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
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
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
Friday, October 23, 2009
All About Barrels!
Barrel shape
The barrel forms the main part of a dart. When we are speaking of "buying a (new) dart" we mean getting a new dart barrel. Nowadays barrels are available in almost every possible shape, with a wide selection of knurl or rings on the surface for a comfortable and safe grip.
The main barrel shapes are:
- cylinder
- ton
- torpedo
It's not possible to say which one is the "right" one. Based on a very theoretical reasoning the long cylindrical barrel could be the best of them because it is the slimmest and allows the tightest grouping. Good for 140s and 180s. But this reasoning doesn't help you when you are not able to handle such a barrel. Selecting the right shape is a matter of personal preference. Choose what feels comfortable for you. This is much more important than an abstract or "academic" reasoning about theoretical advantages or disadvantages of some shapes.
Barrel surface
The surface of the barrel is covered by knurling or rings for a safe grip on the dart. Again there is a vast selection of different surface shapes, and combinations of them. And there is the possibility of a plain surface (which beginners are usually unhappy with). Again, it can't be said which variations are the best ones. Choose what suits you, what feels good and what you think you can handle.
There is only one thing you should avoid: painted surfaces. Paint might look good, but usually it makes the dart only more slippery. The probably only exception here is Unicorn's "gold" brand. These darts are covered with a golden coat (I don't know what material this coating is. But it's not gold) which they say improves the grip. I have not experienced any differences with these darts, but some people seem to like them. Try and find out for yourself.
Barrel Material
Today's standard material is Nickel-Tungsten. Tungsten is a very dense material, so darts with a considerable weight can be made quite slim. The invention of tungsten darts had a big impact on the sport. With the new darts it was possible to achieve much better grouping than before, and the averages in pro games have improved dramatically. It is not an overstatement when this development is referred to as "the tungsten revolution".
Before the tungsten revolution darts were mainly made of brass. Brass darts are still used by some players because they are much cheaper than Tungstens. But brass darts are ancient technology now, so I can't recommend them.
Because of technical difficulties with manufacturing a 100% tungsten dart is not available. All "tungsten" darts you can buy are in fact made of tungsten alloys, with Nickel-Tungsten being the most common one. When you buy a dart the amount of tungsten in the alloy is given by a percentage number. So a common "80% Tungsten" dart has 80 percent tungsten and 20 percent Nickel. Tungsten darts are available from 80% to over 90%. The more tungsten the slimmer - and the more expensive - the dart is. If the high-percentage tungsten darts are worth the higher price is an open question. Personally I think that 80% tungstens are good enough for almost everyone.
Remember: the only benefit from a high tungsten share is that the dart can be made slimmer than a dart with the same weight and a lower tungsten share. In no way do higher tungsten percentages indicate some sort of overall better quality or better machining.
In recent years a growing number of people has become allergic to Nickel. With Nickel-Tungsten darts being the standard equipment nowadays these people will have problems with their darts. There are a few darts available with different tungsten alloys, such as silver tungsten or copper tungsten. However, these darts are very rare. The major dart manufacturers don't supply them. If you are allergic to Nickel you will probably have to look for these alternatives.
Barrel Weight
Dart weight is a never ending story. A lot of people want to know which weight they should throw, which weight is the most common one, what's the average weight and so on. There is no right answer to these questions. For the "average weight" question there probably is an answer, but it doesn't make much sense.
An example of two world champions: Dennis Priestley throws 14 gram darts. Raymond van Barneveld throws 26 gram darts.
If you ask the average question now the answer will be 20 grams, but does this make sense when the weights vary that much?
For a beginner steel dart player I recommend a barrel weight between 22 and 25 grams, which is slightly on the heavy side. The reason is that you need to develop a basic throwing skill in order to reach a certain initial level of play with darts on the heavy side. You would probably reach such a level a bit faster with lighter darts, but lighter darts don't force you to develop a somehow decent technique which will make later improvement a lot harder. Heavier darts also forgive slight technical inconsistencies (in other words: errors) better than lighter darts -- I like to tell heavier darts more "good-natured" because of this. The lighter the dart the more sensible it reacts to what you are doing -- slight intentional adjustments as well as slight technical errors or deficits.
