How to Practise Doubles in Darts | Oche

You can’t win a standard leg of darts without hitting a double — so finishing is the single highest-leverage skill in the game. Two players with identical 3-dart averages will be separated almost entirely by who converts. Here’s how to make your doubles automatic.

Why doubles decide legs

In double-out X01, the leg isn’t over until you land on a double. Score 180s all night and you can still lose to a steadier finisher. That’s why your checkout percentage often matters more than your scoring — improving it flips close legs without your scoring changing at all.

Learn these doubles first

You don’t need all 21 doubles equally. Most finishes funnel through a handful:

• D20 (40): The classic two-dart finish target.
• D16 (32): The smart favourite — a single miss leaves D8, keeping you on an even number all the way down (16 → 8 → 4 → 2 → 1).
• D10 (20): Common, and a clean fallback from awkward finishes.

Add D8, D32 and the bull next. Good double-out strategy is about leaving yourself one of these rather than an awkward odd double.

The 100-dart test

The simplest way to measure a double: throw 100 darts at it and count the hits. That’s your percentage for that double. Do it weekly on D20, D16 and D10 and you’ll see a real number move — far better feedback than “I felt good on doubles today.”

Bob’s 27 — practise under pressure

Doubles miss in games because the throw changes under pressure. The fix is to practise with pressure. Bob’s 27 marches you through every double with a running score you can lose — so you learn to keep the same smooth release when a finish is on the line. It’s the best doubles game for solo work; more options are in the solo practice games guide.

Finish every practice leg properly

The most overlooked drill: in solo 501, actually play out the checkout instead of stopping when the leg is effectively won. Realistic finishing reps — under the small pressure of closing — are what raise your checkout percentage. Oche records every double you hit and miss and shows your checkout percentage by number, so you always know which double to drill next. See what the app tracks.