The General Talk or Moan About Your Dart Skills Thread

Kingp35

Lads thought I would start a thread where we can talk about how well your playing at the moment, how crap your practice was tonight, asking for tips about stuff, give out about the new darts you bought and anything else to do with how your playing at the moment! Basically just general chat about our games.
Kind of a light hearted thread where we can take piss out of ourselves and each others games etc. and have a good old moan if you want :pac:


I played for a the last hour or so and I have been absolutely terrible! I keep throwing into the single five for some reason and it's driving me mad! I know I was taking the piss out of Barney for tinkering in another thread but think I'm going to go buy a few sets of flights and shafts etc and give them all a go, see if any of them suit. Don't think I have ever tried the pear shaped ones so might be worth a lash.

If any of you lot are having a bad practice session do you keep at it or just stop playing? I get really frustrated so I'm probably better off just letting it go for the night! If I do stop playing though I always think I should have kept at it. Annoys the hell out of me

Rented Mule

Man, did I sign on at the right time.

I started off tonight tearing a hole in the trip20. I played 5 games against the computer on Level 3 and had two ton plus finishes and won 4/5.

Then it went downhill......

I started nailing the trip 5 alot. Then I started nailing the trip 1. The next thing I know, I am hittting fat 5s and fat 1s.

Then my darts started bouncing out of the board......

So I signed on to see if there were any replies in the 'challenge thread' because 'poor practice makes for poor darts. There is no point in frustrating yourself and getting worse/possibly creating a new bad habit along the way.

Kingp35

What software are you using Rented? Is it the Lets Play Darts one?

Yeah I think you can over do the practice, thats kinda what happens to me I play well at start then end up all over the place. Maybe it takes practice playing long games against an opponent to get that right. Prob a concentration thing.

Sounds like your not doing too bad though if you can win 4/5 on Level 3! Thats decent going.

shenanigans1982

I had the problem for a while a few years ago of if we were playing a home game and I practised from the moment I arrived (about 20:00) right through to my match I would find my darts would suffer.

However if it was an away match the break from when we left our pub to getting to the other pub we were playing in really seemed to help.

dionsiseire

Im playing in a tournament in swords august 23rd, so i wanna get myself going well

i have been throwing ok the last few days, im starting off very sluggish, terrible release and then after about a half hour of throwing i start to click a bit more.

ive been holding up a 65-70 average in a game of first to 8 in 501 .vs. Me where my opponent can average anything between 53-75.

I would love to get up to averaging 80 over the span of 15 games knowing that would give me a good chance in this tournament.

most legs im finishing between 22 and 30 darts and i'll love to consistantly be 20-25 darts to finish a leg.

I use Dart Pro, are there any other good free programs?

Rented Mule

Kingp35 wrote: »

What software are you using Rented? Is it the Lets Play Darts one?

Yeah I think you can over do the practice, thats kinda what happens to me I play well at start then end up all over the place. Maybe it takes practice playing long games against an opponent to get that right. Prob a concentration thing.

Sounds like your not doing too bad though if you can win 4/5 on Level 3! Thats decent going.

I am using the N01 software that someone mentioned in an earlier thread

http://www.nakka.com/soft/n01/index_eng.html

I was really happy with my darts for the first five games last night. I haven't been playing as often as I used to (I was a barman in Chicago for eight years and was throwing 40+ hours per week) and was quite happy to see my darts hittng what I wanted. (Most nights I would settle for being 'close'. lol)

After the fifth game it went down hill .......FAST.

I was lucky to hit three fat 20s coming down and started pushing my darts. I was throwing 11, 15, 3, 23 ......it was not a pretty site. The computer was down to a double when I was in the mid-250s. So, as I said, I walked away.