Once you have got some darting experience and a decent technique you may find the heavier dart not that convincing any longer because of its good-natured behavior. If you then think you could use a dart that reacts more sensible you should consider going lighter.
Soft tip players won't have that much of a choice for their dart's weight. The limit set by the machine operators and leagues usually is below 20 grams. If you are a beginner in soft tip the only advice I can give you concerning the weight of your darts is start at the maximum allowed weight.
Compatibility Standards
Compatibility means that you can for instance attach shafts of one shaft manufacturer to barrels made by a different company.
Steel tip and Soft tip
"Classic" steel darts have solid attached tips. This means they can't be used for soft tip darts. A classic steel tip dart has the fixed tip on one end and a thread for the flight on the other.
Soft tip darts have threads on both ends. One is for the plastic tip and one for the shaft. You can use these darts for steel if you replace the plastic tips with replacement tips for steel darts. Such replacement tips are available in various shapes.
However, there are steel tip darts that also have two threads. They are usually meant for use with "movable tips". Such tips will reduce bounce-outs. These darts, although intended for steel only, can also be used for soft tip. Just replace the movable tips with soft tips. On the other side, most soft tip darts can be equipped with such movable steel tips. Only "most" because some movable tip systems require a thread deeper than usual. For instance Unicorn's Hammer Head system can be used on normal soft tip darts, while Harrows' Power Point system can't.
Threads
The threads of all usual tungsten darts are called "2BA" which follows a british norm. Older brass darts often have a 1/4 inch thread. These two threads are not compatible. 1/4 inch threads are as ancient as brass darts are, so there usually is no need to worry about that when buying a tungsten dart. Standard shafts or soft/movable tips you buy are equipped with the 2BA thread, so problems with incompatibility of the threads should not occur.
However, there are some pitfalls. Some dart manufacturers supply darts with "alternative" attachment methods. The GT series of Bottlesen Hammer Heads is such an example. The shaft of this dart isn't attached with a thread, it is attached through just a thin whole and a rubber tube to fix it. This system is unique -- as good or as bad as the thread system, but you have to take into account that for shafts for this system you will have to rely on the manufacturer. For other companies supplying a shaft only for such special series is not economical.
Another company that comes to my mind here is Unicorn. They are using the 2BA thread, but the outside measures of their darts' flight ends are slightly bigger than those from other manufacturers. This means that Unicorn shafts won't give a plain cut between dart and shaft on non-Unicorn darts. The shaft will slightly jut out on any other dart. Of course all other shafts will be slightly thinner than the barrel if attached to a Unicorn dart.
The bottom line is, if you are buying a new dart take your old spare parts with you to see if you can use them on your new dart. If you buy your first dart set, try to attach the cheap standard spare parts of the shop to this dart, not the ones that are shipped with the darts when you open the box.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Visit Darting.com for more Blog Entries!
The barrel forms the main part of a dart. When we are speaking of "buying a (new) dart" we mean getting a new dart barrel. Nowadays barrels are available in almost every possible shape, with a wide selection of knurl or rings on the surface for a comfortable and safe grip.
The main barrel shapes are:
- cylinder
- ton
- torpedo
It's not possible to say which one is the "right" one. Based on a very theoretical reasoning the long cylindrical barrel could be the best of them because it is the slimmest and allows the tightest grouping. Good for 140s and 180s. But this reasoning doesn't help you when you are not able to handle such a barrel. Selecting the right shape is a matter of personal preference. Choose what feels comfortable for you. This is much more important than an abstract or "academic" reasoning about theoretical advantages or disadvantages of some shapes.
Barrel surface
The surface of the barrel is covered by knurling or rings for a safe grip on the dart. Again there is a vast selection of different surface shapes, and combinations of them. And there is the possibility of a plain surface (which beginners are usually unhappy with). Again, it can't be said which variations are the best ones. Choose what suits you, what feels good and what you think you can handle.
