Every darts player, from first-time pub throwers to seasoned league competitors, makes mistakes. The difference between those who improve and those who plateau is recognising what’s going wrong and knowing how to fix it.
The frustrating truth is that most mistakes are invisible to the person making them. You might sense something’s off when your darts scatter across the board, but pinpointing the actual cause requires honest self-assessment. That’s what this guide is for: shining a light on the errors that hold players back and giving you practical solutions to address them.
Gripping Too Tightly
This is probably the most common mistake in darts, and it affects players at every level. When you grip the dart like you’re trying to strangle it, several problems occur. Your fingers become rigid, making a smooth release almost impossible. Tension spreads up your arm, affecting your throw. And when you do release, the dart often flies unpredictably because your fingers don’t let go evenly.
The fix: Your grip should be firm enough to control the dart but relaxed enough that someone could pull it from your fingers with gentle resistance. A helpful mental image is holding a small bird: tight enough that it can’t escape, but not so tight that you hurt it. If you notice white knuckles or finger indentations in your skin after throwing, you’re holding on too hard.
Try consciously relaxing your grip before each throw. Some players find it helps to give the dart a tiny waggle in their fingers before starting their motion, just to confirm they’re not locked up.
Inconsistent Stance
Your stance is the foundation of your throw. If it changes from dart to dart, everything else becomes unpredictable. Many players don’t even realise their stance varies: sometimes they lean more forward, sometimes their back foot shifts, sometimes their weight distribution changes.
The fix: Find a stance that feels comfortable and stable, then commit to it completely. Most players do well with their dominant foot forward, toe touching or just behind the oche, with about 70% of their weight on the front foot. But the exact stance matters less than consistency.
One useful technique is to mark your foot positions with a small piece of tape during practice. This forces you to set up identically each time. After a few sessions, the correct position becomes automatic and you won’t need the markers.
Dropping Your Elbow
Your elbow is the pivot point of your throw, and it should remain relatively fixed throughout the motion. Many players unconsciously drop their elbow during the backswing, which causes darts to fly high or scatter unpredictably. This is sometimes called “chicken winging” when the elbow also moves outward.
The fix: Practise in front of a mirror, watching your elbow from start to finish. It should stay at roughly the same height throughout. Some players find it helpful to imagine their elbow is resting on an invisible shelf that prevents it from dropping.
If you notice the problem persists, try shortening your backswing slightly. A smaller motion is easier to keep controlled, and you don’t actually need a huge backswing to generate enough power for the short distance to the board.
Poor Follow-Through
What happens after you release the dart matters almost as much as what happens before. A weak or absent follow-through leads to wobbling darts and inconsistent grouping. Some players stop their arm dead after release, while others let it drop to the side.
The fix: After releasing, let your arm extend naturally towards the target. Your hand should finish pointing directly at where you aimed, with a slight upward flick of the wrist. Think of it like throwing a paper aeroplane: you wouldn’t stop your arm abruptly mid-motion.
A good test is to freeze after each throw and check your arm position. Is it pointing at the target? Is your wrist gently turned upward? If you’re finishing in odd positions each time, you’ve identified a key area for improvement.
Rushing Your Throw
Impatience ruins more darts than almost any other factor. When you rush, your stance isn’t settled, your grip isn’t comfortable, and your aim isn’t focused. The result is scattered darts and frustration that makes you rush even more.
This problem often worsens under pressure. When you need a double to win, the temptation to just get the dart away can be overwhelming. But hurried throws rarely hit their target.
The fix: Develop a consistent pre-throw routine and stick to it regardless of the situation. This might include taking a breath, settling your stance, finding your grip, focusing on the target, and then throwing. The routine shouldn’t take forever, but it should be long enough to ensure you’re properly set up.
Watch professional players on TV. They never rush. Each dart follows the same deliberate rhythm whether they’re 5-0 up or facing match darts against them. That consistency is no accident.
Aiming at the Wrong Targets
Many players automatically throw at treble 20 on every visit, regardless of where their darts actually land. If you consistently miss left into the 1 and 5, you’re giving away points for no reason. The same applies to doubles: stubbornly going for double 16 when you miss it eight times out of ten makes no sense.
The fix: Be honest about your tendencies. If your darts naturally group to the left of where you aim, try treble 19 instead of treble 20. The maths actually favours treble 19 for inconsistent players because the neighbouring segments (7 and 3) are less punishing than the 1 and 5 around treble 20.
For doubles, identify which ones you hit most reliably and engineer your finishes to land on them. There’s no shame in preferring double 8 over double 16 if that’s where your darts consistently land.
Neglecting Doubles Practice
This might be the biggest strategic mistake in darts. Many players spend the vast majority of their practice time on scoring and almost none on finishing. Then they wonder why they can’t close out legs despite outscoring their opponents.
