When practising I play some fantastic darts but when it comes to a game nerves kick in!! Can't play properly when shaking and only 17 so alcohol is out of the question!

thanks mate

[quote="Clive'sBoy"]When practising I play some fantastic darts but when it comes to a game nerves kick in!! Can't play properly when shaking and only 17 so alcohol is out of the question![/quote

Your preaching to the choir mate. I can throw a 65+ avg most of the time in practice. Lucky to throw a 40 avg in a match but working on it. I wouldn't say its my nerves because i know im better than 98% of the players in my conference. Maybe just trying to hard?

Alcohol won't help anyway IMO. Some say it calms the nerves, I say you just get tipsy and think your playing better than you really are. Like when your at a bar drinking with your beer goggles on you think shes cute until you see her sober

Just keep practicing and keep playing as much as possible

You will overcome your nerves by playing more. Also try some deep breathing techniques.

This is possibly the biggest game wrecker of all in Darts. Unfortunately your body has an involuntary reaction when you get nervous and it affects everyone even the pro's. To a point you can control it by playing more but the higher the stakes the more your body will naturally react. I don't believe there is a person on the planet that can control it fully. When you play or practice on your own there is nothing at stake so you can relax, the next time you practice tell yourself you will put a pound or dollar in a pot for every dart you go over 21 in a standard 501 game and you will give it to charity for xmas and you will physically feel the tension and nerves move through your body as you get to the 18th, 19th and 20th darts, then up the stakes to 10 or 100 pounds/dollars and see how that feels.So now imagine those last few darts to win the world title. My advice is like many others and play as many games against people as you can, as experience will supress some of the nerves but also remember it is JUST A GAME so enjoy it. I never expect to lose any of my games but I still do and some to players that are poor and that happens too sometimes but those losses make me stronger as you need them to learn from as I believe you learn as much about the game from losing as you do winning, but you learn more about yourself as a person by the way you behave/react when you lose,, and this is all part of the game.

Try to avoid the alcohol route as I only ever have 1 pint when playing as a social thing, many of my team mates need and I do mean need 6 or 7 pints now before they play as they say it helps them with their nerves and next year it will be no doubt 8 or 9 pints but they still lose as many games as they did the season before so does it help I don't think so.

Embrace the nerves accept them and soon you will notice them less but do not ignore them as we are given them as warning signs and we do need them, they are your bodies natural defense system to keep you safe. Once you work with them and understand them they will become part of your natural feelings for darts, job interviews and every other area of your life where the outcome is unknown. This is why when you play a player who expects to lose to you he throws the best darts of his life and comes close to beating you, untill that final double when he realises he may win then the nerves kick in and he can't hit that final double if he stayed there for a week. This purely because he knows his fate and the expectation of him to win is virtually nil so he relaxes and just plays his game, of course this does not mean by expecting to lose every game will make you play better but he has taken away the fear of the unknown and has accepted he will possibly not win so he feels less nerves.

In summary Win well, lose graciously, always try your best, never give up how ever far you are behind, set your expectations at a level to suit yourself as your destiny is in your hands, don't be hard on yourself when you lose as we all do it, embrace your nerves as they will help you to become a better player, expect to win but accept your losses, practice regularly especially your doubles as you never win a game on a treble do you, and lastly enjoy the beautiful game.

Hope this helps a little any further question please ask and don't be nervous about it lol

Great advice Kevin my friend. Thanks for that advice that we all can use, take another plus 1 from me mate.

Good post Kev! yep even Taylor gets nervous

Great advice there Kev

from me too mate

Thanks guys really appreciate the +1's, it's nice to know people actually read what I write and like it.

Wow Kev.....great post mate, I really enjoyed it. And of course, your spot on!!!

Excellent accurate post as usual Kev, and a great descriptive aid for any new player +1 from me.

And Clive's Boy always nice to see youngsters coming into the game, and well done for being willing to ask for advice, there are many seasoned players on here and you just took a wise and vital step to improve your game just by asking for help.

shafted wrote:

Excellent accurate post as usual Kev, and a great descriptive aid for any new player +1 from me.

And Clive's Boy always nice to see youngsters coming into the game, and well done for being willing to ask for advice, there are many seasoned players on here and you just took a wise and vital step to improve your game just by asking for help.

To right Neil
Although most of my advice is usless and anoying to some you took the first step CB and asked a great question and deserve a +1 aswell.

O speeking of usless advise just picture everyone naked

Best way to get over nerves in public is to consistently make an ass of yourself in public...serious