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Ugly bearoff races

Posted By: Keene
Date: Wednesday, 30 May 2007, at 10:14 p.m.

In Response To: Ugly bearoff races (DC-Ohio)

I am in a similar boat, but I have some ideas - not sure how close to correct they are though:

1. The 4pt, put them there - thats an average die roll, so you will naturally be able to unstack the 4pt more quickly than the 5 or 6.

2. Slot open points, but not necessarily if that means that you are breaking the 3pt to slot the deuce or ace.

3. Try and keep your 5 and 6 pts roughly even as you unstack them, obviously preferring a larger stack on the 5 if possible.

4. Look at what rolls you need to get as you get closer to completing bearoff (i.e. is a 55 taking off 1,2,3 or 4 checkers? What does 44 do? 66 is always great). Maximize your doubles if you need them.

5. Most efficient bearoff is 753. Best distribution is 333222. Work between these formations.

6. Put yourself in positions where you are more likely to be able to rip 2 checkers. A checker lead is always excellent, especially when the cube comes into play.

7. Remember that you want to 'get even' on your checker count.

8. When in doubt Rip Two.

9. Pay more attention when you get down to 8,6,4 checkers. It is easy to misplay those. Dont forget the doubles.

So, this is what I personally use, and not specifically in that order either. I am sure there are more caveats and ideas, but this has served me well enough. I realize that these are fairly vague concepts and suggestions, but the more ugly bearoffs, the more familiar you get with what you need to achieve to win.

Finally, take the time to study the bearoffs - rollouts are very quick to do at this stage in the game, and very worthwhile. It can be harder to blunder a bearoff, but much easier to make many smaller mistakes which can hurt in the long run.

By no means am I a bearoff expert, but I do know how I like to see my checkers spread out, and by generating more good rolls (i.e. making sure your sets work well), you can sometimes get that extra piece of 'luck' that you need.

Keene

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