Most darts players have the same problem. They can score well enough. But when the double comes up, the wheels fall off.
It is not a talent issue. It is a practice issue — specifically, most players do not practise checkouts the right way. They throw at random doubles, hope muscle memory kicks in, and wonder why their checkout percentage stays stuck in the twenties.
This guide covers how to practise darts checkouts properly: the knowledge you need first, the drills that actually work, and how to structure your sessions so the pressure situations in real matches feel familiar rather than terrifying.
What a Checkout Actually Is
In any X01 game — 301, 501, 701 — you win a leg by reducing your score to exactly zero, finishing on a double or the bullseye. That final dart is the checkout.
The highest possible checkout is 170: treble 20, treble 20, bullseye. Below that, every number from 2 to 170 has at least one valid route — except the seven "bogey numbers" (169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162, 159) which cannot be finished in three darts.
Knowing your checkouts is not optional. It is the difference between standing on a finish and staring at the board wondering what to throw.
Step 1: Learn the Routes Before You Practise Them
You cannot practise something you do not know. Before you build any drilling routine, you need to learn the standard checkout routes — not all 170 of them at once, but the ones that actually come up in matches.
Start with the key two-dart finishes (40 and below). Every number from 2 to 40 that is even, or reachable via a single, should be automatic. D20, D16, D8, D4 — these are the bread-and-butter doubles. If you are hesitating on 32 or 40, that is costing you legs.
Then learn the common three-dart checkouts. Focus on the ones you will see most often: 61–100 is where most legs get decided. Key routes to know cold:
- 170 — T20, T20, Bull (the Big Fish)
- 121 — T20, T17, D5 or T20, S11, Bull
- 100 — T20, D20 (two darts — one of the cleanest finishes on the board)
- 81 — T19, D12 (or T15, D18 — know your preferred double)
- 61 — T11, D14 or S15, S16, D15
Learn backup routes. The best players do not just know the ideal route — they know what to do if the first dart misses. If you are on 81 and miss treble 19, do you know what you have left? If not, you are working it out under pressure, which is where mistakes happen.
A checkout chart on the wall near your board is genuinely useful, especially while you are learning. Use it actively — not as a crutch, but as a reference to check your thinking.
Step 2: The Drills That Actually Work
Bob's 27 — The Non-Negotiable Doubles Drill
Bob's 27 is the gold standard for doubles practice. You start with 27 points and work through every double on the board in order: D1, D2, D3... all the way to D20, then bull.
Three darts at each double. If you hit at least one: add the value of the doubles you hit. If you miss all three: subtract the value of that double.
Miss D8 with all three darts and you lose 16 points. Miss D20 and you lose 40. Your score can go negative. That is the point — it simulates the anxiety of a missed double and punishes inconsistency exactly the way a real match does.
Keep a record of your scores. A score above 100 is respectable. Above 150, you are finishing legs consistently. Your score over time is one of the clearest measures of checkout improvement that exists.
Random Checkouts — Simulate the Match
Bob's 27 builds doubles technique. Random Checkouts builds the decision-making.
Set yourself a checkout score at random — anywhere from 61 to 170 — and work out the route before you throw. Then execute it. This forces you to practise the thinking as well as the throwing, because in a match, you rarely have the luxury of being on a comfortable, familiar number.
Mix in awkward numbers deliberately. 77, 85, 93, 111, 126 — the ones you would not choose. The more familiar these feel in practice, the less they derail you when they come up under pressure.
The 121 Game — Pressure Finishing
Start on 121. Give yourself a set number of darts to check out — nine darts is generous, six is competitive, three is elite. If you check out in your allowance, move up to 122. If you miss, drop back to 120.
The genius of this drill is the psychological pressure it creates. You are not just throwing darts — you are playing a game with consequences. That is the environment you need to be practising in, because the double that beats you in a match will always feel different to the double you drill in a relaxed practice session.
Doubles Around the Clock — Building Confidence on Every Double
Too many players default to D16 and D20 because those are the doubles they know. The rest of the board becomes unfamiliar territory and they flinch when they end up on D7 or D11.
Go around every double in order, three darts at each, and track your hit rate per segment. You will quickly see which doubles you are genuinely comfortable with and which ones you avoid. Then deliberately spend more time on the weak ones.
Step 3: Structure Your Practice Sessions
Random throwing does not build checkout confidence. Structure does.
Warm up on scoring, then finish on checkouts. Do not spend an entire session on doubles — your arm tires and your frustration compounds. Score for 15–20 minutes to get your rhythm, then shift to checkout practice while you are still sharp.
Set a specific goal for each session. Not "practise checkouts" — that is too vague. "Hit D16 ten times in 30 darts" or "complete Bob's 27 with a positive score" gives you something to measure. Progress needs to be trackable or you will not notice it.
Practise your preferred double — and then practise the one you hate. Every player has a comfort double. Knowing yours is useful. Avoiding the others is a weakness. If you cannot hit D5 under pressure, someone is going to leave you on 10 and you will know exactly what is coming.
Simulate pressure deliberately. Tell yourself the session is on the line before you throw for a double. Sounds silly, but training your brain to stay calm under self-imposed pressure directly translates to match situations. The mechanics of a double are the same whether the score is 0-0 or you are 2-2 in a match with a leg to close.
The Mental Side of Checkouts
Most missed doubles are not mechanical failures. They are mental ones.
The moment you stand on a checkout and start calculating odds, worrying about missing, or thinking about what the score will look like if you bust — you are already in trouble. The dart has to be thrown before the doubt arrives.
A few things that help:
Commit to the route before you pick up the dart. Decision-making and throwing are two separate tasks. Make the decision, then throw. Never both at once.
Have a process, not a prayer. Your pre-throw routine — grip check, stance, breath, focus point on the target — should be exactly the same on D20 to win the leg as it is on a treble 20 in the first visit. Consistency of routine breeds consistency of outcome.
Accept the miss and move on quickly. Dwelling on a missed double while still holding two darts is one of the most destructive habits in darts. Miss, reset, throw the next one.
How DartsHQ Helps With Checkout Practice
DartsHQ has checkout practice built into the product in two ways.
The Random Checkouts game mode gives you a structured way to practise finishing under slightly randomised conditions — exactly the kind of drilling described above, with the app tracking your results over time.
The checkout suggestion system in X01 matches gives you the recommended route for your current score on every visit, including alternative routes based on your preferred finish style. Over time, seeing those routes repeatedly during real match play is one of the fastest ways to learn them.
The Tactician AI coach (Pro) will pick up on patterns in your checkout attempts — whether you are consistently missing on the left side of the board, favouring certain doubles, or choking on high-pressure finishes — and give you specific, targeted feedback rather than generic tips.
And Bob's 27 is in the Training tab as a core benchmark drill, so you can track your score over multiple sessions and watch it move in the right direction.
Summary
Getting better at checkouts is not mysterious. It requires three things: knowing your routes, drilling the right way, and practising under simulated pressure. Most players do none of these consistently, which is why most players plateau.
Start with Bob's 27 tonight. Write your score down. Come back to it in a week and see if it has moved. If it has, you are on the right track. If it has not, you have information — and now you know where to look.
The double is not the enemy. Lack of preparation is.
Want structured checkout practice with AI coaching that tracks your progress session by session? Try DartsHQ free — no card required.