I'll get back on the board tonight and see how many games I can get in. I have an eight month old son who I look after at night while my wife is at work, so it is hard to stay focussed on anything while he is awake. I just wish I had the freetime that I had when I was single !! lol

I will aslo say this about him. I sat him up in his pram in the kitchen (where I have the dartboard). He was watching me trying to figure out 'what the hell I am doing' lol. He started 'blowing rasberries' everytime I got up to the oche. I have thrown on stage in a few tournaments, but I will say this. It was much harder taking abuse from my son than any crowd I have ever been in front of before LOL

dionsiseire

Cheers for the link to the software, i'll give that game a go and see what level i can handle

i was just opening 501 in dartpro and creating legs which finish in 15 darts, 18 dart 21 darts etc etc etc and so forth to create a database of an opponent to play against

then i just use those legs in the 501 .vs. Me and i set the standard for myself to play against. Kept things interesting. though this one looks cool the way it generals a level of opponent, should help me practise, i dont want to embarrass myself in this tournament if the likes of jacko barry and co show up.

ratinakeg

Played 2 games of 501 last night and won both games, all though I was happy with my finish, (finishing on tops twice with just 1 dart in each game) I was'nt happy with my scoring. Its normally the last dart of the three whats letting me down at the moment just sliding into the 5. For instance last night 1st dart= t20, 2nd =t20 3rd = 5, I'm just hitting too many 45's and 55's making me abit angry:mad:. I don't know if its a concentration thing or what, anybody out there have a solution for this problem?

leggo

I frustrate the hell out of myself in practise.

If I could get the darts for it, I always say that I'd make a great sportsman as I'm so inconsistent and unpredictable it'd be very entertaining to watch I'd say. A bit like a crap version of Adrian Lewis. Can throw some amazing darts, but can play some ABSOLUTE ****e at times too.

Give me 7-8 legs practise and I get into a groove where anywhere from 80's to 100+'s are a regular. I'm lethal on D16 when I'm in the mood too. But jesus if I ever hope to do anything, even in the smallest of pub tournaments, you don't even get 7-8 legs for the most part.

Eh, what else can ya do but keep on chucking I suppose...

shenanigans1982

Anyone else here ever had the problem of not being able to release the dart?...I went through a phase of just moving my arm and not being able to throw the dart. Took a few weeks of just throwing the dart first time at nothing in particular to overcome it.

Rented Mule

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Anyone else here ever had the problem of not being able to release the dart?...I went through a phase of just moving my arm and not being able to throw the dart. Took a few weeks of just throwing the dart first time at nothing in particular to overcome it.

You just described 'dart-itis'. It crippled Eric Bristow's career. More psychological than anything else.

I think it happens to everyone at some point.

matty84

Good thread...
I played level 3 earlier on, best of 7legs but after having a 3-1 lead i let it slip and lost 4-3:eek: my average dropping from 23 to 17.8 in the space of 3 legs, just lost concentration as i could see the finishing line and took the foot off the gas:mad:

Plus does any1 get this when there practising, id throw 2 nice darts right near the t20 bed bending the wire, then with my third dart snatch my throw n nearly hit bullseye, its so annoying its just as i release my dart i can actually feel my arm not following thru enough and even be4 the dart hits the board i no it gonna be a bad 1:mad:

ps king ive a spare set of pear,slim,kite flights if ye like i could send them 2you mate

Rented Mule

matty84 wrote: »

Good thread...
Plus does any1 get this when there practising, id throw 2 nice darts right near the t20 bed bending the wire, then with my third dart snatch my throw n nearly hit bullseye, its so annoying its just as i release my dart i can actually feel my arm not following thru enough and even be4 the dart hits the board i no it gonna be a bad 1:mad:

It also sounds liek you are letting go of the last dart too early.

Just try to focus on each dart. I have a little thing that I do (or try) to make sure that I am focussing on what I should be doing.

I have three different colored hard-poly flights, green, white and gold, which I make sure to throw in that order. If I pick up a dart in the wrong order, I stop and start again, so that I am thinking about what I am doing.

When I do this regularly, I see a dramatic improvement in my darts. It may sound silly, but how many darts would you say that you have thrown while not really concentrating ?

Something to think about.

Kingp35

matty84 wrote: »

ps king ive a spare set of pear,slim,kite flights if ye like i could send them 2you mate

Yeah I would love them mate! Would be perfect for me, really wanna give all the different types a go.

Played for a bit tonight, I was much better and throwing my darts straight, not many went into the 1's or 5's but I wasn't hitting that many trebles either. I was happier tonight though because I know if I stay in the 20 bed then it doesnt take much adjustment to get it right.

dionsiseire

Was playing at my brothers 21st tonight, was playing a few legs against mick barry, brother of jason barry in the PDC

in no way embarrassed myself, had shots at doubles to take 2 or 3 of the 4 or 5 games i played against him, was unlucky just couldnt check out.

my scoring wasnt anything near as high as in practise, just couldnt hit the treble 20, but i was consistently scoring 60 or 97 if i went down for cover

decent nights darts

Rented Mule

My practice sessions are getting more and more frustrating.