A player averaging 55 who hits 40% of their doubles will beat a player averaging 65 who only hits 20%. Finishing is that important.
The fix: Dedicate at least half of your practice time to doubles. Games like Bob’s 27 force you to work through every double on the board, not just your favourites. Around the Clock on doubles is another excellent routine.
When you do practise doubles, don’t just throw at them randomly. Simulate match situations. Start on 40, the most common checkout in darts. Miss? Now you’re on 20. Miss again? You’re on 10. This kind of pressure practice translates directly to match performance.
Using Wrong Equipment
Playing with darts that don’t suit your throwing style creates unnecessary obstacles to improvement. This includes dart weight, barrel shape, grip pattern, stem length, and flight size. Even small mismatches can affect your consistency.
The fix: Experiment systematically. Try different weights, starting around 22-24 grams for most players. Test various barrel shapes to find one that matches your grip position. Adjust stem length and flight size based on your throw trajectory.
If you’re still using brass darts, upgrading to tungsten is one of the best investments you can make. The slimmer profile allows tighter grouping, which becomes increasingly important as your accuracy improves.
Don’t assume what works for professionals will work for you. Phil Taylor’s darts might feel completely wrong in your hand. Find equipment that complements your natural throw.
Playing Without Focus
Mindless practice is wasted practice. Throwing darts at the board while chatting, watching TV, or thinking about work accomplishes very little. Your brain needs to be engaged with the task for muscle memory to develop properly.
The fix: Treat practice sessions with purpose. Set specific goals for each session: hit a certain number of treble 20s, complete Bob’s 27 with a positive score, hit five double 16s in a row. Track your results and try to improve on them.
Short, focused sessions beat long, distracted ones. Twenty minutes of deliberate practice where you concentrate on every throw will improve your game faster than two hours of casual throwing.
Not Recovering from Misses
Every player misses. What separates improving players from stuck players is how quickly they move on. Dwelling on a missed double affects your next throw, which affects the one after that, creating a spiral of frustration and poor performance.
The fix: Develop a mental reset routine. After a miss, take a breath, step back from the oche briefly if needed, and consciously clear your mind before the next dart. The miss has happened; it’s in the past. Your only job now is to throw the next dart well.
Some players use physical cues to reset: touching their back pocket, adjusting their shirt, or bouncing on their toes. The specific action doesn’t matter; what matters is having a trigger that signals “that dart is forgotten, focus on this one.”
Comparing Yourself to Professionals
Watching Luke Littler average 110 is inspiring, but constantly measuring yourself against elite players can be demoralising and counterproductive. These are the best players in the world who’ve thrown millions of darts over many years. Expecting to match their level quickly is unrealistic.
The fix: Compete against yourself, not against the TV. Track your own averages, your own checkout percentages, your own Bob’s 27 scores. Celebrate when you improve on your personal bests. A jump from 45 average to 50 average is genuine progress that deserves recognition, even if it’s a long way from professional level.
Use the pros for inspiration and technique analysis, not as a benchmark for your own performance. The only comparison that matters is you against you.
Throwing Too Hard
Darts isn’t a power sport. The board is only 2.37 metres away, and you don’t need to launch the dart like a javelin to reach it. Throwing hard creates tension throughout your arm and body, reduces control, and often results in worse accuracy.
The fix: Think of the throw as a controlled push rather than a powerful hurl. The force comes from your forearm and wrist, not from your shoulder or body. A smooth, fluid motion will send the dart where you want it far more reliably than a muscular heave.
If you’re unsure whether you’re throwing too hard, try deliberately throwing softer for a session. Many players are surprised to find their accuracy improves when they dial back the power. Find the minimum force needed to reach the board comfortably and work from there.
Not Tracking Your Progress
How do you know if you’re improving if you don’t keep records? Many players have only a vague sense of their level and can’t identify patterns in their performance. Without data, you can’t make informed decisions about what to work on.
The fix: Keep a practice diary or use an app to track key metrics: your three-dart average, checkout percentage, Bob’s 27 scores, and any other relevant statistics. Review this data regularly to spot trends and identify weaknesses.
Our practice games track your performance automatically, making it easy to see improvement over time. Even a simple notebook works. The important thing is consistency in recording and reviewing.
Putting It All Together
Most players are making at least two or three of these mistakes right now. The good news is that awareness is the first step to improvement. Now that you know what to look for, you can start addressing these issues in your practice.
Don’t try to fix everything at once. Pick the one or two mistakes that resonate most strongly with your experience and focus on those first. Once you’ve corrected them, move on to the next. Sustainable improvement comes from steady, focused work rather than trying to overhaul everything simultaneously.
The path from casual player to consistent performer is paved with countless small corrections and adjustments. Every mistake you identify and fix brings you one step closer to the player you want to be.
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