YOUR PRACTICE ROUTINES

           AROUND THE BOARD IN 80 WAYS

            Practice Dedicate Perform Analyse

Fanzone gives you the chance to share your practice routines with others. tips to improve your play and top professionals will share their routines and tell us exactly what goes on on that all important practice board.

 Dean Winstanley on the PDPA Practice Board

My practice routine is as follows .

I start with a  warm up throw for about 10-15 mins just throwing at the board ,

 then i play best of 5 legs best of 5 sets at 15 dart legs .

I pick a player in my head and just try win the legs in 15 darts , i dont chalk it down or use an internet program i just take away the score in my head  and yes i dont get it wrong haha !!!

If i’m  playing well and i’m in front in sets i try put myself off , eg, as if the opposition is rattling his darts or talking to himself behind me ,

I stand back even talk or look behind me as if the player is there to break my concentration , to see if i can get it back to a good standard, I do this to replicate competition play so i’m ready to go when there’s an event coming up.

Hope this helps you guys particularly with your concentration during practice.

Tony West on the PDPA Practice Board

My practise routines are as fallows:

Around the board doubles.
I get 1 point if i hit 1 double, 3 point for 2 doubles and 7 points for 3 doubles and go from 1 to bullseye.

170 for half an hour.
I get 1 point if i finish in 6 darts and 10 points if i finish in 3 darts.

I put up on the chalk board 5 outshots, e.g. 86,68,74 etc.
I have to go through all 5 with 3 darts to finish each one and if i miss i have to start all over again at the top.
It can be very frustrating if you finish all up to the last one and miss then must do it all over, can be there 5 mins or 5 hours, but must beat it or it beats me lol.

Another one is  i put up 40 stripes on the chalk board.
I must throw then for the bullseye and then double 1, bullseye and then double 2 etc, etc.
After each throw rub off a stripe and see how far i can get with 40 throws.
My best is to the double 20 but then missed 3 darts on bullseye to complete my goal.
Never been close since, always around double 14 to double 17′s on average.

I can practise up to 6 hours a day depending how i get through my routines.
Hope you enjoy these routines and it helps your game, cheers, Tony.

___________________________________________________

Justin Pipe on the PDPA Practice Board

The Pipe’y practice routine!!! 

Well firstly I believe you should enjoy practice and not find it something you have to do but like to do.

I keep my practice routine very simple and basic, so that it’s not confusing and easy to do. 

My first practice routine is FRUSTRATION

 It’s called that for a very good reason. Your first 2 darts must score at least 80 points or 120 depending how lucky you are!! then with your 3rd dart you must hit double 1, if you hit double 1 with your last dart then move on to double 2. Score at least 80 points again and hit double 2 with your last dart!!! and so on all the way to the bull. You must hit the double before you move to the next number.

This is a great game to play as you are throwing for the main triple on the board and only having one dart at the double. When your in a must win leg and only have one dart at a double to win you may be glad you played this game. I play this 2 times a day.

My second practice game is THE INVISIBLE MAN

Give yourself 15 darts to win a leg of 501. If you have not won in 5 throws, then you have lost the leg. This is good practice as it keeps you to a 100 avg and also gives you a bit of pressure to win the leg’s.

My third practice game is TRIPLES

Easy this!! just go around the board on the triples!! simple!! well it is but if you stray out side the number you need to hit the triple on then you go back to number 1 and start again!!

Right hit triple 1 with your first dart then second dart you go for triple 2, you hit triple 2 so then you go for triple 3. If you miss triple 3 with your third dart but hit a 3 segment then fine next throw you are going for triple 3 again BUT if you miss the 3 number altogether you go back to number 1. So this game you could go all the way to triple 20 and miss the 20 segment and then have to start on number 1 again. Sounds easy!! give it ago and see how you get on. 

I hope this helps you find an alternative practice routine that you may enjoy ? it works for me, but most important you must enjoy your practice. That’s why I keep mine simple. 

Thanks for reading.  

All the best

Justin Pipe 

Steve Beaton on the PDPA Practice Board

I believe in this day and age, practice on the board is only a part of what’s required to reach the top, your lifestyle is becoming more and more important as we strive to be at the top of our game and the game of darts.

I go to the gym most days (running, cycling, weights & swimming).

I play golf once a week.

I think fitness definitely plays an important part in the game these days.

I practice for a whole hour everyday, I have a stop clock to make sure as I’ve never been big on practicing for hours.

