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Welcome to The Darts! The game of darts needs little introduction. You've either played or seen darts at a local pub or maybe friend or relative's house, or maybe you've even played on the mean streets of San Andreas!. At its core, you are basically throwing pointy objects at an acceptable playing surface. And whats more fun than throwing pointy things? With the basic equipment (darts & a dartboard, and a marked (preferably raised) toe line or oche as the English say [pronounced hockey without the h]) there are various games that can be played. Most traditional and common is 501. The 5 can be substituted with higher or lower numbers based on skill level or people playing, for example in our league we play teams of 5, 1001. Lower skill or new players may consider a game of 301 so it doesn't take forever. 501 is the basis for professional play and thus is what I will be focusing on here. But feel free to discuss your Cricket or how you smashed your mates playing Killer! There are two types of equipment sets you can go with, each being popular in different parts of the world. In Asia and growing in popularity in America as well, soft tip is preferred. That is, soft tip, generally lighter darts as opposed to steel tip, and a plastic board filled with holes as opposed to sisal boards that are used with steel tip. The great thing about soft tip is the boards are electronic, so they take off score automatically without the need to do the maths. Target, a leading darts & accessories manufacturer, has even recently released an online, camera-equipped board that will let you play with anyone else with such a board around the world. However, despite this coolness, I still prefer steel tip and again, such is the standard for the major professional leagues.  Steel or soft, your board will be divided into 20 number sections as seen above, with a bullseye in the middle. The larger outer part of the bull counts for 25 points, and the main bullseye in the very middle is 50. The middle ring that passes through each number section is the triple section, or treble as the English call it and is one of my pet peeves, why call it a treble? We're not talking about music. Most of your time will be spent going for these sections, especially under the 20 as a triple 20 accounts for the largest single dart score possible, being of course 60, making the largest overall score for a 3 dart visit 180. The outermost ring is the double, naturally resulting in double the points for that particular number. These are also the most crucial, as in darts, the game is to reduce your score from x01 to 0, and the final amount must be taken out on the double. 32 and 40 are the most favored, especially the 32 as hitting a single 16 will still leave you the double 8 right next door, and in turn the 4, the 2 (but you dont want that double 1!). But say if you had 34 for example, miss to the inside of the double and you have single 17. Then you need to waste another dart fixing it to get even to try another double. 170 is the highest checkout possible, T20, T20, bullseye. Known as "taking out the big fish" on TV. A leg of 501 can be started and finished in only 9 darts, and in theory there are hundreds of ways to do this. But usually, players will score 180, 180, 141 or 180, 177, 144 (easier finish not having to go at 3 different sections). Current PDC World #1 Michael van Gerwen nearly did this twice back to back, and has done it twice in one match. Sisal boards will wear, so you should turn the board based on how much you use it so the less frequented areas can take a pounding while the last used section of the 20 can heal. I practice daily so I turn mine at least once a week. Cheap boards have thicker wire which makes the game more difficult as bounce outs are more common. Spend the extra cash to get a professional board with thin wires, each company has a different name for the spider of this type, tri wire, diamond wire, etc. The Professional Darts Corporation has an agreement with Unicorn to use their boards, currently the Eclipse pictured above. I haven't heard a lot of good about them though in terms of longevity, whereas many players swear by Winmau's Blade line. The Blade 5 was my first board, I beat it to bits in a year and have recently gone to the One80 Gladiator III. At the very least, I think it looks much nicer. Here in Eastern Canada I can pick up the B5 for 89.99 most anywhere, so its not worth cheaping out that 20 or 30 bucks and going with a thick wire, stapled board if you are going to spend any time at it at all. Now that you have your board, it is to be secured to your wall such that the middle of the bullseye stands 5'8" from the floor. From the front of the board, your oche should be 7'9.25" away, as per PDC regulation. Some people will just put a strip of tape or something across the floor, but in any kind of competition there will generally always be a raised oche that you cant (and shouldn't) put your toe past. Everyone has a different throwing stance, but many will put their front leaning foot sideways against the oche and lean in to get closer to the board, this is perfectly legal. I just use a piece of wood with double sided tape to secure to my floor and it works great.
