Darts is the rare sport you can play in a pub on a Tuesday and watch at Alexandra Palace in a packed crowd over Christmas. Whether it is a county league in England, a soft-tip bar league in the US or the PDC World Championship, the core game is the same: start on 501, score down to exactly zero and finish on a double. This guide explains the board, how scoring works, the double-out and bust rules, the standard checkouts, the regulation set-up (oche distance and board height) and how legs and sets are organised. Figures follow the World Darts Federation (WDF) playing rules and the PDC rules used in professional events.
The dartboard and how scoring works
A standard steel-tip board (the “London” or clock board) is divided into 20 numbered segments. Clockwise from the top the order is:
20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12, 5
The order is designed to punish inaccuracy: the big 20 sits between the small 5 and 1.
| Area | Score |
|---|---|
| Single (large wedge) | Face value of the number |
| Treble (thin inner ring) | 3 × the number |
| Double (thin outer ring) | 2 × the number |
| Outer bull (green ring) | 25 |
| Inner bull (bullseye, red) | 50, counts as a double |
| Outside the double ring | 0 |
A turn (a “visit”) is three darts. The maximum is 180 (three treble 20s). A dart counts only if it stays in the board until the thrower removes it, and only the segment where the point enters counts. A dart that bounces out or falls out scores nothing and cannot be rethrown.
501 double out: the standard game
Each player or team starts on 501 and subtracts every visit from the total. The rules that make it a game:
- Finish on a double: the dart that brings your score to exactly zero must land in the double ring or the inner bull.
- Exactly zero: overshooting does not count.
- Players alternate throwing first in each leg; in many formats the throw is decided by a bull-off (each throws one dart, closest to the bull starts).
Some casual and soft-tip games use “straight out” (any segment can finish) or “double in” (you must hit a double to start scoring). Agree the variant before you start; the professional standard is 501 straight in, double out.
The bust rule
You bust if, during a visit, your remaining score:
- drops below zero,
- becomes exactly 1 (no double can finish it), or
- reaches zero without a double.
On a bust the visit ends immediately and your score returns to what it was before that visit.
Example: You need 32. Your first dart hits single 20 (12 left), your second hits single 13. That would leave −1, so you bust and are back on 32 for your next turn. Had the second dart hit single 4 instead, you would be on 8, and a third dart in double 4 would win the leg.
Keeping track of busts and remaining scores by hand in a noisy pub is where most mistakes happen. Our darts scorer subtracts each visit, applies the bust rule automatically and shows the remaining score for both players.
Checkouts: finishing combinations
A checkout is the combination you use to finish. Since the bull counts as a double, the highest possible finish is 170.
| Remaining | Classic route | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|
| 170 | T20, T20, Bull | 60 + 60 + 50 |
| 167 | T20, T19, Bull | 60 + 57 + 50 |
| 164 | T20, T18, Bull | 60 + 54 + 50 |
| 161 | T20, T17, Bull | 60 + 51 + 50 |
| 160 | T20, T20, D20 | 60 + 60 + 40 |
| 141 | T20, T19, D12 | 60 + 57 + 24 |
| 121 | T20, T11, D14 | 60 + 33 + 28 |
| 100 | T20, D20 | 60 + 40 |
| 81 | T19, D12 | 57 + 24 |
| 61 | T15, D8 | 45 + 16 |
| 40 | D20 | 40 |
| 32 | D16 | 32 |
Bogey numbers
Some scores between 159 and 170 cannot be finished with three darts. These “bogey numbers” are 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159. If you are left on one of them, use your visit to set up a finish rather than chase it.
Why players love 32 and 40
Double 16 (32) and double 20 (40) are favourite finishes because a slight miss into the single still leaves an even number that halves into another double: 32 → miss into single 16 → 16 left (double 8) → 8 (double 4) and so on. Leaving an odd number forces an extra set-up dart.
The nine-darter
The fewest darts that can win a 501 leg is nine, for example 180 + 180 + 141 (T20, T19, D12) = 501. It is the darts equivalent of a perfect game and happens only a handful of times per year on the professional circuits.
Regulation set-up: oche distance and board height
| Measurement | Metric | Imperial |
|---|---|---|
| Height to centre of bull | 1.73 m | 5 ft 8 in |
| Throw distance (back of oche to face of board, horizontal) | 2.37 m | 7 ft 9¼ in |
| Diagonal (centre of bull to back of oche at floor level) | 2.93 m | 9 ft 7⅜ in |
| Board diameter (approx.) | 451 mm | 17¾ in |
Measure the height from the floor to the centre of the bullseye, not the top of the board. The WDF rules call for a raised oche at the throw line; at home a strip of tape works. Check your set-up with the diagonal: if the bull-to-oche distance at floor level is 2.93 m, height and distance are both right. Soft-tip (electronic) boards, common in US bar leagues, typically use a throw line of 8 ft (2.44 m) at the same height.
Legs, sets and match formats
- Leg: one game of 501.
- Set: a group of legs, usually best of five (first to three).
- Match: either legs only (“best of 11 legs”, first to 6) or sets.
| Format | Typical structure | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Legs only | Best of 7 to best of 35 legs | Most PDC events, Premier League, pub leagues |
| Sets | Sets of best of five legs | PDC World Championship |
| Team league | Several singles and pairs games, each best of 3 or 5 legs | County and pub leagues |
At the 2025/26 PDC World Championship, played at Alexandra Palace with a record 128-player field, matches were played in sets of best of five legs, and the final was first to seven sets. In the deciding set, a player needed a two-leg lead, with a sudden-death leg at 5–5.
Averages
The standard statistic is the three-dart average: total points scored ÷ darts thrown × 3. If you win a leg in 15 darts, your average for that leg is 501 ÷ 15 × 3 = 100.2. Top professionals average around 100 over a match; a solid pub player might average 40–60.
Etiquette and practical tips
- Stay behind the oche while throwing; leaning over is fine, stepping over is not.
- Do not stand in your opponent’s eyeline or talk while they throw.
- Remove your darts only after the score is agreed, and call your score clearly.
- In leagues the “marker” or “chalker” keeps the score; use a digital darts scoreboard on a tablet to avoid subtraction errors.
- Practise finishing on 32, 40 and 16, and learn three or four standard routes for 100+.
Sources
Measurements follow the WDF Playing and Tournament Rules (throw distance 2.37 m, bull height 1.73 m, diagonal 2.93 m), which match the PDC’s 7 ft 9¼ in and 5 ft 8 in standard. Tournament formats refer to the 2025/26 PDC World Championship (11 December 2025 to 3 January 2026). Local leagues and governing bodies such as county associations may use shorter formats or straight-out variants, so check your league rules.