How darts works: a first-timer’s guide to the big night
The match in four ideas
- Start at 501 and subtract each visit.
- Finish exactly on a double, including the inner bull.
- Three treble twenties score 180.
- A bust visit restores the previous score.
The useful rules before your first visit
Start with the number beside each player's name: a standard leg begins at 501. Each visit reduces that total, and the aim is to reach exactly zero before the opponent.
A visit allows up to three darts. The finishing dart must land in a double, including the central bull, which scores fifty.
A score of 180 is the largest possible visit with three darts. It comes from three treble twenties, worth sixty apiece.
That makes a caller's excited announcement much easier to understand: the player has scored the maximum for that visit, rather than won the whole match.
There may still be a finish to find, another leg to play or another set to win.
You do not need to calculate every subtraction in your head.
Follow the displayed score, notice when either player has a finish available and watch the double they need.
If you lose track while settling into your seat, wait for the next clear scoreboard view. The next visit usually gives you a fresh point from which to follow the contest.
Read the dartboard without learning every number
The numbered areas run from one to twenty. Within each numbered wedge, a dart in a broad single area scores that number.
A dart in the narrow treble ring scores three times it. A dart in the narrow outside double ring scores twice it.
The thin rings are scoring areas in their own right, rather than decoration or boundaries to ignore.
Take the twenty segment as an example. Its single area is worth twenty, its treble is sixty and its double is forty.
Move to the nineteen wedge and the same pattern becomes nineteen, fifty-seven and thirty-eight.
Once you recognise the rings, you can work out a dart's value without memorising the whole board. A dart outside the outer double ring does not score.
The centre has two values. The small inner bull scores fifty, while the surrounding outer bull scores twenty-five. Only the inner bull is a finishing double under double-out rules.
A dart at the centre can therefore be important even when a player has stopped trying to pile up treble twenties. It may be the final target that wins the leg.
For a regulation home setup, the bull centre is 1.73 metres above the floor and the horizontal throwing distance is 2.37 metres from the board face to the oche.
Measure from the face of the mounted board, rather than the wall behind it.
These measurements explain the playing setup; a venue's spectator seating has no bearing on the distance used by the players.
Follow a leg of 501 one visit at a time
Imagine a player starting at 501 and scoring 100 on their opening visit. Their remaining score becomes 401. Another 100 leaves 301.
The arithmetic is simply subtraction, although the targets become more selective as the finish approaches.
Early in a leg the aim may be heavy scoring; near the end, reaching a score that can be finished matters just as much.
A remaining forty can be completed with double twenty. Fifty can be finished with the inner bull. A player with thirty-two left can aim for double sixteen.
Those are examples of the double-out rule in action, rather than a requirement to choose one particular double.
Players can arrive at zero by different routes as long as their final scoring dart is a valid double.
A visit becomes a bust when it cannot leave a valid finishing position: scoring too much, reaching one or reaching zero without the required double ends that attempt.
The score returns to where it stood at the beginning of the visit. That is why a player can hit a scoring segment and still gain nothing from the visit overall.
Suppose forty remains and the first dart scores a single twenty. Twenty is left, so double ten would finish.
If the next dart instead takes the total beyond what remains, the visit is bust and the player returns to forty.
You may hear disappointment even though a dart has landed in a numbered section.
Why the final three darts can change everything
A checkout is an attempt to finish the remaining score during a visit. The highest three-dart checkout is 170: treble twenty, treble twenty and the bull.
The arithmetic is sixty plus sixty plus fifty. Because the last target is the inner bull, it satisfies the double-out rule.
Players often arrange a finish around a double they would like to attempt. You do not need to decide whether their preferred route is the one you would take.
Watch what the remaining number becomes after each dart. A missed treble can change the next target, and a single may still leave a route to a double with the darts available.
The nine-darter is a 501 leg completed in nine darts, the minimum in the standard game. One familiar route uses 180, another 180 and then a 141 finish.
The important point for a newcomer is the complete leg: nine darts from the starting score to zero, with the final dart meeting the finishing rule.
Do not confuse a high checkout with a high average. A checkout describes the finishing visit, while an average describes scoring performance across darts thrown.
They answer different questions about what you are watching.
A player may produce a memorable finish in an otherwise difficult match, which is one reason to keep watching when the scoreboard appears to favour the opponent.
Work out what the scoreboard is counting
A leg is one race from the starting score to zero. In a match decided by legs, the players build their leg totals until one reaches the required winning number.
In set play, a player first wins enough legs to take a set, then needs enough sets to win the match. The larger contest therefore has another layer above the individual leg.
Read the labels on the scoreboard before interpreting two nearby numbers. One may show sets and another legs within the current set.
Winning a leg does not always move the set score immediately.
If you are unsure, follow the caller's announcement and the event's published format rather than borrowing a format from a tournament you watched previously.
The official PDC Europe rules distinguish leg-based matchplay from set play, but exact lengths belong to each event and round.
Check the current tournament guide before deciding how many more legs a player needs, especially if a deciding stage of the match is approaching.
The World Grand Prix has an additional twist: a player must begin scoring with a double as well as finish on one.
Until that opening double lands, the visit does not reduce the starting score.
