Soft-Tip Darts for the New Player

Perhaps the shooters you will encounter (and may have already) have personality traits that, at first, don’t appear to be weaknesses. For instance, I know some players who cannot shoot well unless they are gnashing their teeth about something/anything. Part of their routine is to get whipped into a very bad mood before a match begins. This is what helps them stay focused and driven. In my opinion, this motivation is cheap, makes the evening difficult to enjoy for everyone, and deserves any tactic I can use to break it. And, yes, anger is also a weakness.

With regards to this type of opponent, if I know their favorite music, I will play it on the jukebox. If I know their favorite drink, I will buy it for them. If they have a hobby, I will feign interest. If I know they have children, I will ask about them (“out of the ballpark” effective). If they’ve lost weight – and even if they haven’t – I will tell them they look great. The point is to nullify anger as a motivating factor in players like this. Distract them from it! Anger is a powerful – yet ignoble – mental trick these shooters have learned to use effectively. When you encounter someone like this make it your mission to step up, not letting it go unchecked.

I will admit I have been able to defuse the angriest players quite effectively when the need strikes me. If this makes me a cutthroat, do-whatever-it-takes-to-win player, at least I’m the nicest cutthroat player you’ll ever meet.

The following are other examples I’ve encountered where exploiting weaknesses or seizing opportunities during match play have occurred. Some of these illustrations are humorous, some are rather mean, some are subtle, and some not so subtle.

The point is that these are all cases of people interacting with each other and having fun, while playing much more then a mere game involving tiny arrows and targets. Indeed, any sport is much more then just its scoreboard. Learn the importance of that last sentence. After all, at the end of the contest there are winners and losers. Staying within the realm of good sportsmanship, if you can learn enough about your opponent and their weaknesses, the winner might  as  well  be  you!