Position 344

 How should White play 43 here?

You have two simple choices here, the safe play or the slotting play.

If you are going to play safe you should play 15/8:

This picks up one of your two most rear checkers and puts it on a point, lowering your blot count to two.

A lot of players ask themselves “do I need to make my 5 point to win?” The answer is no, you do not need your 5 point to win and in fact you will win more often with this play than the slotting play. This move is the DMP play that you make when you just want to win.

But consider the slotting play of 15/11 8/5:

This play wins 3% less games but wins 13% more Gammons. In an unlimited game or at a normal match score, those extra Gammons make it well worth making this play.

In an unlimited game you have to win at least twice the extra number of Gammons than the games that you are giving up. Here this means that if you are giving up 3% of games won, then you have to win at least 6% extra Gammons to make it a good trade.

So, when you are considering the merits of the safe or bold play, remember to factor in the extra gammon wins or gammon losses into your analysis.



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