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BQ: Why risk the bar point hit?

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Tuesday, 12 April 2011, at 12:18 a.m.

In Response To: BQ: Why risk the bar point hit? (leobueno)

The key benefit of 7/5 6/5 is that it makes a five-point board. This improves your position tremendously. After either 7/5 6/5 or 6/3, if your opponent escapes a back checker, you're in a lot of trouble regardless of whether he hits you on the way out. Your chances of a comeback will be enormously better with a five-point board than with a four-point board with a gap on the 5pt. With a five-point board, if you hit a shot it will usually be a total crusher, but with a gap on your 5pt, your opponent has a 1/3 chance of entering on your 5pt, seriously defusing if not completing negating the power of your hit. Furthermore, being hit on your way out isn't necessarily a disaster. You're both on the verge of collapsing so you'd be happy to see your opponent collapse while you dance.

On the other side of the coin, if your opponent doesn't escape a back checker then you're also glad you filled in your 5pt. There's still going to be contact and all the above points in favor of the 5pt still apply; in addition, the gap on the 5pt creates future shot jeopardy, and you're likely to have to break another point immediately, whereas after 7/5 6/5 you have some chance of being able to hold your five-prime for a roll even if you don't get your joker hit on the other side of the board.

Messages In This Thread

• BQ: Why risk the bar point hit?
  leobueno -- Monday, 11 April 2011, at 9:11 p.m.
  • BQ: Why risk the bar point hit?
    Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 12 April 2011, at 12:18 a.m.
  • BQ: Why risk the bar point hit?
    Daniel Murphy -- Tuesday, 12 April 2011, at 2:28 a.m.
  • BQ: Why risk the bar point hit?
    Turz -- Tuesday, 12 April 2011, at 7:55 a.m.