Volume 1 Issue 4
August 30, 1999
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Tales From The Abacus By Steve Shope |
Outs that make you say . . . HMmmmmmmmmmmm. I watched Eric Bristow take 94 out, not the conventional 54 – 40, but 25 - 19 – 50, and that made my friend and I say HMmmmmm . Then I read about Sean Downs taking a 92 out with 25-17-50, so this got my mind to working. What would be the advantage of going to the bull first, why not hit a triple then have 2 darts at a double? Then it hit me, by going to the bull first you eliminate the task of having to hit a triple . . . Brilliant!!! So how far does this brilliance go, lets look.
| 95=25-20-50 | 94=25-19-50 | 93=25-18-50 | 92=25-17-50 | 91=25-16-50 |
This is just part of the story, with every up side there is often a down side. Like I mentioned, you eliminated the possibility of having 2 darts at a double, but if you hit that bull first, you have almost guaranteed yourself a shot at a double. The Best time to use this is when you opponent has set himself up on a double, like 32 and it’s a defcon 4 emergency situation. If your opponent is back on 224, and your on 92, you wouldn’t need to risk leaving yourself 25, proceed as normal with 60 to set up a sweet 32. So what else can our friend the bull help us with, here is a list of some.
| 85=25-20-40 | 83=25-18-40 | 81=25-16-40 |
| 84=25-19-40 | 82=25-17-40 | 65=25-40 |
| 61=25-36 | ||
85, 83, 81, 65, and 61 if you hit the Double Bull you don’t leave a one dart out, on the other hand hitting a single instead of a triple you don’t leave an out. So this is where you could go either way.
Now, for a "trip" on the wild side. I was on 134, and as normal I went for 60 to leave 74. After the match a friend of mine who moved here from England told me a deep dark secret, about 131,134, and 137. A secret so well guarded few people have found out about it and lived to tell the tale, but I’ll chance it and tell everybody. If you start with Triple 14 on these 3 (131,134,137) and you would happen to hit one of the adjacent triples ( 11, 9 ) you still leave yourself on out. Lets look at the evidence.
| 137 = 42-57-38 27-60-50 33-54-50 |
135 = 25-60-50 50-45-40 |
134 = 42-60-32 27-57-50 33-51-50 |
132 = 25-57-50 50-50-32 50-42-40 |
131= 42-57-32 27-54-50 33-60-38 |
Apart from breaking "Tradition" there is one small down side, and it only pertains to 137. If you miss the triple and hit singles with your next 2 darts you won’t leave yourself a single, single, double out. Example 137 – 14 leaves 123, since 123 can’t be taken out in 2 darts you now have to set up for your next turn. No mater how you do it, if you don’t hit a triple with your next 2 darts you will leave at least 83 or more, unless your throw a bull in the mix, which I’ve already talked about.
Now for a trip on the " sane " side What about 132, and 135. I’ll start with 132 because I have 2 good examples for this one. In Nashville TN I saw John Part, the 1994 World Champion do it this way, Single Bull (25), Triple 19 (57) , Double Bull (50); ( 25-57-50), when his opponent was on 32, not just for the leg, but for the match. Then in Las Vegas I saw Steve Brown take 132out against Keith Deller the 1994 World Champion do it this way Double Bull (50), Double Bull (50), Double 16 (32); (50 – 50 - 32). These people are not showing off when they shoot this way. These are pressure situations, they require the best way to get one dart at a double. Lets look. With the " traditional 132 " T-20, T-16, D-24, or T-20, T-12, D-18, if you miss the triple with your first dart you don’t have an out, and you will have to agree the Bulls eye is bigger target to hit, and by hitting a single or double bull with your first dart you still have an out. This will explain the first dart. Now with 2 darts in your hand your will either have 107, or 82 left. There is only one way to take 107 out with 2 darts T-19 (57), D-Bull (50). With 82 you have 2 options T-14 (42), D-20 (40), or D-Bull (50), D-16 (32). I know you are asking yourself why is D-Bull, D-16 a good option, Because if you miss the double and hit I single you leave 57 with one dart, then hit the 17 to leave 40, If you go T-14, and hit a single you leave 63 with one dart left, now you have to hit a triple in order to leave a conventional double. An argument can be made that the T-14 is bigger than the D-Bull, especially with a dart already stuck in it, and I asked Steve Brown about this, and he said after the first Double, he felt confident he could hit the second, this just how you fell at that moment. With 135 left the first dart is thrown at the bull under the same principal as (132) now with 110, or 85 left you are set for the kill.
I know a lot of you are thinking, what use is this article, " 137, I’ll never take 137 out ", or " These are just for the professionals, I mean look he uses the World Champion as an example ", but think about this how many times have you hit 2 triples in a cricket game, they might as well have been the to triples you need to set up 40, for that big out like 137, Think about it. These illustrations above just make taking that out that much easier, It’s just the same principle as shooting the 48 with you first dart at the wire between the 8 & 16, so it give you the best percentage.