The newest darts bar in Itaewon is Sam Ryan’s.

Located in the alley behind Hamilton Hotel, upstairs from 3 Alley Pub.  And coincidentally, owned by Albert, one of the 3 Alley partners.

I’ve not been here much, in fact, last night was the first time I played in a league match at this bar.  My assessment is that it is one fine venue for darts.

The boards look as good as they play.  Excellent lighting as well.  There is actually a fourth board in the back.

As you can see, the bar area is quite spacious.  And although I’ve not eaten here yet, I’m told the food is excellent.  More than just pub fare, they even serve steaks!

I really like this part of the bar.  Big open space, lots of window seating, light and airy.  They did a great job with this place.

Another angle on the bar area.  There is even a patio area in the back.

So, we had a nice match here last night, notwithstanding my crappy dart throwing (can’t blame that on the bar!).  Service was friendly and efficient.  My only quibble is that it gets a little tight behind the oche with that shelf-like thing there.  Also, seating for the “fans” is somewhat limited, but really, it all worked out fine.  It was a little hot, but then again, it’s August in Seoul so I guess that’s to be expected.

This place is the only bar I’ve seen that can give Dolce Vita a run for the money.  This place gets a “A” rating as darts venue.  Good job Albert.

Hey, a post about something other than politics!  Although there is some nice discussion going on in the comments to my earlier posts, so feel free to jump in and say your piece.

Last night the Rubbies took on the Breakfast Club at Sam Ryan’s.  The good news is we prevailed 20-17.  I think all of us were disappointed in our perfromance however, especially after we had jumped out to a 10-2 lead early on.  Not sure what it is, but we are collectively just not performing anywhere near our potential.  I guess we will work through that, but after our strong showing last week, this felt like a step backwards.

I can’t figure out what is going on with my game.  I managed a 7-5 showing last night, but it was ugly.  I think I had only two marks in 12 legs and that is not an “A” division showing.  I’m playing well during the  Friday night tourneys and in practice.  But come Monday night, I just don’t seem to have a clue.  I think I’m pressing or something and I have resolved to try and just relax and enjoy myself.  Frustration breeds frustration and all that.  We shall see.

I’ll have my Sam Ryan’s review up soon.

Next up in the “Dart Bars of Itaewon” series is Gecko’s Terrace, or just plain “Geckos” in the popular parlance.

This is the place, pretty much smack dab in the middle of Itaewon.  Pretty much a landmark or at least a reference point.  Chances are if you’ve been to Itaewon, you have seen Geckos.  If you haven’t, it is across the street from the Hamilton Hotel, more or less. 

Strictly speaking, Geckos is not a “darts bar”.  It is a large bar/restaurant type place, that happens to have dart boards.

Three of them to be precise.  Not really a bad setup, all things considered.

There is a different type of crowd here.  Oh, I am sure they have their regulars and all, but it is not like the smaller pubs where you feel welcomed and “at home”.  At least that’s how it seems to me.  In fact, Geckos is a popular “pick up” spot where those so inclined go to hook up with a member of the opposite gender.  Or so I’ve been told.

Alright, I have to say it.  When I first came to Itaewon, everyone said this was the place to go.  And from the first time I visited, I never liked the place.  In part, I just don’t like big impersonal bars.  And I really don’t like the crowds.  But what I hate most is poor service, and Geckos is notorious for the indifferent attitude of the wait staff. 

I now only ever go there when I am force to do so by a dart league commitment.  And I can barely abide that.  You’d starve waiting to be offered a menu, and on the rare occasion you can actually get someone to bring one you are unlikely to have your order taken.  Ok, maybe I’m being harsh.  After all, a dart match only lasts a couple of hours, perhaps I’m just impatient.

Obviously, it must have some attraction to others, because it usually has a big crowd.  And frankly, that is sometimes an issue when you are playing darts on league night.

This is the bar area directly behind the boards.  Not too crowded on the early Wednesday evening I took this shot, but it can get pretty damn congested as the evening progresses.  And getting bumped when throwing is more than a little distracting.

As you might have surmised, this is one of my least favorite venues.  No problem this season, as Geckos does not host an “A” division team (Guzzlers is taking the season off).

