How to Play 501 Darts
501 is the classic darts game — the one played on TV and in pubs and leagues everywhere. The rules are simple to learn: start on 501, count down to exactly zero, and finish on a double. Here's everything you need to start playing.
The goal
Every player begins on 501 points. You take turns throwing three darts, and whatever you score is subtracted from your total. The first player to get from 501 down to exactly zero wins the leg — but there's a catch: the dart that takes you to zero must land in a double.
How scoring works
The board is split into numbered segments, each with scoring rings:
- Single — the large areas. Worth the segment number (e.g. 20).
- Treble (triple) — the thin inner ring. Worth three times the number. Treble 20 = 60, the highest single-dart score.
- Double — the thin outer ring. Worth twice the number. Double 20 = 40.
- Outer bull — the green ring around the centre. Worth 25.
- Bullseye — the red centre. Worth 50, and counts as a double.
The most you can score with three darts is 180 — three treble 20s.
Finishing: the double-out rule
You can only win by landing your final dart in a double or the bullseye, bringing you to exactly zero. So if you have 40 left, you finish on double 20. If you have 50 left, you can finish on the bullseye. Working out the darts to get there is called a checkout — our darts checkout chart lists a route for every score.
Busting
If a turn takes you below the score you can finish on, you bust: your score resets to whatever it was at the start of that turn, and play passes on. You bust if you:
- score more than your remaining total,
- leave yourself exactly 1 (you can't finish on a double from 1), or
- reach zero with a dart that isn't a double.
Double in (optional)
Most casual games use straight in — you can start scoring with any dart. Some league and tournament formats use double in, where your countdown only begins once you've hit a double. Until then, your darts don't count.
Legs and sets
A single game of 501 is a leg. Matches are usually a race — first to 3 legs, say. Bigger matches add sets: you win a set by winning a number of legs, then the match by winning a number of sets. The player or team that didn't start the previous leg throws first in the next one.
Key terms
- Ton — a score of 100. A ton-80 is the maximum 180.
- Checkout — the darts that finish a leg from your remaining score.
- Leg — one complete game from 501 to zero.
- Bust — a turn that overshoots; the score resets.
- Oche — the throwing line, 2.37 m from the board.
- Three-dart average — your average points per three darts; the main measure of scoring power.
Play 501 the easy way
Dart Heart handles the maths for you — live scoring, automatic bust detection, checkout suggestions, and your three-dart average and checkout % tracked over time. Pass-and-play with friends or against a bot.