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Darts isn’t one of the top sports in the world but in recent years, it has risen in popularity especially in the United Kingdom and Europe. With that rise, darts betting has also emerged as a consistent market in betting sites.
In this article, we will talk about the basics in darts betting so that you can make a profit with dart bets. So if you want to make bets on darts but don’t know where to start, this is the one for you:
The Top Players
Before we go to the betting proper, let us enumerate the Top 10 darts players in the world. Knowing the best players will enable you to understand better the oddsboard and who the favorites and underdogs are.
Ranking in darts is given by the Professional Darts Corporation and the PDC uses the players’ money earnings for the last two years as the basis for its rankings. So as of April 14, 2019, here are the Top 10 darts players in the world:
| Rank | Name | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Van Gerwen | £1,589,250 |
| 2 | Rob Cross | £821,000 |
| 3 | Gary Anderson | £552,250 |
| 4 | Peter Wright | £547,500 |
| 5 | Daryl Gurney | £538,000 |
| 6 | Michael Smith | £515,750 |
| 7 | Gerwyn Price | £402,250 |
| 8 | Mensur Suljovic | £387,000 |
| 9 | James Wade | £365,500 |
| 10 | Simon Whitlock | £307,250 |
The Major Tournaments
There are so many dart tournaments all-year round but just like in other sports, there are tournaments that stand out. These are the ones who have the bigger coverage, the wider audience and the most betting markets. For any bettor, these are the tournaments that one must target if he wants to make money out of dart bets:
- World Darts Championship – Played in December/January
- The Masters – Played in January
- UK Open – Played in March
- Premier League of Darts – Played from February – May
- World Matchplay – Played in July
- Champions League of Darts – Played in September
- World Grand Prix – Played in October
- World Series of Darts – Played in November
- Grand Slam of Darts – Played in November
- Players Championship Finals – Played in November
As you can see, these major tournaments are scattered all over the year hence you won’t have a shortage of dart events to bet on once you get started.
Common Dart Betting Markets
Match Result
This is the most common one and the easiest bet to make as in other sports because you just have to pick a player in a particular match to back. If the player wins the match, you win the bet. If not, you try again next time. The main drawback of this bet is the fact that if you pick the favorite, he will come at a more expensive price than if you pick the underdog. That’s how betting works because it is going to even the playing field. When you’re a novice punter, you like to bet on favorites so that you have a better chance of winning. However, there may be little to no betting value left on them. To get a better value on a favorite, check out the next bet.
Handicap Bets
Handicap bets are darts’ version of the spread odds in basketball, baseball or hockey. In this market, you will either bet on a favorite with a minus handicap or you will bet on the underdog with a plus handicap. Now the idea here is to get a better betting value on the favorite by taking on them with minus legs or sets (depending on the bet). If you pick correctly, you will earn more in a handicap bet than by just simply betting on the favorite’s moneyline odds. On the other hand, if you are betting for the underdog, you are given a better chance of winning by getting a certain number of plus legs or sets, depending on the bet. While this will decrease the plus money on the underdog, it gives you a better chance at winning because of the plus legs or sets given to your team.
Tournament Winner
Betting on the tournament winner is a futures bet and ante-post bet which means the bet is made at least a day before the start of the tournament. The good thing about this bet is when you bet early, you get better prices on the players because the rest of the bets aren’t in yet. However, the risk here is you don’t know what’s going to happen in a tournament because it’s not just one leg or one set, it’s a tournament where a player you are backing is going to face multiple players, most of whom you don’t know yet. Since darts have become more competitive in recent years, you can always deviate from the standard norm of betting for just one tournament winner. The suggestion is to bet on four names whom you think have a chance to win. Four are better than one, right? Sure, this means you will have to bet more but your chances also improve. The key here is to make sure that you will make a profit if any of the four players you picked is going to win
Most 180’s
As simple as it sounds, this market is where you will bet on the player who scores the most 180’s in a single game or for the entire tournament. This is considered a proposition or prop bet since this bet is in no way related to who wins the game. There are variations to this bet as some oddsmakers may offer a bet for the First 180, total 180s, total 180s for the day or total 180s for a leg and the likes. To make money on this bet, you should first get to know the scoring habits of the players involved in the match.
Nine-Darter, Yes or No?
This is a betting market where you will pick whether either of the two players will score a 9-darter in a game or not. Again, this is a proposition bet not related to the winner of the match although a 9-darter wins a leg by throwing just a total of 9 darts, the perfect outcome. When betting on the Nine Darter, do consider the format and the players involved. For example, if it’s the final of a tournament and there are more than 20 legs to be played and the two best players are going head to head, then a nine-darter would be a good value bet to make.
Betting Advice
As in other sports, betting on darts requires a study on players form and check out which players are doing well during a particular period of time. There are also players who play well in certain formats and in some particular tournaments so take note of those. Don’t be afraid to bet on the underdog. Just because they are being pegged at shorter odds doesn’t mean they can’t win. Darts is a competitive sport and if you just check head to head matchups, you will know if an underdog has a chance to pull off a heist.
You can also check out a player’s schedule because he might have played one too many tournaments already and may not be in good form for a particular tournament. The top darts players often travel a lot to play for different tournaments. He may be fatigued in a particular one you are betting. Check also for injuries that may affect player performance. Likewise, players have different motivations for certain tournaments. It’s also good to read news and updates on the sport.
If you’re betting on a tournament winner, know the draw because the top three or four players on the oddsboard may belong in the same draw and only one of them is going to make it out to the final. So make sure you know the draw so you will have an idea of how the tournament will probably pan out.
