Tactics
Understanding and owning your checkouts
In short
A checkout is the set of darts that brings a remaining score down to exactly zero, the last one landing in a double — the bull counting as a double 25. The highest fits into three darts: 170, by T20, T20, bull, and then come 160 with T20, T20, D20, 100 with T20, D20, 80 with T20, D10, and 40 on D20. The finishes from 170 down to 60 are worth learning by heart, bar the seven scores that have none, and in a match a familiar double beats a risky treble.
10 min read
18 May 2026
Updated 26 September 2026
Tactics
What a checkout is
A checkout is the combination of darts that takes you from your remaining score to exactly zero, finishing on a double. Knowing them is what turns a close leg into a won one, because the arithmetic is done before you throw rather than while you throw.
The ones worth knowing by heart
- 170 — T20, T20, bull (the highest there is)
- 167 — T20, T19, bull
- 164 — T20, T18, bull
- 161 — T20, T17, bull
- 160 — T20, T20, D20
- 100 — T20, D20
- 80 — T20, D10 (or T16, D16)
- 60 — 20, D20
- 40 — D20
How to get better
- Learn the routes from 170 down to 60 by heart — except the seven that have none: 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159. Below 60 you can work them out at the board.
- Practise the doubles that do the work: D20, D16, D10, D8. Most finishes go through one of them.
- In a match, take the safe route. A double you trust beats a treble you might miss, because a miss costs the whole visit.
- Leave yourself an even number. It is the cheapest habit to acquire, and it shortens legs.