How to Hold Darts

Develop a good stance. Before even picking up the first dart, the first key to finding your throw rhythm is to develop a good throwing stance. Most people, when they first become initiated into the world of darts, simply don't think about how they are standing. It may come as a surprise, then, to discover that one's stance is perhaps the most important element in throwing a good dart. If you're off balance in any way, it will definitely have an adverse effect on your throwing abilities, and your capabilities of hitting a defined target. You'll want to start with one foot in front of the other. If you throw with your right hand, you'll want to put your right foot forward, and vice versa. Keep an even amount of weight on both feet, and resist the temptation to rock (no matter how good the bar band is that night!)

Use only two fingers and your thumb to hold the dart. Many dart throwers struggle with this aspect of holding their dart. They aren't sure what feels most comfortable. Don't worry about that right now. Even if you feel more at home only using one finger and your thumb, or your whole hand, use the prescribed technique of two fingers and your thumb. This will give you the greatest balance between enough control and too much interference.

Hold your darts at a level position. Resist the temptation to hold your dart at an angle. Concentrate on keeping it pointed straight at the dartboard, with the tip of your elbow pointed straight down to the floor. You should be able to draw a straight imaginary line between your elbow and the floor. If you have your dart tilted in any way, you are sacrificing a level of control you can't afford to lose. When that happens, hitting a predefined target becomes more a matter of chance and luck than skill, and you can never hope to win on a regular basis.

Use a solid grip, but remain relaxed. You can't hold on to the dart so tightly that your knuckles turn white, but you also don't want such a loose grip that the dart flies out of your hand before you're ready to release it. This is possibly the most difficult part of the process to learn, and it will take practice. Most people tend to err on the "too tight" side, so make an effort to hold your darts as loosely as possible to begin with. Then you can slowly build back up to a tighter grip until you find that perfect point.

Release the dart at once, reducing spin on the dart. Make sure when you release the dart towards the board, you do so all at once. What does that exactly mean? Some people manage to release the dart with one finger first, and then the remaining finger and thumb a split second later. Try to avoid doing this. It can have the same effect on your dart as would hitting an obstacle along the way. At the very least, you will succeed in putting a certain amount of spin on the dart, and that's something you want to avoid at all costs.