Modifying strategy after making the ace point early?
Kit Woolsey
NYCGuy (nyc...@NOTworldnet.att.net) wrote:
: Say you tried an early blitz, with 55 perhaps. You've made your ace, but
: things went badly. Your opponent entered and you got slugged in your
: outer board. Generally speaking (since I don't have a position to show),
: how detrimental to your game would it be to try a back game. Losing 2
: checkers hurts your timing for sure, but are there any other mitigating
: factors that might cause you to avoid a backgame (even if timing was decent
: for you) just because you've made your ace?
: What considerations, if any, would having made the ace early play in
: different types of games (back/holding, etc.) and how would one want to
: adjust their strategy, assuming the dice provide the options to do so?
: You're essentially playing with 13 checkers to your opponent's 15.
To put it very simply, having made the ace point is AWFUL for back games,
deep anchor games, and priming battles. For holding games it isn't much
of a detriment, and can often turn out to be an advantage when somebody
makes a move home and the blot hitting starts. So when your blitz is
clearly deteriorating, make sure that you salvage an advanced anchor out
of the wreckage or you will likely wind up with a cube in your face you
won't be able to take.
Kit
Daniel Murphy
nyc...@NOTworldnet.att.net (NYCGuy) writes:
>Say you tried an early blitz, with 55 perhaps. You've made your ace, but
>things went badly. Your opponent entered and you got slugged in your
>outer board. Generally speaking (since I don't have a position to show),
>how detrimental to your game would it be to try a back game. Losing 2
>checkers hurts your timing for sure, but are there any other mitigating
>factors that might cause you to avoid a backgame (even if timing was decent
>for you) just because you've made your ace?
Once you've made your own ace point, it is almost always hopeless to later
try to develop a back game. Timing will hardly ever be good with those 2
checkers on the ace all rested up and no place to go. But it's not just
timing that having made the ace affects; your flexibility also suffers.
With every roll you have to move 1 or more of the other 13 checkers you
still have to play with, which makes it difficult to hold a position or
force your opponent to make difficult choices. Combined with timing that
is tenuous at best, your chances to hold 2 back points long enough to hit
a winning shot are slim. Additionally, with the ace point made, you're
not likely to be able to build a board that contains any blot you hit, and
even less likely to ever be able to force your opponent to leave a second
blot for you.
I believe that many sequences that include O: split, X: 55: O: fan, X:
double are takable. Others are close passes. Since much of X's equity
will consist of gammons, O's winning chances may not be so bad. Be
prepared to give up if your blitz fails and it looks like you'll be forced
to play a deep anchor holding game (on the 24, 23 or 22) yourself.
If your blitz fails, your best chance will often be a mutual advanced game
with you having the worst of the timing. Keep in mind that you will have
a 3 or 4 point board, so hitting an outfield blot may tie up your opponent
long enough to let you scramble home. But if that doesn't happen I'd try
very hard to make an advanced anchor on the 20, 18 or 21. I'd try to keep
my other checkers in play (in front of my opponent and flexible). Getting
a third or even fourth checker hit may be advantageous to you, helping
your timing and allowing you to keep your anchor longer. Unless your
prayers to the dice trolls for big, playable doubles are answered, it's
*not* good to be well up in the race if that means being forced off your
anchor and getting pounded. Often, since you started the game by building
a racing lead, you'll be able to afford to be hit repeatedly without
falling too far behind.
--
_______________________________________________________
Daniel Murphy | San Francisco | rac...@cityraccoon.com
Monthly tourneys in San Mateo: See www.gammon.com/bgbb/ for details
and some excellently annotated matches. On-line: telnet fibs.com 4321.
tony pascuzzi
In article <334b6d53...@netnews2.worldnet.att.net>, nyc...@NOTworldnet.att.net (NYCGuy) says:
>
>Say you tried an early blitz, with 55 perhaps. You've made your ace, but
>things went badly. Your opponent entered and you got slugged in your
>outer board. Generally speaking (since I don't have a position to show),
>how detrimental to your game would it be to try a back game. Losing 2
>checkers hurts your timing for sure, but are there any other mitigating
>factors that might cause you to avoid a backgame (even if timing was decent
>for you) just because you've made your ace?
