Dart is not only about a keen eye and a good throw – it also requires mathematical skills. Here’s how not to get lost in counting points!
Dart can be played in different ways. However, still the most popular among players (both professional and amateur) is Dart 501. The rules are simple. At the beginning, each participant gets 501 points. The one who manages to get the score down to zero the fastest wins. Although at first glance it doesn’t seem to be a problem, at the end of the game it turns out that you can’t do without the math you learned in elementary school.
A beginner player may have trouble counting the scores. It is better when the target is electronic. Then the counter itself shows how many points have been scored during the turn and how many are still to be beaten. But what if the dial is analog? Mathematics comes into play.
Before we get into adding and subtracting, we need to familiarize ourselves with the dial and the markings of the various fields that are on it. Each dart disc is sectors where you can score a specific number of points. However, this is just the beginning of the fun.
The outer perimeter of the target shows the basic scoring. Keep in mind that there are not only x1 scoring fields on the target, but also fields that give the player two or even three times as many points. The first circle with colored fields is the double scoring. If you hit the sector 18 in this place, the result is 36 points.
The next circles, which are much bigger and easier to hit, are multiplied by x1. So if you hit sector 18, you will get 18 points. The real treat is the smaller circle consisting of colored fields. When you hit this part of the target, your score will be multiplied by three. And as in the previous examples – a throw in the 18 box will then give you a score of 54 points.
As you can guess, the real challenge is to place the dart in the center of the target. The black box is 50 points. The narrow circle that surrounds it is 25 points for the player.
First of all, you have to hit the target. However, random throws are unlikely to lead to victory. What matters is the right tactics of the game. If you are weak in mathematics and the game has always been a challenge for you, you can use a calculator.
It is a good idea to use the right tactics from the very beginning of the game. This way you can avoid the problematic situation in the last throws. It is best to plan the next throws in such a way that the number of points needed to reset the counter is easy to achieve. When planning your gameplay, always include a margin for error.
Subtraction from 501, addition from 1-180 and multiplication of up to 3 numbers from 1 to 20 are skills that…
Published by Steel Dart Lublin Friday, 22 January 2021
The easiest way is to memorize the value of each field. Then you don’t have to count each time how many it is e.g. 3 × 18. A player has three throws in his turn.
Let’s consider the following situation – in the first round (with the starting score of 501) you managed to hit
– the first dart into the single 20,
– the second dart into the double 13,
– the third dart into the triple 9.
We begin the calculation by determining the value of each box. In this case it will be 20 + 26 (2 × 13) + 27 (3 × 9). The sum of the obtained points will be 73. It remains to subtract this result from the base number of points, i.e. 501. 501-73 equals 428.
On the same principle points are counted in the next rounds. The player who first reaches the value 0 wins.
Practice makes perfect. There are, of course, the most common combinations of points, which facilitate the smooth reset of the counter. However, you have to reckon with the fact that in any turn, something can go wrong and instead of a double 18 you will hit a single. The main thing is to remember that the game of dart is primarily to be a great entertainment, especially when the game is social.
Photo credit: pxhere.com
