Congratulations to those that made it to the Darts Masters in Hamilton last month, what an event.
If that has given you some ideas about becoming a darting professional just rein in the enthusiasm a bit. After talking to Michael Smith and looking up what other big winners earn on the circuit it’s not as glamorous or as easy as you might think. When Michael was on tour and wanted to bring his wife and 2 boys, he had to dip into his own pocket for all the extra flights and costs. You might say that’s understandable but unless you can make it to the top 32 in the world and stay there the income is not actually that dramatic. It is getting bigger as televised games go through a resurgence in popularity, but when you see youngsters like Luke Littler smashing the top echelon out of tournaments as he has done since the 2024 World Darts Championship at the Ally Pally, staying in the top paying spots gets rather fragile. Paul Nicholson describes it as “a very well paid hobby” if you can manage it on top of a regular job, but very few have ever made a quality lifestyle as a professional dart player. In the early days Nathan Aspinall started out playing winning darts until he quit his job. The pressure of having to win to pay the bills and look after his family was too much and he went back to a regular job 6 months later. Darts is very much a mental game more than physical.
But if you can get past the idea that it’s money for jam it’s a great social game that anyone can pick up and play without much cost or even much effort. I found it useful to teach my kids how to add, multiply and subtract while having fun. I think it should be added to all primary school maths classes. There are various websites and You Tube clips available to give you tips on how to stand and throw, and even lists of the best ways to finish on a double, but in the end you’ll find the way that works for you as you spend time practicing. As general advice I’d say relax, focus on the exact spot you want the dart to land, follow through and don’t rush your shot. Your natural rhythm will come with practice, but accuracy is way more important than speed.
The standard game starts at 501 and counts down to finish on a double. Other variations are 301 start (better for beginners) and either option with a double to start as well as finish. There are many social game options and probably more to be created. Here is a quick overview of the more popular games, look them up on-line for detailed rules or make them up as you go, it’s all practice.
A great game you can play on your own or compete with others is to go around the board sequentially from 1 to 20 just aiming for doubles, and/or triples, and not moving to the next number until hitting the one you’re aiming for. If you keep a record of how many darts it takes you to get through each round you will be able to see how you improve over time. A variation of this I call Rock Around The Clock where each player aims to hit 1, 2, 3, 4 etc to finish on bull (single or double). Doubles mean skip the next number, triples mean you skip 2 numbers. You only have to remember which number you are aiming for next so no scoring is required. Play solo for practice or race to the finish against others.
Cricket/Tactics/Mickey Mouse – in the USA this is Cricket, in the UK it’s known as Tactics, and Asians know it as Mickey Mouse. Start with the numbers 20-14 and D, T, B (double, treble, bull) written down the middle of the scoreboard. Take turns to open each number by hitting 3 times before scoring each hit after that, while your opponent tries to close out each number to stop you scoring, at the same time trying to score on their open numbers while you try to close them. Doubles and triples count as 2 or 3 hits. Highest score when all closed wins.
Cricket – the UK version of Cricket is more like actual cricket. One bats while the other bowls, after 10 outs you swap roles. Bowler hits bulls to get batters out, batter must score 40 before adding runs. If the batter hits a bull or outside the double ring it is a run out. Highest score after both sides have batted wins.