rules to play darts

In the standard game of darts, the board is hung so that the bulls eyes is 5ft 8in 1.73m from the floor or eye level for a six foot man.The Oche is the line that a throwing player must stand behind, this generally 7ft 9in 2.37m from the face of the board.

Everyone will throw their dart differently, but as a general rule the dart should be held between the thumb and forefinger.To aim your dart it is helpful to hold it at eye level. Throw your dart with a smooth action. Each player has three darts and will throw all of them at each visit to the oche.Remember that darts requires a high level of skill, and it may take a little time before your throws become accurate.

Before looking at the rules, you will need to know how the board is set up. Every dart board is the same and is numbered from 1 20 in non sequential order around the board. This order been unchanged since the game was invented.

The board is split up into twenty separate sections that are each allocated to a particular number. Hitting one of the larger portions of these sections traditionally coloured black and yellow, scores precisely the points value for that section. Hitting the thin outer portions of these sections coloured red and green scores double the points value for that section. Hitting the thin inner portions or these sections roughly halfway between the outer wire and the centre of the board scores triple the points value of that section. The centre of the board or Bulls Eye is split into two sections, a green outer ring known as the Outer Bull hitting this section scores 25 points, and the red inner circle, which is usually known as the Bull or Inner Bull and is worth 50 points.

There are many different variations on the game of darts, but the most well known is 501. Each player is given a score of 501 points before they start. The aim is to bring their score down to zero in as few visits to the Oche as possible. Each player throws their three darts in turn attempting to get the largest score possible. The highest score a player can get in a single visit to the oche is 180, this is done by hitting the triple twenty three times in a row. A player wins by throwing a dart into the double score area that will leave them exactly on zero. If they go past this into minus points or fail to hit a double with their last dart they go bust, and must wait for their next turn to try again. Enjoy playing darts!

In a game of 501 the object is for one player or a team to be the first to reach zero from starting total of 501. In simple terms, after three darts are thrown, the throwing player subtracts the total scored from his current total until he reaches zero. In order to reach zero each player must finish by throwing a double i.e. if player one has 36 remaining he must hit double 18 to win, while if player two has 45 remaining he must hit single 5, double 20 to win or a another combination of scores provided the final dart scores on a double. Some versions of the game require a double start whereby players must begin the game with a double as well as checking out on a double. The World Grand Prix uses the double in, double out rule. Games can be played to a Best of format whereby a player or team winning three legs in a Best of Five Leg competition wins the match. The World Matchplay and UK Open events are examples of tournament played on a Best of format with legs as the scoring format. Games on the PDC ProTour are held over the Best of 11 Legs. Other tournaments will be played in Set format, whereby players must win a set by winning the Best of Five legs, before claiming the match in the Best of Five Sets. The PDC World Championship and World Grand Prix are played using the Set format, with differing lengths of games at each tournament.

Counting the actual darts that are used, not passed, in a match. Only approved means of tracking feats for the NDAs Team Dart Tournament.

A player is blocked when his or her partners score is higher than the combined score of their opponents. The player may still throw to get his or her points lower but cannot go out without losing the game because of his or her partners high score. The following will result in a loss When a player reaches 0 but his or her partners score is not equal to or lower than their opponents combined score. Remember you can go out on a tie.

Any league which consists of teams with similar or closely matched team averages.

When a team has scored 3 Marks on the same number or Bulls Eye in Cricket.