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From Backgammon, the Cruelest Game, by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw
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| White to play 3-1. |
Many players would enter black’s board on the 1 point and use the 3 to save the man on their 9 or 7 point by bringing it in to their inner board. But the move accomplishes nothing and still leaves white dangerously exposed.
The correct play is to enter black’s board on the 3 point and to hit the blot on white’s 5 point by moving one man from white’s 6 point to his 5 point, leaving two blots in his board. Once again, there is nothing particularly bold in this play; indeed, not to make it is certain suicide.
When white can reduce his chance of being an almost certain loser to being only a 5 to 4 underdog, he is not being bold. But due to the unnaturalness of this tactic, most players would not consider it. However, the play puts black on the bar, and if he does not throw a 5 or a 6 on his next roll, white will have strong double-game possibilities. If black were not hit, he would have complete freedom of movement to assault white’s numerous blots and would almost certainly win a double game himself.
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Rollout
 Tom Keith 2013 |
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Money play Centered cube White rolls 3-1 1296 games with VR Checker play: 3-ply Cube play: XG Roller |
| 3-1: | Game | G | BG | Equity | ||||
| 1 | bar/22, 6/5* |
W L |
.3989 .6011 |
.3098 .3185 |
.0068 .0718 | −0.4396 |
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| 2 | bar/22, 7/6 |
W L |
.2147 .7853 |
.0967 .2496 |
.0039 .0206 | −1.0000 | (0.5604) | |
| 3 | bar/24, 9/6 |
W L |
.1872 .8128 |
.0785 .2679 |
.0017 .0184 | −1.0000 | (0.5604) | Not |
| 4 | bar/22, 11/10 |
W L |
.1739 .8261 |
.0697 .3165 |
.0098 .0327 | −1.0000 | (0.5604) |
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