There is only one thing you should avoid: painted surfaces. Paint might look good, but usually it makes the dart only more slippery. The probably only exception here is Unicorn's "gold" brand. These darts are covered with a golden coat (I don't know what material this coating is. But it's not gold) which they say improves the grip. I have not experienced any differences with these darts, but some people seem to like them. Try and find out for yourself.
Barrel Material
Today's standard material is Nickel-Tungsten. Tungsten is a very dense material, so darts with a considerable weight can be made quite slim. The invention of tungsten darts had a big impact on the sport. With the new darts it was possible to achieve much better grouping than before, and the averages in pro games have improved dramatically. It is not an overstatement when this development is referred to as "the tungsten revolution".
Before the tungsten revolution darts were mainly made of brass. Brass darts are still used by some players because they are much cheaper than Tungstens. But brass darts are ancient technology now, so I can't recommend them.
Because of technical difficulties with manufacturing a 100% tungsten dart is not available. All "tungsten" darts you can buy are in fact made of tungsten alloys, with Nickel-Tungsten being the most common one. When you buy a dart the amount of tungsten in the alloy is given by a percentage number. So a common "80% Tungsten" dart has 80 percent tungsten and 20 percent Nickel. Tungsten darts are available from 80% to over 90%. The more tungsten the slimmer - and the more expensive - the dart is. If the high-percentage tungsten darts are worth the higher price is an open question. Personally I think that 80% tungstens are good enough for almost everyone.
Remember: the only benefit from a high tungsten share is that the dart can be made slimmer than a dart with the same weight and a lower tungsten share. In no way do higher tungsten percentages indicate some sort of overall better quality or better machining.
In recent years a growing number of people has become allergic to Nickel. With Nickel-Tungsten darts being the standard equipment nowadays these people will have problems with their darts. There are a few darts available with different tungsten alloys, such as silver tungsten or copper tungsten. However, these darts are very rare. The major dart manufacturers don't supply them. If you are allergic to Nickel you will probably have to look for these alternatives.
Barrel Weight
Dart weight is a never ending story. A lot of people want to know which weight they should throw, which weight is the most common one, what's the average weight and so on. There is no right answer to these questions. For the "average weight" question there probably is an answer, but it doesn't make much sense.
An example of two world champions: Dennis Priestley throws 14 gram darts. Raymond van Barneveld throws 26 gram darts.
If you ask the average question now the answer will be 20 grams, but does this make sense when the weights vary that much?
For a beginner steel dart player I recommend a barrel weight between 22 and 25 grams, which is slightly on the heavy side. The reason is that you need to develop a basic throwing skill in order to reach a certain initial level of play with darts on the heavy side. You would probably reach such a level a bit faster with lighter darts, but lighter darts don't force you to develop a somehow decent technique which will make later improvement a lot harder. Heavier darts also forgive slight technical inconsistencies (in other words: errors) better than lighter darts -- I like to tell heavier darts more "good-natured" because of this. The lighter the dart the more sensible it reacts to what you are doing -- slight intentional adjustments as well as slight technical errors or deficits.
Once you have got some darting experience and a decent technique you may find the heavier dart not that convincing any longer because of its good-natured behavior. If you then think you could use a dart that reacts more sensible you should consider going lighter.
Soft tip players won't have that much of a choice for their dart's weight. The limit set by the machine operators and leagues usually is below 20 grams. If you are a beginner in soft tip the only advice I can give you concerning the weight of your darts is start at the maximum allowed weight.
Compatibility Standards
Compatibility means that you can for instance attach shafts of one shaft manufacturer to barrels made by a different company.
Steel tip and Soft tip
"Classic" steel darts have solid attached tips. This means they can't be used for soft tip darts. A classic steel tip dart has the fixed tip on one end and a thread for the flight on the other.
Soft tip darts have threads on both ends. One is for the plastic tip and one for the shaft. You can use these darts for steel if you replace the plastic tips with replacement tips for steel darts. Such replacement tips are available in various shapes.
