Learn these combinations

When you've been scoring Darts for a while, you'll start to notice that certain combinations appear frequently.

Combinations around 20

For example, if a player starts a leg with a T20, there's a good chance the next dart will be one of the following:

These combinations occur so often that you'll quickly become familiar with them:

Checkout routes

At the start or middle of a leg, it's all about that T20—the core of any high score. But once the finish line is in sight and you're approaching checkouts, everything changes. Suddenly, you have to juggle different combinations in your head.

Consider this: a player is sitting on 86. Instead of aiming for T20 (which leaves D13, not an ideal finish), they switch to T18 (which leaves D16). If you know your checkout routes and understand that on 86 the player is likely to aim for T18, that number 54 is already in your mind before the first dart is thrown.

Another example: On 75, you might think T19 is the right choice, but it leaves D9—a tricky double. So, players often prefer starting on T17, which leaves D12, a much more comfortable finish.

Note: Beginner players can be unpredictable in their choices. They might not know the checkout routes well and stubbornly aim for T20 or T19, like in the examples above. Generally, the better the player, the more predictable the routes become.

However, it's important to add nuance. For 82, the most common route is Bull, D16, but advanced players might go for T14, D20. So, it's not 100% foolproof. No one said it would be easy! But knowing the routes makes it a lot easier. And as you can see: a better player is a better scorer—and vice versa!