The 170 Checkout & the Highest Possible Finishes | Oche

The 170 checkout is the most famous finish in darts — the “Big Fish”, the maximum possible three-dart out, and the one every player dreams of hitting on stage. Here’s exactly how it works, what the other big finishes are, and how to give yourself a realistic chance at it.

The 170 finish: T20, T20, Bull

170 is checked out with:

• Treble 20 — 60
• Treble 20 — 60
• Bullseye — 50

60 + 60 + 50 = 170. The bull counts as the “double” because the inner bull (50) is treated as a double for finishing purposes. There is only one route to 170 — there’s no alternative combination — which is part of what makes it so hard: you have no margin to adjust mid-visit. Our highest checkouts page breaks down the route dart by dart.

Why 170 is the ceiling

No three-dart finish exists above 170. The most you can score with three darts is 180 (three treble 20s), but 180 doesn’t end on a double, so it isn’t a legal finish. 170 is the highest score where three darts can end on a double — hence it’s the absolute maximum checkout.

The biggest finishes from 170 down

After 170, the next-highest legal finishes are:

• 167 → T20, T19, Bull
• 164 → T20, T18, Bull
• 161 → T20, T17, Bull
• 160 → T20, T20, D20

Notice the gaps: 169, 168, 166, 165, 163 and 162 are all bogey numbers with no three-dart finish at all, along with 159. That’s why the list of genuine big finishes is shorter than you’d expect — we cover those gaps in bogey numbers explained. The full ranked set is on our highest checkouts page.

How to give yourself a real shot at 170

You only get on 170 if you leave yourself on it — which usually means a tidy scoring visit that lands you there rather than just below. When you are on it:

• Commit to both treble 20s first. If you hit the first, the second is the same throw — stay in rhythm.
• Don’t change your mind mid-visit. There’s no other route, so a missed first treble simply means you set up the leftover next time.
• Practise the bull. The finish lives or dies on that last dart. A reliable bull turns “nice try” into “Big Fish”.

Practise the big finishes

Hitting 170 in a real leg is rare, but the components — treble 20 and the bull — are the same shots that win you ordinary legs. Drilling them pays off whether or not the Big Fish ever lands.

The Oche X01 scorer recognises the moment you’re on 170 (or any high finish), shows the route, and tracks your treble-20 and bull hit rate over time — so when the Big Fish finally swims into range, you’re ready for it.