I’m sure it is apparent I have a bias against the bar based on my own personal bad experiences.  Your mileage may vary.  The dart setup is certainly no worse than adequate, which earns Gecko’s a C rating for darts.  If you are just coming out to chuck some darts while waiting to meet the man of you dreams (like the lasses above) it is a fine place to be I’m sure.  For league play or competitive throwing, you have better options.

So says I.

In darts, at least.  Last night us Rubbies defeated the league leading Scrooge Pub Dartaholics, 21-16.  It was a big win and much needed after our embarassing performance last week.

I had a 6-6 night but felt good about it.  I was hitting some marks (including a 9-mark) and playing competitively against some top notch opponents.  Sometimes you just get beat by a player who throwing better than your best.  I can deal with that.  Losing through ineptness is hard to take.  I got beat some last night, but it took good darts to beat me.  That’s all I ask for.

Anyway, when we are hitting on all cylinders the Rubbies will be a force to be reckoned with in “A” division.  I’d say we had six running strong last night.  Just a bit more fine tuning to get that V-8 up to full power.

(Gawd, I have no idea where that tortured engine comparison came from.  I’ll blame Dave New who drives a Mustang and bought vodka bombs after last night’s victory).

…I don’t mind.

And if what I throw on Wednesday could be replicated on Monday night league play, I’d be fine and dandy with it.

Another little impromptu round robin singles at Dolce tonight and I managed to take the prize and go undefeated to boot.

Chris B. said the only thing worse than losing out was having to read about it on my blog.

I guess it goes without saying Chris, this post’s for you!

The boys from XOX (Friends Bar) kicked some Rubbies ass last night.  It was 28-9, so I guess you could say they rubbed our noses in the stench of defeat.  There will come a day reckoning, I can assure of you that.

My pathetic contribution to the fiasco was a 2-10 performance.  My worst night ever.  Oddly enough, I’ve thrown worse darts, but I just couldn’t get the job done last night.  Failing to close numbers at a critical juncture, missing the triple when I needed points.  And usually by a wire.  So, I wasn’t off like week 1 where I didn’t have a clue where the dart was going, but I was still missing my target by the smallest of margins.  Made for an extremely frustrating night.

and sometimes for the better…

We had an impromptu round-robin doubles tourney at Dolce tonight.  Me and my partner Ciarnin swept 8-0.  I really felt in rhythm for the first time in months.  Even had better success with the bulleyes.

One of my opponents tonight, John Rule, reads the blog and implied that I hadn’t been totally truthful about the state of my game.  All I could tell him was “hey, things change.”

Now, let’s see if I can keep it goin’.

This is the second in my series of dart bars in Itaewon.

Dolce Vita technically fronts the main drag in Itaewon, but you enter through a stairway in an adjacent alley.  It is on the same side of the street as the Hamilton Hotel.  From the Hamilton, walk up the street towards the Itaewon arch.  The first traffic signal is a pedistrian crosswalk, and the entrance alley is just beyond that.  First set of stairs to your left and up two flights…

The bar was recently renovated and now sports four boards along the back wall.  For the most part, this is an improvement as we have good separation from the pool table.  The boards also have excellent lighting.  It gets a tad crowded during the Friday night tourney as the tables are pretty close to the oche.  We had two teams playing last night (well, four.  I mean we had two teams playing two other teams).  “A” division plays two boards, the other divisions normally use one.  So, with the middle board out of play last night it worked out well. 

We had some instances of patrons coming through the entrance and walking into the line of fire so to speak.  Dangerous for them and frustrating for the shooter.  Jim hung a couple of our championship banners and strategically place a potted plant, which seems to redirect errant traffic appropriately.

Matt Duff, who plays for Sweet Life (a sister team at Dolce) showing off his form.  Note the wood planking which is easy on the darts when you experience a dreaded bounce out.  Dolce also features a raised oche which may reduce foot fouls (although the chief enforcer of that rule (Craig) has now departed for Canada).  I mentioned in a recent post that my mechanics are screwed up.  I blame this new fangled oche.  I was placing my toe against oche similar to what Matt is demonstrating.  But my natural stance is more 3/4’s to the board, not straight on.  So, I *think* this was causing me to throw across my body and jerk the darts right and left.  I’ve gone back to my old stance and I’m starting to see some improvement, although my bulls haven’t come back as yet.  Practice, practice, practice!

