501 Darts Rules: How to Play & Finish a 501 Leg | Oche

501 is the standard game of darts — the format used for virtually every professional singles match. It is the most popular member of the X01 family: start on 501 and race your opponent down to exactly zero, finishing on a double.

The rules of 501

• Each player starts the leg on 501.
• You throw three darts per turn and subtract the total from your remaining score.
• Standard 501 is straight-in: every dart counts from the very first throw — there is no need to “double in”.
• You must finish on a double (or the 50 bull). Reaching zero any other way, going below zero, or leaving exactly one is a bust and your score reverts to the start of that turn.
• The first player (or team) to zero wins the leg. Matches are usually played as the best of a number of legs or sets.

A typical 501 leg

A strong leg might look like this:

1. 180 (T20, T20, T20) → 321 left
2. 140 (T20, T20, S20) → 181 left
3. 131 (T20, T19, S14) → 50 left
4. Bull (50) → checkout!

That is a 12-dart leg. The theoretical minimum is the 9-darter — nine perfect darts to take 501 to zero.

Scoring and finishing

Each segment scores its face value, doubled on the outer ring and trebled on the inner ring; the bull is 50. The maximum three-dart score is 180. For the full breakdown see darts scoring explained.

The highest checkout is 170, and numbers like 169, 168 and 166 can’t be finished in three darts. Plan your finish with the double-out guide and look up the route for any number in the checkout charts.

Practising 501? The X01 scorer tracks your average, suggests the best checkout from every score and records your three-dart average automatically.