Doubles Lock

Work through every double on the dartboard from D20 down to D1, hitting each double to advance to the next. The goal is to complete the entire sequence in as few darts as possible while accumulating the highest bonus score you can. A unique locking mechanism rewards consistency: hit a double two or three times in a single visit and you create a safe checkpoint, ensuring that a future miss never sends you all the way back to the beginning.

Doubles Lock is a solo training drill played on a standard bristle dartboard. No special equipment beyond three darts and a scoreboard is required.

Label your scoreboard with every double from D20 (your first target) down through D19, D18 … D2, D1 (your final target). Create two running tallies: one for total darts thrown and one for bonus points (starting at 0). You may also wish to note which doubles are locked as you progress — a simple tick or highlight beside the number is sufficient.

Your starting target is D20. Your initial base (the checkpoint you return to on a complete miss) is also D20.

On each visit you throw three darts at your current target double. After all three darts have been thrown, one of four outcomes applies:

• 3 hits out of 3: You advance to the next double in the sequence. The current target is locked and becomes your new base. You earn 100 bonus points.
• 2 hits out of 3: You advance to the next double. The current target is locked and becomes your new base. You earn 50 bonus points.
• 1 hit out of 3: You advance to the next double, but the target is not locked. No bonus points are awarded.
• 0 hits out of 3: You do not advance. Instead, you retreat to your last locked target (your base) and must work forward again from there.

The lock (base) mechanic explained: A locked double serves as a permanent checkpoint. When you fail to hit a later double with any of your three darts, you fall back only to the double immediately after your most recent lock — not to the very start of the drill.

Example — early progress: You hit D20 twice in three darts. D20 is now locked; your base moves to D19. You then hit D19 once (advance to D18, but D19 is not locked). On your visit at D18 you miss all three darts. Because your last locked double is D20, you return to D19 (the target immediately after your lock) and try again from there.

Example — deep run with multiple locks: Suppose D20, D17, and D14 are all locked. You advance past D14 and are now aiming at D13. If you miss D13 with all three darts, you fall back only to D13 itself (the next target after your most recent lock at D14) — not to D20 or D17. Your locked doubles protect all the progress behind them.

Continue in this fashion — D20, D19, D18 … D2, D1 — until you have successfully completed every double in the sequence.

Bonus points are the primary measure of accuracy and are awarded per visit as follows:

• 3 hits out of 3 = 100 bonus points
• 2 hits out of 3 = 50 bonus points
• 1 hit out of 3 = 0 bonus points (advance only)
• 0 hits out of 3 = 0 bonus points (retreat to base)

The maximum possible bonus score — achieved by hitting every double three times out of three on the first attempt — is 20 × 100 = 2,000 points in exactly 60 darts. In practice, retreats and single-hit advances will inflate your dart count and reduce your bonus total.

After completing the drill, record both your total darts thrown and your total bonus points. Tracking these numbers over multiple sessions provides a clear, quantifiable measure of your doubles improvement.

Doubles Lock is a solo practice game with no opponent. The drill is complete once you have advanced past D1, the final target in the sequence. Your performance is judged by two metrics: fewer total darts indicates greater efficiency, while a higher bonus-point total indicates greater consistency.

To benchmark your progress, compare session-to-session results. A strong club-level target is completing all 20 doubles in under 120 darts with at least 500 bonus points; elite practice sessions will see totals closer to 60–80 darts with 1,000+ bonus points.

Strict Lock (Hard Mode): Raise the locking threshold so that three hits out of three are required to lock a double (two hits advance you but do not create a checkpoint). This dramatically increases the penalty for inconsistency and is recommended for advanced players.

Even Doubles Only (Short Game): Play only the ten even-numbered doubles — D20, D18, D16, D14, D12, D10, D8, D6, D4, D2. This halves the length of the drill while focusing on the doubles most frequently needed for match-play checkouts.

Ascending Order (D1 to D20): Reverse the sequence, beginning at D1 and working up to D20. Starting with the smaller, lower-pressure targets lets you build momentum before tackling the doubles you are likely weaker on.

Prioritize locking over speed: When you reach a double you are confident on, take extra care to hit two or three out of three. A locked double is a permanent safety net — every lock you set dramatically reduces the cost of a future miss further down the sequence.

Track your trouble spots: Note which doubles repeatedly cause retreats. If D7 or D3 keeps sending you back to base, you have identified a specific weakness to isolate in future practice sessions. The drill's structure naturally exposes these gaps.

Stay composed after a retreat: The base system exists precisely so that a miss is never catastrophic. When you fall back, you are replaying at most a handful of doubles — not the entire board. Treat the retreat as a second chance to lock a double you missed the first time through.

Use this drill to rehearse match-play checkouts: Doubles such as D20, D16, D10, and D8 appear constantly in 501 and 301 finishes. Pay special attention to your hit rates on these targets; improving them here translates directly to more legs won in competition.

Combine metrics for a single performance score: A simple formula — bonus points minus total darts thrown — gives you one number to chase each session. For example, finishing in 90 darts with 600 bonus points yields a performance score of 510. Aiming to beat your personal best keeps the drill competitive even when practising alone.