Bounce out

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Few things in darts are more frustrating than a bounce out. You throw what feels like a perfect dart, it hits the board with a satisfying thud... and then pings right back at you, clattering to the floor. No score, no second chance. The dart simply didn't stick, and your visit continues with one fewer dart. Bounce outs happen for several reasons. The most common is the dart hitting the wire (spider) that separates scoring segments. On older boards with round wire, this is especially frequent. Modern boards use thin, blade-style wire (like Winmau's Dual Core or Unicorn's Eclipse) that dramatically reduces bounce outs by allowing darts to slide past the wire into the sisal. Your dart's point also matters. Steel-tip points that are too blunt won't penetrate the sisal properly. Points that are too sharp can actually increase bounce outs by snagging on the wire rather than sliding past. A slightly rounded point works best. Many players carry a small dart sharpener to maintain the ideal point shape. The angle of impact plays a role too. Darts that arrive at the board at a steep downward angle are more likely to bounce than those arriving relatively flat. If you're experiencing frequent bounce outs, check your throwing arc — you might be lobbing too high. In professional darts, bounce outs can decide matches. The rule is strict: a dart that doesn't stick in the board scores zero, and the player cannot rethrow it. This makes board quality and dart maintenance genuinely important competitive factors.