Shanghai: Darts' Flashiest Instant Win
Round 5, forty points behind, and your first two darts are already buried in the 5 — one in the fat single, one snug in the treble. Only the double's left, and if this last dart finds it, the scoreboard stops mattering.
That's the shanghai. It's one of the few moments in darts where a single visit can erase everything the chalk says.
What counts as a shanghai
A shanghai is hitting the single, double, and treble of the same number with your three darts in one visit. Order doesn't matter — single, treble, double counts exactly the same as treble, single, double.
The math is tidy: single plus double plus treble is always six times the number. On the 20 that's 120; on the 1 it's a princely 6, but in the right game it still wins.
Where the instant win comes from
The instant win belongs to the game called Shanghai, not to standard 501. In Shanghai the game, everyone works through the numbers in order — round one throws at 1s, round two at 2s, and so on.
Normally the highest total at the end takes it. But land a shanghai on the round's number and you win on the spot, no matter how far behind you are.
That one rule is the whole engine of the game. A player trailing by fifty on round 7 is one perfect visit from stealing everything.
Why the rule exists
Shanghai is a pub and family game, and the instant win keeps every player dangerous until the last round. It rewards one flash of precision over slow accumulation.
- 15 darts in one jar means plenty of spares for group play
- Anodized aluminum shafts with locking holes stay tighter than plastic rods
- Comes with extra flights, rubber O-rings, and a sharpener to keep points game-ready
It also forces a real decision every visit. Do you bank safe singles for points, or gun for treble and double and risk missing the number entirely?
Shanghai outside the game
Commentators borrow the word for any single-double-treble visit on one number, even in a 501 match where it earns no bonus. There it's a compliment, not a rule.
It also works as a finish. A shanghai on the 20 checks out 120 exactly — treble 20, single 20, double 20 — and the last dart landing in a double makes it a legal, crowd-pleasing way to close a leg.
Totting it up is easy once you know how darts scoring works: every segment counts its face value, doubled or trebled by the ring it sits in.
How to throw for one
Chasing a shanghai on purpose means working one number's full height. Most players take the treble first, while the arm is fresh.
- Dart 1: treble. Get the hardest target out of the way early.
- Dart 2: single. The big single bed is the forgiving part of the visit.
- Dart 3: double. Finish on the thin outer ring with everything riding on it.
If dart one slips into the single instead, flip the plan — now you need treble and double with two darts. That's brutal, which is exactly why shanghais stay rare.
Does a shanghai win in 501?
No. In 501 it's just 120 scored (on the 20s), and the leg still ends on a double-out finish as usual.
Does the order of the three darts matter?
No. Any order of single, double, and treble on the same number counts.
Why is it called a shanghai?
Honestly, nobody knows for sure. The name is old darts slang with several folk etymologies, none of them verified.
Shanghai ranks among the best-loved casual games at any board — worth comparing against the most popular dart games if you're building a pub-night rotation.
Next time round 20 comes up in Shanghai, throw at the treble first — the instant win is worth the gamble.