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Jan 3, 2019 18:28
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Equipment The darts themselves is where you can tumble down that collectors rabbit hole if you want to waste money. I have been playing for about a year and a half, and I have 4 sets now which cost over 200 combined. Target recently released a new edition of their Elysium line which cost about $4-500 CAD if you were able to get your hands on a set. A good set of darts though by no means has to be fancy or expensive, and you will notice that many pro players use very plain styles. A good set can be had for little more than 20-30 bucks, but endorsements and fancy etchings can really ratchet up the prices. For new players there will be a feel out period, finding your grip style and then determining which style of dart and what weight suits you best. I started with 25g, but have moved down to 23 and 22g and most pros use in the 21-23 range, with some 20-25g outliers. Over 25 is seldom to be seen in the pros, but I know many people who prefer 28s and even higher. If you are lucky, you will have a local store, pub or other source at your disposal where you can try a few sets. If not, you may have to just look for something you think you like and try it out. There are many inexpensive online resources for purchasing darts, which are, how do you say, indispensable? to us on this side of the pond because local prices are often insane. Like with any purchase, make sure you do your research and you dont get swindled into paying huge markups in store. No one can tell you how to grip your dart! Do what feels natural, and work on your form from there. Generally, your arm should come up parallel with the floor, then aim, release/follow through. "You should have a target every time you throw". Most darts will come with a set of shafts or stems, and flights, but you should stock up on these when you find a kind you like. Flights and shafts will tear and break, count on it. Also do not have to be expensive. I buy mainly from Darts Corner and seldom ever buy any sets that go over a buck a piece. Stems come in different lengths, most popular are short, tweenie/intermediate, and medium. If you go to the DC site you can see all the lengths, but these are most common. I went from short, to medium, to tweenie. This can change depending on the length of your dart. Flights come in various shapes, but you wont see a whole lot of pros using the odd shapes that differ from the norm. Though the most decorated champion in history has experimented with a few different kinds. One thing that has helped me greatly, was buying a flight punch for 11 bucks and the titanium slot rings. How this works is you punch a hole in the flight, insert a ring into this slot, and then place the flight with ring down into place and the ring holds the tip of the shaft together tightly. You will have far less breakage this way, and fewer robin hoods as well. A robin hood is when you manage to throw one dart right into another, in which case only the dart who's point touches the board counts for score. I still get a few robin hoods, passing a dart through the flight itself. Most people use nylon stems, but some prefer aluminum. Which, you would think, would help them last longer. But instead, when they bend (and they will), they are basically done. Whereas a plastic stem, especially when set up with the aforementioned rings, might bend but will snap back into place unless it totally breaks. In the pros, score is taken down on a whiteboard, but in pubs and rec rooms people often use electronic scoreboards. These are insanely expensive for what are basically big calculators, so make use of the various apps available on android, iOS and even Windows if you can. I use Darts Scorer for Windows and its great as it announces your checkout, shows checkout combinations, tracks stats even across other Windows devices which is great for seeing how you are doing. So there you have it, for ~$100 you can be up and running with a brand new game that can be enjoyed at home or at the pub. And if you get good enough, you can even make some cash! I've won a few hundred bucks in various tournaments in the last year, especially in the last few months. I only got my first set of darts in April '17, hit my first 180 shortly after, and am now a top player in my league. I recently very nearly made it into the last 16 of a 72 player tournament, but was left to rue missed darts at double. As darts legend Bobby George put it, scoring is for show, doubles for dough. There are also online leagues out there like the Webcam Darts Association and a few others, so you dont have to play alone if your friends aren't into The Darts. I intend to discuss current PDC events here as well, and carry on from CBJSprague24's 2018 Premiere League thread. So congrats to MvG on a third world title! Looking forward to this years PL and hoping Raymond van Barneveld can redeem himself after a very disappointing show at his penultimate World Championship. codo27 fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Jan 3, 2019 |
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Jan 3, 2019 18:28
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Good news, the Official World Championship begins tomorrow! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7M8hzmNdBU
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Jan 4, 2019 19:07
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I can't get enough of are Dan
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Thats awful. I dont even bother to follow the BDO at all.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:55
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IF YOU LOVE THE DARTS, STAND UP Good new OP. Here's mandatory video evidence as to why you should watch The Darts: Walk-ons! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLDZ_7FkqSw Nine dart legs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGNZ3GqYrVY CHANTS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHCuqdkqCBw FANCY DRESS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qupp78-cF1M Anderson/Dobey was absolutely fantastic dartistry. Then the Final, where MVG the Uncle Fester-lookin' machine did his thing and it felt very much at times like "THAT MAN HAS A FAMILY'. I don't think I've seen the crowd that mild for van Gerwen since I've been watching. CBJSprague24 fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Jan 10, 2019 |
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Jan 10, 2019 17:19
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People are tired of seeing him win. I was just mainly disappointed Gary didn't put up more of a fight. I was thinking all-time classic there. Smith got a bit cocky suggesting it could have been 5-0 for him, but I would look out for him in the future. Its very difficult though to hope to match the mettle of MvG. Theres a lot of buzz around this Leighton Bennett who won the BDO Youth title earlier today. Kid phenom maybe, kid genius definitely not 
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Jan 10, 2019 18:13
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While we're in full cocky mode: PYF Lakeside debut by an established PDC player https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOmdv_zwZ9c
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Jan 10, 2019 22:05
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Wright listed as English. And boy was he ever copying Bristows throw. Should have kept looking half sensible. Something just rubs me wrong about a 50 odd Scotsman with a Mohawk and painted head dancing across the stage
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Jan 10, 2019 23:34
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HJB posted:While we're in full cocky mode: PYF Lakeside debut by an established PDC player He looks like Helio Castroneves in a way.
