40 Checkout in Darts — Double 20 (D20)
On 40 the finish is a single dart at D20. In practice this is straightforward — the target is large relative to a triple, and most players hit it routinely in warm-up. In match play the dynamic shifts: there is no setup dart to settle the rhythm, no second throw to correct a slight drift on the first, and no sequence to lean on. The entire visit is the close. The preparation that works best here is to make the one-dart nature of the finish irrelevant by treating the throw as identical to every other dart thrown in the leg — same grip, same release, same arm speed. The score changes; the throw does not.
Misses on one-dart finishes in competitive play are almost never caused by a poor aim line. The line to D20 is typically correct. The miss happens in the execution: a change in grip pressure, a deceleration before the release, or an attempt to steer the dart into the bed rather than throw it. All of these produce a dart that leaves the hand later than intended and lands slightly lower and to the side. The fix is not in the aim. It is in releasing the dart at the same speed and from the same point as every other throw in the session.
If D20 is missed, the 5 side leaves 35 (3 → D16) — a workable recovery position. The 1 side leaves 39, which is significantly harder to work from. Controlling the release toward the 5 side is the miss management available on this finish. It does not require a change in aim — it is a slight adjustment in the follow-through direction that consistently produces better outcomes when the dart drifts off the intended target.
Practising D20 in isolation prepares the throw. Practising it with a consequence — a score to beat, a format that punishes the miss — prepares the player. The difference between those two approaches explains most of the gap between how players perform on 40 in warm-up and how they perform on it in competition. Consistent closers on one-dart finishes have trained both the physical and the psychological dimension deliberately.
Route Comparison & Target Selection
Primary: D20
double 20 — high-percentage close
Anti-target strategy does not apply on a one-dart finish like 40. The only decision is whether to commit to D20.
Miss Geometry, Route Structure & When to Use the Alternate
The route from 40 starts on D20, a double that asks less of the first throw than a triple would. The wider target area means slight misses are absorbed more cleanly, and the leave it creates is the correct position for the rest of the route. Splitting the double into the single below leaves a one-dart finish, which is a workable recovery. The structure from 40 is deliberate — D20 is the right first dart, and the commitment it deserves is identical to any other dart in the visit. On the route structure itself, one dart from 40 closes the leg: D20. The throw either finishes the leg or it does not. The mental framing that works best here is to make the one-dart nature of the close irrelevant by treating the throw as identical to every other dart in the visit. Arm speed, release point, follow-through — all the same. The close on D20 requires only that the dart is thrown correctly, which is the same requirement as every other dart in 501.
When and Why to Use This Route
This is the default at this score. The leg ends on D20 and there is no better route, no smarter approach, and no alternative worth considering. The decision is already made. The preparation is already done. What remains is to walk to the oche, commit to the throw, and release the dart at the same tempo used all session.
One-dart finishes are the cleanest routes in 501 and this is why: they separate execution from decision-making entirely. In multi-dart routes, both happen simultaneously — the player is executing a dart while processing what comes next. On a one-dart finish, the decision is already complete before the throw begins. D20 is the target, the route, and the outcome in one.
Why Players Miss This Finish
The most common miss on 40 is not a miss at all in the technical sense — the aim is correct. What fails is the timing. Under pressure, players introduce a small deceleration in the final phase of the throw, usually without being aware of it. The dart leaves the hand a fraction later than intended, with less forward momentum, and it drifts — typically low and slightly inside the target. The player sees a near-miss and attributes it to poor aim. The actual cause was tempo. The fix is not to adjust the aim line but to maintain the same arm speed used for every other dart in the leg.
Fixing the miss on 40 is about making the action automatic before the match. In a match, the time between stepping to the oche and releasing the dart is not enough to correct a faulty throw — the correction has to already be in place. That correction is built through practising the routine under conditions where something depends on the outcome: a score requirement, a competition format, any format that makes the throw consequential. Without that practice, the match environment creates a version of the throw that practice never prepared the player for.
Practice
The best practice format for the 40 finish is not to throw D20 repeatedly from a standing start. That builds accuracy but not composure. Build composure by creating a practice routine where D20 comes at the end of a sequence — play a game to a point where 40 is the remaining score, then attempt the close. The darts before it will have created genuine rhythm, and the close will be attempted from a state closer to match conditions than any isolated drill can produce.
Recovery practice on 40 means practising what happens after a split. If D20 is missed into the single below, the remaining score still has a route — learn it and practise it deliberately. If it is missed into the outer ring, it is a bust and 40 must be reset. Knowing both outcomes in advance, and having practised the split leave at least a handful of times, means the match response to a miss is automatic rather than improvised. The players who close one-dart finishes most consistently in competition are the ones who have practised not just the clean hit, but the miss and its consequences.
