Bogey Numbers in Darts and How to Avoid Them | Oche

Every darts player eventually leaves themselves on a number that simply can’t be finished — and then wonders why. The answer is that some scores are bogey numbers: scores with no possible three-dart checkout. Knowing which ones they are saves you from wasting darts on a finish that doesn’t exist.

What a bogey number is

In a double-out game you must end on a double. A bogey number is any score for which no sequence of three darts ends on a double. The math is fixed: the highest three-dart finish is 170 (T20, T20, Bull), but several scores below 170 still have no valid route home.

There are exactly seven of them:

• 159
• 162
• 163
• 165
• 166
• 168
• 169

That’s the complete list — no more, no less. Our bogey numbers page shows the proof and the recommended setup throw for each.

Why these specific numbers?

It comes down to combinations. To finish, your last dart must land on a double (2 to 40, or the 50 bull). Working backwards, the first two darts have to leave you on one of those doubles. For 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169, there is no pair of scoring darts that leaves a finishable double within the points available. They sit just out of reach of the 170 ceiling.

Note that 170 itself is finishable (T20, T20, Bull) — it’s the maximum, not a bogey. The bogeys are the awkward scores clustered just beneath it.

How to score around them

You can’t finish a bogey in one visit, so the goal is to set up the next one. The smart move is to throw down to a comfortable two-dart or single-dart finish:

• On 169 → hit T20 (60), leaving 109 — a clean T20, D… setup, or play safe to leave a known finish.
• On 168 → hit T20 (60), leaving 108, a standard T20, D24 finish next visit.
• On 162 → hit T20 (60), leaving 102, then T20, D21 or similar.

The principle is always the same: take a big scoring dart that leaves a number with a double you trust. Avoid the trap of “finishing” a bogey — it can’t be done — and instead think one visit ahead. Our checkout calculator flags bogey scores and suggests the best setup throw automatically.

Spotting them in the moment

The hardest part of bogey numbers is recognising them mid-leg, when you’re focused on the board rather than a chart. That’s where automatic scoring helps.

The Oche X01 scorer warns you the moment you’re on a bogey number, suggests the optimal setup dart, and then shows your finish the visit after — so you never burn three darts chasing a checkout that was never there.