To point, or not to point - that is the question! Many a bar room brawl has begun because of this issue and unfortunately, there will probably be many more. There are certain circumstances where you're going to have to point in order to win a game of cricket and other scenarios where you're not going to need to point at all. Here's my take on the subject... A perfect game of cricket can be won in 8 darts (3 rounds) by hitting the cricket triples (20s through 15s) and 3 bullseyes, without hitting any points. You don't need any points to win the game of cricket. You simply need to be the first player to have all the cricket numbers closed out and be either equal in points (or at zero), or have more points than your opponent. The goal is to win the game as quickly as possible and sometimes you're not going to need points if you're throwing solid darts and closing your numbers before your opponent does. If I'm playing a less skillful player, start the game (because I won the diddle) and I hit a triple-20 on my first dart, rather then go for points I'm going to continue with the next number and try to trip it as well. In this case, rather then going for points I'm going to concentrate on throwing solid darts and closing my numbers. Because the game of cricket can be won in 8 darts, when you do go for points you are prolonging the game. Going for points will delay you from closing your numbers, therefore, it will take more darts to win the game. In this case your goal actually IS to prolong the game as you may need this extra little point cushion to give you more time and more throws to close your numbers. If I'm up on points, I will watch to see what my opponent does in response. One of two things is going to happen. Either my opponent will answer back with points or my opponent will miss the points and (to borrow a phrase) fold like a cheap lawn chair. Let's face it. Much of the game of darts is based on the player's confidence and ability to hit solid numbers. Sometimes hitting some points will cause your opponent to lose confidence and tip the game in your favor. If you're frequenting a blind draw that you've never been to before, you may want to go early to watch the darters warm up. What is the culture of that dart bar? And how skillful are the darters? In some dart bars it is expected that you're going to go for points, so the darters are more aggressive cricket players. If you want a shot at the bucks, you're going to have to play aggressively as well! When playing an opponent who is far superior then myself, hitting points may be the only chance I have at winning the game. For example, if my opponent opens with a triple-20, triple-19 and triple-18, my next shot is going to be at the 17s and I'm going to try to hit some points to force my opponent to switch gears from closing numbers (and getting closer to winning the game) to playing defensively and trying to get the points back. While my opponent is trying to get ahead on points, I will do my best to maintain the point lead while then going back to close those 20s, 19s and 18s. In this case I want to prolong the game because if I don't, my opponent may just hit that perfect cricket game (8 darts) and leave me in the dust. By prolonging the game, I am giving myself more throws to close my numbers. If I am playing someone who I know is more superior to me, I will try to point early in the game. Let's say that I know my opponent is an excellent shot and I have won the diddle. In this case if I hit a triple-20 with my first dart, I will most likely go right back at the triple-20 again. Pointing early against a superior opponent may be what you have to do to give yourself a few more throws to close your numbers by forcing your opponent to play defensively rather then offensively. If your opponent is trying to get points, that means they don't have as many darts to close numbers. Here's another scenario where I will point. If my opponent begins pointing first and/or is throwing every 3rd dart at points, I will answer back with more points if at all possible. If you are ahead and you do decide to guarantee your lead by consistently throwing at points (even when you may not need more points), keep in mind that you may just piss your opponent off enough to where they are going to concentrate even harder and throw incredible darts with massive numbers of points. In this case you better be able to answer back. There is also the scenario where your opponent is going to "slop" into points. For example, some players shooting for the triple-20 may "accidently" hit the triple-18. This is fine to close the 18s, however, if that player "slops" into another triple-18, that player is then ahead by 54 points. Whether they intended to hit those points or not doesn't matter. If you're going to win the game, you're going to have to pick up those points somewhere along the way. My own strategy is to throw solid darts to close my numbers and win as soon as possible. I usually will not go for points unless I need to and even then I will do it only to maintain my lead, and not to "bury" my opponent. And some times, you're going to accumulate points without even trying to. For example, if you hit 2 single 20s with your first 2 darts and a triple-20 with your 3rd dart, you will now be ahead by 40 points. