I'm not sure of the theory behind positions such as this. As in, what to look for, why, and what I'm trying to accomplish. All i know is that when gnu gets me trapped like this behind a 6 prime, I eventually end up having to enter on his one point and he slaughters me with gammons.

So, first game of a match I get a good position obv. Of note, I (black) am down in the pip count, 105-56. I roll 33 and think the obvious move is 9/3*(2).



gnu gives a few other moves it considers on par with that:

14/5 6/3*
14/11 9/3* 6/3
14/11 7/1 6/3*

Why, what's the reasoning behind those moves?
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I play 9/3*(2), he dances(?!? correct term?), then I roll 32. What's the play and what am I trying to accomplish over the next few rolls.

I would slot 7/2 my goal being to close him out. If I get hit, so what? I have a full prime and getting hit could even work in my favour, giving me some shots on any blots he is forced to leave in his inner board. If hit I just bring my checkers back around and try again until I succeed.

As for your first question, because you have a full prime it doesn't really matter much what you do, as long as you don't do anything obviously stupid. E.g 14/5 6/3* brings down a builder and slots the 3pt, 14/11 9/3* 6/3 makes the 3pt and brings your last checker closer to home. The equity difference between all these moves is very small. That said 9/3(2) is still the best move.

The basic idea when your opponent has only one checker back (and therefore can't make an anchor) is "slot and cover". So with a 3-2 you play 7/2, slotting the 2-point.

Suppose White then dances. Now you cover the blot if you roll a 6 or a 4, keeping your full prime in place. Then you slot the 1-point, and eventually cover that. After you've closed your home board, you try to bring in your last three checkers to a good bearoff position. (The 6, 5, and 4-points are ideal, as are the 6-5-3 points. Other arrangements are less efficient.) Then bear off your checkers and win easily!

Some complicated decisions can arise along the way. Here's a sample:

If your opponent has a blot in his board (as here) he has some bad entering numbers. In this position, after you play 7/2, his bad numbers are 2-6 and 2-5, which hit and give you a shot to pick up a second checker. Picking up that checker is huge. If you hit two checkers and close them both out, you're about 40% to win a gammon, versus only about 5% if you close out one checker.

Depending on the position, if White dances you might decide not to close the 2-point but to leave the blot there, giving White another chance to roll 2-5 or 2-6.

You pretty much never break your 6-prime, even if you can get extra chances to hit a second checker by doing so. There are some rare positions where it's correct, but they're very rare and it's never correct by much.

If you hit a second checker but White anchors on your 1-point or 2-point, things get complicated again. You may decide to break your 6-prime to give White a chance to run off his new anchor. You only do this when you think there's a very high chance you'll eventually close out both his checkers. White's home board needs to be very weak and your spare checkers need to be in optimal positions.

thanks guys for the quick responses. I sort of understand the second position with the 32 and I slotted the 2 point in game.

What about position one and playing the 33?

Your play of the 33 is fine. The other plays are attempts to get more shots at the blot on the 20-point by delaying the cover on the 3-point. These are OK too but run some risk of subsequently rolling an awkward non-covering number (44 and 55 are the usual problem numbers) and breaking the 6-prime. Over the board I would have made your play.

In a match to 5 rolling 3-3 I'm going to prefer 14-11, 7-1, 6-3* for the increased gammon chances. In a cash game it's 9-3(2) and see if there's a correct double available when the pure race begins. If I'm forced to break the prime, I may also have caught up in the race to where the cube comes back into play. If I believe I'm not as good as my opponent, I would prefer to be in a position to fall back on a correct double which is also a correct take.

OP with your subsequent 3-2 in this match, I would slot the two point, and give extra chances (if practical) for white to hit a blot behind your full prime, should white fail to come in once again. You didn't say how many points win the match, but I would still be looking to increase the gammon possibilities here.