I need to mix-up my games a bit. I am getting tired of playing 01 and could use a few games of cricket to get myself into mixing up my darts a bit more.

Does anyone know of any dart software that has other games other than 01 ? I would love to find one that has cricket as an option.

matty84

Rented Mule wrote: »

My practice sessions are getting more and more frustrating.

I need to mix-up my games a bit. I am getting tired of playing 01 and could use a few games of cricket to get myself into mixing up my darts a bit more.

Does anyone know of any dart software that has other games other than 01 ? I would love to find one that has cricket as an option.

Dartpro mate

Kingp35

Yeah Dartspro does it and its free software as well so cant go wrong.

Played 5 games in the pub last night and won them all so I must be doing something right! One of the lads I played is a top player as well and I played some great stuff against him. I seem to notice that the better the player that I am playing the better I will throw. If I am playing one of my mates who is pretty bad then I tend to throw bad as well. Dunno why that is.

Rented Mule

Cheers Lads.....I'll give it a go.

*********************************

EDIT: I just had a look at this on my computer at work.

Is the idea that I throw against games that I have already shot ?

dionsiseire

I was talking to my dad and he thinks my darts are holding my playback

im consistently getting bounce outs and he thinks the length of them combined with long metal shafts and pear shape flights he thinks i block access to the beds with them

so i took his advice and switched to a new set of darts, from 26g phil taylor darts, to what feel heavier maybe 28g or 29g darts, not sure, they are just a set that were around

changed to short shafts and kept the pear flights

decent success tonight, without even practicing to start i setup N01 on level 1

comfortably beat the level 1 for a 1 set to nil.

So i upped to level 2
i set myself the target of going 2 sets up to beat the level
i took level 2 for a score of 3-1 in sets

so i went to level 3
great game , my finishing let me down a little to keep up with the this level
i lost 4-2 scoring 26 tons, 6 ton 40's and 1 ton 80. average 17.6 a dart

i would say im playing as well with these darts as i was with my own darts, and im only playing with these 1 night.

Thats an interesting development for me i think, sustaining a level whilst changing weight was not something i think would be easy

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

decent success tonight, without even practicing to start i setup N01 on level 1

comfortably beat the level 1 for a 1 set to nil.

So i upped to level 2
i set myself the target of going 2 sets up to beat the level
i took level 2 for a score of 3-1 in sets

so i went to level 3
great game , my finishing let me down a little to keep up with the this level
i lost 4-2 scoring 26 tons, 6 ton 40's and 1 ton 80. average 17.6 a dart

i would say im playing as well with these darts as i was with my own darts, and im only playing with these 1 night.

Thats an interesting development for me i think, sustaining a level whilst changing weight was not something i think would be easy

That's impressive.

When you can score 68% of the total possible points (In eleven games you scored 3620 points out of a maximum 5511) on tons and above.

That's some serious shootin'.

It sounds like you spent most of your time trying to finish.

Kingp35

Rented Mule wrote: »

Cheers Lads.....I'll give it a go.

*********************************

EDIT: I just had a look at this on my computer at work.

Is the idea that I throw against games that I have already shot ?

I think thats how it works Rented, I haven't played the Cricket game on it yet tbh. I use software called "Lets Play Darts". I had to pay a fee for it but it was well worth it. You can play against the computer with different skill levels like the other software and it keeps some great stats about your game.


dionsiseire, sounds like your scoring really well just your doubles letting you down. I would be the opposite, my doubles are usually very good but my scoring lets me down at times. I have a second set of darts as well that are heavier to mine but I couldn't get used to time, I kept throwing them too high for some reason. Practice on the doubles a bit more because that scoring is very impressive!

dionsiseire

yeah i normally am ok on the doubles, might be the new darts that im struggling on the doubles with

might do a session on just doubles with these darts for a while and see if i cant get myself winning better, i did miss a lot of doubles in those games on level 3

rented mule, how did you work those stats out?