The pool table and bar area.  Very comfortable, as I can attest from personal experience.

As most of you know, Dolce Vita is my “home bar” and it is good to be back after a season away.  YJ and Jim are most excellent hosts, and the bar staff is friendly and efficient.  They did a great job with the renovations and I am sure Hemingway would agree that it is indeed “a clean well-lighted place”.

It is a great venue for darts.  My only complaint with the new set-up is the close proximity of the tables.  On league night we shove them back as far as possible and they don’t really impact play.  It is sometimes difficult to find a natural pathway to the toilet when players are milling about, but all in all that is a very minor issue.  I give Dolce Vita a strong A- rating.

This will be the first in a new series here at LTG called “Dart Bars of Itaewon”.  I plan to carry my camera on Monday nights and give you a flavor of league venues.

Last night we opened at Blue Frog and I’ve already reported the pitiful results.  Now let’s talk about the bar.

The bar is located in “Nigerian Alley”, one block down from “Hooker Hill”.  This is the entrance sign you can look for.

The bar itself is located in the basement.  It is usually dark and dank.  The walls are painted black which heightens the “atmosphere”.  There also is sometimes a “seepage” problem which has rendered the back room uninhabitable.

Two of the three boards available for play.  That’s Jin warming up for our match.

At one time Blue Frog was the premier venue for darts in Itaewon.  I played my first tournament here.  The Frog used to host a very well-attended tourney each Saturday night, but the owner for some reason ended that practice a couple of years ago.  Coincidently or not, that coincided with the departure of Jay Woody and Tom Cassidy, fervent darters are regular denizens of Blue Frog.  There are still a few regulars from the league that call Blue Frog home, but it is a mere shadow of its former self.  Chris Burslie recently moved his “A” Division team from Blue Frog to the newest bar in town, Sam Ryan’s.

To be honest, it is not a great venue for darts.  Not the worst by far (that would be Friends Bar IMHO), but the Frog is showing its age.  And its basement location makes it uncomfortable at times, especially cold in winter.  To be fair, owner Eun Suk did a pretty nice job refurbishing the back room but the aforementioned seeping sewage situation made a mess of that.

The bar itself sits only 5 and when the servers are busy it creates a lot of traffic.  At times this makes the play on board 1 a little challenging. 

The staff is pretty good.  Eun Suk is nice and my pal Wan Jun is quick with a beer and always happy to chuck some darts when business is slow.  There used to be a crew of sweet and attractive waitresses but they have pretty much all moved on to other things these days.  I did notice a new waitress last night, and service is generally good.

So, in conclusion I would have to say that while Blue Frog is still a sentimental favorite, other than for league matches I only visit once or twice a month.  All things considered, I rate this bar a solid C for darts.

Shooters took us down 21-16, no thanks to me.  I went 0-6 in singles.  No excuse for that.  My opponents did not outplay me, I beat myself with the most lame-ass darts you can imagine.  Disgusting.

Redemption of sorts came when Dave and I teamed up in doubles and went 6-0.  So, a .500 start is small consolation, but I will take.  As I promised my teammates, I will not play so poorly again.  That would be like lightning striking twice…

Crap.

Or at least I hope so.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is once again opening night in the Seoul International Dart League.

I begin the summer season with a new team, the Rubbies.  I don’t know the origin of the name, but in one form or another the Rubbies have been an Itaewon institution for more than a decade.  This season also marks the return to my bar “home” at Dolce Vita.  I’m also playing with a good group of guys I know well, respect as darters and am comfortable playing with.  My mates are Tom Randolph, Dave New, Dan Orrico, and Rod Rodriguez.

I’ve still got a slight case of new team and opening night jitters, but I expect I will play through it and do fine.  Power of positive thinking and all that.  We open against Shooters, a new team in “A” division, playing out of Blue Frog.

Like it or not, you can expect to see an account of tonight’s action here at LTG.  Look for it!