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Jan 11, 2019 01:07
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 AOfuckingL
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Jan 14, 2019 12:42
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Glen Durrant successfully completed his preparations for Q-School, the real examination starts Thursday.
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Jan 14, 2019 23:35
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I must say as much as I snicker at the BDO the guy really should have just been extended an invite in the way of a tour card.
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Jan 15, 2019 00:27
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American Goons- Premier League The Darts returns to BBC America tomorrow, 11pm Eastern. They may Facebook live stream the event during the day (US time) tomorrow.
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Feb 7, 2019 04:10
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They still haven't caught up on the fact they're giving me pdctv for free. I'll take it. Disappointing result for Barney today but it easily could have been a win, a whitewash even. Hopefully he can ring off a few W's. Don't want this to get sad. People highly tout Smith but he thinks he's already there. You ain't MvG son. Sit down.
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Feb 8, 2019 03:19
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The crowd wasn't feeling Gerwyn Price. 
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Feb 10, 2019 23:26
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Wait, what did I miss today? I only caught MvGs last 2 matches.
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Feb 11, 2019 04:25
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codo27 posted:Wait, what did I miss today? I only caught MvGs last 2 matches. The first match shown on BBC America saw a player being booed mightily by the crowd. I thought it was Price.
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Feb 12, 2019 02:57
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Man, the PDC could really step up its game as far as advertising times for matches. Like I'm pretty sure PL nights are thursday, but the way they are posting on twitter right now it looks like it could be tonight? Who knows? Just most of their advertising in general fails to mention start times.
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Feb 13, 2019 16:53
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Have you some The Darts: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPDC/videos/372511110211066/?notif_id=1550170218419801¬if_t=live_video_explicit
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Feb 14, 2019 20:07
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Motherfuckers caught up on the fact that I was getting pdctv for free. Looks like I'm gonna have to shell out now.
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Feb 15, 2019 01:10
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Encouraging result from Barney tonight. Hopp hasn't impressed in a little while but I thought he would deliver tonight. Loved that 170 checkout
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Mar 22, 2019 01:58
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I'm a bit behind but I'm watching the show from Aberdeen right now. I haven't seen trash thrown like that since WCW, with the difference being this was revelrous beer cups flying through the air. E- MOTY to this point that I've seen. 
CBJSprague24 fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 24, 2019 04:41
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Pretty impressed with Mensurs effort against MvG over the weekend. Cross keeps putting up big averages but still lacking that pedigree which is why he wins so few titles. Meanwhile MVG hasn't scored well in recent weeks but that 9 darter was crazy. I was out running errands and got home at about the 8th leg and missed it  Really looking forward to Rotterdam. Can't believe Smith could potentially be relegated, what's happened to him? Still more likely to be Barney but I think the tide may turn after that 170 last week.
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Mar 26, 2019 17:32
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Watching Judgement Night on DVR and ohhhhhh man, Barney's going to get wrecked in his sendoff game by MVG, isn't he?
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Apr 6, 2019 22:34
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It's been truly painful to watch. And it gets worse if you're not up to date
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Apr 7, 2019 23:00
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What caused the fireworks between Price and Gurney at the end of their match in Sheffield?
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May 13, 2019 04:19
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUd7o9miTkw Can't double check the vid right now but it was basically Gurney trying to start poo poo by playing on Price's reputation.
