Doubles Practice Routines for Beginners

Why Practising Doubles Matters

In 501 and most x01 games, you can score brilliantly and still lose if you can’t hit doubles. Beginner and intermediate players often plateau because they throw hundreds of darts at treble 20 and almost none at their finishing doubles.

These doubles practice routines are designed for beginners and casual players who want to finish legs more often, not just hit the board harder.

Starter Doubles Drills

1. Round-the-Doubles

A classic drill to get comfortable on the whole board.

• Throw at every double from D1 to D20, then bull if you like.
• You get three darts per double.
• Only move to the next double once you hit it, or after three attempts.
• Track how many doubles you hit out of the full circuit.

Beginner goal: complete the circuit with at least 30–40% of doubles hit.

2. Favourite Finishes (D20, D16, D12)

Focus on the most common finishing doubles in real 501 legs.

• Pick D20, D16 and D12.
• Set a target of 10 hits on each double.
• Count how many darts it takes to reach 10 hits per double.
• Next session, try to hit the same total in fewer darts.

3. Bull & Outer Bull Focus

Useful for Cricket, 25/50 finishes, and games that use bull heavily.

• Throw three darts per turn at bull.
• Count inner bull (50) and outer bull (25) separately.
• Run the drill for 20 turns (60 darts total).
• Record how many 50s and 25s you hit.

4. Set-Up + Finish (Game-Like)

Simulates real 501 legs where you have to leave a double then hit it.

• Start at 60 points.
• First dart aims at S20 to leave 40.
• Use the remaining darts in the turn to try and finish on D20.
• Reset to 60 and repeat, or cycle through other targets (e.g. 48 → D16, 36 → D18).

A Simple 20–30 Minute Doubles Session

Here’s a complete practice block you can repeat a few times a week:

• 5 minutes: Warm up on big singles (20s and 19s).
• 10 minutes: Favourite Finishes – D20, D16, D12.
• 5–10 minutes: Round-the-Doubles (as far as you can get).
• 5 minutes: Set-Up + Finish (60 → D20, 48 → D16, 36 → D18).

Keep the tempo relaxed. Good mechanics and consistency matter more than rushing and spraying darts.

How to Track Your Doubles Progress

Practice feels better when you can see real improvement. A few simple metrics:

• Hit rate: doubles hit ÷ attempts (e.g. 8 hits from 40 attempts = 20%).
• Time to 10 hits: how many darts you need to land 10 D20s or D16s.
• Finishing darts: how many darts you usually take to finish 40, 32, 24, etc.

Darts Score can store practice legs or solo 501 sessions, so you can see your doubles getting sharper, not just guess.

Doubles Practice FAQ

• How often should I practise doubles?
  Even 15–20 minutes, a few times a week, makes a big difference over time.
• Which doubles should I focus on first?
  Start with D20, D16 and D12 – they’re common in real finishes.
• Should I still practise treble 20?
  Yes, but finishing wins legs. Balance scoring drills with doubles practice.