I try to eat healthy, lots of fish, chicken, vegetables &  salads, of course this is easier when you are at home as it’s not so easy when you are at tournaments.

Regards Steve

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Vincent van der Voort on the PDPA Practice Board.

Some players prefer to practice against other players, on the other hand I prefer to practice alone.  I think that’s for me the best way to work on the things that doesn’t go well in tournaments.

Most of the time I’m practicing on doubles, because that’s the main thing in my game that I want to improve.  There are a lot of double games you can play. Most of the time I play 121 finish in 9 darts. (for example if you finish 121 in 9 darts you go to 122 and so on, if you don’t finish you start at 121 again.) I have to make the 150 mark !

After that I practice finishes between 61 and 120, because I think that finishes are the most important in darts.

A nice practice game which I play a lot is, You have to finish 40 36 32 24 20 16 12 8 4 and 2 after each other, if you miss one you go back to 40 again. (It Can be a very frustrating game, Trust me I know!! Haha)

Beside the doubles of course  I practice my scoring also. One game to do that is 10 throws and you have to make 1100 points, For me this is always a challenge.

There are a lot of other games, but this games I prefer the most.

I’ll hope you all enjoying this games as much as I do, and let me know how it’s going with the practice.  If you have any questions you can always ask me via twitter @Vvdv180 !

Speak to you all soon!!

Fast Vinnnie

__________________________________________________________________________________

Colin ‘Ozzy’ Osborne on the PDPA Practice Board

Practice routine…..

When i practice i like to keep it interesting which means lots of different routines and games.First off i will start off just throwing at the twenties ,(10-15 mins) then play the thousand game which is simply throwing at the twenties 100,,140,,180 etc and each time adding your score up to try and get to a thousand. And the first time you hit a five or a one you stop the game and go back to zero and start again. Very good for keeping your arm straight and throwing the dart straight…..

Then i will switch to doing some finishing 81  to 100 , in this game you go for the finish but you only have 3 attempts at it, if you hit the requierd finish within your 3 attempts then you move on to the next one up.But if you fail to finish the number you are going for within your 3 attempts you go back 1 and so on until you reach the hundred mark….

Then i will start off on 27 and throw 3 darts at double 1,, adding the price of the double onto my score wether it be 2,4,6 depending on how many times i have hit it .Then move onto number 2, then 3 ,,then 4 and so on all the way to the bull, but if you fail to hit the double you are going for you take the price of that double off your score and move on to the next one.Adding your score up all the way around too and including the bull.. 400 is a good score,,,, 600 is a very good score….

And also there is the around the board on doubles which i will do 2 or 3 times a session trying to hit 2 doubles on each number…

Dont let the practice become a chore you must enjoy it, to get the best results,     HAPPY DARTING………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Colin “OZZY” Osborne……..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark ‘Mile High’

Hylton on the PDPA Practice Board.

 ________________________________

Andy ‘The Hammer’ Hamilton on the PDPA Practice Board.

  Andy Hamilton tells Fanzone what he gets up to on the Practice Board and what Practice Routines are used.

 

“Practice makes perfect so they say, i don’t know about that but i try my hardest to get things right by lots of practice either on my own or with another player. I try to put in at least 2 to 3 hours everyday at about the same time that i would practice for a floor event or at night if it is a tv event which is what i am doing now to get ready for Blackpool.

Some players don’t need to practice as much as others, but i am one of those players that need and want to practice all the time, i love the game and want to be the best i could possibly be.

I have a routine for my practice sessions starting with a warm up to turn my arm over (the muscles need to loosen up, must be an age thing ha ha !) I then go in to practicing finishes doing 80 – 120, then do as many 180′s in a certain time frame. Then back to finishes 121 – 170, i also do round the board just getting 2 darts in each double. If i am practicing with a partner we will play some games of 501, 34 legs yesterday with Mark Hylton, very good session and was exhausted by the time i got home but well worth it, we both played some good darts and that is how i want to feel after a practice session.

There are lots of different games you can play on your own, you need to try different things to stop yourself getting bored and to keep your mind focused and i always give myself a target of doing certain things before i finish a practice session such as hitting as many 180′s in 15mins and will always finish a practice session with a 180 and leave the darts in the board for the next day, thats if i have been practicing on my own at home.

Well lots more practice to get in before Blackpool, BRING IT ON !”