Robin Hood

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A Robin Hood in darts is when your thrown dart lands directly in the back of a dart already in the board — sticking into the flight or shaft of the first dart. Named after the legendary archer who supposedly split his opponent's arrow, it looks impressive but is actually a frustrating outcome: the second dart scores zero because it never touched the board. Robin Hoods are a paradox — they happen because you're throwing accurately. Your second or third dart is heading to the same spot as the previous one, which is exactly what you want in terms of grouping. But instead of landing in the board next to the first dart, it hits the protruding shaft or flight. It's literally too accurate for its own good. The frequency of Robin Hoods depends heavily on your equipment. Traditional nylon shafts with standard flights are the most susceptible because the flight creates a large target area sticking out from the board. Punched flights (where the shaft pushes through the flight rather than holding it open) reduce the profile. Molded one-piece flight-shaft systems like L-Style or Condor virtually eliminate Robin Hoods because there's no gap between shaft and flight for a dart point to catch. If you're getting frequent Robin Hoods, consider switching to a system with a smaller profile. It's one of the easiest equipment changes you can make to gain more scoring consistency. A Robin Hood can also damage your equipment — the incoming dart's point can crack the shaft or tear the flight of the dart it hits. Carrying spare shafts and flights is always wise.