However, there are steel tip darts that also have two threads. They are usually meant for use with "movable tips". Such tips will reduce bounce-outs. These darts, although intended for steel only, can also be used for soft tip. Just replace the movable tips with soft tips. On the other side, most soft tip darts can be equipped with such movable steel tips. Only "most" because some movable tip systems require a thread deeper than usual. For instance Unicorn's Hammer Head system can be used on normal soft tip darts, while Harrows' Power Point system can't.
Threads
The threads of all usual tungsten darts are called "2BA" which follows a british norm. Older brass darts often have a 1/4 inch thread. These two threads are not compatible. 1/4 inch threads are as ancient as brass darts are, so there usually is no need to worry about that when buying a tungsten dart. Standard shafts or soft/movable tips you buy are equipped with the 2BA thread, so problems with incompatibility of the threads should not occur.
However, there are some pitfalls. Some dart manufacturers supply darts with "alternative" attachment methods. The GT series of Bottlesen Hammer Heads is such an example. The shaft of this dart isn't attached with a thread, it is attached through just a thin whole and a rubber tube to fix it. This system is unique -- as good or as bad as the thread system, but you have to take into account that for shafts for this system you will have to rely on the manufacturer. For other companies supplying a shaft only for such special series is not economical.
Another company that comes to my mind here is Unicorn. They are using the 2BA thread, but the outside measures of their darts' flight ends are slightly bigger than those from other manufacturers. This means that Unicorn shafts won't give a plain cut between dart and shaft on non-Unicorn darts. The shaft will slightly jut out on any other dart. Of course all other shafts will be slightly thinner than the barrel if attached to a Unicorn dart.
The bottom line is, if you are buying a new dart take your old spare parts with you to see if you can use them on your new dart. If you buy your first dart set, try to attach the cheap standard spare parts of the shop to this dart, not the ones that are shipped with the darts when you open the box.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Visit Darting.com for more Blog Entries!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Tension
Dart players often complain that they have been very tensed at crucial points of a match and have therefore been unable to take what after all seemed to be a big opportunity for a win or a good chance to fight back. You all know these ugly situations of being on this nice double 16 in the deciding leg, three darts in your hand, but it simply must be in 'cause you are down and out if you fail. Nerves are coming in. Your hand is shaking, your knees feel like melted butter in the sun, and so you blunder. Your opponent goes on with a smile on his face and kills his dirty 60 points left with two straight darts.
Later you think what was going on with you. If you would have been up with two legs you would have hit that double 16 nearly blind. Bloody nerves you say, and you are right. It's all a matter of thinking.
If you go there with the thought on your mind that you HAVE TO HIT 'cause else you will be lost, the chance is big that you will miss. It's that simple and that hard: Don't think of winning or losing. Simply think of PLAYING. When I got to such an important point in a match I quietly said to myself: simply play. Don't waste one single thought in the whole match on losing. Strike out this word in your mental dictionary, you won't need it in play. Learn to control your thinking. Whenever you get aware of such a *negative* thought during a game give yourself a short mental rest and say "Stop!". Raise your shoulders, take a breath and stand up the ochy in full concentration with only one thing on your mind: Play. That's enough for most situations where you feel tensed.
But sometimes your hand won't stop shaking and you can't find a focus on the board. If the situation is that hard I want to introduce you to a simple relaxation exercise which only requires a little practice. It is called "The Quiet Place".
Take yourself ten minutes of time, as often as you can. The best would be each day, at least once a week. Sit down and relax. Now with one hand press the thumb of the other hand. Think about a quiet place you like. This can be a tropical island where you lay down in the sun, that confortable chair in your living room or anything else you find quiet and relaxing. Keep this thought for about five or ten minutes, and keep your thumb pressed during this time. If you repeat this exercise regularly you will later only need to press the thumb of your hand at these nerve - shaking moments in a match and all tension will be gone.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Friday, October 2, 2009
Why Playing Darts Should Be Solitare
Practicing alone (solitare) is much more valuable than practicing with friends or practicing only by playing as many matches as possible. Mathplay is of course also very important, but if I were to give a ratio to it, I'd say a good one is one third matchplay, two thirds solitare practice.
