My play Bar/22 24/21 8/5(2) is pretty far down on the list. Why is this play so bad and why is the correct play the right one?

8/5(2) abandons your 8 point. 6/3(2) is better because it unstacks a heavy point without losing a point.

I'd probably play B/22 24/21 6/3(2).

Yes, but isn't the 5-point much more important to have than the 8-point? In almost every case, abandoning the 8-point in favor of the 5-point is almost automatic.

B/22 24/21 8/5(2) would definitely have been my play too...

It am also very interested as to why 8/5(2) is not the #1 choice.

The reason why Bar/22 24/21 8/5(2) is wrong is simple: not only you give up your valuable 8 point but mainly because you are too much scattered: 4 blots are too much a high price to make the 5 point.

As usual in BG you have to balance, expecially when you are playing doubles.

In game I'd play B/22 6/3(2) 24/21 pretty much with same reasoning as Aaron (underlining the fact that 24/21 put pressure on black's blot) but it's very close with B/22 8/3(3).

The latter balances two thing: the 5 point is way more valuable than the 3 point but the drawback is that you remain too much stacked, you give up the eight point and, as human, it's a little harder to play the game from that position than with B/22 6/3(2) 24/21.

Maybe a bot will prefer B/22 8/3(3), but the other play it's fine as well.

In summary: In general don't make plays that scatters too much men over the board.

Guess you meant B/22 8/5 (3).

Yes, B/22 8/5(3)

The 5 point is more valuable than the 8 point, but abandoning the 8 point in favor of the 5 point is not almost automatic.

In order to make the 5 point, you had to give up the 8 point. But you can make the 3 point at no cost. Why trade assets when you can simply add new assets?

You're simply giving up too much to make the 5 point relative to other positive things you can do that don't require you to give up anything at all.