Being able to calculate your checkout at any point in the game is key to being a great dart player. If you have to think too much about it you will break your rhythm and once that happens your chances of a clean finish are reduced dramatically.
However, the good news is that there are a number of ways that you can improve your finishing:
- Start from 50 and practice checking out in as few darts as possible. Every time you successfully finish add one to your score and try to check out on that. Try this with a mate to add the competitive element.
- Take a look at the top darts players favourite finishes.
- Play shorter games like 301, 201 or even 101 - you will find that the shorter games mean that the finsihes come around more quickly which adds to the pressure to learn your finishes.
- Volunteer to chalk at your local pub. Nothing helps you learn to checkout as fast as watching other skilled players finish. You will quickly find that you are able to anticipate the throws that the players make.
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A Classic Darts Match - 2 of the alltime greats
John Lowe & Jocky Wilson at Jollees in 1982. Watch Jockys’ 10 Dart Finish. With Bobby George and Peter Purves
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Bob L asked:
I have been playing darts for my local in a pub league in Sheffield, England for a while & feel I am ready to broaden into better leagues. I have tried looking for info but drawn a blank. Any suggestions?
What kind of league you join really depends on the level you wish to play at. If you want to check out an up and coming league in sheffield you might want to take a look at the Mag-7 League.
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hrmilford asked:
I thought it must be something to do with 8ft away from the dart board but oche is 8 in spanish and italian, darts is English, so why the foreign connection?
The honest truth is that nobody really knows! But when rules were first applied to the game of darts in the 1920’s the word used to refer to the line that the darts player stands behind was hockey.
This usage continued for many years and was used in one of the original major tournaments - The News Of The World Championship.
According to Patrick Chamberlain (The Darts Historian) the term ‘Oche’ may well come from an old english word - hocken meaning to spit. His theory is that, as darts was originally played in pubs where the floor was covered in sawdust and the room contained a number of spitoons. The hockey line was determined by the length a player could spit with his back to the dartboard.
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How far away is the throw line? How high is the centre bullseye from the floor?
The height of the dartboard from the centre of the bullseye to the floor should be 5 feet and eight inches (or 1.73 metres)
The distance from the centre of the bullseye to the throw line (or oche as it is better known) is 7 feet nine and a quarter inches (or 2.73 metres)
If you are looking for a new dartboard why not checkout the range available here.
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M. van Gerwen asked:
Raymond van Barneveld and Mervyn King use ear plugs when playing darts to block out the noise of the crowd. Do you think it is a good idea? Some people say you lose some of your balance when doing this and balance is very important in darts.
I think your best bet is to try them out in some practice games. It is unlikely that they will affect your balance but you may well find them distracting to start with.
If this is the case, and improving your concentration is the aim, you may find that chewing gum helps. I know it may seem strange but many of the superleague and county players I have played have done this.
Alternatively you may find that exposing yourself to as many competitions as you can will help impove your concentration. The distractions that affect you in a normal pub game seem to fade away when you up the ante and compete at a higher level.
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