The one thing that will help you play the game better is confidence , You cant buy it , it comes from a belief in yourself . A professional player some of you may have heard of , His name is John Lowe and was pretty useful in his day asked me in my view what the difference was between a pub team player , A super league player and a pro player ? I gave him a reply which he chuckled at then told me what the real difference was and this was his reply

When aiming at the t20
A pub player hopes it will go in
Super league player thinks it will go in
A pro player believes it will go in

The right mindset at the oche will no doubt help your game because if you believe you cant do it you will be right !

Mav

Well I am definately a pub player

There is absolutely no doubt that confidence and belief are 2 major factors in throwing good darts.

I regularly play against me brother and he is far better than me, but if I nick a leg or 2 off him then I find my darts improve, no doubt due to my increased confidence and the belief that I can throw well.

Unfortunately I can only keep up my A game for maybe 30mins or so, either due to me brother regaining his confidence or me losing concentration.

This works the same in a league match, however I can bring on the confidence with a couple of beers but while my confidence rises my concentration becomes less focused - for those few legs where the confidence and focus is in tune with my concentration I throw brilliant (for my own standard) and I think this is the reason, even when I am throwing badly, that I keep playing, knowing that at any given time, the focus and the concentration will align making me one very happy darter, even if it only lasts half an hour

Being a happy darter also helps And im not against lubricating the elbow via the bar

I agree confidence is a big help in anything we do, in darts I guess its another vital mental aspect of the game.

good post and true mate

Confidence is so important. I have played people who have said before the match "hope I don't draw you" they beat before they start really.

Confidence and a few relaxing ales works well for me. Some of my best games in league have been after I have had 5 or 6 pints.

That works in competition and in my shed.

Where you lie past out and nearly dead:)

There is no doubt that the better part of anyone's dart game is mental. Great post Mav