Darts Checkout Calculator

What this calculator does

Find the darts to throw to finish your score, and see every other way to do it. In most darts games, you must finish exactly on zero. The dart that gets you there must land in a double (the thin outer ring, worth twice the number) or the bullseye.

Knowing the route from a score like 141 down to a double, without stopping to do the sums, takes practice. It's one of the skills that sets good players apart from casual ones, and this tool helps you learn the routes.

Enter the score you have left and the darts in your hand. The calculator suggests a finish (also called a checkout) and lists the other routes, best first. It also tells you when a score is a bogey number, one that no three-dart finish can reach. For bigger scores, such as 501, it shows the fewest darts that could finish it and one way to do it.

Where it's used

Why this math matters outside the classroom:

• Finishing a leg. A player on 141 throws treble 20, treble 19 and double 12, since 60 + 57 + 24 = 141.
• Setting up a finish. A player stuck on the bogey number 169 scores 129 to leave 40, a clean double 20 for the next visit.
• Mental arithmetic games. Teachers use darts finishes to practise multiplying by 2 and 3 and adding up to 170 in the head.
• League scorekeeping. Chalkers check that a claimed 100 finish works out as treble 20 and double 20, which is 60 + 40.
• Practice routines. Players drill every finish from 2 to 170 and skip the seven bogey numbers that can't be checked out.

Grade level and standards: Grade 3; Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 3.OA.D.8. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

How to use it

1. Type the score you need, from 2 upward.
2. Choose how many darts you have left in this visit (your turn of up to three darts).
3. Read the suggested checkout. The table shows the other routes, ranked from best to worst.
4. If you can't finish this visit, read the shortest route instead, split into visits.

What the inputs mean

Score left

The score you have left. A score of 1 can't be finished, because the smallest double is 2. Going below zero or down to 1 is a bust.

Darts in hand this visit

Darts left in this visit. With one dart, you can finish only on a double or the bullseye. With two, you can finish from up to 110.

Formula and method

a finish: set-up darts + finishing double = score left
dart values: singles 1–20, doubles 2–40 (even), trebles 3–60 (multiples of 3), outer bull 25, bullseye 50 (a double)
highest checkouts: 1 dart 50 (Bull), 2 darts 110 (T20 Bull), 3 darts 170 (T20 T20 Bull)
bogey numbers (no three-dart finish): 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168, 169
fewest darts for 501: 9

In the formulas, D means double, T means treble (the thin inner ring, worth three times the number) and Bull is the bullseye. Set-up darts are the ones you throw before the finishing double.

The calculator tries every finishing double, D1 to D20 and the bullseye. For each one, it checks whether the set-up darts you have can make up the rest of the score. Every route it finds adds up exactly and ends on a double.

Routes are ranked by fewest darts first, then by how comfortable they are to throw. That means a big first dart at the top of the board, then a common finishing double such as D20, D16 or D8.

Those doubles are popular for a reason. A dart that lands in the single bed (the wide part of the segment) leaves another even number, often another double. The ranking is a sensible default, not the only right answer. Players develop their own favorite routes.

For scores above 170, the calculator searches every combination of dart values to find the fewest darts, so the answer is exact. A perfect 501 leg takes nine darts, the famous nine-darter.

Worked example

An invented player, Joss Brennan, has 141 left with three darts in hand.

1. Suggested route: treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57), double 12 (24).
2. Check it: 60 + 57 + 24 = 141, and the last dart is a double.
3. With three darts there are 10 different combinations that finish 141.
4. The fewest darts possible for 141 is 3, so it's a one-visit finish.

Result: Brennan can check out 141 with T20 T19 D12.

Understanding the result

A checkout is a plan, not a promise. If your first dart lands in the bed next to the one you aimed at, the score left changes. Enter the new score and look again.

A bogey number isn't a disaster. It just means this visit should set up a finish for the next one. Leaving a score such as 32 (D16) or 40 (D20) is a common goal.

Assumptions and limitations

• Double-out rules: the last dart must be a double or the bullseye, and it must bring the score to exactly zero.
• Standard dartboard values, with the outer bull worth 25 and the bullseye worth 50.
• Set-up darts are listed highest first. Their order doesn't change whether the finish works.
• Double-in and straight-out formats aren't covered.
• Routes are ranked by a simple preference, not by your own chances of hitting each segment.
• The table shows the 10 best routes. For low scores, there are many more that work just as well.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Darts glossary: double, check-out and bogey numbers (PDC Europe) (checked 2026-10-19)

How this calculator is checked

Method: Double-out darts rules (the finishing dart must be a double or the bullseye; PDC Europe glossary); routes and bogey numbers found by exhaustive search over the dartboard's segment values, with the published bogey list (159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168, 169) reproduced in tests. The calculation is covered by automated tests with known reference values and edge cases. Last updated 2026-10-18. Found a problem? Tell us.

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