The reasons behind this are not really obvious, especially because many players experience that they are playing well in solitare and not so well in matchplay, so they think it's the lack of matchplay practice that causes that. That is, however, wrong.
Every player plays worse in matchplay than he does in practice. It is hard to believe, but even the pros do. And this is not only true for darts, it is valid for other sports. To increase our matchplay performance to nearly the level of our practice performance we must mainly use sports psychology, because the mental aspects of matchplay are the reason for this phenomenon. If you are one of these rare players who say they do better in matchplay than they do in practice, the reason is the following: You don't practice enough, period.
But it is still not clear why solitare practicing is that important. You can nearly infinitely improve your game only by always trying to beat your limit. No matter how good you are, you can always be better. No friendly or rivalry matchplay practice can do this when your opponents stick to their level. To say it literally - the only way to make your current personal limit your future standard is practicing alone.
Until Next Time!
Tony
The reasons behind this are not really obvious, especially because many players experience that they are playing well in solitare and not so well in matchplay, so they think it's the lack of matchplay practice that causes that. That is, however, wrong.
Every player plays worse in matchplay than he does in practice. It is hard to believe, but even the pros do. And this is not only true for darts, it is valid for other sports. To increase our matchplay performance to nearly the level of our practice performance we must mainly use sports psychology, because the mental aspects of matchplay are the reason for this phenomenon. If you are one of these rare players who say they do better in matchplay than they do in practice, the reason is the following: You don't practice enough, period.
But it is still not clear why solitare practicing is that important. You can nearly infinitely improve your game only by always trying to beat your limit. No matter how good you are, you can always be better. No friendly or rivalry matchplay practice can do this when your opponents stick to their level. To say it literally - the only way to make your current personal limit your future standard is practicing alone.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Friday, September 4, 2009
What are American Darts?
American darts were developed in the Eastern US and use a wooden dartboard with an entirely different design than that of the London or English dartboard. The games played are also different with a variation baseball being the most popular. Even the darts used are different. The "widdies", as they are called, have one-piece barrels and shafts made of wood. Turkey feathers are used exclusively for flights and three are glued to the sides of the shaft. At the other end, the steel point is attached to a lead weight which is attached to the wood barrel.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
What are dart barrels made out of?
Today's standard material used to make darts is Nickel-Tungsten. Tungsten is a very dense material, so darts with a considerable weight can be made quite thin. The invention of tungsten darts has had a big impact on the sport of darts. With these new darts it was possible to achieve much better grouping than before, and the averages in pro games have improved dramatically.
Before the tungsten darts came along, darts were mainly made of brass. Brass darts are still used by many players because they are much cheaper than Tungsten, but brass darts are not the newest in dart technology. Once you try tungsten, you won't turn back!
Because of difficulties with manufacturing a 100% tungsten darts are not available. All "tungsten" darts you can buy are made of tungsten alloys, with Nickel-Tungsten being the most common one. When you buy a dart, the amount of tungsten in the alloy is given by a percentage number. So a common 80% Tungsten dart has 80 percent tungsten and 20 percent Nickel. Tungsten darts are available from 80% to over 90%. The more tungsten the slimmer - and the more expensive - the dart is. If the high-percentage tungsten darts are worth the higher price is an open question. Personally I think that 80% tungstens are good enough for almost everyone.
Remember: the only benefit from a high tungsten share is that the dart can be made slimmer than a dart with the same weight and a lower tungsten share. In no way do higher tungsten percentages indicate some sort of overall better quality or better machining.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Friday, August 7, 2009
Did You Know?
Online darts is growing in popularity and joining pool in the online gaming community. Through not as popular as online poker (of course!), online darts is played by both dart players and regular online gamers. However, playing darts with your friends at the pub, will continue to be the favorite way to enjoy the game for most people.
So don't miss out! If you're bored at home or work, find a game of online darts and get playing.
Until Next Time!
Tony
So don't miss out! If you're bored at home or work, find a game of online darts and get playing.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Let's talk about flights.
Let's talk about flights.
