What Is a Good Average for Darts?

It all starts very innocently. You play a few dart games at your local place, or maybe at a buddy’s house, and you like it. You get a dartboard and continue playing.

Eventually, you become better, and your scoring improves. You start thinking about darts averages and whether your averages are actually good.

This is when a lot of people will wonder what is a good average for darts?

A good average for beginner darts players is between 30 to 40. For experienced darts players, a good average is around 50, and for top darts players, a good average will be above 60. A good darts average for most bar or pub leagues is between 45 to 60.

Darts averages are a tricky subject. There are a few caveats that you should be aware of and how those numbers actually represent your skill level. Below I go in more detail.

What is a good darts average for beginners?

A good beginner’s darts average is between 30 to 40.

With that being said, beginners should focus on other things before worrying about darts averages. If anything, in the beginning, you should consider focusing more on finishing the ’01 games with as a low number of darts as possible.

Usually, beginner players should not worry too much about their averages simply because of their inconsistency. Once a beginner player gets proficient and fairly consistent in doubling out successfully, they can start paying attention to their averages.

Beginner and amateur players are not very consistent in their scoring and doubling out. On some days, they may be averaging 70 while on others, 40. This can lead to higher expectations and just more anxiety when they do not perform as well as they think they should.

At some point, as your averages improve, you should start thinking of joining a league.

What is a good darts average for a bar or pub (league) player?

Usually, a darts player should not shy away from playing at their local league. A lot of players will just have a go and aim to have some fun time, while others will want to get to a decent level before putting themselves at the front line, so to speak.

There is nothing wrong with both tactics, as each one has its pros and cons.

So what is a good average for a pub league?

A good average for a bar or a pub league is an average of 50. Any darts player that is able to consistently average 50 will usually perform very well at their local pub league. The top players at pub leagues usually have a darts average of 60 to 80.

If you are consistently averaging upwards of 30 or 40, then you should really consider joining your local league. An average of 50 will mean that you will do very well, and an average of 60 will put you among the top players in most leagues.

By joining a local league, you will benefit from playing with other better players and getting used to playing among other people. Darts can be very stressful and unnerving at times.

While playing with other darts players, you will also be able to get used to how people play and what etiquette they follow. (See article: Darts etiquette rules)

Keep in mind that the pressure really does affect most players, and it is a normal thing to experience a reduction in your averages between playing at home and playing in a league. (See article: How to relax when playing darts?)

For example, if you are averaging 70 at home, your average may drop down as low as 50 while playing at the bar.

Usually, players are separated in different, typically no more than 3 to 4, groups or divisions. How those divisions are named will vary from place to place. For example:

• A, B, C, and D.
• Super, A, B, and C.
• Platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.
• Premier, first, and second.

So it really depends on where you live and what are the local rules your bars and pubs follow. (There can also be youth leagues as well.)

Each division’s averages will vary from place to place and depending on how seriously people take it. That being said, here are some good ballpark numbers for what you can expect from the different divisions.

• First: players usually have averages of 70+.
• Second: players have averages between 50 to 60
• Third: players usually average around 40 to 50
• Fourth: players have averages of 20 to 40

For the other types of divisions, things can be pretty similar. For example, a second division will have players averaging between 30 to 40. The first division will have players averaging 40 to 60. The premier division will usually be for players that average above 60.

As you can see in the top divisions, things can be pretty tough. One of the things is that you will not have a lot of chances to finish. Similar to how the pros play, you may have one chance to finish the game in the top divisions.

It is not rare to have players who will do a whole leg in 15 or 20 darts.

What is a good darts average for a pro player?

Usually, in most leagues, there will be a very small percentage of players that will be averaging between 60 to 80 very consistently.

If you are averaging above 60 consistently and comfortably, then you will definitely be among the top players.

For a pro player, 80 is a good darts average. (Those are the people who enter PDC, BDO, or ADO tournaments, for example.)

However, if you really want to take things to another level, you need to improve a lot as the elite darts players really do set the bar very high.

A professional or a master darts player usually will have averages above 80. On bad days they can go down to 80, and on good days they can average between 100 and 130.

How are darts averages calculated?

There are two main types of darts averages. Depending on where you live, one way or the other might be used or both.

