How to Aim Darts – Grip, Aim & Throw Strategies

You don’t know how to aim darts and I will prove it to you. Do you say a small prayer before every type of game you play? In other words, do you just depend on fate and luck to make you win? If you do then let me tell you that it never works in your favor each time you play.

You may have gotten lucky once or twice but if you are planning to try competing based on your luck, you may run out of it. Dart games are such games where most beginners depend mainly on luck, instinct and blind play at first. Again, most of them stick or leave the game based on how their instincts or in-born skills treat them.

Contrary to popular belief, the aiming skill in dart games is not inborn. There may be some in-born skill required to aim correctly during the first trials with no prior experience. However, the more you progress through the levels, the fewer role luck or inborn skills play.

Even the worst player can turn into the best over a period of weeks. All you need to do is learn how to aim darts. Aim accuracy and a perfect throw are at the heart of a dart game.

If you do not learn how to aim darts correctly, you will never throw it right. So, you will find your opponent winning every single time except those times when luck is in your favor.

How to Aim Darts: The Step by Step Guide

Here’s how to aim darts for perfect hits every time.

1. Standing In The Correct Position And Stance

Even if you aim and throw a dart correctly, it may never reach your target. Why? Chances are you are not standing at the correct position. Yes, apparently, even where and at what angle you stand matters when you are aiming your dart.

In order to stand at the right location, you have to imagine lines. First, imagine a line that extends from the bulls eye of the board to the ground at a right angle. Then, imagine another straight line from the bulls eye’s right angle on the ground to the oche.

You have to stand right behind this point on the oche to aim and throw your dart. Also, make sure you stand straight or at an angle based on where you want to throw the dart.

2. Holding It Right

The main contact occurs between the dart and your body is when you hold it. So, you can imagine how crucial it is to hold your dart right. However, everyone holds the dart in their own preferable way.

Therefore, there is no one style that suits all or makes everyone aim or throw better. What you have to do is test various styles of holding the dart and find out which is the style best suited for you. In fact, you will find darts of various designs, structures, and weights that will help your particular holding style.

Most beginners, however, start by holding the dart just how you would hold a pen. This is quite easy and helps with accuracy too.

3. Aim It Right

Now that you are holding your dart, it is time to aim it correctly. Firstly, set your target. It is best if you choose the smaller spaces like the treble ring, bullseye or the double rings.

This is because the more precisely you practice, the easier it will get to hit the larger targets. You can call this method the diminishing level of difficulty. It is more like if you target to answer full marks in an examination, it is likely you will be able to answer at least 80%.

So, now you have your target. It is time for you to position your hand and dart in the line of your target through your eye line. There are many ways to do this. But, make sure you use your dominant eye when aiming.

In fact, based on your comfort, you can use different parts of your hands, even the tip of your dart as helpers to aim correctly. For example, when you want to hit the bullseye, your dart tip should be at a straight angle from the bullseye from your sight-line.

You can use your little finger’s position to aim as well. In fact, you can use any part of your hand but you have to find out for yourself which part of your hands helps you aim the best. Then, based on that you form a common sightline that works for you.

Other than that, make sure when you aim, your elbow is at a vertical right angle from the dart. It should be straight when you aim. Or else, you will throw an angled dart and the dart will either reach above your target or below it.

So, keep everything straight or at a right angle when you are aiming to avoid all kinds of wide projectiles. It is best not to attempt targeting left or right your target because that never really works in the long run.

4. Keep Your Balance

Your aim will be pointless if your legs move from their position before or right after you throw your dart. So, keep them exactly where they are to let your aiming do the magic.

Apart from that, you can practice at home by drawing the lines from the dartboard we talked about earlier. This will get imprinted on your mind over time building aiming sill automatically.

5. Raise the Dart to Eye Level

You will have to swing your main hand forward when you are gripping the dart hard. Make sure that you are raising the dart to eye level, to make sure that your stance is correct. Make sure that you are also aligning your elbows and hand at a perfect 90 degree angle, so that the dart has the chance to hit it right.

6. Tilt the Dart Upwards

The gravity will pull your dart down. A pro dart thrower will calculate that and make sure that he is tilting the dart slightly upward. Make sure that you do that too.

7. Be Confident

You need to be confident. This might sound obvious but confidence is the key. You are not going to hit it right at the first time and that’s alright.

Final Words

When it comes to sports, practice always makes a man perfect. However, a small modification I would like to make here is that strategic practice always makes a man perfect. So, do not just haphazardly throw darts on the board.

Take your time, understand the technique and observe yourself through a video or mirror. This way you will know where you are going wrong and have a chance at correcting yourself. Only through correct aiming can you become a good dart player.