The flight on any set of darts is necessary to stabilize your dart in the air. Flights are available in a vast selection of colors, sizes and materials. There is no correct or best flight shape. It depends on your individual throw and preference which flight to choose. You may need to try out a few different flights to figure out what you like and don't like. But don't worry, flights are fairly cheap, so you can try a few types and still not spend a lot of money.
The most important rules for handling your flights are to always use the same flight shape on all 3 of your darts and to make sure that your flights are always spread.
There are a few different shapes of flights - standard, pear, kite, electro and many more. For beginners, make sure you use the standard shape. You can always change it up later.
Flight protectors
Flight protectors are very useful. Their main purpose is enhancing the durability of your flights. Whenever an incoming dart hits the flight of a dart already sticking in the dartboard this flight is in danger of being damaged. The flight protector will almost completely eliminate this damage. Another benefit is that flight protectors help keeping your dart spread -- which is a necessity to playing darts. The negative point with flight protectors is that they are small and tend to get lost. When it pops off a dart it is usually impossible to find on the floor because it's just too small. But they are not really expensive either so having extras on hand isn't the end of the world and won't break the bank. The benefit is definitely worth the price.
Until Next Time!
Tony
The flight on any set of darts is necessary to stabilize your dart in the air. Flights are available in a vast selection of colors, sizes and materials. There is no correct or best flight shape. It depends on your individual throw and preference which flight to choose. You may need to try out a few different flights to figure out what you like and don't like. But don't worry, flights are fairly cheap, so you can try a few types and still not spend a lot of money.
The most important rules for handling your flights are to always use the same flight shape on all 3 of your darts and to make sure that your flights are always spread.
There are a few different shapes of flights - standard, pear, kite, electro and many more. For beginners, make sure you use the standard shape. You can always change it up later.
Flight protectors
Flight protectors are very useful. Their main purpose is enhancing the durability of your flights. Whenever an incoming dart hits the flight of a dart already sticking in the dartboard this flight is in danger of being damaged. The flight protector will almost completely eliminate this damage. Another benefit is that flight protectors help keeping your dart spread -- which is a necessity to playing darts. The negative point with flight protectors is that they are small and tend to get lost. When it pops off a dart it is usually impossible to find on the floor because it's just too small. But they are not really expensive either so having extras on hand isn't the end of the world and won't break the bank. The benefit is definitely worth the price.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
It's all a matter of thinking
Dart players often complain that they have been very tensed at critical points of a match and have been unable to take what after all seemed to be a big opportunity for a win or a good chance to fight back. You all know these situations of being on this nice double 16 in the deciding leg, three darts in your hand, but it simply must be in 'cause you are down and out if you fail. Nerves are coming in. Your hand is shaking, your knees feel like melted butter and you hope just this dart to go in - but you blunder anyways. Your opponent goes on with a smile and kills his dirty 60 points left with two straight darts.
Later, you wonder what was going on with you. If you would have been up with two legs you would have hit that double 16 nearly blind. Bloody nerves you say, and you are right. It's all a matter of thinking.
If you go there with the thought on your mind that you have to hit 'cause else you will be lost, the chance is big that you will miss. It's that simple and that hard: Don't think of winning or losing. Simply think of playing. When I got to such an important point in a match I quietly said to myself: simply play. Don't waste one single thought in the whole match on losing. Strike out this word in your mental dictionary, you won't need it in play. Learn to control your thinking. Whenever you get aware of such a negative thought during a game give yourself a short mental rest and say "Stop!". Raise your shoulders, take a breath and stand up the ochy in full concentration with only one thing on your mind: Play. That's enough for most situations where you feel tensed.
Take ten minutes to yourself as often as you can. Try to do it each day, but at minimum once a week. Sit down and relax. Now with one hand press the thumb of the other hand. Think about a quiet place you like. This can be a tropical island where you lay down in the sun, that confortable chair in your living room or anything else you find quiet and relaxing. Keep this thought for about five or ten minutes, and keep your thumb pressed during this time. If you repeat this exercise regularly you will later only need to press the thumb of your hand at these nerve - shaking moments in a match and all tension will be gone.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Later, you wonder what was going on with you. If you would have been up with two legs you would have hit that double 16 nearly blind. Bloody nerves you say, and you are right. It's all a matter of thinking.
