Let's talk about darts

[SG89]

I think a quality board is more important that quality darts. I have been playing darts for decades but usually use the crappy bar darts. At home I use an old tungsten set my dad gave me. I play darts at least once a week and have for most of my life but have never been on a league and for some reason never considered nicer darts.

Thanks, now I am gonna spend all day looking at darts online and am probably gonna spend some money that I should be spending on Spydies or diapers.

Don't worry darts are cheap as heck compared to Spydies... My set cost $15

That's a great looking set for $15!!

....as with any luxury hobby item the sky is the limit, there are plenty of $50-$100 sets out there and you can probably pay more if you want to.

Of course MallWart has brass sets for under $10 that stick in to the board just fine

Mine stick in the dart board and the wall just great

[bearfacedkiller]

Do you like the weight of those? They look heavy.

My darts are, I would guess, an average weight for darts. I think that I throw the heavier darts better.

I have always had a dart board at home, even as a kid, and I play darts at the bar with buddies fairly often. I am kind of surprised at how little I know about them. :confused:

Are you joining a league SG? I was on a bowling league for years and think that I could enjoy playing on a dart team. My father was in a dart league and a pool league when I was a kid. I never got that good at pool but I can close a game of cricket in about 12 turns usually and sometimes I can do it in 8 or 9. I don't know if that is league worthy or not.

[SG89]

They are 21 gram. I play at home in our workshop with friends and family. We are working on getting a kegerator type system hooked up as well. I'll never need to leave home again lol except to go to work... To support my Spydie habit

[bearfacedkiller]

Oh man! Living the dream!

[Dr. Snubnose]

Some advice (from an old dart champ): 1) First and most important is that your darts hit the board straight. If the flight is tilted up or down it might block a future target area. (It's also a sign of poor flight/weight selection) 2) Thinner darts are easier to place side by side. (for instance three center bulls or three triple 20's in a game of Cricket. 3) Wooden, Brass and Tungsten darts are all user friendly, stay clear of any shinny (coated/plated)Chrome Darts as they are extremely slippery when your fingers sweat during play and are difficult to control.

A) Find a weight and dart barrel that feels comfortable to hold and roll in the fingers (knurling on a dart helps control)

B) If the dart does not hit the board perfectly straight with the flight combination that came with the darts, this can be corrected without having to buy many sets of darts to correct the problem. There exists basically Soft Plastic Flights (In different design shapes),Hard Plastic Flights, Feathered Flights (Small and Large) and a variety of shafts for the soft plastic flights in varying lengths. On the Soft flights just by experimenting with the different shaft lengths can correct the problem. Also a different soft plastic flight design or shape can make those darts hit straight for you. Changing to a small or large feather flight could do the trick. Or any combination thereof....Basically you got to experiment after you choose your darts...don't stop till your darts hit straight....

Once played a tournament on the "Queen Mary"..... Played with a $450.00 set of Custom Tungsten Darts 19 grams, the flights were 10 cent hard plastic flights (like the kind that come with a cheap set of darts and that cardboard dart board).....IIRC I did pretty good....lol....Those darts hit the board straight!....So it's not what it looks like, not what's in fashion....but like everything else....what WORKS!.....Hope that helps...Doc:)

[abbazaba]

Buying a "blade" type board was the best thing I ever did for my dart habit, other than mounting a spot light.

https://www.amazon.com/Winmau-Blade-4-B ... B00554IAOY

I have a box full of parts from Muellers.com... its fun to play with different shaft lengths and flight shapes. The little rubber o-rings that stop the shaft from loosening are a great purchase. You might find that thinner barrels on your darts will be necessary as your groups get tighter.

[SG89]

I love the o-rings!

[abbazaba]

Not sure my wallet likes this thread... I just bought a Winmau Blade 5, mine was a Blade 3. No idea why I needed the upgrade!

What games do you all play a lot besides Cricket? I'm a big fan of around the clock, where doubles and triples skip the next number(s), and if you hit your number on your third dart you get another full turn so you can potentially run the board. Best of all, no scoring required!

[SG89]

That's a nice board

[Water Bug]

Not sure my wallet likes this thread... I just bought a Winmau Blade 5, mine was a Blade 3. No idea why I needed the upgrade!

What games do you all play a lot besides Cricket? I'm a big fan of around the clock, where doubles and triples skip the next number(s), and if you hit your number on your third dart you get another full turn so you can potentially run the board. Best of all, no scoring required!

Besides American Cricket, I like 501 straight start/double out, 301 double in/double out, Round The World (i.e., Round The Clock), Killer, Legs, and Shanghai. Killer is particularly fun since several players can participate and the game can become quite competitive... alliances are quickly formed and dropped as the game goes along.

[Dr. Snubnose]

I like the game of 'Spanish' ( which is like cricket only you go 20-10 without the bull) can be players with points) Also like the game of 'Across the board' to start you must hit a double 6 to start... Once hit you go outer pie of the 6 then triple 6 and then inner pie 6... Once accomplished you have to hit outer bull ( right side) then center bull followed by outer bull left side. Then run down across the board using the 11's. Inner pie, triple 11 outer pie 11 then finish on double 11. This is a great game to improve your bulls eye shooting... Three direct hits in a row wins you a free turn to go again. Doc:)

[Dr. Snubnose]

Another fun game is called Baseball ... You shoot 9 numbers (9 innings) 1-9. Runs are scored cumulative for each inning. Inner and outer pies count for one run, double ring for two runs and triple ring for three runs...simple and fun!...Doc!

[SG89]

Thanks for talking about all the different games... After playing a few days now with my darts I will need to get some slimmer barrels-tungsten

[abbazaba]

Another fun game is called Baseball ... You shoot 9 numbers (9 innings) 1-9. Runs are scored cumulative for each inning. Inner and outer pies count for one run, double ring for two runs and triple ring for three runs...simple and fun!...Doc!

Baseball is a popular game at the Easter get together. This talk has me more excited than usual!

[Johnnie1801]

Do they show professional darts on tv in the US or have you got any pro players and leagues etc? The only US pro I remember was Paul Lim who got one of the first televised 9 dart finishes.

https://youtu.be/Kj5Xg4ADmhs

[abbazaba]

First time on the Sharpmaker :)

[Water Bug]

Do they show professional darts on tv in the US or have you got any pro players and leagues etc? The only US pro I remember was Paul Lim who got one of the first televised 9 dart finishes.

I've watched professional dart tournaments on TV here in the United States that were hosted by, I believe, the Professional Darts Corporation on the sports cable stations. I believe the tournaments were played in the United Kingdom. It's been a few years since I've seen professional dart tournaments on TV.

We do have professional dart players in the US (such as Leonard Gates, Larry Butler, Paula Murphy, and Cali West), and many cities have dart associations that form leagues. There are open dart tournaments sanctioned by the American Darts Organization here in the US, although I do not recall any of them being televised on US TV as they do in the UK.

And, nine-dart finishes are something to watch. John Lowe of England achieved the first televised nine-dart finish at the MFI World Matchplay on October 13, 1984. Paul Lim of the US achieved the second televised nine-darter and was also the first player to shoot a nine-dart finish during the Embassy World Darts Championship on January 9, 1990.