We all know the situation: you’re scoring the match, and suddenly you have a player focused on 19. Panic sets in because 19 is the bully of Darts.
Unfortunately, 19 is a crucial part of darts. You’re going to encounter it, so you might as well make friends with it. But how do you do that?
Well, I have 5 tips for you:
Tip 1: 19 is a disguised 20 (-1)
19 is actually a 20 minus 1. You can't get closer to the ‘easy’ 20 than 19. 19 = 20 - 1, and that’s much easier to calculate than +19.
For example, for 25 + 19:
25 + 20 – 1 = 45 – 1 = 44 is much easier than 25 + 10 + 9.
Tip 2: 19 times a number is x 20 minus that number
Another rule: 19 x something is always that something x 20 (much easier) minus that something. It sounds like magic, but an example makes it clearer:
19 x 4 = 20 x 4 – 4 = 76
19 x 5 = 20 x 5 – 5 = 95
19 x 6 = 20 x 6 – 6 =114
Tip 3: Multiples of 19
Do you find 19 x something difficult? I feel your pain. Until I discovered this golden trick:
We already saw that 19 is just 20 - 1. So if you go up, you add 20 and subtract 1 from the last digit. Simple, right? This gives you:
EA sequence at the front with 1, 3, 5... and at the back, there’s one with 9, 8, 7, and so on.
And look, you can remember them all at once!
Tip 4: 20 + 19 + 18
I always found this combination tricky: 20, followed by 19, and then 18. But then I thought: 19 is in the middle, 20 is 1 higher, and 18 is 1 lower. So it’s really three times 19, which is 57. Simple, right? Easy to remember!
Tip 5: 119 players know this themselves
And finally, the fifth tip: 19 players know that it’s not easy for the scorer, while it’s much simpler for them (because they practice it a lot). That’s why they are generally more willing to help and will often give you the total. Just thank them and write it down.
Conclusion
Yes, 19 is trickier than its big brother 20, but instead of cursing it, why not make best friends with it? This helps with scoring, but can also improve your game as a player because suddenly 19 is part of your repertoire.
I guarantee you, you’ll never look at 19 the same way again. Mission accomplished!