If you go there with the thought on your mind that you have to hit 'cause else you will be lost, the chance is big that you will miss. It's that simple and that hard: Don't think of winning or losing. Simply think of playing. When I got to such an important point in a match I quietly said to myself: simply play. Don't waste one single thought in the whole match on losing. Strike out this word in your mental dictionary, you won't need it in play. Learn to control your thinking. Whenever you get aware of such a negative thought during a game give yourself a short mental rest and say "Stop!". Raise your shoulders, take a breath and stand up the ochy in full concentration with only one thing on your mind: Play. That's enough for most situations where you feel tensed.
Take ten minutes to yourself as often as you can. Try to do it each day, but at minimum once a week. Sit down and relax. Now with one hand press the thumb of the other hand. Think about a quiet place you like. This can be a tropical island where you lay down in the sun, that confortable chair in your living room or anything else you find quiet and relaxing. Keep this thought for about five or ten minutes, and keep your thumb pressed during this time. If you repeat this exercise regularly you will later only need to press the thumb of your hand at these nerve - shaking moments in a match and all tension will be gone.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Friday, June 26, 2009
Customer Question
Today I received a great question from a Darting.com customer. Daniel asked:
- I am opening a pub and I want to hang a dart board. The lay out, however, makes it somewhat dangerous for the patrons. I am thinking of using "soft tip" darts. I also hope that this type of dart will not ruin the walls. Suggestions? I have no access to electricity where I want to hang the dartboard...
Well Daniel, that is a great question and I have an answer for you. Soft tip darts will bounce off of the walls, but if they are thrown with a heavy thrust they might damage wall. Heavy felt around the dart board would protect the walls nicely and is a suggestion.
The best dartboard would be a battery operated one if he does not have electricity in the area, suggest the GLD 777 #40-0000 or the GLD 787 #42-0001 also the Bull Blaster is an inexpensive simple style dartboard. The majority of bars do not have steel tip darts to protect their patrons.
Until Next Time!
Tony
Monday, June 22, 2009
Why this particular numbering scheme & are there other boards?
"The number system on the board is often blamed on a Brian Gamlin, a carpenter from Bury, Lancashire, who is said to have invented it at the age of 44 in 1896. This story is much doubted though, and it is even questioned whether he lived at all.
According to another source, Thomas William Buckle invented the dartboard in 1913. The source in question is his son, Thomas Edward Buckle who 1992 made this statement in Darts World (nr 234).
By the way, the dartboard that is used over most of the world today is not the only one that exists or have existed. Boards with other number systems/sequences exists as well. The Manchester board is still used and there has been many others (ex. the Grimsby board, which had double 14 on top). Actually TE Buckle says that Gamlin could possibly have invented the Manchester board (a bit more geographically probable?).
Without having done any research on the subject, I can't help but believe that darts were played a bit at random in the beginning and that a lot of numbering systems were used, and that they probably changed from time to time and place to place (hence the many different boards that no longer are in use). A few systems survived - and especially so the "London board" which we use today with few exceptions.
I don't think that there has been any greater thought behind the numbering either. Low numbers beside high numbers, it can be done in numerous ways (and probably were). The number-sequence we have today has probably just chance (and that it perhaps was better than most of the other used systems) to thank for it's survival. It's not extremely special though, even if we find it intricate, and could have been done in other ways, not less good.
OTHER DARTBOARDS
The text of this article was posted some time ago on alt.sport.darts.
First of all, the dart board, the source of all our frustrations, does have a name. It's called the London Board - named for it's initially strong popularity in that city. There are at least five other basically similar boards in use in certain areas of England today. In 1896, Brian Gamlin, a British carpenter, arranged the numbers on the dartboard as we see them today.
The Yorkshire or Doubles board is similar to the London board but has no outer bull, no triples ring and a narrow 1/4" doubles ring. (The London board has 3/8" rings.) Sometimes, it is made with an all-black face.
