What Is a Good Darts Average? Pub, Club and Pro Numbers

A good darts average depends on where you throw: 30 to 50 is normal in the pub, 60 to 80 makes you a solid club player, and touring professionals sit at 95 or above. The number is always the three-dart average — points scored divided by darts thrown, multiplied by three. If you want your own figure before reading on, put your last leg into the 3 dart average calculator and come back to find out what it actually tells you.

Most articles stop at that list of bands. The more useful question is what each number means on the board: how many darts a leg takes, why your average drops on the nights you miss doubles, and which of the several averages people quote you should actually be tracking.

Darts averages by level

These are honest bands, not flattering ones. Most people who play once a week in a pub league are in the second row, and that is fine.

• Beginner: 20–35. You are still finding the 20 segment reliably. A 501 leg takes 45 darts or more.
• Pub player: 30–50. Regular 20s, the odd 60 or 81, and you know a handful of finishes.
• Club player: 60–80. Trebles come often enough to matter, 100-plus visits appear most legs, and you check out from the 60s and 70s without thinking.
• County and semi-pro: 80–95. 140s are normal, 180s turn up, and legs are won in 15 to 18 darts.
• Tour professional: 95+. A 12 to 15 dart leg is the expectation, not the highlight.

The gaps are not even. Moving from 40 to 55 is mostly consistency on the 20; moving from 85 to 95 means your trebles and your doubles both have to improve at once.

What your average means in darts per leg

Here is the part most guides leave out. Divide 1,503 (that is 501 × 3) by your average and you get roughly how many darts a leg takes at that rate:

• 40 average — about 38 darts, nearly 13 visits
• 50 average — about 30 darts, 10 visits
• 60 average — 25 darts, just over 8 visits
• 70 average — 21 to 22 darts, about 7 visits
• 80 average — about 19 darts
• 90 average — about 17 darts
• 100 average — 15 darts, five visits

That turns an abstract number into something you can feel. If your mate averages 60 and you average 50, they are finishing roughly five darts earlier — almost two full visits — every single leg. Over a best-of-five that is a lot of free throws at a double for them.

Why missing doubles wrecks your average

Your average counts every dart you throw, including the ones that miss the double and score nothing. That is why two legs with identical scoring can produce very different numbers.

Say you score 501 in 15 darts, finishing on your first dart at the double. That is 501 ÷ 15 × 3 = 100.2. Now play the exact same scoring visits, but need three extra darts to hit the double: 501 ÷ 18 × 3 = 83.5. Three missed darts cost you nearly 17 points of average.

This is why club players who "score like a county player" often have a club player's average. The fix is not more treble practice — it is knowing your finishes so you leave a double you like. Learn the standard routes on the darts checkout chart, check any number on the darts checkout table, and drill the leaves you get most: the 40 checkout (D20) and the 32 checkout (D16) are the two every coach will tell you to own.

First 9, match average and the other numbers

You will see several averages quoted on television and in apps. They measure different things:

• Three-dart average (match average). Every dart in the match, doubles included. This is the number people mean when they ask what your average is.
• First 9 average. Only your first three visits of each leg. It isolates pure scoring before checkout pressure starts, so it always sits above the match average. A big gap between the two tells you the doubles are the problem.
• Per-dart average (PPD). Common in soft-tip and on electronic boards. Multiply by three to compare: a PPD of 20 equals a three-dart average of 60.
• Checkout percentage. Doubles hit divided by darts thrown at a double. It moves your match average more than most people expect.

If you only track one number, track the match average. If you track two, add the first 9 — the difference between them is the most honest coaching tool you have.

How to find your real average

One leg tells you almost nothing. A single good leg can land 20 points above your true level, and a bad one 20 below. Track at least ten legs, ideally over several sessions, before you decide where you sit.

Doing that by hand is tedious and error-prone, which is why most people only ever know their best leg. Two ways to automate it:

• The free online darts scorer runs in any browser, keeps your three-dart average, first 9 and doubles percentage live while you play, and needs no account.
• Chalkie does the same on your phone, works fully offline, and keeps every session so you see the trend over weeks rather than one number. It also has a DartBot opponent at different levels, which is a good way to feel what a 60 or an 80 average actually plays like from the other side of the oche.

What average should you aim for?

Aim for about 10 points above where you are now, measured over a month, not a night. From 35 that means 45 — mostly a matter of grouping on the 20. From 55 it means 65, which is where learning your checkouts pays off fastest. Above 75, the gains come from doubles and first 9 scoring in roughly equal measure.

And remember the board is the same for everyone: 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) to the bullseye, 2.37 m (7 ft 9¼ in) to the oche. If your numbers look too good, check your throw line before you check your talent.

Ready to see your real number? Download Chalkie free on the App Store and let it count every dart for you.