Darts Bet Types

If you thought darts was just another pub game, think again – there’s a variety of darts bet types offered up to punters all over the web.

If you are looking to place bets on the games, make sure to check out the best darts betting sites.

The rules can vary, and with more and more interesting bets popping up than ever before, and with the world of international darts getting wilder, it’s perhaps time to start thinking about what’s out there for you as a prospective punter.

Here’s our brief, yet in-depth, guide to the weird and wonderful world of darts bet types.

Match Winner Darts Bet

Nice and simple to start.  A match winner darts bet simply allows you to pick who you think will win any given match.  The rules are, generally, to get to zero with as few legal moves as possible ahead of your opponent, and to land on a double or a bull’s eye.

Many games start you with a score of 501 and expect you to count downwards.  When picking an outright winner, always look at form, talent and previous wins – and how they react under pressure.

Darts Correct Score Bet

These type of bets is where things get a little more intricate.  A darts correct score bet is where you pick what you think the final score will be between players.

This type of betting carries a large amount of risk, as the markets are wider and the odds will be stacked against you.  If you think you know your stuff and you’re feeling particularly lucky, however, there’s no reason why you can’t turn this type of betting to your absolute advantage.

Darts 180s Bet

It’s popular for punters to go for a most 180s or total 180s scored during any given match.  180 is the maximum score you can get from any three throws – you’ll need to hit triple 20 three times.

Player 180s are a very big deal indeed in the world of darts, and are the mark of a particularly skilled player – it’s the quickest way to start getting that score down to zero.

You can also place bets outright on who you think will score the first 180 in a match, if at all.  In top international dart matches and tournaments, no 180s at all is extremely rare.

If you do wish to place bets on the game, we would recommend the following betting sites:

  • Paddy Power Sports
  • Betfred Online Betting
  • William Hill Bets

Darts Handicap 2 Way

A darts handicap 2 way bet is one where you get a little bit of a boost if you’re punting for the underdog in any given match.  If the favourite is particularly good, your odds are inflated with these type of bets if you place money against them to win.

You’ll need to bear in mind that handicap odds and brackets will require players to beat the handicap spread given – so a spread of -1.5 set by a bookmaker, like Coral Sports, means that your choice will have to win by 2 if you expect to beat the handicap.  As the name of this betting type suggests, it works both ways.

9 Dart Finish

Believe it or not, in most dart matches, you could potentially win with as few as nine darts – and this type of betting allows you to pick whether or not you think any player in the match will attempt the feat.

That’s three 180s – meaning you could quite easily blend this type of betting in with a 180s punt, too.  It’s a brave statement to make – but if you know your players and your markets, and if the stakes are particularly high for the player(s) in question, it may be worth you throwing some money in.

170 Finish

As you’ll need to finish a match on either a double or a bull’s eye, the highest amount you can score in your final three throws will be 170.

That’s two triple 20s and a bull’s eye – and again, you can place bets on whether or not you think a given player will achieve this if you’re feeling lucky and/or confident enough.

As with other darts bet types we’ve already looked at, this one cane be grouped together so that you can create a nice little slip with plenty of open chances.  Particularly experienced punters will know when to opt for the 170 finish and when to go for the 9 dart finish, etc.

Highest Checkout Darts

A highest checkout darts bet will allow you to bet on how much you think the final amount will be on checkout.  That means, if you think the highest checkout will be a 170, you can put your money where your mouth is.

Once again, you can tie this sort of bet in with the previous one – meaning that it’s a range of bets and markets which pay well if you’re confident enough of if you’ve really done your research on who’s playing.

Choose from highest player checkout opportunities and highest match checkout chances from sportsbook to sportsbook.

Outright Betting

Outright betting is fairly basic, and while a popular bet with the vast majority of punters, it’s not always the easiest of markets to tackle.  This type of betting allows you to choose who stands to win a given tournament. There are many darts betting tipsters which offer predictions on games.

With so many big names and talented players making various international finals, it can sometimes be a hard market to analyse for the better.  Also, there’s no telling how many upsets, if any, will occur.

Therefore, if you are interested in outright betting, pick wisely – and, as always, do your homework.  You could stand to win a huge amount of money back from this sort of betting.

Darts In Play Betting

Darts in play betting is just as popular as live betting can be for several other sports, and here, you can choose from a range of different markets as a match evolves.

Choose outright winners of matches, legs and how much you think a player will checkout with – in play betting simply gives you the opportunity to re-analyse the markets mid-play, which could well be to your advantage.

With this advantage, however, can come less profitable odds – so weigh up the pros and cons carefully indeed.

James has over two decades of experience in the sports betting industry. From owning racehorses to winning multiple iGaming awards he uses his experience to research the bookmaker's best free bets and try to help punters get the highest sign up offers.