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04-22-2015, 05:04 PM
Hey everyone,
I'm very particular about my practice regime when it comes to soft-tip and was curious as to what the experts thought about a possible routine for steel-tip as well based on what I've found to be beneficial to my game this past year. I believe my personal practice time (not including league or competitive play) will make or break me as a player and I would like a solid base to stick to in terms of steel tip. So any specific advice would be appreciated Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
That being said, this is my current routine for soft-tip:
I start out warming up on bulls. I don't actually begin my target practice until I've hit 5 bulls in a row. Part one of my routine consists of simple targeting practice. I start with the 20 and look at the entire segment as a whole (doesn't matter if I hit a double, single, triple - so long as I hit the segment it counts). My goal is to hit the 20 nine times in a row then I move on to 19 and the rest of the cricket numbers. When I've completed part one, I go back to center bull and don't move on to part 2 until I've hit 5 bulls in a row again. Part two consists of my points of reference training: I must hit a bull, triple 20, bull twice before I can move on to 19. I do that exact thing for all of the cricket numbers (on a good day I'll throw in triple 12,13,11 and 6 as well).
So that's it! Again, that's my personal practice routine at home. Before a match I will play count up and cricket count up all day but if I have the time to really sit down and get some work done, that's what I've found to be extremely effective. Some days I feel better than others, so I'll go through it quicker. On a really good day, I can get through that routine as a whole in 30 minutes. Some days take an hour... some days take two hours lol.
Now as for steel tip.. what I've been doing thus far is copying part one of that routine to warm up then playing a couple of games of 501 and trying to check out by the 7th time I step up to the line. Then I do Bob Anderson's doubles practice game. My problem with steel tip right now is because of my inexperience it takes significantly longer for me to get through all of that. I'm not sure if I'm being efficient with my time and would love an outsider's opinion!
Thanks in advance!
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Join Flight school- its free. Also read the book the Book "Darts beginning to End " by George Silverzahn.
https://www.dartsnutz.net/showthread.php?tid=11625
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04-22-2015, 08:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2015, 08:35 PM by Banned.)
If I was in your shoes and my MAIN goal was to improve at darts I would get online at WDA (Webcam Darts) or Pro-Darter.com. There's a few females I can think of right now who you'd enjoy playing. I know you're probably used to winning in your area but when you lock horns with the #1 ladies player from NZ and her friend "Judge Judy" be prepared to take a beating. There's also a lady in Canada who plays online. Goes by the name "Cat".
All I can say is "good luck" playing against them. But I 100% promise you, after a month of playing against them you'll be a much better player. Personally I believe there is no better tool than online darts to improve your game. But remember, it's a tool. You have to know how to use it in order to improve.
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And what Cyanide says is good stuff.
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Jennifer I have played both soft and steel tip. In fact I love both but started like many in the USA playing soft-tip. After playing steel for a few years I went back and played soft-tip and the Segments looked huge and the Bull especially looked as big as a pie plate. I think playing steel really helps the soft-tip player when he or she goes back to the soft-tip board.
Boredom in practice is the bane of all aspiring players soft or steel tip players. Thats why I recommend Flight School because its anything but boring and you can change things around. Practice IMO prepares you for the real thing. Nothing in the World IMO beats solo practice. Play strongest players you can find, play top male and female players. Its time consuming and hard work but the hours on the board pays big rewards.
Good luck in your Quest !
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04-23-2015, 04:37 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-23-2015, 05:08 AM by guest2.)
Thanks for sharing your practice routine, Jennifer. Are you also one of those who throws darts with headphones on? I am having fun watching your "MTVs" and being young and musically-inclined at that. I am guessing that your music is part of your practice regimen.
Anyway do you use the same dart in steel tip?
My steel tip practice is centered on finishing.
Got the idea from Jeff Smith on this one.
Start with 121. If you can finish it within 9 darts, move to 122. If you miss, stay on that number for another 9 darts.
Then the Around the World. Starting aiming at Doubles from 20, and when you hit it, then move to Double 1, etc.
Here are some other routines that you might want to try.
https://www.dartsnutz.net/showthread.php?tid=10083
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(04-23-2015, 04:37 AM)majeek Wrote: Thanks for sharing your practice routine, Jennifer. Are you also one of those who throws darts with headphones on? I am having fun watching your "MTVs" and being young and musically-inclined at that. I am guessing that your music is part of your practice regimen.
Anyway do you use the same dart in steel tip?
My steel tip practice is centered on finishing.
Got the idea from Jeff Smith on this one.
Start with 121. If you can finish it within 9 darts, move to 122. If you miss, stay on that number for another 9 darts.
Then the Around the World. Starting aiming at Doubles from 20, and when you hit it, then move to Double 1, etc.
