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From Backgammon for Blood, by Bruce Becker
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| White to play 2-2. |
For this throw, there are two alternatives I like very much. When you get this throw, play a few games each way and see how you feel. The first is to move two men from the W6 point to W4 and two men from B12 to W11. The second is to move two men from B12 to W9.
The first alternative has these advantages: it utilizes two men from the heavy W6 point to make another important point, and it also brings two men down to your outer board where, in addition to giving you a valuable point from which to build, they exert an additional pressure on your opponent when he tries to run from your inner board. However, the W11 point is two points too far from the W4 point to be of value in a potential side prime, and so it is only of temporary value.
The second alternative has the advantage of making a point that is of both immediate and continuing value; this point is important enough to hold until you start closing up your inner board. Also, in terms of forward progress, it fully utilizes the throw, which the first alternative does not.
I play this throw both ways, depending on my opponent. If he is a cautious player and does not give me much opportunity to hit him. I am not as concerned about closing the W4 door too early. If he is a more open player and takes chances more freely, I then make the point. In doing so, when I hit him I have reduced the chances of his getting in on his first throw from 31 to 1 to 8 to 1, a very substantial drop.
I have also seen 24/20(2) used for the 2-2 throw. I don’t like this at all. The value of holding the B1 point to keep open your option to go into a back game has already been discussed; further, if you make this move you have not increased the pressure on your opponent’s men in your inner board. Forget this alternative; play this throw either of the other two ways.
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Rollout
 Tom Keith 2013 |
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Money play Centered cube White rolls 2-2 1296 games with VR Checker play: 3-ply Cube play: XG Roller |
| 2-2: | Game | G | BG | Equity | ||||
| 1 | 13/11(2), 6/4(2) |
W L |
.5858 .4142 |
.1891 .1127 |
.0102 .0050 | +0.3798 |
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| 2 | 24/22(2), 6/4(2) |
W L |
.5715 .4285 |
.1648 .0937 |
.0072 .0038 | +0.3232 | (0.0566) | |
| 3 | 24/22, 13/11, 6/4(2) |
W L |
.5696 .4304 |
.1778 .1125 |
.0089 .0049 | +0.3190 | (0.0608) | |
| 4 | 13/9, 6/4(2) |
W L |
.5651 .4349 |
.1840 .1166 |
.0085 .0055 | +0.2925 | (0.0873) | |
| 5 | 24/20(2) |
W L |
.5573 .4427 |
.1274 .0751 |
.0045 .0027 | +0.2589 | (0.1209) | Alt |
| 6 | 13/9(2) |
W L |
.5290 .4710 |
.1638 .1284 |
.0089 .0060 | +0.1408 | (0.2390) |
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