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May 13, 2019 10:53
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They are two dingbats, thats what caused it. All Price has to do is exist to piss people off these days, and Gurney isn't exactly Mr. Pleasant most of the time. All I know is this is getting out of hand, bringing the game back into the pub. Starting to remind me of our own league. They'll be on stage with smokes hanging out of their lips in a minute I've been playing a lot of webcam darts lately. I really need to rig something up better to mount my cam on instead of putting it on the back of my chair. But its a better level of competition than just playing the CPU. God the site is archaic though. Thats the worst part about darts being so relatively unpopular. Even the PDCs official stream is hit or miss. Their site and app dont make it easy or even possible sometimes to get scores and results. Could be in the middle of a tournament, go to the app and it makes no mention of it and just shows the next PL night? Its hard being a darts fan sometimes.
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May 13, 2019 12:01
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codo27 posted:They are two dingbats, thats what caused it. All Price has to do is exist to piss people off these days, and Gurney isn't exactly Mr. Pleasant most of the time. All I know is this is getting out of hand, bringing the game back into the pub. Starting to remind me of our own league. They'll be on stage with smokes hanging out of their lips in a minute I don't know if it's geoblocked somehow, but BBC America and PDC stream the shows in their entirety live on Facebook, with televised highlight shows (in the US) that night.
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May 14, 2019 03:05
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Phil of course picked Wade to win, unsurprisingly. I bet he would still be playing if MvG hadn't come along. Hope Mike'll get it done tonight. Hope I dont have to miss any, league phase nights start around 345 my time. I wont get clear of work til 430.
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May 23, 2019 16:16
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Premier League is over but GOOD NEWS LADS, IT'S MORE DARTS! https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPDC/videos/2051027141871221/?notif_id=1559840414947856¬if_t=live_video_explicit
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Jun 6, 2019 18:14
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I never expected anything out of Canada but they are doing it. What they are doing now wont cut it in the final stages though if they make it. Great win by Ireland! 115 average from O'Connor to demolish Cross, love that.
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Jun 8, 2019 20:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7UZ3wAV9To
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Aug 5, 2019 20:14
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They are really making Durrant the darling of the PDC. Wonder why. Expecting a return to form for MvG down under, or I hope so anyway. My god weekdays suck.
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Aug 5, 2019 23:09
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How the gently caress do I throw a dart with any accuracy at all? JFC, I am terrible at this poo poo.
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Aug 27, 2019 22:16
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There are many great videos on youtube, tips from the pros. This ones funny, just listen. Little translation hiccup there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QlP9OfbsLU Wayne Mardle who you may or may not know has a bunch of (ultra low res) videos on his channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJqP6xvDrNw This Bobby George video is decent as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zz_-wFF99Y And Live Darts, a recent startup, has done a series of videos with Paul Nicholson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsDbP_1x2VY So thats a start. My average was comfortably in the 60s early this year, but over the summer I've taken a big dive and have been fighting in practice to keep that 60 which is pathetic for someone who has sunk as much time in as I have. League starting next week, hoping I can turn things around. I went from MvG originals last summer, to the Harrows Sonic 22g, to the Target Carerra Azzurri AZ01s, back to my MvGs and I just tracked down a set of Barney's Unicorn Phase 1s, so I'm trying those out for now. Dont switch as much as I have. But try out different shaft length and flight combos to see what works. But dont switch too quickly or get discouraged if one leg doesn't go your way.
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Aug 27, 2019 23:39
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Once you've got all the fundamentals down I find that the follow through becomes key, making sure that your arm goes through straight and with enough oomph is where a lot of the accuracy comes from. Even just standing at the oche dartless and throwing your arm at the board a bit helps with that.
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Aug 28, 2019 10:26
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I think thats a lot of my downfall, my darts definitely float a bit compared to what I see on TV. Or in my mind anyway
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Aug 28, 2019 15:06
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Good news after 5000 or so darts I can actually hit numbers Im aiming at. Though doubles and triples are more fluke than skill.
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Sep 2, 2019 07:04
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The program that I use for scorekeeping tracks how many darts you've thrown. Back in May last year in threw 26,000. Its like anything else, you gotta put in the time. I have gone through a few short periods without practice over the summer and have suffered greatly, now I'm noticing some strain on my throwing arm after just 15-20 minutes of practice. I never had that before, no matter how long I played. But when I practice I just go throw after throw with no delay in between save the walk to and from the board. Its not so bad when actually playing people. I'm joining a new league this year and it starts tonight, they are using Dartconnect so thats going to be interesting. Leagues that use that are actually entered in a bunch of giveaways you enter by getting certain checkouts, so thats a little added incentive. Looking forward to playing singles this year instead of team darts. Target's launch event is today, begins in just a few hours. Hopefully some interesting products to be seen.
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Sep 3, 2019 12:31
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