Keep that double-in rule in mind if the early scoreboard seems to ignore a dart that would count in an ordinary 501 leg.
Follow the match from your seat
Find the scoreboard before the first leg and identify which number is the remaining score. Then locate any separate leg or set totals.
That small check gives the rest of the evening a structure.
You know whether the next dart is part of the scoring phase, an attempt to start at the Grand Prix or a possible winning finish.
The caller announces scores and acts as the match official. Listen for the announced visit, then glance at the updated remainder.
If your view of the board is distant, use the available screens and announcements together rather than trying to judge every dart from the back of the room.
The seating guide for your venue is the place to check the actual viewing arrangement.
Choose bar and toilet breaks with the people around you in mind.
A moving row can interrupt someone who is following a finish, so wait for a suitable pause and follow stewards' instructions.
For your first trip, combine the event guide with the first-night checklist and your chosen venue's seating advice.
Knowing the entrance, your seat and the journey home frees you to enjoy the match.
If the last service would make you watch the clock throughout the closing stages, compare a hotel stay before committing to the trip.
Enjoy the room while respecting the throw
Crowd participation is part of the attraction of a live darts trip, but you do not have to know a catalogue of chants to belong there.
Take your cue from the room and the event staff.
Joining in is optional, and a newcomer can have a good evening by watching, applauding a strong visit and enjoying the changing tension near a finish.
Fancy dress and signs should be planned around the venue's published entry rules. An amusing costume is less useful if it blocks a neighbouring view or has to be left outside.
Read the fancy-dress guide before travelling, then check the event's current restrictions. A policy from a different arena is not a substitute for the rules at your own booking.
Keep song lyrics out of your preparation checklist: recognising a tune is enough. Our walk-on songs guide gives the music context already checked for the site.
Here the focus is the match itself, including the difference between an entrance, a scoring visit and a moment when the room is waiting for a crucial double.
Let the player complete the throw without trying to create a distraction. Avoid flash photography towards the stage and obey any request to remain seated.
Think about the view behind you before raising a sign or standing up.
These small choices help a mixed crowd of regulars, children where admitted and first-time visitors share the occasion comfortably.
A simple way to learn during the evening
Pick one thing to follow in the opening leg: the remaining score. In the next, notice the different rings on the board.
Once those feel comfortable, follow how a player turns an awkward remainder into a double.
Learning in layers keeps the evening enjoyable and avoids treating every missed target as a puzzle you must solve immediately.
There is no need to pretend you recognised a finish before the caller announced it.
Ask a companion during a pause, or use the glossary below to decode the term afterwards.
Understanding why the final dart mattered is more useful than trying to predict every route. With each leg, the scoring pattern becomes easier to recognise.
If watching makes you want a home board, start with space and mounting measurements before buying accessories.
Our darts-gifts guide explains the basic setup considerations. A practice corner and a spectator trip are different projects, however.
You can enjoy the professional game without owning equipment or knowing the weight of a player's darts.
Official sources
Sources and checked date
Rules, product guidance and current booking conditions — https://www.pdc-europe.tv/turnierformate · https://www.pdc-europe.tv/glossar; checked 25 October 2026.
Fifteen darts terms
- Oche
- The line or raised barrier behind which a player throws.
- Bust
- An invalid finishing visit that restores the score from its start.
- Checkout
- A visit that finishes the remaining score on a double.
- Double top
- Double twenty, worth forty points.
- Madhouse
- The nickname for double one.
- Shanghai
- A single, treble and double of one number in a visit.
- Maximum
- A visit of 180, made with three treble twenties.
- Bull
- The central fifty-point target, usable as a finishing double.
- Outer bull
- The surrounding central area worth twenty-five points.
- Leg
- One game from the starting score to zero.
- Set
- A grouping of legs within a set-play match.
- Average
- Usually the scoring average expressed per three darts.
- Bounce-out
- A dart that rebounds or falls out and does not score.
- Nine-darter
- A standard 501 leg finished in the minimum nine darts.
- Caller
- The official who announces scores and referees play.
A room for the next big darts visit
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FAQs
Why does the score go back up after a darts visit?
A bust cancels that visit. The remainder returns to its value at the start because the attempt scored too much, left one or failed the required double finish.
Can the bull win a leg of professional 501?
Yes. The inner bull scores fifty and counts as double twenty-five, so it can provide the final dart under double-out rules.
Is every 180 a winning finish?
No. It is the maximum three-dart score, but a leg still has to end at exactly zero on a double. The largest three-dart checkout is 170.
Must I learn checkout combinations before attending?
No. Follow the displayed remainder, listen to the caller and watch the final double. You can learn the routes gradually during the evening.
Does every televised event have the same number of legs per set?
No common set length should be assumed. Use the current event and round format, and check whether the match is scored in legs or sets.
Read the scoring rings
Outer narrow ring: doubles. Inner narrow ring: trebles. Outer bull 25; inner bull 50. The broad areas score the printed number.
A confirmed set-play example
At the 2027 World Masters, a player needs two legs to win each set. The first round is best of five sets, so winning three sets wins the match.
The final is best of eleven sets: the target becomes six sets, while the two-leg requirement inside each set stays the same.
Current World Masters format — checked 28 October 2026.