>different types of games (back/holding, etc.) and how would one want to
>adjust their strategy, assuming the dice provide the options to do so?
>You're essentially playing with 13 checkers to your opponent's 15.
>Marty (to reply via email, remove "NOT" from address)
>
>"In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the
>modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those
>things which happen from time to time." -- Edward P. Tryon
>
I notice that often in failed blitzes, when an ace-point has been, the
blitzing player does not change strategies in an appropriate fashion.
This is often psychlogical. One minute you are trying to blast the opponent
off the board, the next you are having to deal with an advanced anchor.
In many positions of this nature, assuming the dice dictate, the best
strategy is simply to run and/or split the back checkers. The points made
(ace-point or not) make a mutual blot hitting contest favourable to the
player with the most points made.
In my humble opinion, after a failed blitz run for the hills.
Dean Gay
On Mon, 07 Apr 1997 22:08:16 GMT, nyc...@NOTworldnet.att.net (NYCGuy)
wrote:
>Say you tried an early blitz, with 55 perhaps. You've made your ace, but
>things went badly. Your opponent entered and you got slugged in your
>outer board. Generally speaking (since I don't have a position to show),
>how detrimental to your game would it be to try a back game. Losing 2
>checkers hurts your timing for sure, but are there any other mitigating
>factors that might cause you to avoid a backgame (even if timing was decent
>for you) just because you've made your ace?
>What considerations, if any, would having made the ace early play in
>different types of games (back/holding, etc.) and how would one want to
>adjust their strategy, assuming the dice provide the options to do so?
>You're essentially playing with 13 checkers to your opponent's 15.
>--
>Marty (to reply via email, remove "NOT" from address)
>
>"In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the
>modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those
>things which happen from time to time." -- Edward P. Tryon
>
I'm far from being the person to ask for bg advice, but for what it's
worth, I think going for a back game here would be questionalbe. Two
of the key elements to a successful backgame are good timing and being
able to contain a hit checker. If you've rolled double 5s, I would
think you've got some work to do in the timing department. And with
your one point made, it's going to be real tough to create any type of
a prime to contain a hit checker. Also, a failed backgame often ends
in a gammon. I think a better course would be to start locking up key
points, continue building a your board (you already hold 3 points),
and trying to establish some sort of defensive anchor. I've found
that a failed blitz can be disasterous, but if you are able to
reestablish the blitz or get into a running game you still have
reasonable chances.
Dean
tapio
rac...@best.com (Daniel Murphy) writes: > nyc...@NOTworldnet.att.net (NYCGuy) writes:
>
> >Say you tried an early blitz, with 55 perhaps. You've made your ace, but
> >things went badly. Your opponent entered and you got slugged in your
> >outer board. Generally speaking (since I don't have a position to show),
> >how detrimental to your game would it be to try a back game. Losing 2
> >checkers hurts your timing for sure, but are there any other mitigating
> >factors that might cause you to avoid a backgame (even if timing was decent
> >for you) just because you've made your ace?
>
uh , had to use big sums of money to learn this , and now you ....
hmm , to be serious , usually those games end very soon either way
with cube .
but , if you fallen to that trap ( :) ) you have to be very careful
when playing for win . you have to play so , that it is either too
good or too bad for your opponent to cube you out .
if he is not alert all the time , you can take some advantage of the
bad ( so called ) situation .
also you can expect to drop or to take , but you gotta know for sure
what you are planning or aiming to .if not , you gonna lose much more
often than win .
but , if you have solid plans ( many ) and all they fail , be glad to
start a brand new game .so you had good plans , they didn't work out ,
so what ?
the more good plans and variations you have , the more sure you gonna
win in the long run . and that what counts !
....and remember : laugh , laugh and laugh , no matter whatever
happens , because only if you got a very good sense of humour , you can
be a big winner at the end :)
the others may win a tournament or two , but you win at the end ,
because you have learned to laugh for bad situations as those bad things
do happen all the time .
...and there we have a winner !!!!
may the luck be on your side :)
tapio
ps.confused ? good ! let's play !