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BQ: Run from the bar, safety the blot, or something else?

Posted By: Daniel Murphy
Date: Saturday, 23 July 2011, at 2:55 a.m.

In Response To: BQ: Run from the bar, safety the blot, or something else? (leobueno)

Just play two checkers from the 6 point, giving yourself a chance or two to roll one of the good doublets (2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 6-6) or one of the other sixes (6-4, 6-3, 6-2) that won't make you opponent a favorite to hit you. You're 13 pips up after the roll, so you can afford a little race waste (partly countered by speeding your bearoff a bit by getting rid of that stack on your six point), and you surely don't want to find yourself on the bar against a 4 point board 61% of the time if you play 18/12. 18/14 18/12 leaves one more hit, a killer 3-3, and two blots (gammons count!) so it's probably worse even if it gives you a better chance of clearing if not hit.

Maybe you played 6/4 5/1 or 6/2 5/3, thinking you're saving an extra 5 or 4 to play. But I'm not sure there are any rolls where it will save you much at all. For instance, if after 6/4 6/2 you roll 4-1, I'd just play 6/5 6/2. In positions where you have little to do but wait for a good clearing number, you often don't want to go overboard saving every possible number. You still have to think about your bearoff. Here, mostly for the bearoff, you don't want 3 checkers on the 6 point and an open 5 point. And keeping the 5 point slotted now will also let you remake a 5 point board more often, which might prove useful, if only in a handful of sequences.

Messages In This Thread

• BQ: Run from the bar, safety the blot, or something else?
  leobueno -- Friday, 22 July 2011, at 10:13 p.m.
  • BQ: Run from the bar, safety the blot, or something else?
    Daniel Murphy -- Saturday, 23 July 2011, at 2:55 a.m.
    • BQ: Run from the bar, safety the blot, or something else?
      leobueno -- Wednesday, 27 July 2011, at 12:58 a.m.