Checkout chart: common outs for double-out games

In a double-out game, the dart that takes you to zero has to land in a double. A checkout, or an out, is the route you take to get there. This page lists the usual route for the common finishes and explains the thinking, so you can work out the rest at the line.

In the tables, T is a triple, D is a double, a plain number is a single, Bull is the inner bull (50) and 25 is the outer bull. If your league night includes straight-out games, none of this applies to them: there you finish on anything. How 01 games work.

The numbers worth knowing first

• 170 is the highest finish there is: two triple 20s and the bull.
• 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169 can’t be finished in three darts. If you are scoring your way down from 200 or so, it is worth not landing on them.
• Anything from 2 to 40 that is even is one dart at a double.
• 1 can’t be finished at all. Leaving yourself on 1 is a bust.

One dart

These are the doubles players aim to leave. The favourites are the ones that keep halving: miss double 16 into the single and you have double 8, then double 4, then double 2.

Two darts

From 41 to 110. Below 61 the first dart is a single that sets up the double. Above 60 you need a triple, or the bull, first.

Three darts

The big ones. Above 110 you need all three darts, and above 158 only a handful of totals can be finished at all.

How to work out the ones that aren’t listed

You don’t need to memorise a chart. Three habits get you to a sensible route for anything.

Know where you want to end. Pick your double first, usually 40, 32 or 24, and work backwards. On 72, taking 40 away leaves 32, and there is no single 32. Taking 32 away leaves 40, and there is no single 40 either. Taking 24 away leaves 48, which is triple 16. So: triple 16, double 12.

Plan for the miss. The best route is often the one where a near miss still leaves something. On 61, triple 15 leaves double 8, and a single 15 leaves 46, which is still two darts. Going at the triple 19 leaves an awkward 4 if you hit it and 42 if you don’t.

Fix an odd number early. With 87 left you can’t finish until the total is even. Triple 17 leaves 36. A single 17 leaves 70, and you still have two darts to do something about it.

Counting on your partner

In doubles and triples the job is often to leave a finish, not to take one. If you are on 132 with three darts, and your partner is the better finisher, two single 20s and a triple 20 to leave 32 may be worth more than a hopeful go at the out. Talk about it before you throw.

Practice that helps

• Round the doubles. Double 1 through double 20 and the bull, in order. Count the darts it takes and try to beat it next time.
• Start from 81. Give yourself six darts to finish 81, 101 or 121, over and over. It trains the set-up dart as well as the double.
• Say the route before you throw. Out loud if you have to. Most missed finishes in league are lost to arithmetic, not to aim.

Finishing shows up directly in your 3-dart average: every dart missed at a double is a dart that scored nothing.