The formula for calculating darts averages is as follows:

((Score left – 501) / Number of darts thrown) * 3 = Darts average

So, a 501 in 20 darts will result in a darts average of (501/20)*3 = 75.15.

For more in-depth information, check my article on How to calculate darts averages)

One-dart average

The one-dart average is also known as points per dart (PPD)

One-dart averages in darts are calculated by taking the score left and subtracting it from 501 (if you are playing 501) and dividing it by the number of darts thrown. Or:

(Score left – 501) / Number of darts thrown = One-dart average

The highest possible one-dart average is 60, which is achieved by hitting the treble 20, and the lowest possible one-dart average is 1, which corresponds to hitting the single 1. (It also can be 0 if you miss all of the scoring areas on the dartboard.)

Three-dart average

The three-dart average is also known as points per round (PPR).

Three-dart averages in darts are calculated the same way mentioned above. Essentially you find the PPD and multiply it by three.

A good PPR in darts is between 30 to 50 for beginners and 60 to 80 for experienced darts players. The elite darts players will often maintain a three-dart average of 100 and above.

The highest possible three dart average in a single round is 180, which corresponds to hitting three treble 20’s. A perfect nine-dart finish in a game of 501 will result in a three dart average of 167 points.

The lowest possible three-dart average is 3, which corresponds to hitting three single 1s. (Or alternatively, 0, if you miss with all three darts.)

Soft-tip vs. steel-tip darts averages

Soft tip dartboards and steel tip dartboards do have the same number setup and design, yet they play very differently. As a result, the darts averages between steel tip leagues and soft tp leagues will vary somewhat.

In many cases, soft-tip darts averages can be up to 25% higher than steel tip darts averages.

Is having a good average important?

People sometimes tend to calculated averages differently, and truth be told, calculating averages can spell more trouble than necessary.

That being said, the average does not tell the whole story. 

In some leagues, people will stop counting at 120 to 140 points, which usually results in players ending up with higher averages than what they should really have. All darts should be counted. Stopping counting the darts or your score at any point during the leg will artificially inflate your averages.

There is another reason why averages will mean little in some cases. (And especially if the doubles are not counted.) You may have high averages up until the time to double out. In this case, there is little to no point in having a high average if you cannot hit doubles and finish the game.

Every dart counts.

This is why it is recommended to rather think of it in terms of darts per leg.

If we take the averages mentioned so far, we can see that a good league player will finish a leg in about 37 to 30 darts, equivalent to a darts average of a little over 50.

The top teams in some leagues will be finishing their legs with 17 to 21 darts, and the players in the middle-class divisions will often be finishing their games withing 24 to 27 darts.

For a more detailed breakdown, take a look at the darts average chart I have at the end of the article.

Darts Averages Table

Below I have included a very straightforward darts average table that you can use to get a good idea of what the different numbers mean.

As expected, the least number of darts you need to double out in a game of 501, the higher your darts average.

Darts Thrown	Darts Average (PPR)	Darts Average (PPD)
9	167	55.67
10	150.3	50.10
11	136.64	45.55
12	125.25	41.75
13	115.62	38.54
14	107.36	35.79
15	100.2	33.40
16	93.94	31.31
17	88.41	29.47
18	83.50	27.83
19	79.11	26.37
20	75.15	25.05
21	71.57	23.86
22	68.32	22.77
23	65.35	21.78
24	62.63	20.88
25	60.12	20.04
26	57.81	19.27
27	55.67	18.56
28	53.68	17.89
29	51.83	17.28
30	50.10	16.70
31	48.48	16.16
32	46.97	15.66
33	45.55	15.18
34	44.21	14.74
35	42.94	14.31
36	41.75	13.92
37	40.62	13.54
38	39.55	13.18
39	38.54	12.85
40	37.58	12.53
41	36.66	12.22
42	35.79	11.93
43	34.95	11.65
44	34.16	11.39
45	33.40	11.13
46	32.67	10.89
47	31.98	10.66
48	31.31	10.44
49	30.67	10.22
50	30.06	10.02
51	29.47	9.82
52	28.90	9.63
53	28.36	9.45
54	27.83	9.28
55	27.33	9.11
56	26.84	8.95
57	26.37	8.79
58	25.91	8.64
59	25.47	8.49
60	25.05	8.35