Some excitement during Friday night darts at Dolce Vita last night.  There is a progressive “bull shoot” jackpot that works like this:  You buy drawing tickets for chon won (a buck) and if your number is pulled you have the opportunity to take a shot at the double bull.  Hit it, and you win the pot.  No one has managed that feat for the past several months (I had the chance to throw at it a couple of times and failed).  So, the jackpot had grown to a little more the a million and a half won ($1500).  I certainly contributed my share in worthless tickets.

Well, last night Alisteir the Scot had his number drawn.  Three warmup darts and then the money shot.  Bullseye!  Well, to be precise, DOUBLE Bullseye.  Pandamonium broke out and Alisteir was of course ecstatic.  Although everyone coveted the prize, we were all thrilled to see Alisteir take the money.  A great guy and excellent darter, he has some recent immigration problems and hasn’t been able to work regularly.  So that money is both needed and well-deserved.  He recieved a prolonged ovation and left a happy man last night. 

He actually took first place in the tourney as well, so it was an overall great night for him.  Congrats again!

But I surely do miss the competition from our Monday league matches.  Looking forward to the new season which kicks off July 13.  Which is good timing because I will be spending 10 days in Bali June 29-July 9.

Until I start my new career as a Rubbie, I will whet my darts appetite with tourneys here and there.  We did a little “between the seasons” tournament last night at Bless U Pub.  I partnered up with a Filipino guy named Norman.  Hadn’t seen him throw before but he is quite a good darter.  We managed a second place finish, behind Chris B. and Dave New.  Some nice matches to get us there and it was a good time.

Saturday we are having an “international tourney” at Dolce.  The concept is you partner up with someone from your home country and play for national pride.  I’m throwing with COL Dan and although we likely won’t be the top ranked players, if we throw like we are capable of I like our chances.  I expect strong competition from the Korean, Canadian, Filipino, and British entrants.  Bottom line, it’s something a little different and it’s darts.

As you might have surmised from this post, it seems there is not much more to life for me than darts these days.  Hell, it could be worse.  And has been.

So we wrapped up the season yesterday with the SIDL Awards Banquet and tournament.  My darts sucked big time for some reason and I never did get untracked.  Felt bad for my partner.  As bad as I played, we still eeked out a 6th place finish good for W70,000.  If I had brought my game who knows what might have been.  Ah well, I just never seem to do well in this event. 

Anyway, here’s some photos:

There was eats from Subway and Pizza Hut

And trophys for those who enjoyed a successful season.

For me, it was an award for 2nd Place in the mid-seasons doubles, and one for second place in the league championship.  I guess I’m like Avis.  I also received pins for 5-mark, 6-mark, 9-mark, bull shot, and league elite.  I think my greatest achievement however is maintaining my humility and modesty.  Heh.

L-R: Grant, league VP; Lonnie, secretary; and Max, President.  They did their usual outstanding job as our hosts.

Lucky, Dennis, and Ron from Eberhardt of Scrooge Pub.  Winners of the A Division Regular Season.

Dartaholics, also from Scrooge Pub, B Division Champs.  Don’t really know these guys (other than the token miguk Dustin).  The guy on the left really has a Sammy Davis, Jr. look going on though, doesn’t he?

Yours truly enjoying my moment in the spotlight…

One half of the Blue Bulls of Bless U Pub accepting our consolation prize.  I think we are all still smarting over the way we lost the championship.

Shane had a crappy partner yesterday, but sharing 6th place money was better than nothing.

Jim and Dan took 5th place.

Todd and Jodie knocked me and Shane out of the tourney and finished 4th.

Doug and Dave walked away with 3rd place money.

Jay and Dustin fought hard but had to settle for 2nd Place.

David (I think) and Mike were the tourney champions.  Congratulations!

All right, I think that’s just about enough about that.

Well, last night proved to be a dart too far as we suffered a tough 19-18 loss to Guzzlers at Geckos.

It was an exciting and well played match, a real see-saw battle.  But the way it ended was just hard to take and was an incredible disappointment.

We were up two legs at the conclusion of singles, and after the first two rounds of doubles the score was tied 15 all.  Remember, 19 legs is required for victory.

