Darts Score Keeper
Score 501, 301 and Cricket for any number of players, with live checkout suggestions and a three-dart average as you go.
The treble twenty is only the right target if you can hit it
Every scoreboard assumes you are throwing at the 20. Simulating darts as a scatter around an aim point and scoring each one against the real board gives the average score per dart for any target, at any level of accuracy. Spread is how far a typical dart lands from where you aimed — a professional is inside 10 mm, a pub player closer to 30 mm.
| Spread | T20 | T19 | T16 | T7 | Bull | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 mm | 58.1 | 55.2 | 46.5 | 20.3 | 49.8 | T20 |
| 5 mm | 42.9 | 40.6 | 34.2 | 15.0 | 38.7 | T20 |
| 10 mm | 29.2 | 28.2 | 24.3 | 13.2 | 25.4 | T20 |
| 15 mm | 21.7 | 21.3 | 19.4 | 14.3 | 18.8 | T20 |
| 20 mm | 17.2 | 17.5 | 16.5 | 14.9 | 15.6 | T19 |
| 30 mm | 13.6 | 14.4 | 14.3 | 14.5 | 12.9 | T7 |
| 40 mm | 12.2 | 13.0 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 12.4 | T7 |
| 60 mm | 10.4 | 10.9 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 12.1 | Bull |
The 20 leads only while your spread stays under about 18 mm. Past that the order changes: the 19, then the 16, then the 7 — and by 60 mm the bull, worth less than any of them when hit cleanly, is the best target on the board. The reason is what surrounds each one. Twenty is flanked by 5 and 1, totalling only 6. Nineteen is flanked by 3 and 7, totalling 10. Aiming at the treble twenty is a bet that you will hit it.
Searching the whole board rather than a shortlist, the best place to put a dart keeps moving: at 5 mm it is on the 20, at 15 mm it is on the 20, at 30 mm it is on the 19, at 50 mm it is on the 8.
On seven beds, throwing worse scores better
Average score does not simply fall as your aim degrades. On 6 of the 20 treble beds it falls, bottoms out, and then climbs back — so a less accurate thrower aiming at exactly the same spot scores more:
| Target | Beside | Worst at | Score there | Recovers to | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | 20 and 18 | 6 mm | 2.3 | 12.2 at 30 mm | +439% |
| T2 | 15 and 17 | 6 mm | 4.2 | 11.2 at 30 mm | +169% |
| T3 | 17 and 19 | 6 mm | 6.2 | 12.6 at 30 mm | +105% |
| T4 | 18 and 13 | 6 mm | 8.1 | 11.6 at 25 mm | +42% |
| T5 | 12 and 20 | 9 mm | 9.7 | 12.7 at 25 mm | +31% |
| T7 | 19 and 16 | 9 mm | 13.0 | 14.8 at 25 mm | +13% |
Every one of them is a low number wedged between high ones. A tight thrower aiming at the treble one keeps landing in the 1. A loose one keeps missing into the 20 and the 18, and ends up with 12.2 a dart against 2.3. None of the top six trebles behaves this way: miss the 20 and there is nothing good on either side to fall into.
Which is really a fact about the numbering
Averaging the score over every point within 30 mm of a treble bed measures what that region of the board is worth to throw at, rather than what the bed pays. The two rankings are almost unrelated:
| Rank | Region | Treble pays | Region average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | the 19 | 57 | 18.4 |
| 2 | the 20 | 60 | 18.1 |
| 3 | the 16 | 48 | 17.1 |
| 4 | the 14 | 42 | 16.7 |
| 5 | the 18 | 54 | 16.2 |
| 6 | the 15 | 45 | 15.5 |
| 7 | the 17 | 51 | 15.4 |
| 8 | the 7 | 21 | 14.7 |
The 19 tops the list despite a bed paying less than the 20's, and the 7 — a bed worth 21 — outranks the 13, worth 39, because the 7 sits between the 19 and the 16 while the 13 sits between the 4 and the 6. The numbering used since 1885 was chosen to punish inaccuracy by separating high numbers with low ones, and it works well enough that for most players the neighbourhood matters more than the target.
How to use
- Choose the game and add players.
- Enter each visit's score.
- Read the checkout suggestion when you are in range.
- Watch your three-dart average across legs.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the game 501?
Convention, and it produces a good length of leg. The odd number means a player cannot simply throw nine perfect darts by symmetry — the famous nine-dart finish requires a specific combination, which is what makes it an achievement rather than an inevitability.
What is a three-dart average and what is good?
The average score per three darts thrown. Casual players commonly average in the 40s and 50s, a strong club player in the 60s to 80s, and professionals well above 90 — with the very best exceeding 100 across a match. It is the standard measure of scoring ability.
How does Cricket work?
Players close numbers 15 through 20 and the bullseye by hitting each three times, scoring points on numbers they have closed and opponents have not. It rewards a different skill set from 501, since accuracy across several targets matters more than raw scoring.
Why must you finish on a double?
It is the rule in standard play, and it is what makes the endgame a genuine test. Scoring 501 is comparatively mechanical; landing a specific double under pressure is not, which is why matches are won and lost at the finish rather than during scoring.
What is a nine-darter?
A leg of 501 finished in nine darts, the minimum possible. It requires an exact combination — most commonly seven treble 20s followed by a treble 19 and double 12, or similar routes — and it is rare enough at professional level to be a notable event when it happens.
Does the scoreboard help my game?
Mainly by removing arithmetic errors and by showing your average honestly. Knowing your real three-dart average, rather than remembering your best leg, is what tells you whether practice is working.
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