How to Practice Doubles in Darts: 5 Drills

You can average 60 with three darts, you can nail T20 under pressure, and you still lose because you cannot finish. Doubles are the great equalizer in darts. The player who hits their double first wins the leg, regardless of who scored faster in the middle. If you want to win more games, this is the single highest-return skill you can practice.

The fastest way to improve your doubles is dedicated, structured practice. Throwing at D16 for ten minutes after a game is not enough. These five drills give you a system: track your progress, expose your weak spots, and build the muscle memory that turns finishing from a coin flip into a reliable skill.

Why Doubles Deserve Their Own Practice Time

Most casual players spend nearly all their practice time on scoring -- throwing at T20 or T19 and working on consistency. That makes sense for improving your average, but it ignores the part of the game that actually determines who wins.

Consider this: in a typical 501 leg, you throw roughly 12 to 18 darts at scoring targets and then 3 to 9 darts trying to finish. Those finishing darts carry far more weight per throw. Missing a T20 costs you 40 points. Missing a D16 costs you an entire turn and sometimes the leg.

Player C has the lowest scoring average but finishes second-fastest because their doubles rate is high. That is the power of practicing doubles separately from scoring.

Drill 1: Around the Board on Doubles

What it trains: Familiarity with every double on the board, not just the two or three you always aim at.

Setup: No special setup needed. Just you and the board.

How to play: Start at D1. Throw three darts per turn. Once you hit the double, move to D2, then D3, all the way through D20, and finish with the bullseye. Track how many total darts it takes to complete the full circuit.

Scoring benchmarks:

Why it works: Most players have doubles they never throw at in a real game. You might be deadly on D16 but have no idea where D7 is on the board. This drill forces you to build a mental map of the entire double ring, so when a game leaves you on an unusual number, you are not starting from scratch.

Variation -- Reverse: Start at D20 and work down to D1. The doubles at the top of the board tend to be more familiar, so reversing the order makes you earn the easy ones at the end instead of the beginning.

Drill 2: Bob's 27

What it trains: Doubles accuracy under increasing pressure, with a built-in penalty for misses.

Setup: Start with a score of 27.

How to play:

1. Throw three darts at D1. For each dart that hits D1 (worth 2), add that value to your score. If none of your three darts hit, subtract the double's value (2) from your score.
2. Move to D2. Same rules: each hit adds the double's value (4), a complete miss subtracts it (4).
3. Continue through every double up to D20, then finish with the bullseye (worth 50 for a hit, minus 50 for a miss).
4. If your score drops to zero or below at any point, you are out.

Sample round:

Why it works: Bob's 27 is widely regarded as the best doubles practice game in darts. The escalating values create real pressure -- missing early doubles costs little, but missing D15 through D20 can wipe out your entire score. The bullseye round at the end is a genuine test of composure. Your final score becomes a single number you can track over weeks to measure improvement.

Drill 3: The D16 Ladder

What it trains: The most important checkout sequence in darts -- the even-number ladder that professionals rely on to close out legs.

Setup: No scoring needed beyond counting attempts.

How to play:

1. Start at D16 (need 32).
2. Throw one dart. If you hit D16, you finished. Record how many darts it took (1).
3. If you miss into single 16, you are now on 16. Aim at D8.
4. If you miss D8 into single 8, aim at D4.
5. Continue down the ladder: D4 (8), D2 (4), D1 (2).
6. If you miss off the even-number path entirely (hit single 7 when aiming at D16, for example), start over from D16.

Track two things: how many total darts it takes to finish, and which double in the ladder you actually finish on most often.

Why it works: In a real game of 501, setting up 32 for D16 is the standard play. If you miss, you want to recover smoothly down the even-number ladder rather than panicking. This drill builds that exact muscle memory. Over time, you will notice that you finish on D16 itself more often, and your ladder recoveries get faster.

Variation -- D20 Ladder: Start at D20 (40). The sequence is D20, D10, D5... but wait, 5 is odd. That is exactly why most players prefer the D16 path. Practice both to understand the difference, but spend more time on the D16 ladder.

