3-Dart Average Explained — How to Calculate & Raise It | Oche

The 3-dart average is darts’ headline stat — but plenty of players quote it without knowing exactly how it’s worked out or why it behaves the way it does. Once you understand the maths, you can read your own game far more precisely and target the right practice.

The formula

A 3-dart average is just points per visit, averaged across everything you threw:

(total points ÷ darts thrown) × 3

The key detail people miss: you divide by the actual number of darts, not by three per turn. If you finish 501 and your last winning visit used only two darts, those two darts still count. That’s why a 15-dart leg gives a higher average than an 18-dart leg of the same 501.

Worked examples

Notice how much each extra visit costs you. Trimming a leg from 21 to 18 darts is worth nearly 12 points of average — and that usually comes from removing one weak scoring visit, not from throwing more 180s.

First-nine average: the truer scoring number

Your whole-leg average always includes the checkout darts, which aim at low-value doubles and drag the number down. The first-nine average uses only your opening nine darts — three full scoring visits — so it isolates raw scoring power. If your first-nine is 75 but your match average is 60, your scoring is fine and you’re leaking time at the finish. That’s a checkout-percentage problem, not a scoring one.

How to raise it

Raising your average comes down to scoring heavier and more consistently:

• Group on the treble 20. Tight grouping turns 60-visits into 100-visits.
• Kill the dead visit. One turn under 26 can cost three points of average on its own. Consistency beats the occasional maximum.
• Drill with structure. The practice routines guide has scoring drills built specifically to lift your first-nine.

Track it every leg. Oche calculates your 3-dart average, first-nine average and trend automatically as you score in the X01 mode — so you can see the line move. See everything the app tracks.