I hope this mini-series on practicing has been useful to you so far. In this post I will add some more routines that fit the Darts Finishing University criteria.
The routines are carefully chosen so they work with any skill level. This means they will never get old or outdated.
The routines are fluid and fast-paced. This is important, so you don’t keep interrupting your rhythm by continually stopping to write down what you just hit. By keeping it fast and fluid you maintain your rhythm and intensity. This is very important and should not be overlooked.
The routines – once learned – are easy to keep up with in real-time. They are not overly complicated and do not require you to memorize complex sequences that distract your focus and attention.
The one thing they are not is easy. They are scalable, so should be set at a level just above your current comfort zone. Once you have completed them at that level a few times, increase the difficulty slowly but surely until you have taken it as far as you can.
This is the pathway to continuous and rapid improvement
Routines
In this post I detail two very important routines. When used together with Darts Finishing Mastery: How to Master the Art of Finishing, these routines will get you throwing at every finishing combination you will ever encounter.
Not only will you practice every finish, you will be doing it in a way that drills them into your head, so they become instinctive and second nature. The mathematics will be removed, and you will know exactly what you need to do – each and every time with no hesitation.
To get the most out of these routines, you will need a copy of Darts Finishing Mastery: How to Master the Art of Finishing to work alongside with.
Here are the routines:
2-100 (3 Darts or more, depending on your current level)
This is a great practice game that can be spread out over several different sessions. It is also the one I recommend for really getting the finishes ingrained in your head and learning them deeply and completely.
The finishes you will encounter here represent every finish you will ever encounter for the vast majority of your playing career, no matter what standard you eventually reach. You will find yourself facing a finish between 2-100 most of the time, which is why it is so important you practice them as often as possible.
This routine will - once-and-for-all - solve all the problems that arise when your darts miss their intended targets. By regularly incorporating this routine in your practice sessions, you will encounter every scenario that is possible with every finish, and after you have done them a few times, you will know what to go for without even thinking about it.
This routine - allied to the detailed finishing theory contained within the pages of Darts Finishing Mastery: How to Master the Art of Finishing – will take you effortlessly and easily to step 4 – Mathematical Enlightenment. For this reason, it is a highly recommended routine to incorporate into you regular practice sessions.
Not only does it ingrain every finish into your brain easily and effortlessly, it is also a brilliant way to add intensity to your practice by forcing you to try with every dart. Just like in real match-play, you will feel the tension when you’re throwing. You will have to handle the frustration that arises when you miss, and you will have to remain calm under pressure to complete the shot. And it gets harder the further you go into the routine.
This is a fantastic routine to practice every finish on the board from 2-100, so don’t overlook it. It’s certainly not easy, but the rewards are huge. Once you see yourself regularly hitting all these finishes with 3 darts or less, your confidence will soar, and it will take your game to places you never believed possible.
If you are just starting out, don’t despair. Like all the routines included in this mini-series, it is adjustable to your current level of play. Start out with 6, 9, or even more darts to get each finish. Once you can do it, lower the number of darts needed until you can do them all in 3. This way, even if you are a complete newcomer, you will knock years off the learning curve and you will improve at an incredible rate.
Although it is simple in concept, this routine is far from easy.
Here’s how it works:
Starting on D1, cycle through every single finish one at a time with three darts or less (or whatever your starting number is). The aim is to go all the way from 2-100, hitting every single one of them along the way.
This routine can take a while to get through, but it can be broken up into manageable sessions. It doesn’t matter if it takes one hour, one day, one week or longer. Just stay with it and get there. You will learn so much by doing this, and you will get intimate with every single one of the finishes.
You have to hit the finish with 3 darts or less (or whatever number you start out with) or you don’t move on. Give it a try. It is difficult and addictive, but the rewards are huge if you persevere with it.
The early ones are easy. You get all 3 darts at D1. If you hit single 1 you have burst your score, so start again with all 3 darts.
Then you move onto 3. This is a two-dart finish, so you only get 2 darts to hit the double. Then you are back to getting all three darts again when you go for D2, and so on.
Even when you get into the 41-50 range and the 51-60’s, you still have 2 darts to get the double. Once you get to 61 and above, it starts to get harder.
When you get past 80 it starts to get really difficult, especially in the 90’s. 99 is a special finish all by itself because it is the only one from the entire routine that is a 3-dart finish. Once you reach 100 congratulate yourself on a job well done, because you will deserve it. Then go back and do it again.
This routine is a lesson in patience, but it is well worth the effort you put into it.
the only blog you'll ever need to set up, finish and out perform any of your darting rivals!
Let’s move on…
101-170 (6 Darts or more, depending on your current level)
As above, you will need to do this routine alongside a copy of Darts Finishing Mastery: How to Master the Art of Finishing.
This is an advanced routine, and is the partner to the one above, and it steps it up yet another notch. This routine takes you all the way up to the coveted 170, and if you do this after completing the previous one, you will have taken out every single finish on the dartboard. Not many players can ever say they have done that!
This routine follows the same patterns as the previous one except that this time you give yourself 6 darts (or whatever level you set) to complete the task. If you are just getting started, you might want to skip this until you can complete 2-100 in a reasonable amount of darts.
If you still want to attempt it, raise the number of darts required from 6 to whatever you need. It could be 12, 15, or even 18. It doesn’t matter at the beginning. As your skill and knowledge improves, lower the number of darts needed until you are able to cycle through it in 6 darts or less. You will then be a really feared and formidable finisher!
As before, this routine can be split over several sessions. After the first 3 darts, you will find yourself more often than not on one of the finishes in the previous routine. This will give you more practice at the finishes in the critical range of 2-100, whilst giving you a chance of hitting the big, adrenaline pumping dream out-shots.
Once you reach 170 with 6 darts or less, you can either start again at 101, or start at the very beginning with the previous routine and go all the way from 2-170 in either 3 or 6 darts (or whatever level you set). This is difficult, but incredibly rewarding.
As before in the previous post, the above are two of the best practice routines available for hitting your doubles. As I have stated on many occasions, this is the most important part of the game, and it is where the bulk of your practice must be concentrated.
I hope you enjoy these challenging routines, and I will add some more next time.
Until then, I wish you all darting success….
Darts Finishing Mastery: How to Master the Art of Finishing is chock full of useful, usable information that rapidly improves your game. Every page contains easy to understand, and yet very powerful strategies that will lock down your knowledge of the dartboard and give you a blue print to skyrocket your game to levels you didn't think possible.
If you don’t already have it, click on the picture below for details on how to obtain a copy:
