When you’re practising darts, all you want to do is score. You throw a 100, you feel good about it. You throw a 60, and you probably don’t think much of it.

That’s normal. After all, we’re playing a game where the numbers matter.

But I’ve noticed something interesting over the years. Sometimes, a round of 60 can tell me more about my throw than a round of 100.

Imagine you’ve been working on your rhythm and release. You step up to the line, throw three darts, and score 100. It looks good on the scoreboard, but something doesn’t feel quite right. Maybe your release was a little different, or your rhythm wasn’t as consistent as you wanted. You got the points, but you’re not entirely sure how.

Of course, you’re happy with the score. I would be too.

Now imagine another round. You throw three darts into the single 20. Just 60 points. Nothing particularly exciting, especially if you’re aiming for higher score. But this time, all three darts came out the way you’ve been practising. Your rhythm felt right, your release was consistent, and you recognized the movement you’ve been trying to develop.

When I looked back at those two rounds, I think I’ll be more happy with the 60.

Not because scoring 60 is better than 100, but because I understand what happened during that round. I know what I was doing, and I have that feeling which I can repeat.

When a Good Score Makes You Think You’ve Found Something

Have you ever experienced? Making small adjustment like your grip, stance, or release. Then, a few throws later, you suddenly hit a great score. Naturally, you start thinking that maybe the adjustment worked. Maybe you’ve finally found what you’ve been looking for.

I’ve certainly had moments like that.

The difficult part is knowing whether the improvement actually came from the adjustment or whether you simply happened to throw a good round.

One good score doesn’t always give you enough information to tell the difference.

And the opposite can happen. You might be working on something that makes your throw feel more comfortable and consistent, but the scores haven’t caught up yet. If you judge every adjustment by the next three darts, it’s easy to start changing things again before you’ve really understood whether they were helping.

This doesn’t mean we should ignore our scores. They’re still important. If you’re consistently throwing well but your scores never improve, that’s something worth looking into too.

I just don’t think every good score means you’ve found the answer, or every disappointing score means you’re doing something wrong.

What I Want to Take Away From Practice

When I’m practising, I want to know more than how many points I got. I want to understand what I was doing. Like if the grouping is not perfect, one dart landed slightly away from the others. I would like to recognize the rhythm and release I’ve been working on.

And sometimes, even after a great score, I need to ask myself whether I could actually repeat the same throw.

Of course, none of this guarantees that the next three darts will land in the same place. That’s part of darts. Even when you’re throwing well, the results won’t always be exactly what you expect.

But there’s a difference between trying to repeat a score and trying to repeat a throw.

In a match, I’ll happily take the 100. Those extra points could make a real difference.

During practice, though, there are times when I’d rather remember the 60.

Because I don’t just want to know what I hit.

I want to know what I did right.