On TV you often hear “board management”. In plain English: choosing your darts so your next visit stays open (no bogeys) and you keep a finish in play.
In this article we share a few tips for counting up to 170. The “big fish” is the highest 3-dart finish, so it’s smart to steer your scoring towards 170 or nearby finishes. It’s not easy to hit, but you should always act as if it’s possible.
Aim for scores that end in 0, 1, 4 or 7. That keeps you in ranges like 160/161/164/167/170—the highest 3-dart finishes.
Everything else under 170 are the known bogey numbers.
Example: 230
230 is the easiest example. Throw 3×20 and you are on 170. If you throw at least 1 triple you have 130 (a possible bull shot), 90 (idem, a possible bull shot) or 50 left.
Example: 235
A golden tip: use the whole board to count towards 170! If you are on 235 and you throw 2×20, the 3rd dart should ALWAYS go towards the bull. Single bull brings you to 170, bull brings you to 145. If the 3rd dart again goes towards 20 here, you leave 175, which you cannot check out in 3 darts.
Example: 265
A next nice example is 265. This is a number where you must not start on the 20. The first dart should always go towards 19. 1 triple towards 19 gives you a score of 95. 265 − 95 is… indeed 170!
On top of this you then always have a guide dart on the 19s; 2 triples bring you to 132, a number on which you always have a bull shot if you throw at least 1 triple in the next visit.
Calculating Bogey numbers
Are you not so strong in board management? Then note down for yourself the bogey numbers under 170. These are the following numbers: 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169. Add 100, 140 or 180 to these and in this way you actually know that with these numbers you certainly should not throw all 3 darts towards the 20.
This is the first step to get the process of board management better under your belt. Only after that can you start counting from “higher numbers”.
3 tips to practice
Do you want to get stronger at this? Then I can suggest the following 3 tips:
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Add 100, 140 and 180 to the mentioned bogey numbers.
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Play legs of 301 instead of 501. That way you reach the 170 area faster to count towards it.
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Try different routes on the board, note the score thrown + the number left, and look for alternative routes to land on the right number.
Good luck, Game on!
Jimmy
Discover this and many more tips at: https://www.dartschool.be/en/tips-en/
