.

Until Next Time!
Tony

Dart Cases

Now that you have a truckload of dart paraphenalia, it would be nice to have something to carry it in travelling to and from the bar. A simple wallet type affair is convenient, but means you must remove your flights to pack your darts away. A hard box is a better alternative because it allows you to leave the flights in place on the shaft. The advantage of this is that the flight is allowed to retain its shape, and this lends consistency to your throw. The other advantage of the box is that you can carry extra flights and shafts as well as a sharpening stone and some other tools.

Until Next Time!
Tony

Dart Grip

One element of technique in a well thrown dart is grip - how you hold the dart with your fingers. Most players use a pencil grip, with the middle finger wedged between the front of the barrel and the base of the point. The dart is balanced on the thumb and held in place by the forefinger with this grip. This is a good way to grip a dart because it is easily repeatable, and anything that encourages automatic repetition will put you on the road to consistency.

That said, any grip that is easy to repeat and fosters a clean release of the dart as it leaves the fingers would work. A firm, but relaxed grip will also keep the dart parallel with the floor, and pointed at the board. When the dart leaves your fingers, it has a much better chance of finding it's target if it's already pointed on a straight line to the dartboard. If the dart is pointed down, or to the side because of the grip, the drag of the flight may straighten it out before it hits the board, but this adds a variable and it will cause the dart to yaw. To play winning darts, minimize the variables.

I use a modification of the pencil grip. Instead of anchoring the head of the barrel on my middle finger, I use the ring finger. This lets mes rest my thumb on the taper where shaft and barrel meet, and makes for a consistently repeatable grip perfectly suited to the length of my dart and the size of my hand. I try to have the dart level during the release to minimized fishtailing of the dart in flight.

Fingers and hands obviously come in different sizes, and fortunately, so do darts. To play winning darts, match the dart to your hand, and master a grip that keeps the dart parallel to the ground and in line with the target.

More information can be found here:
http://www.darting.com/Darts_Blog-c1121-wp5882.htm