Darts words · Beginner
The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.
B · Beginner · 22 words · Step 1 of 2Basic setup terms
Dartboard
The target, a bristle board of sisal in the 1 to 20 clock pattern, 451 mm across overall. The 20 segment is at the top, in the darker of the two segment colours. The rings are the inner Bull (50), the outer ring (25), the Treble Ring and the Double Ring.
See also: Double / treble, Bullseye
Dart
A thrown dart has a metallic needle point attached to a barrel, with a stem at the rear that may have up to five separate pieces (for example flight and flight protector). It may be no more than 30.5 cm long and no more than 50 g, and each player brings their own.
Oche
The line a player stands behind to throw. It is a raised bar 38 mm high and 610 mm long. No player may tread on it, or throw with the feet anywhere but behind it, and a player throwing from beside it keeps the feet behind its imaginary extension.
See also: Throw
Leg
The smallest part of a match, a full round of play with a winner and a loser. A leg is the whole match if the match is not divided into legs or sets. The number of legs in a set or match must be odd.
Set
A part of a match made up of an odd number of legs. The number of sets in a match must also be odd. The set is won by the player who wins the majority of its legs, and the match by the player who wins the majority of the sets.
Scoring terms
501
A match or leg is played from a fixed odd total, such as 501, 701 or 1001, and every score made is subtracted from it. The leg is won by finishing exactly on zero with a double.
Also called: standard game
Double / treble
The Double Ring is the outer narrow band, scoring double the segment number. The Treble Ring is the inner narrow band, scoring treble. Each is 8 mm wide between wires on a conventional board.
Also called: double ring, treble ring
Bullseye
The centre of the board. The inner Bull scores 50 and counts as a double 25, and the outer ring around it scores 25. The highest score with one dart is treble 20, which is 60.
Also called: bull
See also: Dart
Checkout
The finish of a leg. A player must land a dart in the Double Ring or the Bull of the number equal to half the remaining score. The first player to do so wins the leg, and darts thrown after the finish do not count.
Also called: double finish
See also: Dart, Double / treble, Bullseye
Bust
If in a throw a player scores more than is left, or exactly what is left without finishing on a double, or leaves one, the throw does not count and the score stays as it was before the throw.
See also: Throw
180
The maximum score from one throw of three darts, three treble 20s. The rules do not use the name.
See also: Throw
Average
A player's points per three darts across a leg, set or match. The rules do not define it.
Playing terms
Throw
A player's turn: a maximum of three darts, each thrown deliberately, one at a time, by and from the hand, with the needle point aimed at the face of the board. A throw that is not thrown that way is a foul throw and does not count.
See also: Foul throw
Nine-darter
Finishing a leg of 501 in nine darts, the fewest possible. The rules do not use the name.
Doubles out
The double finish: to win, the player must land a dart in the Double Ring or Bull of the number equal to half the remaining score. This is the rule at every WDF match.
See also: Dart, Double / treble, Bullseye, Checkout
Rules of throwing
Straight start
To begin scoring, a player only has to land a dart in the board inside the outer Double wire. No double is needed to start a leg.
See also: Dart
Game shot
The Caller's call that a player has finished. It is valid only if the darts achieved the required finish and stay in the board until retrieved after the call. If invalid, the player may carry on with that throw if all three darts have not been thrown.
See also: Throw
Foul throw
A dart not thrown deliberately, one at a time, by and from the hand with the needle point aimed at the face of the board. The throw does not count in that leg, set or match.
Match format terms
Bull throw
How the order of play is decided in each match. Each player throws one dart for the Bull, and the dart must remain in the board to count. The one nearer the centre throws first, and a re-throw is made if the Referee cannot tell which is nearer or both are in the Bull or the 25 ring. The winner throws first in the match and in all odd-numbered legs, including a tie-break leg, and in odd-numbered sets.
Match (darts)
The total play between two players, sometimes called a game. It may be divided into sets, and legs. Player means a single player or a team, men or women.
Match officials
Referee (darts)
The person in charge of match play at a board or on stage. A Referee may also be Marker or Caller. The Board Marker acts as umpire on matters of the playing rules and may consult tournament officials.