You don't make the 5-pt... but you don't hit on the 1-pt neither!

You now double hit with 21/17*/14*!! Even if White anchors on the ace, you really don't mind because with 4 men stuck on the 1-pt, it's the highway to gammon land!

Grunch.

There is an awful bunch of possibilities. To see the trees inside the wood, I will look after the tasks to complete.

1. Driving the runners at home.
2. Fighting for another point in the ballroom. Look for possibilities to make a closeout.
3. Exploit, if possible, more gammons.
4. Avoiding an accident on the way to the bank.

"Mortgage your house". "Middling play". Another word that helps to overrule my pure chess orientated view.

If you go for a close out, you will make every point. Here, if you can make the ace, it will be fine, because the chance is higher, to reduce White to an anti-bar bear off. And a well timed ace-point game with possession of the cube will be annoying. But all your men have to be close to home, if White can manage to anchor on 5, than it has to be at minimum a holding game, our stragglers at home. More men in the ballroom will be fine, that buys more gammons and win time. But now we have also only one man left in the zone. The best place on the line of scrimmage is the bar point. It is an attacker, but also a slotted point of value. I can not see a better six to play. Then there is the four. 1984 i would have played 13/9. But looking at the tasks, i hesitate. After pondering it, finally i hit on 17, which works for most of the tasks. In addition, this rips away a man from the offense, who could have come to work, if things went bad.

I am not sure, but 13/7, 21/17* for me.

Grunchamentarianism....

I always like putting that 3rd and 4th man on the bar while I have the chance.

Here though, I think we need to gang up on that 5 point/bar point to keep some flexibility. If he enters on the 5 we can blitz and if he enters on the 1 we can prime.

13-7/13-9.

13/7 13/9, closing the 5-point has priority

I play 24/18 and 21/17*. Hitting the 3rd checker on the bar is instantly mandatory to me and I want maximum power to hit the last one also and escape the last checker as fast as I can. I realize now after reading the thread that 13/7 might do more for me, but I still like the hyper aggressive 24/18 so thats my(usually overaggressive) play.

I would make the 5-point. Why concern myself with the one point, or a blot on the one , this game hinges on the five point. Worst case scenario, you are bearing off against a one point later.

unless there are more than 4 pieces on the bar white is all in with the right double, thats why i dont get adding another piece.
Or lets say a thunder cloud appears and the thunder god says to white i have good news and bad news. The good news is on your next roll you get the 1 point or the 5 point,
no double you just get one of those points with the 2 men on the bar. The bad news is black chooses which point. which point do you chose? i give white the 5

Not sure I understand this. By giving White his 5, don't you just lower your gammon chances substantially?