How to Throw Darts

Most people who "can't throw darts" are doing two or three small things wrong, and none of them are about talent. In coaching sessions I fix the same faults over and over: a grip that is too tight, a stance that fights itself, and a release that stops halfway.

A good dart throw is a straight line from the eye to the target, delivered by the forearm, with a hand that lets go of the dart rather than pushing it.

This guide takes the throw apart piece by piece. Stance, grip, aim, the throwing motion, the release, the follow-through, and the mistakes that undo all of it. Nothing here requires you to copy a particular professional. It is about finding a throw you can repeat a hundred times without thinking.

On this page:

1. Stance: Where to Put Your Feet
2. Grip: How to Hold a Dart
3. Aiming
4. The Throwing Motion
5. The Release
6. Follow-Through
7. Common Mistakes
8. Drills to Groove Your Throw
9. Questions I Get Asked

Stance: Where to Put Your Feet

Everything starts from the floor. If your base moves, the dart moves with it.

Stand side-on to the board with your throwing-side foot forward, toes at or just behind the oche. A right-hander's chest faces roughly towards the left wall, not towards the board. Put most of your weight on the front foot, around 70 or 80 percent, and let the back foot rest lightly for balance. Some players turn the front foot parallel to the line, some point it at the board at an angle. Both work. What matters is that you can hold the position still for ten seconds without wobbling.

Lean forward a little from the hips. Not so far that you are straining, just enough that your throwing shoulder is over or slightly ahead of the front foot. The lean shortens the distance to the board and puts the arm in a natural line to the target.

Do not lift the back foot. Plenty of amateurs raise their heel or swing the back leg on release, and every one of them loses accuracy on the left-to-right axis. The back foot is an anchor. It stays down.

Line the whole thing up so that your shoulder, elbow and hand can travel straight towards the target. A cheap check: extend your arm fully at the board, and look down it as if it were a rifle. If the arm points at the 20 and the dart lands on the 5 or the 1, the fault is in the throw, not the stance. If the arm points off-center, shuffle the feet until it does not. There is an alignment trick with two books that I describe in my beginner's guide if you find you are always slightly off.

Grip: How to Hold a Dart

The single most common fault I see is the strangle grip. Players hold the dart as if it might escape. The knuckles go white, the wrist locks, and the dart comes out with a wobble because the fingers have to fight to release it.

Hold the dart like a piece of chalk you are about to write with. Firm enough not to drop it, loose enough that the fingers can open instantly.

How many fingers?

Two, three or four, depending on the dart and your hand. Three is the most common: thumb underneath, index and middle finger on top or to the side. The thumb does the work of supporting the dart; the fingers steer it. If you use a fourth finger, keep it light. The little finger should be out of the way, either tucked or relaxed, never gripping.

Where on the barrel?

Find the balance point. Lay the dart across your index finger and slide it until it sits level; that is the center of gravity. Most players hold at or just behind that point. Holding far forward on a heavy dart or far back on a light one usually causes the dart to enter the board nose-down or tail-down instead of level.

Keep the point of the dart angled slightly upwards in your hand at the start of the throw. A dart that points down at the setup tends to be thrown down.

Barrels and weights

You do not need to buy darts before you find your grip, but the darts will affect it. Heavier darts (24 grams and up) fly straighter for beginners and are more forgiving of a soft throw. Lighter darts (18 to 22 grams) need a cleaner action. Knurled or ringed barrels give more grip than smooth ones. If you are constantly squeezing to keep hold of a smooth barrel, change the barrel before you change your grip.

Aiming

Aiming in darts is not like aiming a rifle. You do not line up a sight and squeeze. You look at the target, bring the dart into your eyeline, and throw at what you are looking at.

Bring the dart up so that at the top of the backswing it sits just below or beside your dominant eye. Most right-handers are right-eye dominant, but not all. To check, make a small circle with thumb and finger at arm's length, frame the bull inside it with both eyes open, then close each eye in turn. The eye that still sees the bull in the circle is your dominant eye. If it turns out to be the "wrong" one, you will need to tilt your head slightly so that the dart lines up with it.

Look at the exact bed you want, not the number. "Treble 20" is a small rectangle, and the eye will find it if you ask for it. "The 20" is a wedge the size of your hand, and the dart will land anywhere in it.

The Throwing Motion

A dart throw has three phases: the setup, the backswing, and the acceleration. Only the elbow should be doing serious work.

Setup

Bring the dart into your eyeline with the upper arm roughly parallel to the floor and the forearm vertical or leaning slightly towards the board. The elbow should point at the board. This is the position you will return to before every dart, and the more identical it is each time, the more identical the darts will be.

