Darts Rules: The Board, 501, Cricket and How to Check Out

The board and scoring

The board has 20 sections numbered 1 to 20, in an order that mixes high and low numbers: 20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12 and 5. That way, a dart that just misses 20 lands in 1 or 5. Each section has four parts, and the bull has two:

Single

The two wide parts of the section score the number.

Double

The narrow outer ring scores twice the number.

Triple

The narrow middle ring scores three times the number.

25

The green ring around the center scores 25.

Bull

The red center scores 50 and counts as a double (double 25).

A dart that lands outside the double ring scores nothing. The highest possible score in one turn is 180: three darts in triple 20.

The throw line and board height

The center of the bull is 5 feet 8 inches off the floor. The throw line is 7 feet 9¼ inches from the face of the board, measured along the floor, and the diagonal from the bull to the throw line is 9 feet 7⅜ inches. Players can't step on or over the line, but they can lean forward.

Turns and darts that don't count

• Each turn is three darts, thrown one at a time, by hand.
• A dart only counts if it's still in the board when the player pulls the darts. A bounce-out or a dart that falls out doesn't score and can't be thrown again.
• A dart that sticks in another dart (a "Robin Hood") doesn't score.
• What counts is where the point of the dart went in, not where the flight ends up.

Who throws first: the throw for the bull

Before the match, each player throws one dart at the bull. Whoever lands closest to the center throws first. If both hit the bull, or land the same distance away, they throw again in reverse order. In a match of several legs, the winner of the throw starts the first leg, and the start alternates after that.

501 and 301

• Each player starts at 501 (or 301) and subtracts the total of their three darts every turn.
• Under WDF rules, it's straight in: every dart counts from the start. In some leagues, especially in the United States, 301 is played double in: nothing counts until the player hits a double.
• To check out, you have to reach exactly zero, and the last dart must land in a double or the bull. With 32 left, for example, double 16 finishes.
• The first player to check out wins the leg. Once a player checks out, any darts left in their hand aren't thrown.

Busts

A turn is a bust when the player scores more than they have left, leaves 1 (which can't be finished, because no double is worth 1) or reaches zero without the last dart in a double. On a bust, the turn ends right away, nothing scored in it counts and the score goes back to what it was at the start of the turn.

Legs and sets

Each game of 501 down to zero is a leg. A match is decided over the best of 3, 5 or more legs. In major tournaments, legs are grouped into sets: the first to win 3 legs takes the set, and the first to win the agreed number of sets takes the match.

The numbers every player knows

180

The perfect turn: three darts in triple 20.

170

The highest possible checkout: triple 20, triple 20 and the bull.

Nine-darter

The perfect leg of 501: checking out in nine darts, the fewest possible. For example, 180, 180 and 141 (triple 20, triple 19 and double 12).

3-dart average

How much a player scores per turn on average. It's the most common way to compare players.

Cricket

• Only 15 through 20 and the bull are in play. Each player has to close all of them, with three marks on each.
• A single is one mark, a double two and a triple three. At the center, the 25 is one mark and the bull is two.
• Once you've closed a number and your opponent hasn't, every extra mark on it scores the number's value. When both players close a number, it's dead.
• The winner is the first to close every number with at least as many points as the opponent. If you close everything while behind on points, you keep scoring until you tie or pull ahead.
• Cricket isn't part of the WDF rules: it's a standard league game, and the details can vary from place to place.

Around the Clock and Count-Up

Around the Clock

Hit the numbers in order, from 1 to 20, then the bull. In the most common version, any part of the number counts: single, double or triple.

Count-Up

Each player throws an agreed number of turns, and every dart scores what it hits, with no busts. The highest total wins. It's good practice for hitting triple 20.

Tips for beginners

• Throw the same way every time: the same foot forward, the same stance and the same arm motion.
• Aim at triple 20 to score big, but if your darts keep drifting sideways, triple 19 is safer: it's next to 7 and 3, instead of 1 and 5.
• In 501, try to leave an even number for the finish. Leaving 40 (double 20) or 32 (double 16) gives you room for a miss: if the dart lands in the single, you still have another double.
• Leaving 1 after a dart busts the turn, so stop aiming high when you're close.

Darts variations

Besides 501 and 301, there are games of 701 and 1001, often played in pairs or teams. Leagues also play cut-throat Cricket, where points go to your opponents, and bar games like Shanghai and Killer. Soft-tip darts on electronic boards have their own rules, with a longer throw line and automatic scoring.