Your first month of darts
Darts looks simple until you throw your first arrow. Here's what actually happens in your first month — the stance, the grip, the games that teach you fastest, and when it starts clicking.
By The JustBeginning Editors · Published May 24, 2026
Darts is deceptively deep. The mechanics look trivial — stand behind a line, throw a small metal object at a target — until the moment you actually try to hit a double 16 to win a leg of 501 and your arm betrays you completely.
The good news: darts is a sport you can enjoy immediately, even badly. Every session produces satisfying moments alongside the misses. And unlike tennis or golf, you don’t need a partner, a court, a tee time, or good weather. You need a wall, a board, and three darts.
Here’s what your first month actually looks like.
Week 1: Setup and first throw
Before you throw a single dart, get the setup right. Standard regulation height is 5 feet 8 inches from the floor to the center of the bullseye. The throwing line — called the oche, pronounced “ockey” — is 7 feet 9.25 inches from the face of the board. Tape a line on the floor. Calibrate once. Don’t move it.
Your first throw will almost certainly go somewhere embarrassing. That’s fine. Here’s what to focus on in week one:
Stance. Stand side-on or angled roughly 45 degrees to the board, dominant foot forward and on or near the oche. Your weight should be on your front foot. Don’t sway back as you throw — that’s the most common beginner error and it’s entirely about habit, not strength.
Grip. Hold the dart like you’re gripping a pen — three fingers, no death-grip. Most players use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle), some add the ring finger. The grip should feel secure but not tense. If your knuckles are white, loosen up.
The throw. Lift your elbow slightly, draw the dart back toward your face or ear level, release smoothly forward, and follow through — your throwing arm should finish pointing at your target. The common mistake is “dropping” the elbow before release, which sends the dart low.
Don’t throw hard. Darts is not about power. The barrel does the work. Your job is to deliver it consistently to the same point in space.
Week 2: Learning 501
Spend your first week just throwing at the board. In week two, start playing 501.
501 is simple: each player starts at 501 and subtracts the score of each three-dart turn. You must finish exactly on zero, and your final dart must land in a double or the bullseye. First to zero wins the leg.
This format is brilliant for learning because:
- You’re forced to aim at every number on the board, not just the 20
- The requirement to “check out” on a double introduces strategy under pressure
- The countdown teaches you the arithmetic of the board quickly
Play against yourself first. Set a target of finishing a 501 leg (it’ll take you more throws than you think) before challenging anyone else. When you do, don’t keep score to win — keep score to practice doubles.
Doubles are where 501 is won and lost, and they’re the hardest segment to hit because the pressure doubles. The double 20 (top, outer ring) and double 16 are the most popular checkout doubles because they’re in comfortable throwing zones. Practice them specifically, not just “the treble 20 as many times as possible.”
The standard beginner mistake is spending all their practice time hammering the treble 20 and never working doubles. You’ll develop a great 180 average and still lose every leg you should win.
Week 3: Cricket and strategy
Once 501 feels familiar, add cricket to your rotation. Cricket is the other major format and it teaches a completely different skill: strategic prioritization.
Cricket works like this: you must “close” the numbers 15 through 20 and the bullseye by hitting each three times (counting singles, doubles as two, trebles as three). Once you’ve closed a number, you score points every time you hit it until your opponent closes it too. First player to close all numbers and have equal or higher points wins.
Cricket teaches you:
- Shot selection under pressure. You can’t just aim at the 20 every turn — sometimes closing the 19 your opponent is scoring on is worth more than treble 20 points.
- Reading your opponent. Their open numbers are threats; their closed numbers are dead weight to you.
- That all sections of the board matter. The player who only practices the treble 20 gets destroyed at cricket by someone who can hit 15s and 16s on demand.
Alternate between 501 and cricket every session. They train different parts of your game and prevent the tunnel vision of pure 501 grinding.
Month 1 checkpoints
By the end of your first month, you should realistically be able to:
- Finish a 501 leg from 501, even if it takes 20+ turns. Most beginners can do this within two weeks.
- Hit the 20 segment (not necessarily treble) at least twice in most three-dart turns. This is basic aim. If you can’t do this yet, focus entirely on stance and follow-through before anything else.
- Close a number in cricket within a reasonable number of turns — 3-5 turns on your target number is a beginner benchmark.
- Check out on a double at least occasionally. The double 20 and double 16 should start feeling like real targets, not miracles.
You won’t be throwing 180s. You won’t be finishing legs on a single turn. That’s not what month one is for. Month one is about developing a repeatable throw — one that puts your dart somewhere in your intended segment more often than not.
The plateau every beginner hits
Around week three, most beginners hit a frustrating wall: their accuracy plateaus. They throw about the same as they did in week two, sometimes worse.
This is normal. It happens because your brain is starting to process consistency feedback — you’re beginning to feel when a throw is “off” in a way you couldn’t perceive earlier. That awareness comes before the correction. Push through it.
The fix: slow your throw down further and exaggerate your follow-through. Most mid-month plateaus are about a rushed release or a dropped elbow. Film yourself throwing from the side and check your elbow position at release. If it drops more than a few degrees before the dart leaves your hand, there’s your problem.
Things beginners waste time on
Changing dart weight obsessively. Throw 22-24g for at least three months before concluding you need a different weight. Most “weight issues” are technique issues in disguise.
Practicing treble 20 only. Your game will stall entirely. Work the doubles and the full board.
Watching YouTube tutorials for hours. One 10-minute video on stance and grip, done. The rest of your learning comes from throwing darts, not watching other people throw them.
Playing against someone much better too early. Find players close to your level for your first few weeks. Getting demolished by a skilled player teaches you almost nothing — it just makes you rush your throw.
What month two looks like
In month two, the goal is reducing your average “turns per leg” in 501. Count your turns each leg and track it loosely. Beginners typically take 25-40 turns to finish a 501 leg. Getting that to 15-20 turns is a meaningful month-two milestone.
Start practicing specific checkout routes. The three most common beginner checkouts: 40 (double 20), 32 (double 16), 36 (double 18). Know these cold before anything else. Then learn the common 2-dart finishes: 41 = 9 + double 16, for instance.
Find a regular playing partner or a local pub league. Playing against other people — especially players slightly better than you — compresses the learning curve faster than any amount of solo practice. The social element of darts is half the reason the hobby is so sticky.
Ready to set up your board? See our darts gear guide for the bristle board, tungsten set, and wall protection that every home setup needs.