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

yeah i normally am ok on the doubles, might be the new darts that im struggling on the doubles with

might do a session on just doubles with these darts for a while and see if i cant get myself winning better, i did miss a lot of doubles in those games on level 3

rented mule, how did you work those stats out?

26 Tons - 2600 points (actually the stat is 100+ but we'll average it at 100)
6 Ton40s - 840
1 - Ton80 - 180
_________________
Total - 3620 points


Your overall record was 8-3 (I don't know how you lost with those numbers)

Eleven games of 501 - 5511 possible points (if you won every game)

3620/5511 = 66% of possible points on 100+ shots (my mistake for saying 68%)

You should move up and put some pressure on yourself. because you are wasting your time on those lower levels.

dionsiseire

how did i have an overall record of 8-3?

if your going on sets won at the different level it was 1 +3 + 2 which is 6 won by me
each set was 4 games to win the set

so in total at very least in the final game (with the above stats)
i won at least 8 games but it was a little more, maybe 12 games run
i lost 16 - 20

so its really the eleven games i dont understand

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

how did i have an overall record of 8-3?

if your going on sets won at the different level it was 1 +3 + 2 which is 6 won by me
each set was 4 games to win the set

so in total at very least in the final game (with the above stats)
i won at least 8 games but it was a little more, maybe 12 games run
i lost 16 - 20

so its really the eleven games i dont understand

My mistake.

I misunderstood 'sets' and counted them as individual games.

dionsiseire

dont worry about it, thought i was going mad trying to figure out my amazing dart skills

so im about as quarter as good as you said i was

awesome

Ronan|Raven

I havent played nor practiced in a few months now. Really rusty. No one plays darts down these parts until winter.

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

dont worry about it, thought i was going mad trying to figure out my amazing dart skills

so im about as quarter as good as you said i was

awesome

That explains the dart average, which i wasn't even going to touch LOL

Have no fear ...you are in good company around here.

dionsiseire

hahah excellent

17.6 for an average is about 54 (3 dart average)
which is ok

i traded blows at 70 and can comfortably throw at 60

i expect over coming weeks with the new darts to get back to those levels, the doubles are so very important in getting those averages up

3 missed darts at a double wrecks your average, let alone 15

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

hahah excellent
3 missed darts at a double wrecks your average, let alone 15

Life can be so cruel lol

I have decided to find the time to throw 20 legs of darts per day, and record all of the details provided by N01.

It is not much now considering it was one day, but as the weeks go by it should be something to look at

dionsiseire

~Does N01 record your data?

i have autosave on but im not sure how to view old data through it
i cant even get the damn program to use the caller plugin, even though it says its enabled

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

~Does N01 record your data?

i have autosave on but im not sure how to view old data through it
i cant even get the damn program to use the caller plugin, even though it says its enabled

I don't know to be honest. I just put together an excel spread sheet so that I can add my numbers as I go along.

It should be interesting to see if I see any improvement as I go along, especially with my dart averages/high outs.

dionsiseire

well i went out again tonight

i played 11 sets with computer level 3

i won the first set 4-1 and thought magic, im playing amazing
in the next 10 sets i continued great scoring
at the end i had scored
49 - 100's
7 - 140's
1 - 180

i lost 10 sets to 1

i averaged 19.6 per dart, i thought i played well, but i kept getting beaten

Rented Mule

dionsiseire wrote: »

i averaged 19.6 per dart, i thought i played well, but i kept getting beaten

Thats the frustrating part about playing the computer. Generally when you are hitting numbers like that you can rattle your opponent a bit, but that doesn't happen with a computer.

dionsiseire

aye true, but i think playing the computer represents a top opponent, because top players no matter what they average wont get rattled by a ton, ton 40, they will just respond in kind

so i guess its a lesson learned, i was cruising at 4-1 in the first set, lost the second set 4-3 then the rest of the sets were 4-2 or 4-1 losses

it hurt

a lot

matty84

Kingp35 wrote: »

Yeah I would love them mate! Would be perfect for me, really wanna give all the different types a go.

Hi mate sorry for the delay, ill be heading down the post office sometime during next week, so if you still want the flights you can pm your address to me and ill send them 2you
Cheers

Kingp35

matty84 wrote: »

Hi mate sorry for the delay, ill be heading down the post office sometime during next week, so if you still want the flights you can pm your address to me and ill send them 2you
Cheers

Cheers Matty! I'll pm you my address now.

matty84

Kingp35 wrote: »

Cheers Matty! I'll pm you my address now.