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this shot and maybe having that cushion of points will give you a little more confidence as you go to the next numbers. When playing cricket with partners, or being paired up with a darter at a blind draw, you may find that you and your partner have different cricket strategies. For example, if the other team opens with a triple-20, triple-19, single-19... I know some players who will try to close the 20s before moving downstairs to the 19s. Personally, I would go straight to the 18s to close them and get some points before attempting to close the 20s and 19s. In this case there is a conflict in strategies between me and my partner. My goal is to get the points back first then clean up and close numbers, where as my partner is trying to close numbers. However, if my partner misses the 20s and 19s, we are just that much further behind. What do you do when your partner is marching to the beat of a different drummer? It's best not "tell" your partner what to do during the match, or even worse, interrupt your partner while in the middle of his turn while standing at the line. Often times you're going to irritate your partner when you do this and they aren't going to be able to hit a thing. It's best to hold your tongue so that your partner can focus on hitting solid darts. The best case scenario is to be in sync and to have discussed the cricket game strategy prior to the start of the game. Here is yet another scenario where I will intentionally go for points. Let's say I've got a score of 102 and my opponent has a score of 101. I need 3 bulls to win the game and my opponent needs 4 bulls AND 3 15s (the extra bull cause the opponent is down in points). This means my opponent has 15s open. If my first dart nails the bull (either a single or a double) then I'm going to continue throwing at the bull with my next dart. If, however, I miss the bull with my first dart - even though I've still got game shot (2 darts in my hand to hit 3 bulls) I am going to throw at 15s for points with my next 2 darts. This is why: If I've missed the bull and I'm not close, then I want to force my opponent to have to throw more darts so that I've got more time to win the game. If I threw only my last dart at points and hit a single-15, the score would then be 117 (me) to my opponent's 101. By hitting only one single-15, it is a wasted dart because I have not forced my opponent to hit any extra bulls. I need to hit at least 2 15s in order to move my score from 102 to 132, therefore causing my opponent to hit additional bulls to get ahead on points. In the above scenario if I miss the bull with my first dart and then hit the triple-15 (rather then a single) the score would then be 145 (me) to my opponent's 101. In this case, I will then go back at the bull because I've got some cushion with the points. It's only when I've missed the bull and hit only a single-15 with my second dart that I will go back to the 15s again with my 3rd dart. Other times you may hit points, either intentionally or not and your opponent may take it personally and call you a point monger, or even worse, a point whore. If you don't need to bury someone in points in order to win the game, then don't. If your strategy is to hit some points along the way then you need to act like a Teflon coated darter and don't take it personally. And if you're on the other end, don't act like your opponent has stabbed you in the back just because you've gone for points! Just answer back! Here's one of my pet peeves with regard to points. Sometimes when an opponent slops into points, they will retrieve their darts, walk back and say "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to hit points". Well, there is NO sorry in darts so there is no need to apologize. Don't ever apologize for hitting points! As long as you are playing fair and square, then it's all good and there is no need to apologize. As you develop your own strategy it is important to know exactly what you are going to do when you step up to the line. Otherwise, indecision might just rear it's ugly head and cause you to miss your shots entirely. In a recent cricket match I had to make the decision of going for 16s to close the number, or going for 19s to hit some points. I was undecided when I stepped up to the line and guess what happened? I hit 3 big fat solid 7s. So, know what you are going to do before you throw that first dart, don't be wishy-washy and stick to your strategy. One thing to watch out for is the opponent who closes bulls early in the game. When this happens you should hit some points along the way. Make sure you're up by at least 51 points, which forces your opponent to hit an additional 3 bulls. When an opponent has bulls closed early in the game, they are doubting your skill and watching to see how you will react. Having bulls closed early in the game allows your opponent to be that much closer to having game shot. Don't get suckered into this and end up losing the game! A general rule of thumb is to keep your opponent at least 4 darts away from winning the game. If your opponent is closer to winning then you, and has game shot with 3 darts, hit some points to force your opponent to need more darts to get up on points, in order to win the game. You must always watch the scoreboard and be aware of each player's points. One way of keeping track of who is in the lead and by how much is to translate points into marks. Every 25 point lead requires an extra bullseye. If an opponent is up by 100 points, that is 4 additional bullseyes, or 4 additional marks that you're going to have to hit in order to win the game. In conclusion, you might not like going for points but in some cases you're going to have to in order to win the game. Sometimes you are going to play against an opponent whose particular strategy is to throw consistently at points to keep the lead. Don't complain and don't call your opponent a point monger. The name of the game is DC or dirty cricket and sometimes you have to play a little dirty in order to win. If you don't like what your opponent is doing then you can either close that number in order to stop the bleeding (pointing), close another number and get your own points or put down your darts and take up tidlywinks. Lastly, don't ever underestimate your opponent. I've seen the underdog hit 4 or 5 bulls in a single round when needed to win a game! Hope this helps. As always, good luck and I'll see you at the line. 
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