Darts Checkout Calculator

Darts Checkout Calculator

When you are down to a finishable score in 501, knowing the right combination to throw is the difference between winning the leg and busting. This calculator searches every legal route under double-out rules and returns an optimal finish using the fewest darts.

How it works

Each dart can score a single (1-20 or 25), a double (2-40 even, or bull 50), or a treble (3-60 in multiples of 3). A legal checkout must reduce the score to exactly zero with the final dart landing on a double. The search works in increasing dart count:

1 dart:  score is an even double (2..40) or the bull (50)
2 darts: any single/treble setup + a finishing double = score
3 darts: any first dart + any second dart + finishing double = score

The tool also enforces the real constraints: you cannot finish on 1, and the bogey numbers 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162, 159 have no three-dart finish. Among valid routes it prefers fewer darts and conventional treble-20 setups.

Example and notes

A score of 170 returns T20, T20, Bull (60 + 60 + 50). A score of 40 returns a single dart at D20. A score of 100 returns T20, D20 (60 + 40). A score of 32 returns D16.

Tips: leaving an even number after your setup darts keeps the door open to a double finish. The most reliable finishes route through double 16, double 20, or double 8, because if you miss into the single you are often left with another even double. Bogey numbers should be avoided when setting up your last visit.

The logic behind preferred checkout routes

Professionals do not always follow the mathematically shortest route — they choose checkouts that leave a “safe” double if they miss a segment. The safest doubles are those where a single miss still leaves another even double:

• D20 (40): Miss into single 20 → leaves 20, another even double. Miss into single 5 (narrow miss) → leaves 35, harder.
• D16 (32): Miss into single 16 → leaves 16, another even double. Miss into double 8 → still a double.
• D8 (16): The “safety net” chain: miss D16 into single → 16; miss D8 into single → 8 (D4).

This chain from D20 → D16 → D8 → D4 → D2 → D1 is why you see professionals deliberately aiming at D20 or D16 rather than, say, D11 on 22 — the safety chain keeps them in play on misses.

The seven bogey numbers

The bogey numbers — 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162, 159 — cannot be finished in three darts. If your remaining score lands on one of these, you need to plan your preceding visit to avoid it. For instance, if you are on 169, you cannot finish in three darts: the highest possible three-dart checkout is 170. Similarly 168 and 166 are unreachable because no three-dart combination hits them ending on a double.

Knowing these in advance means deliberately scoring so that a suboptimal visit on the previous turn does not leave you “in the bog”.

Common one-shot and two-dart finishes

These are standard routes most club and professional players have memorised. The calculator shows these and alternatives for any score you enter.