The Tonsbridge board is similar to the Yorkshire board but with one important difference. The usual doubles become triples and doubles are scored on triangular beds on the inside of them.
The Staffordshire or Burton board is also similar to the Yorkshire board but has two diamond-shaped scoring areas outside the doubles ring. One is placed between the wire numbers 14 and 9 on one side while the other is located between the 4 and 13 on the other. These are worth 25 points each and can be used as an out shot on that number. There is also an outer bull.
The East End board has only twelve segments or pies instead of the 20 found on the London board. They are numbered (clockwise from the top) 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15 and have 1/4" (or narrower) doubles and triples rings.
The last, the Manchester or Log-End dartboard is probably the most distinctive one of all. It is numbered (again, clockwise from the top) 4, 20, 1, 16, 6, 17, 8, 12, 9, 14, 5, 19, 2, 15, 3, 18, 7, 11, 10, 13 and is much smaller than other boards with a 10" playing area and 1/4" doubles.
These boards are still in use to some degree in certain areas, but the London dartboard has become the standard in pubs and dart halls around the world. This is far from the complete story. There are several other board patterns known to have existed in the past but which have fallen by the wayside from lack of popularity or use.
Until Next Time!
Tony
According to another source, Thomas William Buckle invented the dartboard in 1913. The source in question is his son, Thomas Edward Buckle who 1992 made this statement in Darts World (nr 234).
By the way, the dartboard that is used over most of the world today is not the only one that exists or have existed. Boards with other number systems/sequences exists as well. The Manchester board is still used and there has been many others (ex. the Grimsby board, which had double 14 on top). Actually TE Buckle says that Gamlin could possibly have invented the Manchester board (a bit more geographically probable?).
Without having done any research on the subject, I can't help but believe that darts were played a bit at random in the beginning and that a lot of numbering systems were used, and that they probably changed from time to time and place to place (hence the many different boards that no longer are in use). A few systems survived - and especially so the "London board" which we use today with few exceptions.
I don't think that there has been any greater thought behind the numbering either. Low numbers beside high numbers, it can be done in numerous ways (and probably were). The number-sequence we have today has probably just chance (and that it perhaps was better than most of the other used systems) to thank for it's survival. It's not extremely special though, even if we find it intricate, and could have been done in other ways, not less good.
OTHER DARTBOARDS
The text of this article was posted some time ago on alt.sport.darts.
First of all, the dart board, the source of all our frustrations, does have a name. It's called the London Board - named for it's initially strong popularity in that city. There are at least five other basically similar boards in use in certain areas of England today. In 1896, Brian Gamlin, a British carpenter, arranged the numbers on the dartboard as we see them today.
The Yorkshire or Doubles board is similar to the London board but has no outer bull, no triples ring and a narrow 1/4" doubles ring. (The London board has 3/8" rings.) Sometimes, it is made with an all-black face.
The Tonsbridge board is similar to the Yorkshire board but with one important difference. The usual doubles become triples and doubles are scored on triangular beds on the inside of them.
The Staffordshire or Burton board is also similar to the Yorkshire board but has two diamond-shaped scoring areas outside the doubles ring. One is placed between the wire numbers 14 and 9 on one side while the other is located between the 4 and 13 on the other. These are worth 25 points each and can be used as an out shot on that number. There is also an outer bull.
The East End board has only twelve segments or pies instead of the 20 found on the London board. They are numbered (clockwise from the top) 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15 and have 1/4" (or narrower) doubles and triples rings.
The last, the Manchester or Log-End dartboard is probably the most distinctive one of all. It is numbered (again, clockwise from the top) 4, 20, 1, 16, 6, 17, 8, 12, 9, 14, 5, 19, 2, 15, 3, 18, 7, 11, 10, 13 and is much smaller than other boards with a 10" playing area and 1/4" doubles.
These boards are still in use to some degree in certain areas, but the London dartboard has become the standard in pubs and dart halls around the world. This is far from the complete story. There are several other board patterns known to have existed in the past but which have fallen by the wayside from lack of popularity or use.
Until Next Time!
Tony
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