Sent them flights out to ye today mate, shud get them by 2moro or wednesday, sent a set of slim,standard,kite,and pears..
Best of luck pal
Cheers

dionsiseire

Playing well tonight, scoring heavily and regularly in the treble 20
plenty of ton and ton 40's flying in and it seems i get one 180 a night now

but i could be winning by more legs if i could just hit them damn doubles, really am struggling on them. trying right now to keep a session of double working for myself just switching to the main one's i always leave

16 8 4 2's
18 9
20 10

still not hitting them great but i guess practice makes perfect, had a 19 dart leg tonight and i had a 37 dart leg in 1001 which is the equivelent of 2 16 and a half dart legs or a 16 and a 17 dart leg respectively

so when i am hitting them im down in a handful of darts, when im not its 27 and 30 dart legs

nightmare

matty84

dionsiseire wrote: »

Playing well tonight, scoring heavily and regularly in the treble 20
plenty of ton and ton 40's flying in and it seems i get one 180 a night now

but i could be winning by more legs if i could just hit them damn doubles, really am struggling on them. trying right now to keep a session of double working for myself just switching to the main one's i always leave

16 8 4 2's
18 9
20 10

still not hitting them great but i guess practice makes perfect, had a 19 dart leg tonight and i had a 37 dart leg in 1001 which is the equivelent of 2 16 and a half dart legs or a 16 and a 17 dart leg respectively

so when i am hitting them im down in a handful of darts, when im not its 27 and 30 dart legs

nightmare

Good darting mate, i was the same myself on the doubles before id be down to a double on 15/16 darts and id be needing 9 or 10 (maybe more) darts to finally nail it..

What i found helpful was improving your hand to eye co-ordination, just pick 1 spot on the board to hit and line it up and try hit it over and over again, you'll be surprised how much your accuracy/concentration/confidence around the dartboard will improve.

Kingp35

matty84 wrote: »

Sent them flights out to ye today mate, shud get them by 2moro or wednesday, sent a set of slim,standard,kite,and pears..
Best of luck pal
Cheers

Cheers mate, you're a hero! Looking forward to giving the different flights a go.

I have been working on throwing the darts straight over the last few nights to try and stop the drift into the 5 or 1. I seem to be getting much better at it, I managed to play a couple of legs without missing the big number at all. I know it's hardly earth shattering but if you can hit a solid 60 everytime to step to the oche then you have a great starting point.

I also seem to be able to hit T19 much easer than T20 lately for some reason. Very tempting to aim for the T19 with first dart but I don't think that's the way to go.

Kingp35

I got those flights in the post today Matty, Cheers!!

matty84

No problem mate best of luck with them,!!!

Rented Mule

I have been trying to throw 20 legs of darts per night, at least three times per week, and I am starting to see an improvement. I am also starting to see where some of my bad habots are starting to creep into my game as well.

1) not pointint the dart straight in my hand
2) rushing my darts
3) not keeping an accurate count in my head
4) not making sure that I always (try to) leave myself a finish
5) not foccussing.

Irish_Call

I was looking at the different setting in dartpro this eve and it looks like you can set up to play games with people online, has anyone tried this? Would anyone be interested in giving this a go?

Kingp35

Yeah I have tried it before, played against Ronan|Raven a few times and it works great.

I would be interested in playinga few games with you, just give me a shout and we can try set it up and organise a time to play!

Irish_Call

Kingp35 yes that would be great i hope you give me a chance, when suits for you to give it a go?

dionsiseire

Thing is you can type in any score

relies on an aweful lot of honestly

Irish_Call

I am looking for the practice don't get out much, it wouldn't be in my interest to not be honest so there will be no problems with me there. I would be hoping everyone would play fair

Kingp35

dionsiseire wrote: »

Thing is you can type in any score

relies on an aweful lot of honestly

Well its all about practice really, I don't see the point in cheating because your only lying to yourself and you will never get better that way. If you lose the game but get in some good practice then it's all good.

I don't think I'm around much this week Irish_Call. Maybe tomorrow night, ill post up here if I'm available.