Here are some other routines that you might want to try.
https://www.dartsnutz.net/showthread.php?tid=10083
haha thanks for the suggestions! And funny thing about the headphones topic.. I started out wearing them in novice because the other players were so horrible to me and constantly talking crap. I had NEVER experienced this before in a competitive setting and was extremely sensitive to it. I came out of nowhere in the dart community and had a hard time socializing with people because I had never hung out in bars before and didn't understand general bar behavior - I distanced myself from it all. Just wanted to throw darts and get better. People hated me to sum it all up lol. Anyway, as I 'grew up' in the community people eventually got used to me.. then started to befriend me.. then grew to respect me. I starting thinking about the use of headphones and what that really meant as a serious player. What I decided was that since it was frowned upon in a professional setting and ridiculed on a local level, I figured I would give it up. I didn't need music to focus (I only needed the headphones to get people to stop talking to me in the middle of a game). I also did not want to rely on music as a crutch similar to the reason I don't drink alcohol when I play. I have ZERO problems with people that do like to listen to music or drink when they play, however. I just like knowing that I'm willing to sacrifice anything possible to become everything that I want to be as a player. I'm extreme like that lol.
Gosh, sorry that was long.. on to your other question!
Yes I do use the same barrel for steel Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images. Just use the interchangeable tips although I really don't like to. I'm just afraid to invest into a pair of steel tip darts since I hadn't played very much up to this point.
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(04-22-2015, 08:35 PM)Cyanide Wrote: If I was in your shoes and my MAIN goal was to improve at darts I would get online at WDA (Webcam Darts) or Pro-Darter.com. There's a few females I can think of right now who you'd enjoy playing. I know you're probably used to winning in your area but when you lock horns with the #1 ladies player from NZ and her friend "Judge Judy" be prepared to take a beating. There's also a lady in Canada who plays online. Goes by the name "Cat".
All I can say is "good luck" playing against them. But I 100% promise you, after a month of playing against them you'll be a much better player. Personally I believe there is no better tool than online darts to improve your game. But remember, it's a tool. You have to know how to use it in order to improve.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS!?! Thank you! I love you! lol
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I use earphones that are unplugged (lol) as it looks better than earplugs and they look more "polite". Anyway some pro players use earplugs too. I noticed some young darters mostly soft tip players - listen to their mp3 music while competing.
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(04-23-2015, 07:29 PM)majeek Wrote: I use earphones that are unplugged (lol) as it looks better than earplugs and they look more "polite". Anyway some pro players use earplugs too. I noticed some young darters mostly soft tip players - listen to their mp3 music while competing.
Well well. Us youngsters are getting away with it! I've been wondering if the new wave of dart players would introduce that into serious competitive play in the future. Looks like it's already happening.
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(04-23-2015, 07:19 PM)jcmounts Wrote: (04-22-2015, 08:35 PM)Cyanide Wrote: If I was in your shoes and my MAIN goal was to improve at darts I would get online at WDA (Webcam Darts) or Pro-Darter.com. There's a few females I can think of right now who you'd enjoy playing. I know you're probably used to winning in your area but when you lock horns with the #1 ladies player from NZ and her friend "Judge Judy" be prepared to take a beating. There's also a lady in Canada who plays online. Goes by the name "Cat".
All I can say is "good luck" playing against them. But I 100% promise you, after a month of playing against them you'll be a much better player. Personally I believe there is no better tool than online darts to improve your game. But remember, it's a tool. You have to know how to use it in order to improve.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS!?! Thank you! I love you! lol
Spot on Cy!
I got thrashed by "Judge Judy" a few months ago....absolutely destroyed... And I shot decent(for me) I blinked and it was over.
WDA is the best thing you will ever do for yourself.
Many Darts Nutz members are on WDA, and if you're looking for top shelf competition... You won't have to look far. Just don't be afraid to take a thrashing. We've got a wide variety of skill levels here. Some guys will just beat you like you owe them money.
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To add a little bit. Here's the thing with being a good player where ever you live... You get used to beating everyone the majority of the time. Pretty much no matter how you play or what you do, you'll win. Then you become "comfortable" in how you play even though you're making huge mistakes. It might be issue's with setting up shots, going for low % shots, or not pointing enough in cricket. But there's no one around your area good enough to punish you for your mistakes. You're still going to win.
This is where online darts becomes SO important to improving how you play. Now all of a sudden you're getting punished by awesome players and stuff you normally did isn't working anymore. Maybe you wasted a couple extra darts setting up a shot in 501, only to get stuffed by someone who's just not having it. Then they proceed to blast you off the board in a 6-0 route in 501. You're left standing there going wth just happened.
When you lock horns with Wendles or Judge Judy (2 of New Zealand's best on WDA) be prepared to bring your "A" game. And sometimes even that won't be enough. Since you've only been playing a year and half you're still a noob in the game and for the most part I think you've only experienced the American dart culture. So get setup online and start taking on some big time oversea's players. If you have the desire to compete, and want to be the best, spending some quality time online is one of the best ways to improve.
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