Where should a beginner aim in darts?

Apr 8, 202311 min read

Beginners should usually aim at big, useful targets before chasing treble 20. Start with the big single 20 and big single 19 to build control, add simple doubles such as D20 and D16 early, then work towards treble 20 once your grouping is stable. The target should shrink as your throw improves.

Last reviewed: 23 August 2026. This guide is written for steel-tip beginners learning standard 501-style darts. If you mainly play cricket, soft-tip or local pub-rule games, target priorities can change.

Quick answer

If you are brand new, aim at the large single 20 segment first. It is a high-value number, it teaches a straight top-board line, and even non-treble hits are useful. Add single 19 as a cover and movement target. Practise D20 and D16 because standard x01 legs are won on doubles. Use bull practice in short blocks for centre-board control, not as your whole session.

Treble 20 matters, but it should not be your only target on day one. If your darts are spraying into 1 and 5, the problem is not that you need to aim harder at treble 20. The problem is that your grouping and alignment are not ready for that small a target yet.

Beginner darts aim ladder showing big 20 and big 19 before cover shots, doubles and treble 20 practice — A beginner’s aim should progress from control targets to cover shots, doubles and then smaller treble beds.

Why “aim at treble 20” is incomplete advice

Treble 20 is the highest scoring bed on the board. PDC Europe’s glossary explains that hits in the triple ring triple the segment value and that three treble 20s produce 180, the highest value in one round. That is why experienced players use it as their main scoring target.

But beginners are not only trying to maximise the perfect dart. They are trying to improve the average dart. A beginner who aims at treble 20 and lands in 1, 5 and random board areas may score worse, learn less and build more tension than a beginner who aims at the larger 20 segment and groups consistently.

The beginner aim ladder

Stage	Main target	Purpose
1	Big 20 and big 19	Build line, grouping and scoring confidence.
2	20 to 19 switch	Learn cover shots and board movement.
3	D20 and D16	Start finishing practice early.
4	Treble 20	Add precision once grouping is stable.
5	Bull	Build short centre-board control drills.

Stage one: aim at the big 20

The big 20 is the best first scoring target for most beginners. It is large enough to give feedback and valuable enough to keep your score moving. Three single 20s score 60, which is a solid beginner visit. More importantly, it teaches you whether your throw is repeatable.

Do not judge the session only by trebles. Count how many darts land in the intended 20 segment. If the darts are grouping inside the 20, the throw is developing. If they are scattered across the board, you need repeatability before precision.

Stage two: add big 19

Single 19 and treble 19 matter because 19 is the main cover area when 20 is blocked or your throw is drifting low. Beginners often become too dependent on the top of the board. Then one awkward first dart blocks the bed and the next two darts have no plan.

Practising 19s gives you a second scoring lane. It also teaches controlled movement around the board, which becomes essential for checkouts and doubles.

Stage three: learn doubles early

Standard x01 darts is normally double-out. Red Dragon’s rules state that legs must finish on a double unless the format says otherwise, and that the bull counts as double 25 when 50 is required. That means scoring is only half the game. If you cannot finish, you can lose legs after doing the hard work.

Start with D20 and D16. D20, often called tops, is a common finish. D16 is valuable because it breaks down cleanly through D8, D4 and D2 if you miss inside. You do not need to master every double immediately, but you should practise finishing from the first week.

Stage four: add treble 20 when grouping earns it

Aim at treble 20 when most of your misses still land in useful nearby areas. If your missed treble darts land in single 20, that is normal development. If they constantly drift into 1 and 5, widen the target and fix the line.

This is not lowering ambition. It is better training. A smaller target only helps if your throw is already stable enough to learn from the miss.

Stage five: use bull practice sparingly

Bull practice is useful because the target is central and visually clear. It helps you check whether your stance, eye line and release can send darts straight towards the centre. It also matters for finishes such as 50 and 170.

However, beginners should not spend the whole session on bull. In 501, most visits involve scoring numbers, setup shots and doubles. Use bull as a short diagnostic drill, then return to the targets that appear more often in real legs.

What if you are playing cricket?

Cricket changes the target priority. Standard cricket focuses on 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and bull. If cricket is your main game, you still need control, but you should rotate through those numbers rather than spending almost everything on 20s.

The principle stays the same: start with bigger segments, then shrink towards trebles once grouping improves.

