Darts Glossary: Every Term Explained
Dart Meister
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Darts glossary

Darts has more slang than any game with seven rules has any right to. Here is what people are actually saying, in plain English.

Terms are grouped by where you will hear them. If you only read one section, read the scoring one.

Written and maintained by Timothy Moose, who builds Dart Meister. Updated August 25, 2026. How we write these pages.

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Scoring and the board

Bullseye The red center of the board. Worth 50. In 301 and 501 it counts as a double 25, so it can finish a leg.
Outer bull The green ring around the bullseye. Worth 25. It is a single, so it cannot finish a double out leg.
Double The thin outer ring. Doubles the segment value. Double 20 is 40.
Triple The thin inner ring, also called the treble in Britain. Triples the segment value. Triple 20 is 60.
Single Either of the two large beds. The outer single, between the triple and double rings, is the large single. The inner one is the small single.
Spider The wire frame dividing the segments. A dart hitting the spider often bounces out.
Ton A score of 100 or more in one turn of three darts.
Ton 80 180, the maximum three dart score: three triple 20s.
Oche The throw line. Pronounced ockey. Most American players just say the line.
Madhouse Double 1, the last double left when you are on 2. Nobody wants to be there.

01 games: 301, 501 and up

Leg One complete game, from the starting score down to zero.
Set A group of legs. Professional matches are often best of five legs per set.
Checkout The finish. The combination of darts that takes you from your remaining score to exactly zero on a double.
Out The same thing as a checkout. "What is my out?" means "how do I finish from here?"
Double in A rule where nothing counts until your first dart lands in a double.
Double out The standard finish rule. Your last dart must land in a double or the bullseye.
Straight out The casual alternative. Any segment that takes you to exactly zero wins.
Bust Scoring more than you have left, landing on exactly 1 in a double out game, or reaching zero without a double. The whole turn is void.
Leave What you have left after your turn. A good leave is an even number you can finish from.
Bogey number A score with no three dart finish: 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159.
Big fish 170, the highest possible checkout. Triple 20, triple 20, bullseye.
Nine darter A perfect leg of 501 finished in nine darts. The rarest thing in darts.
Shanghai finish 120 taken out as a single, double and triple of the same number.

Cricket terms

Mark One hit on a Cricket number. A single is one mark, a double two, a triple three.
Close Three marks on a number. Once closed, further hits score points for you.
Dead number A number every player has closed. It scores for nobody and is out of the game.
Cut-throat A Cricket variant where extra marks push points onto opponents and the lowest score wins.
MPR Marks per round. The Cricket scoring average. Casual play sits near 1.5, league standard is 2.5 and up.
Quick Cricket No points Cricket. First to close all seven numbers wins.

Averages and stats

PPD Points per dart. Total points divided by darts thrown. The soft tip standard.
PPR Points per round. The same figure over three darts. PPD multiplied by three.
Three dart average The professional measure. Total points divided by darts thrown, times three.
First nine The average over your first nine darts of a leg. A measure of pure scoring power.
Checkout percentage How often you hit a finish when you have a shot at one. Where matches are actually won.
180 count How many maximums you have thrown. The number everyone wants on the record.

Throwing and etiquette

Bull off Throwing at the bull to decide who goes first. Closest wins.
Bounce out A dart that hits the board and falls out. Scores nothing and is not thrown again.
Robin Hood A dart that lands in the back of another dart. Scores nothing and ruins a flight.
Grouping How tightly your three darts land together. The thing you are actually practicing.
Chalker The person keeping score. A British term; American leagues usually just say the scorer.
Toe the line Keeping your foot behind the throw line. Stepping over it voids the score in sanctioned play.

Common questions

What is a ton in darts?

A score of 100 or more in a single turn of three darts. A ton 80 is 180, the maximum possible.

What is the madhouse?

Double 1. It is the double you are left with on 2, and it is small, low on the board, and universally disliked.

What does MPR mean?

Marks per round, the Cricket scoring average. Three marks a round means you close a number every turn.

Why is the throw line called the oche?

It is a British darts term of uncertain origin, pronounced ockey. American leagues more often say the line or the toe line.

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