Darts Betting Guide: Legs, Sets, 180s and Checkout Markets

Darts is a good sport for betting on numbers. Every visit to the board is recorded, the scoring is simple, and the main statistics, such as averages, checkout rates and 180s, are published for almost every televised match. That makes the markets easy to understand and easy to misjudge, because a long list of stats can hide the one detail that decides most bets: how long the match is and how it is structured.

This guide covers how a match is scored, how legs and sets formats change the odds, and how the main markets settle, from match winner and handicaps to 180s and checkouts. The examples use decimal odds with the occasional fractional or American equivalent.

How a darts match is scored

Each leg starts at 501 and the players take turns throwing three darts, subtracting what they score. To win the leg, a player must reach exactly zero with a dart in a double, or the bullseye, which counts as double 25. Going below zero, leaving 1, or reaching zero without a double is a bust, and the score goes back to what it was before that visit.

A few numbers come up constantly in darts markets:

• 180 is the maximum score with three darts: three treble 20s.
• Nine darts is the fewest needed to win a leg from 501, which is why a nine-dart finish is the darts equivalent of a perfect game.
• 170 is the highest finish possible in one visit: treble 20, treble 20, bullseye.
• Some scores below 170 cannot be finished with three darts: 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169. Players call them bogey numbers.

The throw alternates from leg to leg, and the player throwing first in a leg has a clear edge because he or she gets the first chance to finish. Winning a leg against the throw is called a break, much like breaking serve in tennis. If you already bet on tennis, the logic of holds and breaks in our guide on how to bet on tennis carries over well.

Legs versus sets: why format changes the price

Most televised events are played in legs: the first player to win a set number of legs wins the match. Some events, the World Championship among them, are played in sets. A set is a mini-match, usually first to three legs, and the match goes to the first player to win a set number of sets. At least one major event also requires a double to start each leg, not just to finish it, which slows scoring and changes the 180s and checkout markets. Some sets events require the final set to be won by two clear legs, so check the tournament rules before betting on correct score or total legs.

Format matters because longer matches favour the stronger player. Take a simple model in which Player A wins 55% of legs, ignoring the effect of who throws first. Our calculations from that single number:

• First to 6 legs: Player A wins the match 63.3% of the time.
• First to 11 legs: 67.9%.
• A set played first to 3 legs: 59.3%.
• First to 4 sets: 69.7%.
• First to 7 sets: 75.5%.

Sets add a second layer of best-of, which stretches a small edge further. The same two players can rightly be priced at quite different odds in two events, so compare a price with the format it is offered in rather than with the last time the pair met.

Match winner and drawn matches

The match winner market is normally two-way, because most formats cannot end level. A handful of league-style formats have allowed draws in the past, so when a match can finish level, the market will either be three-way or treat a draw under its own rule. Read the market name: a two-way price with a possible draw is usually settled as void if the match is drawn, as with draw no bet, but bookmakers word this differently. Our moneyline bets explained guide covers two-way and three-way markets in more detail.

To see the bookmaker's margin, add the implied probabilities. A favourite at 1.40 (2/5, or -250 in American odds) implies 71.4%. The underdog at 3.00 (2/1, or +200) implies 33.3%. The total is 104.8%, so roughly 4.8 points of the book is margin.

If a player withdraws before the match, bets are normally void. If a player retires during a match, rules vary: many bookmakers void the match bet unless the result was already decided, while some markets, such as a 180 already hit, may stand. Check the darts section of your bookmaker's rules.

Handicaps, total legs and correct score

A legs handicap adds or removes legs from one player's final score. In a first-to-6-legs match, Player A at -2.5 legs needs to win by three legs or more: 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 or 6-0. Player B at +2.5 wins the bet if B wins the match or loses 6-4 or 6-5. £10 on A -2.5 at 1.90 returns £19 if A covers.

Here is where a little maths helps. Using the same 55% leg model, A wins the match 63.3% of the time but covers -2.5 only 36.1% of the time. The price of 1.90 implies 52.6%, so in this example the handicap would be a poor bet on A even though A is the clear favourite. The most likely single results in that model are 6-4 (14.3%) and 6-3 (14.1%), which shows how often a favourite wins narrowly. The half-leg lines work the same way as half-point spreads in other sports; see point spread and handicap betting.

Total legs is the same idea from another angle. A first-to-6 match lasts between 6 and 11 legs, so over 9.5 legs needs the match to finish 6-4 or 6-5 either way. The model puts that at 47.3%. In sets formats you will see sets handicaps and total sets on the same principle, and correct score covers every possible final score, twelve of them in a first-to-6 match.

180s markets

180s are the best-known darts specials. The common markets are total 180s in the match (over/under a line), most 180s, a player's own 180s total, a 180 in a particular leg, and race to a set number of 180s.

The key point is that 180s depend on how many legs are played. Suppose two players combine for about 0.5 180s per leg, an illustrative rate you would build from their recent matches. A 6-0 match lasts six legs and produces about 3 expected 180s. A 6-5 match lasts eleven legs and produces about 5.5. A line of 4.5 is partly a bet on a close match, which links the 180s total to total legs and the handicap. Bet builders that combine these markets often price that link in, and some do not allow certain combinations at all.

Also watch for format. Double-in events and short matches cut the number of visits where a 180 is possible.

The most 180s market needs a tie rule. Some bookmakers offer it as three-way with the tie as an outcome, others as two-way with ties void, others apply dead heat rules. Under dead heat, £10 at 1.90 on a player who ties is settled on half the stake: £5 at 1.90 returns £9.50, a small loss rather than a win.

Checkout markets

Checkout markets are about the finishing visit, the one that ends a leg. Typical options include highest checkout over/under a line such as 100.5, a checkout of 100 or more (yes/no), a 170 checkout in the match, and highest checkout by a named player. A nine-dart finish in the match is also offered, at long odds, and usually as a special with a wider margin.

High checkouts are harder to predict than 180s. A player can only hit a big finish if the leg leaves a big score, and strong scorers often get down to a small finish before they need one. Longer matches give more chances, so the over on highest checkout benefits from the same close-match effect as 180s. Settlement counts only the score of the visit that wins the leg; a 140 thrown on the way down is not a checkout. Bogey numbers matter too: a player left on 169 cannot finish in that visit, however well he or she throws.

Outrights and tournament structure

Tournament winner markets reward the same format thinking. Early rounds are often shorter, which raises the chance of upsets, and later rounds are usually longer, which helps the stronger players. Look at the draw too: a seeded player in a crowded quarter of the bracket faces harder matches than the outright price may suggest.

Some bookmakers offer each-way on darts outrights, with the place part paying if your player reaches a stated stage, such as the final. The fraction and the number of places vary by bookmaker and event, so the each-way guide is worth reading before you add one. Accumulators across several matches compound the margin in the same way as in any sport, as the parlay and accumulator guide explains.

Before you bet on darts

A quick routine covers most of the mistakes beginners make:

• Check the format: legs or sets, the number needed to win, and any two-clear-legs rule.
• Note who throws first if you bet on a leg or in-play.
• For handicaps and correct score, ask how often the favourite wins narrowly, not just how often it wins.
• For 180s and checkouts, think about how many legs the match is likely to last.
• Read the tie and retirement rules for the market you pick.

Darts runs on many nights of the week and in-play markets move fast, which makes it easy to place more bets than planned. Set a budget and keep a record of every bet, as described in our guide to bankroll management. Betting laws differ by country and region, so use a licensed operator where you live, and see our responsible gambling page for limit tools and support.