What if you are missing into 1 and 5?

Missing into 1 and 5 is common because they sit beside 20. It tells you your left-right line is unstable. Do not respond by throwing harder or staring at treble 20 more intensely. Slow the routine down and aim at the larger single 20 area until the spread narrows.

If all three darts miss on the same side, adjust your stance or shoulder alignment slightly. If each dart misses in a different direction, the issue is usually repeatability: grip pressure, release timing or rushing the throw.

How to aim without becoming tense

Pick a small point inside the larger target. Set your feet. Let the shoulder and forearm repeat the same motion. Look at the point, throw through it, and hold your finish for a moment. Avoid gripping harder just because the target is small.

Aim is not a freeze-frame. It is a relaxed routine that sends the dart through the same path repeatedly. If aiming makes your throw stiff, widen the target and rebuild rhythm.

Beginner drills that actually match the aim ladder

30 darts at big 20: count how many land in the 20 segment. Ignore trebles for the first few sessions. You are measuring control.

20 and 19 switch: throw one visit at 20, then one visit at 19. This builds a cover-shot habit without overwhelming the session.

D20 to D16 block: throw 15 darts at D20 and 15 darts at D16. Record hits, near misses and whether misses go inside or outside.

Bull diagnostic: throw 15 darts at bull. Count outer bull and inner bull. Then return to scoring targets.

Around-the-clock: Dartly describes around-the-clock as hitting numbers 1 through 20 in sequence before finishing on bull. It is a useful drill because it forces board coverage rather than letting you hide on favourite numbers.

A simple four-week plan

Week one: big 20, big 19 and basic grouping. Record how many darts land in the intended segment.

Week two: add D20 and D16. Keep scoring practice, but finish every session with doubles.

Week three: add 20-to-19 cover shots and short bull diagnostics. Start watching miss direction.

Week four: add focused treble 20 blocks. Keep them short and measure whether misses remain useful.

How to know when to shrink the target

Shrink the target when you can keep most darts in the intended number segment. If you throw 30 darts at big 20 and only a few land in 20, stay with big 20. If most land in 20 and the group is tightening, start adding treble 20 attempts.

A practical benchmark is 18 or more darts out of 30 landing in the intended big segment. That is not a universal rule, but it gives beginners a measurable trigger instead of guessing.

What your score should tell you

For beginners, a score is feedback, not a judgement. If you aim at 20 and score 60 with three single 20s, that is a strong control visit. If you score 26 by hitting 20, 5 and 1, the total is lower but the pattern is useful because it shows side drift around the same target area.

If you score 7, 12 or 18 with darts spread across the board, the issue is usually not target choice. It is repeatability. In that case, simplify the session: one target, slower routine, same stance, same release. Do not keep changing aim points every throw.

When big 19 may beat big 20 for a beginner

Some beginners score better on 19s because the common side misses are less punishing than missing the top segment into 1 and 5. That does not mean every beginner should abandon 20. It means your practice should measure results honestly.

Try 30 darts at big 20 and 30 darts at big 19. Count only darts in the intended number. If 19 is much tighter, use it as a confidence target while still keeping 20 in the routine. The aim is to build a flexible scoring game, not a single favourite number.

Common beginner mistakes

Only aiming at treble 20: this can hide poor grouping behind occasional lucky hits.
Ignoring doubles: scoring improves, but legs still get lost at the finish.
Never switching to 19: a blocked 20 bed becomes a problem.
Over-practising bull: useful in short drills, inefficient as the whole session.
Changing equipment too quickly: fix routine and grouping before blaming every dart.

Equipment and setup notes

Beginners need a clear target, comfortable darts and a repeatable setup. Expensive darts will not aim for you, but badly matched darts can make learning harder. Browse dart sets if grip or weight feels wrong, dartboards if the board is worn, and darts accessories for flights, stems, mats and basic setup tools.

Related guides

For target choice beyond beginner level, read the best numbers to aim for in darts. For a broader aiming routine, see how to aim darts like a pro. To understand scoring targets, read why they shout 180. For board coverage, see the least-hit number in darts and the game where you hit every number three times.

Sources used

Bottom line

Beginners should aim at big, useful targets first: big 20, big 19, D20, D16 and short bull drills. Treble 20 becomes valuable once your grouping is stable enough for the miss to teach you something. Build control first, then shrink the target.