A checkout is the visit that takes your remaining score to exactly zero and wins the leg. Under the standard double out rule the last dart must hit a double or the bull, so a checkout is always "set up the double, then hit it". Every score from 2 to 170 can be checked out with at most three darts, except seven bogey numbers: 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159.
This page explains how checkouts work so you can find a route yourself. For the route of every single score, use our darts checkout chart.
| Checkout fact | Number | How we know |
|---|---|---|
| Highest checkout, 3 darts | 170 (T20, T20, Bull) | computed |
| Highest checkout, 2 darts | 110 (T20, Bull) | computed |
| Highest checkout, 1 dart | 50 (Bull) | computed |
| Two-dart checkouts of 100 or more | 100, 101, 104, 107, 110 | computed |
| Scores from 99 to 110 that need three darts | 99, 102, 103, 105, 106, 108, 109 | computed |
| Scores up to 170 with no checkout | 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168, 169 | computed |
"Computed" means we tested every combination of up to three darts with code (the same code that builds our chart), counting the bull as double 25 as the rule books do (WDF Playing Rules 2.04).
What is a checkout in darts?
Wikipedia's darts glossary defines a checkout as "reducing one's score to exactly zero, thus winning the leg", and adds that "a final double is required to win a leg in an x01 game". Players also say finish, out shot or peg out (Australian). A printed list of routes is called an out chart.
The finishing dart matters because of the bust rule: if you score more than you have left, leave 1, or reach zero without a double, the visit does not count (WDF 2.05). That is why "I need 40" really means "I need double 20".
What does a 100+ checkout mean?
A 100+ checkout, or ton-plus checkout, is a finish from 100 or more in one visit. The name comes from "ton", darts slang for 100. These finishes are the hard ones, because most of them need three darts and at least one treble:
- Two darts are enough only for 100 (T20, D20 or Bull, Bull), 101 (T17, Bull), 104 (T18, Bull), 107 (T19, Bull) and 110 (T20, Bull).
- Three darts are needed for everything else from 102 to 170.
- No checkout exists for the seven bogey numbers.
For the story of the biggest one, see the 170 checkout.
How a checkout route is built
Every route follows the same logic. Once you know it, you can work out most finishes at the board.
- Start from the double. Pick the double you want to finish on and work backwards: 81 left means "what gets me to 36 or 24?" T15 leaves 36 (D18), T19 leaves 24 (D12).
- Use as few darts as possible. If a score goes out in two darts, a three-dart route wastes a chance. 61 is T15, D8 in two darts; a route like 11, 18, D16 uses a third dart for nothing.
- Fix odd numbers first. A double is always even, so an odd score needs an odd single or treble before the double: 45 is 13, D16; 57 is 17, D20.
- Set up with trebles from the top. Above 100 the first dart is almost always a treble, usually T20 or T19, because they score the most. 141 is T20, T19, D12.
- Keep the bull for when you need it. The bull finishes 50, and it is part of the big finishes (170, 167, 164, 161, 158), but it is a small target. From the WDF board dimensions, a double bed is about 417 mm² and the bull about 127 mm², so a double is roughly 3.3 times bigger (derived: WDF rule 4.01 measurements, wire thickness ignored).
Most scores have more than one correct route. 138 can be T20, T18, D12 or T19, T19, D12. Wikipedia gives exactly this example, and both are right.
Which doubles to prefer
When a dart aimed at a double lands just inside, in the single of the same number, it scores half of what you needed. Whether that leaves you another double depends on the number:
| You need | Miss into the single leaves | Then | Doubles in the chain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 (D16) | 16 (D8) | 8 (D4), 4 (D2), 2 (D1) | 5 |
| 40 (D20) | 20 (D10) | 10 (D5), then 5 is odd | 3 |
| 36 (D18) | 18 (D9) | 9 is odd | 2 |
| 24 (D12) | 12 (D6) | 6 (D3), then 3 is odd | 3 |
That is the arithmetic behind the old advice to leave 32. Our checkout chart prefers D20, D16 and D8 when two routes need the same number of darts.
The very last double, D1 on 2, is called the madhouse: from 2 there is no other way out.
The Shanghai finish
A Shanghai is a single, a double and a treble of the same number in one visit. Wikipedia's glossary notes that it "may be used to check out in a standard game, as long as the double is hit last", so the classic Shanghai checkout is 120: 20, T20, D20. In steel tip 501 it counts like any other finish: the American Darts Organization lists Shanghai among the fast finishes that "do not apply" in its '01 events (ADO rule 48). The leg still ends only when you reach zero on a double.
Checkouts under master out and straight out
Everything above assumes double out, the standard under WDF, DRA and DDV rules. Under master out a treble also finishes, so 60 goes out with one dart (T20) and the highest finish is 180. Under straight out any segment finishes. The differences are explained in double out, master out and straight out.
How to learn checkouts
Learn in ranges, from the bottom up:
- 2 to 40: the doubles themselves. Know every even number as a double.
- 41 to 60: one single to leave a double. 52 is 12, D20 or 20, D16.
- 61 to 110: one treble (or the bull) plus a double. 100 is T20, D20.
- 111 to 170: three darts, two of them usually trebles.
Then practice the move from scoring to finishing: when you are around 100 to 180, think one visit ahead and aim to leave a score you know. Say the route out loud before you throw, and check yourself against the chart after the leg. How often your darts at a double go in is your checkout percentage.
How Darts Counter suggests checkouts
Darts Counter shows a checkout suggestion from 170 down while you play. We checked the suggestion table in the app's code:
- Every suggestion adds up to your score and ends on a double or the bull. For the seven bogey numbers it shows no route.
- With three darts in hand the app sometimes suggests a three-dart route where two darts would do: on 110 it shows T20, 10, D20 instead of T20, Bull, and on 91 it shows Bull, 9, D16 instead of T17, D20. With two darts left it always switches to a two-dart finish where one exists.
- Our online chart always uses the fewest darts, so for 69 of the 169 scores from 2 to 170 the chart and the app show different routes. Both are valid; they only prefer different targets.
- The suggestions are double out routes in every mode, also in Master Out and Straight Out.
- A fresh install starts in Straight Out. For standard 501, set the checkout mode to Double Out in the X01 setup.
Set Double Out, throw, and let the app do the subtraction and show you the route. You can count all games for free.
Sources
Written by FLAME Apps, maker of Darts Counter since 2015. Checked 2026-09-25. Computed figures come from our checkout code (src/checkouts.py) and a full search of all three-dart combinations; the app comparison comes from the app's code (version 2026.5.1).
- WDF Playing and Tournament Rules, 20th revised edition, rules 2.02 to 2.05 (finish, bull, bust) and 4.01 (board dimensions)
- ADO Tournament Rules Booklet, rule 48 (fast finishes)
- Wikipedia: Glossary of darts (checkout, out chart, madhouse, Shanghai, ton)
- Wikipedia: Darts, section "Finishing and check outs" (138 example)
- Keep reading: darts checkout chart, the 170 checkout, 501 rules