So, Ali and I are up against Joe and Billy (ranked 3 and 4 in A division).  We didn’t play great, but not bad either.  Well, Joe and Billy were on and took us 0-3, leaving the Guzzlers one leg shy of the championship.  Seung Youb and Scott played an amazing match (including a ton-80 from Scott) and in a spectacular finish, swept all three legs, leaving the score at 18-18 with the team game deciding the match.

We came out smokin’ and built a 200+ point lead.  Youb had a 41 out to shoot for, but left it at 14.  Well, I had been practicing my out shots, including the double 7, so I felt confident I could bring it home.  Two misses and then I leave it at 7.  Ali was next, hit the 3 and then missed two shots at the double 4.  Meanwhile the Guzzlers had come alive and were sitting at a 40 out.  Then missed, leaving a double 10 out.  Scott was next for us and couldn’t close either.  Then Joe hit it for Guzzlers and won the championship.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.  I have been reliving it in my head all day and it is still hard to take.  Alas.

On the bright side, it was one of the finest dart matches I’ve had the pleasure to play in.  Except for the ending.

Kudos to the Guzzlers for their hard fought victory.  Congrats to the Blue Bulls for never giving up and fighting to the last dart.

Damn.

Championship darts, baby!  Blue Bulls versus Guzzlers at Gecko’s.

I did about an hour of practice yesterday, mostly working on my ’01 double outs.  We will soon see if it pays off.

Win or lose, look for the full report here.

Wish us luck!

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Well, I was a little blitzed last night from the after victory celebrations so I was in no condition to go much into the play by play.  In fact, in the 3 lines I did post I corrected 3 typos this morning.

Anyway, Eberhardt is an outstanding team with a strong lineup top to bottom, including the top ranked player in “A” division, Dennis Galiza.  We only had the minimum four players available, but we stacked up well and we were feeling confident.  As I mentioned, Eberhardt finished first in the league, although there was some controversy surrounding that.  We had to postpone our week two match against them and despite our best efforts we could not get Eberhardt to agree to a suitable time for a make-up match.  Now, I’m not ascribing any bad intent on their part (I know at least one of their guys reads this blog, so I want to be clear on that), but still we were pretty frustrated that we had to take a forfeit.  The forfeit gave Eberhardt 28 legs (and us a -9) which put them in first.  Guzzlers, the second place team and our opponent in next weeks championship match, was understandably unhappy with this turn of events.  Now, Eberhardt spanked us pretty good in our only regular season face-off, whether they would have taken enough legs had we made up our match to take first anyway will never be known.

So that was the backdrop going into last night’s meeting.  We got off to a good start in singles ’01 with Scott and Seung Youb both going 2-1.  I drew Dennis in singles cricket and I knew I had my work cut out for me as he has had an amazing season.  Frankly, my goal was to get at least one leg from their best player.  I actually threw some of my best darts of the season against Dennis.  But it seemed like for every six mark I threw (and I threw several) Dennis would answer with a 7 mark.  It was a frustrating experience to be sure and I went down 0-3.  Fortunately, my teammate Ali picked me up by going 3-0 against his opponent.

Youb and Dennis had another amazing match in singles mix (both throwing ton 80s, something I had never seen in the same leg), and Youb prevailed 2-1.  I took Lucky down 2-1 in our singles mix, and Scott and Ali both did well too.  Which brought us to a 15-9 lead going into the last round of doubles (19 being the magic number for victory).

Ali and I faced off against Dennis and Ron while Scott and Youb drew Greg and Lucky.  We were standing at 1-1 when Scott and Youb finished their 3-0 sweep, which gave us the requisite 19 legs and the right to meet Guzzlers on Monday night.

Guzzlers whipped us in both our matches during the regular season, so we have our work cut out for us.  They also have home bar advantage, and Gecko’s is a venue I don’t much care for.  As this is our last year as a team (I’m moving to Rubbies and Scott and Craig are returning to Canada) we want the championship bad.  Of course, wanting it the most is not enough, we’ve got to get the job done at oche. 

Despite the odds, I like our chances.

We took down Eberhardt (the first place team) in the playoffs tonight.  So, we are in the finals.  Next week it’s the Blue Bulls versus Guzzlers from Gekcos.  The league championship is on the line.

 It should be a great match, Read all about it here.