Cuesoul

(DN Play Ethics) Bad Tactics
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I am a fan of Sun Tzu - author of the book "The Art of War". If by chance I recommend that you read this book and try to master it.

Let me justify this topic that I will be sharing with you with Sun Tzu's famous quotation.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

With this I will be sharing with you things that a bad player does to ruin your game. This is for the purpose of helping you condition yourself and your mind well as you go to a tournament.

Please do not do this to ruin other people's game. Be a NUTZ in Darts.

Here goes this topic about. . .Unsavoury Tactics:

It's an unfortunate thing, but you may run into a player or two who try to throw you off of your game by engaging in some of the following behaviours:

Standing near an opponent and rattling the darts in their hand.

Standing behind an opponent and mumbling "26, 26, 26" after they've just hit 26 points.

Taking their time going to and walking away from the board because they've noticed that you have a fairly quick pace to your rhythm.

Bending the wires on the board or slightly tilting the board while removing their darts.

Saying things like "great dart" or "wow, another triple" after you throw each dart.

Turning to look at you after they've had a good throw.

Squeeze your throwing hand tightly during a handshake or fist-bumping your throwing hard harder than need be.

The list goes on but we're sure that you get the idea.

Now, and depending on how much you care, there are a few things you can do. Accusing someone of cheating without proof is never a good plan, but if you find someone's behaviour to be distracting, you can always politely ask them to stop. If the board seems crooked after that player has just taken his darts out, politely ask the chalker if the board looks straight or not. If he's taking his time because you like to play quickly, stand well back and don't hurry to get to the line when he's done. You can also avoid the whole handshake problem by simply fist-bumping with your non-throwing hand.

Some people call it "gamesmanship" and some call it "poor form". Whichever way you choose to view it, be prepared for it and, more importantly, be prepared how to react to it.
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Okay, your turn to cite some bad strategies or tactics that some players do during games. Awareness to this is part of the preparations that we have to do as we enter the dart tournament arena.

Show us those bad manners you've seen!!!
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Deliberately standing at the oche for a looooooong time when your opponent is on a double or a crucial shot just to screw with them. I'm not talking about players that are just taking their time/adding in their head/typically slow throwers, etc...I'm talking about players purposely taking 20-30 seconds between each shot when they're normally do 1-3 seconds max.

Excess celebrations in the sense they're directing it towards you. It's fine to celebrate...just don't get in the other player's face, point fingers at the other player, etc..

(Applies to soft tip) Openly accusing the other player of sandbagging during a game. If someone is rated a 6 and happen to hit a 7 mark in Circket or a couple of hat tricks in 501, no one should be making "sandbagger" comments in the middle of a match. You know full well that same player making the comments won't say a word if you happen to not hit a single number in Cricket a few rounds in a row or multiple 20-40 scores in 501. People rated in the 5-9 range typically are inconsistent....you're going to have high and low rounds that all balance out. Getting called a sandbagger in the middle of a match ends up mentally screwing with you because it starts making you feel defensive about your scoring. Wait until after the game if you have anything to say about that matter.

If you happen to not have a chalker and doing the chalk-and-walk (you throw your darts, mark your score, then pull your darts), don't be throwing your darts the moment the other player has removed their darts. I've had impatient players throwing their first dart while the other player has barely removed their last dart/ practically standing right next to the board still. I've seen one player almost hit another player's hand because they were in the process of pulling the last dart out that was stuck a little.

Wait until after the match to go order a drink/use the bathroom. I've seen players on a hot streak and the other player just happens "to really need to use the bathroom really bad!!" all of a sudden....or they're "So sorry, the bartender took forever to get my drink" (usually in a doubles game where there is two people throwing before they go next). You can tell when it's gamesmenship sometimes.

Purposely walking directly down the middle of the throwing area towards the opponent so someone has to move if they're standing at the oche (or even worse, doing that high school hallway shoulder bump when walking back).