Drill 4: Pressure Doubles

What it trains: Hitting a specific double when it matters -- simulating the end of a close leg.

Setup: Pick a target double (start with D16 or D20).

How to play:

1. Give yourself 9 darts (three turns of three) to hit the double.
2. Record whether you succeeded or failed.
3. Repeat 10 times.
4. Your score is your success rate: 7 out of 10 means 70%.

Progression levels:

Once you hit your target success rate consistently, either reduce the number of darts allowed or switch to a less familiar double.

Why it works: This drill isolates the pressure moment. In a real game, you do not get unlimited darts at your double -- your opponent is breathing down your neck. By setting a hard limit on attempts, you simulate that urgency. Tracking your percentage over sessions also gives you hard data on which doubles you should be setting up and which you should avoid.

Drill 5: Checkout Simulation

What it trains: The full finishing sequence -- reading the score, choosing the setup dart, and hitting the double.

Setup: You need a way to generate random starting scores between 41 and 110.

How to play:

1. Pick a random number in the range (or use a random number generator on your phone).
2. Work out the checkout: which darts do you throw to set up your double?
3. Execute the checkout, starting with three darts.
4. If you finish, record the number of darts used. If you do not finish in one turn, take additional turns until you do.
5. Repeat 10 times. Track your average darts per checkout.

Example checkouts:

Why it works: Hitting doubles in isolation is one thing. Reading a score, calculating the setup, and then executing the full sequence is what you actually do in a game. This drill connects your mental math to your physical throw. If you struggle with the mental calculation side, keep our 501 checkout chart nearby as a reference -- you will memorize the common routes naturally through repetition.

A Weekly Doubles Practice Schedule

Knowing five drills is useless if you do not actually use them. Here is a weekly plan that takes 15 to 20 minutes per session and covers all aspects of doubles:

This schedule alternates doubles-specific work with rest days or general practice. The Sunday session is critical -- playing real games is where you find out whether your practice is translating into results.

How Doubles Practice Connects to Your Overall Game

Doubles practice does not exist in a vacuum. It ties directly into the strategic concepts covered in our double out rules guide -- particularly the idea of setting up your finish by leaving even numbers. The better your doubles accuracy becomes, the more aggressively you can set up finishes.

For example, if you know from Drill 4 that your D16 success rate is 60% within three darts, you can plan your scoring darts to leave 32 with confidence. If your D20 rate is only 30%, you know to avoid leaving 40 when you have a choice. This kind of data-driven decision making separates thoughtful players from players who just throw and hope.

If you are also working on your general accuracy, our accuracy drills guide covers the fundamentals of grouping and consistency that support everything you do at the double ring. And if you want variety in your solo sessions, our 10 practice games collection includes several games that incorporate doubles work alongside scoring practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is double top in darts?

Double top is the common name for D20 -- the double 20 segment at the top of the dartboard, worth 40 points. It is one of the most popular finishing doubles because it is the highest-value double on the board and sits in the area most players naturally focus on during a game. For more on how all doubles work, see our double out rules guide.

How many doubles are on a dartboard?

There are 21 doubles on a standard dartboard: one for each number 1 through 20, plus the inner bullseye (which counts as a double worth 50 points). The double ring is the thin outer band that runs around the entire board.

Should I practice all doubles or just the common ones?

Both, but in different proportions. Spend about 60% of your doubles practice on the doubles you finish on most often (D16, D20, D10, D8), and 40% on full-board drills like Around the Board on Doubles and Bob's 27. In real games, unusual leaves happen. You do not want the first time you throw at D7 to be in a match.

Start Closing Out

Doubles are the skill that turns a good scorer into a player who actually wins. The five drills above give you a structured path from board familiarity through to full checkout execution under pressure. Pick one drill, try it tonight, and track your score. Next week, add a second. Within a month, you will notice the difference in your games.

Fire up a 501 game on Dartsy and put your doubles practice to the test. The app tracks your checkout percentage automatically, so you can see your improvement in real numbers -- not just a feeling.