Double out
Darts Checkout Calculator
Enter your score and how many darts you have left. The calculator returns the route that finishes it, avoiding the bullseye wherever a double reaches and telling you outright when a score has no finish.
Darts in hand
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Enter a score to see the finish
How to work out a checkout yourself
Every finish is built backwards from the double, not forwards from the score. Pick the double you want to end on, double it to get the number you must leave, then find the dart that takes you from your current score down to it.
On 96, say you want D16. That is 32, so you need to score 64 with your first darts. 64 is not a single treble, so try D20 instead: that is 40, needing 56, which is not a treble either. D18 is 36, needing 60, and 60 is exactly T20. So 96 is T20 D18.
The shortcut most players use: if the score is even and 40 or under, it is one dart. If it is odd, your first dart’s job is to make it even.
What the calculator will not do
It assumes double out, which is how 501 and 301 are played in leagues and on television. Under straight out any segment finishes and the routes get much shorter, and under master out a treble finishes too.
It also assumes a full visit is three darts. If you are mid-visit, switch the darts in hand at the top — the route on 81 with three darts is not the route on 81 with two.
Scores with no finish
Two cases return nothing, and they are different problems.
- •Above 170. Nothing finishes, because three darts max out at 180 and the last one has to be a double. Score as heavily as you can and leave an even number.
- •The seven bogey numbers. 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159 are below 170 but still have no three-dart finish. These are the ones that catch players out, because they look finishable. What to leave from each.
Keep score on your phone instead
The iPhone app does the same maths at the board: live checkout routes for every player, per-dart undo, three-dart averages and checkout percentage, and it never loses a leg when the screen sleeps.
See the appCheckout calculator questions
How do you calculate a darts checkout?
Work backwards from a double. Pick a double you can hit, double it to find the score you need to leave, then find the treble or single that gets you there. For 81 that means D12 (24), leaving 57, which is T19.
What is the highest checkout with two darts?
110, thrown as treble 20 then bullseye. With two darts the ceiling is 60 from a treble 20 plus 50 from the bull, so nothing above 110 can finish in two.
What is the highest checkout with one dart?
50, the inner bull, which counts as double 25. Below that the highest one-dart finish is 40, double 20. Every even number from 2 to 40 has a one-dart out.
Why does the route change when I have fewer darts?
Because a route has to fit the darts you have. On 81 with three darts you can throw T19 then D12. With one dart left there is no finish at all, since 81 is odd and above 50. The calculator recalculates for the darts you actually hold.
Should I ever go for the bullseye to finish?
Rarely. The bull is a small target and a miss usually leaves 25 or a wire-out that ruins the next visit. This calculator routes through a double wherever one reaches, and only sends you to the bull on 170, 167, 164, 161, 110, 107, 104 and 101, where nothing else does.
What is a wire-out?
Slang for a dart that hits the wire and bounces into the wrong bed, leaving an awkward score. It is the practical reason to leave even numbers: an awkward leave costs you a dart, and over a match those darts decide legs.