Backswing

Draw the dart back by bending the elbow. The hand comes towards the face, the elbow stays roughly where it is. How far back is personal: some players pull back until the dart nearly touches the cheek, others only a few inches. A short backswing is easier to repeat. A long one gives more power. Beginners usually do best with a medium pull that stops naturally rather than one they have to think about.

Keep the wrist quiet. A wrist that cocks back independently of the elbow adds a second hinge, and two hinges are twice as hard to time.

Acceleration

Extend the forearm towards the target. The motion is a throw, not a push and not a flick. The dart should accelerate smoothly through the release point so that the hand is still speeding up when the dart leaves it. The elbow rises slightly during the extension; that is normal and you should not try to pin it down.

The upper arm and shoulder should barely move. If your whole arm swings like a bowler's, the throw has too many moving parts.

The Release

The dart should leave the hand at roughly the point where the forearm passes the vertical and the hand is at eye level, moving upward and forward. Release too early and the dart goes high; too late and it dives.

The fingers open. They do not flick, snap or push. Think of the dart being carried by the hand and then simply no longer being held. A common cue that works for a lot of my students is to imagine throwing the dart along a wire that runs from the eye to the target.

Do not try to control the flight path with the fingers after release. The dart has gone. Any adjustment you feel yourself making at that point is a twitch, and twitches show up on the board as darts that are dead straight but two inches wide.

Follow-Through

This is the part beginners skip, and it is the part I insist on.

After the dart leaves, keep the arm going until it is fully extended, fingers pointing at the target, and hold it there for a beat. The follow-through does two things. It stops you from decelerating before the release, which is what happens when the brain knows the arm is about to stop. And it gives you instant feedback: if your hand finishes pointing at the 5, the dart went towards the 5, and you know why before you even look.

Watch any professional and you will see the arm finish straight, hand relaxed, fingers spread. The dart may be different, the stance may be different, but the follow-through is nearly universal.

Common Mistakes

Gripping too hard

Covered above, and worth repeating because it is behind most release problems. The symptom is darts that wobble in flight, or darts that come out to the side.

Moving the head

The head is your sight. If it moves during the throw, the target moves. Keep the head still from setup to follow-through, and keep the eyes on the target rather than on the dart.

Throwing from the shoulder

A big shoulder swing feels powerful and is impossible to repeat. If your darts fly fast but scatter, try shortening everything: a smaller backswing, less shoulder, more elbow.

Stopping at release

The arm decelerates, the dart is pushed rather than thrown, and it lands low. The fix is the follow-through.

Changing the setup every dart

Three darts, three different starting positions, three different results. Make a small ritual of the setup: dart up, pause, throw. Same rhythm each time.

Leaning on the oche

Foot over the line is a foul in any organised game. More to the point, leaning further forward than your balance allows means the dart is thrown while you are falling, which is never repeatable.

Drills to Groove Your Throw

Technique only becomes yours through repetition. A few drills that target the throw specifically:

• Twenty darts at the bull, no scoring. Just throw and watch where they land. A tight group anywhere on the board means the throw is repeatable and only the aim needs adjusting. A scatter means the throw itself is changing.
• Three darts, one bed. Pick a large single, like the 20, and try to put all three darts in it. Then the 19. Then the 18. Grouping before scoring.
• Slow motion. Throw ten darts at half speed, exaggerating the follow-through. It feels ridiculous. It also makes the mechanics obvious in a way full-speed throwing never does.
• Film yourself. A phone propped on a chair, ten darts, watch it back. Most players are shocked at how much their head or back foot moves.

For a full set of scoring and doubles routines, the darts practice guide has the ones I give my students.

Questions I Get Asked

Should I throw hard or soft?

Hard enough that the dart flies flat and sticks. Beyond that, extra power costs accuracy. Most good players throw with less force than beginners expect, and the dart still arrives with a satisfying thump because the release is clean.

Why do my darts land low?

Usually a late release or a throw that stops short. Try releasing a fraction earlier and following through higher. If they land low and to the side, check the back foot; it is probably lifting.

Why do my darts land in the board at an angle?

A dart that sticks tail-up was released early or with the point down in the hand; tail-down means late or a nose-up grip. Both are worth a small correction, because a level dart takes up less room in the bed and leaves space for the next two.

How long does it take to get a consistent throw?

A few sessions for the basics to feel natural. A few months of regular practice before it holds up under pressure. That second stage is really about the mind rather than the arm, and it is where coaching tends to pay for itself.

Find a stance you can hold, a grip you can relax, and a throw you can finish. Then go play. The games page has plenty to choose from, and the rules of 501 are where most people head first.

If you want a second pair of eyes on your game, book a coaching session or email [email protected].