This is a pretty rare instance but I've seen it happen. Bringing up personal matters while playing. Like knowing full well the other player is going through a messy divorce or their gf cheated on them...and after your initial handshake ask "How's Rachel doing?" It's such a low move but I've seen guys do it.
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Majeek...I have "The Art of War" handy, almost within reach. Might I also suggest "Go Rin No Sho" ( A Book of 5 Rings) by Miyamoto Musashi? Read it regularly for decades, always pertinent.
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Good points.

Although I think "Taking their time going to and walking away from the board because they've noticed that you have a fairly quick pace to your rhythm." is a complicated matter. Often, slow players are just sucked in by the quick players, loose their own rhythm and hurt their game. Some players are close to throw their darts while you are pulling your darts out and you'll face the darts directly when walking back. How is playing a different (maybe slower) rhythm different from someone always ("naturally") playing slower?

If your opponent has a streak and feels comfortable, you certainly don't want to disappear so that he rushes over you in no time. And remember: slowing down might help your game more than it hurts your opponent.

Fair play? Absolutely! But it's not my job to bring out the best game of my opponent.

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I'm also annoyed by people who leaves the floor and takes time ordering for their drinks at the bar and chatting with people along the way. Too sociable even during the match. Hard to complain against a Mr. Nice Guy. The delay breaks your momentum.
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we have a guy at the shop that does most of those things and more... the one that got me the most was him standing in front of the chalk board looking at you and talking animatedly while you are trying to throw. I think I got him to back up a couple feet. when I almost grazed his ear with a "mis thrown " dart
Keep you posted
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perfect timing ... good thread to start
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Spent quite a few days reading sun-tzu while on the road of sport. To believe in yourself and not be distracted by others. Knowing your plan and not waffling.
Great post Majeek
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(01-15-2015, 03:34 AM)artopsy Wrote: we have a guy at the shop that does most of those things and more... the one that got me the most was him standing in front of the chalk board looking at you and talking animatedly while you are trying to throw. I think I got him to back up a couple feet. when I almost grazed his ear with a "mis thrown " dart
Keep you posted
Do people ever call him on it?

The worst is when you have dudes that pull this stuff but they're the "cool" guy at the pub with their mini Cobra Kai posse that instantly take it personally if you criticize their "bro" in the slightest. I noticed a lot of that BS in soft tip.
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Remember SlingBlade. Mastery of the 4 Elements to win the war!

And Cat, thanks for the tip. I have just ordered an eBook of that which you recommended.
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(01-14-2015, 11:20 AM)Cat Wrote: Might I also suggest "Go Rin No Sho" ( A Book of 5 Rings) by Miyamoto Musashi? Read it regularly for decades, always pertinent.
tis a very good book on the same lines as art of War I recommend it also
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(01-15-2015, 07:00 AM)Regulatori Wrote:
(01-15-2015, 03:34 AM)artopsy Wrote: we have a guy at the shop that does most of those things and more... the one that got me the most was him standing in front of the chalk board looking at you and talking animatedly while you are trying to throw. I think I got him to back up a couple feet. when I almost grazed his ear with a "mis thrown " dart
Keep you posted
Do people ever call him on it?
a few dude shhs
The most I called him on it was the ear grazing.
there at the most are three of us throwing.

I did once tell him after clocking up 180 points or so on only 18's (cricket) that he was point gouging and was really just delaying the game for his own ego. (yes he got that many points on me .. mostly by standing near the board chattering)

he is the king of... you have a bad game and miss EVERYTHING because he's pestering and you finally hit a single twenty and he claps and say great dart! remind you the day before you kicked his butt in 12 darts! excuse me but one single 20 sucks
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I cant stand these people, are they that insecure they cant rely on their skill?
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Another bad tactic would be standing 4 feet away from your dartboard while playing online darts.

When a players avg climbs 25-30 points practically overnight and most people people just say "nice darts" it makes me want to buy a gun and an airline ticket. Just saying. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
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(01-15-2015, 07:01 AM)majeek Wrote: Remember SlingBlade. Mastery of the 4 Elements to win the war!

And Cat, thanks for the tip. I have just ordered an eBook of that which you recommended.

Good book...you will like it....every time you read it, you come away with something different...to me, the mark of a good book.
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