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Darts was perhaps the most popular sport shown on TV back in the 80's a sport dominated by the most unlikeliest sportsmen, swigging beer and smoking cigarettes throwing 'arrows' at a board 7ft 9 1/4 inches away, but they had a following of harden fans and you couldn't help but get swept along with the enthusiasm.

But where did Darts come from, it's commonly believed that they originated in the Middle Ages amongst Archers who threw their arrows or even shortened versions at barrel lids or even tree stumps. Tree stumps would have been more practical due to the growth rings making it easier to see who was closer to the middle.

In 1530 Anne Boleyn gave Henry the 8 a set of Dartes of Biscayan Fashion, richly ornamented, he gave her the chop. Passengers on the Mayflower in 1620 played the game to pass the long hours on voyage.

The Year in Darts - 2006
January 7 - 15 BDO Lakeside World Championship, April 8 - 9 BDO Home Internationals, May 19 - 21 Welsh Open, September 16 - 17 British Open.

What is Darts?
Darts is an indoor game the point of the game is that each player will throw three darts from a distance of 8ft at a circular board which is divided into 20 segments numbered 1 - 20 each segment contains smaller segments (beds) which either a double the larger one nearest the edge or the Treble nearest the centre. The centre ring is called the bull and is worth 50 points and the immediate area around the centre is called the outer and is worth 25 points. The most popular game is '501' where players start with the number 501 and then deduct all scores from it until they are at zero the last dart thrown must hit a double.

Who devised the Board?
It is said that Brian Gamlin a carpenter from Bury in Lancashire born in 1852 came up with the idea of the modern board as a means of rewarding accuracy and reducing the element of chance by placing high numbers next to low ones. Carpenters used to make dartboards as for years the favourite material was elm.

Since those days television has moved on and found new games to play while Darts is still going as strong as ever. You may wonder how this could be firstly the emergence of Sky Sports with it's hunger for ever more sporting events has grabbed Darts by the scruff of it's neck and brought it upto date coupled with great sponsorship from company's like Paddy Power and Ladbrokes and you know you have a winning formula.

Not got Sky Sports not a problem the BBC still cover the two key tournaments The Lakeside (formely the Embassy) World Championship, and the Winmau World Masters.

Embassy World Professional Championship
A competition for men and women first held at the Midlands Club Nottingham in 1978 then it moved to Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke on Trent, since 1986 it has been held at the Lakeside Country Club Frimley Green Surrey. The Womens Championship was introduced in 2001. The mens final is played over 11 sets each set consist of 5 legs the women's over 3 sets of five legs. First Champion Leighton Rees (Wales) First Ladies Champion Trina Gulliver (England)

Darts is now back after a summer break spent in the boozers of the world and like all sportsmen everywhere they have spent their time off practising their chosen sport by throwing the arrows and swigging beer. 24 October sees the Skybet World Grand Prix coming to you from Dublin so the guys will be on the blackstuff, featuring a double in double out format meaning the guys must start and finish on a double.

This is a week long event shown exclusively on Sky Sports one word of warning don't even think of betting on the perfect nine dart leg it is almost impossible in this event. The good news for punters is this event throws up some major upsets so get prepared to bet on the underdog.

Some of the players to watch out for are: John Part, Colin Lloyd, Phil (the power) Taylor, Wayne Mardle longer odds can be had on Peter Manley, Ronnie Baxter.

Ladbrokes World Championship

Punters have plenty of betting opportunities when you consider that the Ladbrokes.com World Championship The PDC's New Year spectacular where the world's top 32, plus eight wild cards and eight qualifiers, do battle over sets, culminating in a best-of-13 set final.

Then you have the Paddy Power Grand Prix Dublin in the autumn for the PDC's top players, plus qualifiers from Britain and Ireland, to compete for the only title in which legs are double-in, doubleout.

Lakeside World Darts Championship The BDO's flagship, formely known as the Embassy and played at the widely acknowledged 'home of darts', the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Contested over sets between the BDO's top 25 players plus qualifiers.

Budweiser UK Open This is the PDC's FA Cup of darts. Seedings are decided by performances in qualifiers and not the world rankings with 128 players competing in legs only straight knockout. First Winner of the PDC was Dennis Priestley (England) 1994

Las Vegas Desert Classic To Nevada where a series of eliminators earn 16 play-off winners and four North American qualifiers the right to join the top 12 in a knockout competition over sets. you can't fail to have a bet with competition's like these.

Winmau World Masters A colossal event featuring more than 150 players from all over the world, separated into 16 groups with one of the BDO's seeds per section. Knockout from the last 16 onwards First winner of the Winmau was Cliff Inglis (England) 1974

Televised 9 Dart Finishers John Lowe (England) 1984, Paul Lim (USA) 1990, Shaun Greatbatch (England) 2002, Phil Taylor (England) 2002. Get a £10 free bet on Darts here!