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Stick vs Gus #1

Posted By: Chase
Date: Thursday, 8 April 2010, at 4:57 p.m.

In Response To: Stick vs Gus #1 (Petter Bengtsson)

It's not practical, for me anyway, to do a 1-ply look ahead very often over the board. I will if I have a strong sense that general principles might not apply, like in a delicate bear-off. Other times I'll "spot check" a few numbers to look for problems rather than go through each roll. This position didn't set off any alarms for me and I'd have played the inferior 11/6 8/7 over the board.

So, the challenge, I guess, is to train ourselves to identify features of a position which should set off alarms. A couple of possibilities: 1) Putting a spare on the 6pt leaves 2s to hit. Those 2s are duplicated, however, by several X2 rolls that pick-n-pass. 2) 6s aren't great numbers for White. After 11/7 8/6, they get worse. Moving off the 11pt uses up one extemporizing 6. And advancing from the 8 to the 7 point robs White of the profitable 8/2, which could be combined with a loose hit to get something going or simply used to set the stage for an attack next turn.

If I'd spotted either of these things, it might have prompted me to slow down and take a deeper look. One of areas where I need to improve is to be constantly scanning both sides for numbers that do and don't play well. It's a habit more than a skill, and a little vigilance can prevent costly missteps.

Messages In This Thread

• Stick vs Gus #1
  Petter Bengtsson -- Tuesday, 6 April 2010, at 11:45 a.m.
  • Stick vs Gus #1
    garyo -- Tuesday, 6 April 2010, at 12:12 p.m.
  • Stick vs Gus #1
    Stein Kulseth -- Tuesday, 6 April 2010, at 1:26 p.m.
  • Stick vs Gus #1
    Chase -- Tuesday, 6 April 2010, at 2:27 p.m.
  • Stick vs Gus #1
    Stick -- Tuesday, 6 April 2010, at 10:09 p.m.
  • Stick vs Gus #1
    Petter Bengtsson -- Thursday, 8 April 2010, at 12:02 p.m.
    • Stick vs Gus #1
      Chase -- Thursday, 8 April 2010, at 4:57 p.m.