87 Checkout in Darts — T17 → D18
The best approach to finishing 87 is to treat every dart in the visit as its own committed throw rather than as a step toward the double. The route — T17 → D18 — is a sequence of three distinct actions: T17 committed fully and D18 committed fully. Players who improve the most on mid-range checkouts like 87 are usually those who stop thinking about the close until the previous dart has already landed.
Miss direction on the opening dart matters specifically on 87 because the preferred and non-preferred outcomes diverge significantly. The 2 side leaves 85 — T15 → D20. The 3 side leaves 84. That difference — between a strong recovery position and a weak one — is the reason miss geometry is taught as an active skill rather than a passive observation. Applying it means building a slight lean toward 2 into the throw preparation, not changing the aim, but shaping the release so that a drift lands where you have already decided it should.
In match conditions, the biggest risk on 87 is not a technically poor dart — it is a dart thrown to the result rather than to the target. The player who is thinking about what the score will be after the throw, or whether the close is going to be available, or what the opponent is on, has already moved away from the execution mindset that finishes legs. The route T17 → D18 is decided. The target is decided. The only remaining decision is to commit fully to T17 and let the visit run according to the structure.
The grip is where pressure enters the throw first. Noticing grip tension before stepping to the oche is the earliest point at which the miss can be prevented. Breathe before the throw. Under pressure, shallow breathing is the norm — and it changes every aspect of the physical execution in ways that are difficult to compensate for. Players who finish 87 consistently in competition are not naturally calmer than those who miss it. They have simply rehearsed the response to pressure enough that it no longer interferes with the mechanics. The key on 87 is balance between scoring and positioning for the finish. Overcommitting on one dart often creates unnecessary pressure on the next. Pressure affects the mind first and the arm second. Managing it means keeping the routine consistent so the arm stays unaffected.
Opponent pressure should increase conviction at T17, not change the target. The route is decided — the only variable is how committed the throw is.
Route Comparison & Target Selection
Primary: T17 → D18
treble 17 (51), closing on double 18 — solid close
Alternate: T19 → 10 → D10
treble 19 (57), single 10, closing on double 10 — solid close
From 87, the primary (T17 → D18) and alternate (T19 → 10 → D10) offer two equally valid paths to the close. The miss geometry on T17 is workable on both sides — 85 and 84 are both recoverable positions. The primary is the default by convention and structure. The alternate is the in-match adjustment — use it when the primary's approach is not producing the right grouping. Both close on comparable doubles, so the trade-off between them is neutral on close quality and positive on approach flexibility.
Avoid 3 on this visit. It leaves 84 — the weaker of the two available miss directions. Better miss is 2 for 85.
Miss Geometry, Route Structure & When to Use the Alternate
The first dart targets treble 17, sitting between 2 and 3 on the board. From 87 a miss into 2 leaves 85 remaining and a miss into 3 leaves 84. The preferred drift direction is toward 2, which produces 85 — a more workable recovery position than the 3 side. Knowing which direction is the better miss before stepping to the oche is the margin that separates reactive play from controlled play. The throw setup — grip angle, release point, follow-through direction — can subtly favour the preferred side without disrupting throw rhythm. Over a long match, consistently landing on the better miss side rather than the worse one compounds into a meaningful positional advantage. On the question of how the route runs, two darts, direct finish: T17 → D18. From 87 the route asks for T17 to land correctly, then D18 to close the leg. The compactness of a two-dart finish is its defining quality — fast, readable, and immediately decisive. It is also what makes the opening dart carry the most weight of any dart in the visit. Arriving at D18 from a controlled, rhythm-based T17 produces a different kind of close than arriving at it from a nervous or guided first throw. The finish is the same; the confidence brought to it is not. As for when to use the alternate, both routes close the leg from 87 through comparable finishing doubles — the primary on D18 and the alternate (T19 → 10 → D10) on D10. The difference is the approach: T17 versus T19 on the opening dart, and different bridging sequences to reach the close. Switch to the alternate when the primary's approach is not finding the right grouping, and treat it as an equally valid line rather than a compromise.
When and Why to Use This Route
Use this route whenever the score appears in a match. The structure is sound and D18 is reliable when arrived at through a controlled approach. There is no specific pressure condition or match state that makes this route incorrect — it is the right call from this score in any situation.
The strength of this route is that it does not depend on a perfect first dart to produce a realistic close. T17 creates the scoring position without demanding triple-bed accuracy on every visit, and D18 converts when the approach is controlled. That forgiveness across the visit — not just on the final dart — is what makes the route hold up across a long match.
Why Players Miss This Finish
Players miss the 87 checkout by misreading the miss direction on T17. A drift into 2 leaves 85. A drift into 3 leaves 84. Players who do not know which side is preferred before stepping up make the decision reactively — and reactive decisions under pressure tend to favour the wrong option. Knowing in advance that the preferred drift direction is toward 3 is the difference between a miss that becomes a good recovery and a miss that derails the visit.
Players who close 87 most reliably have solved the same problem: they have made the response to an imperfect dart automatic. When T17 lands slightly off, the right response is to read the new score immediately and throw the best available continuation without hesitation. That response is not instinctive — it is trained. Practising the recovery from the two most likely miss positions on T17 is the most direct way to reduce the number of legs dropped from a recoverable position on 87.
Practice
Practise the 87 checkout by running T17 → D18 as a complete two-dart sequence rather than throwing each dart separately. The transition between T17 and D18 is where two-dart routes most often break down — a good opener creates expectation about the close, and that expectation sometimes changes the throw on D18 in exactly the wrong direction. Run the sequence clean five times. If the break is consistently on the second dart, practise D18 in isolation for a set, then reintegrate it into the full route.
Recovery practice is not supplementary to 87 training — it is essential to it. The two most likely recovery positions from a miss on T17 are 84 (via 3) and 85 (via 2). Practising both of these scores alongside the full 87 route produces a player who can continue the visit without recalculation after an imperfect first dart. That continuation speed — the automatic response to a slight drift — is one of the most valuable and least-practised skills in club-level 501.
