Take the Race Against Skillful Opponents

In the course of many backgammon games, a point arises where a strategy decision must be made by a player to either try and race his checkers home, or keep them back in an attempt to eventually hit an opponent. Just like poker and other skill games, the correct backgammon play in these spots can depend on the skill level of your opponent. While there are always numerous factors to consider, it is generally better to look for a race against better opponents and play a more complex hitting, priming or defensive game against poor players.

The decisions on where to move checkers in a pure race situation are usually played equally well by both participants because the moves have only one obvious and straightforward goal of getting home and bearing off. A game of priming and hitting can be in constant turmoil with each move having drastic implications on the next roll. These games are usually won by the more knowledgeable player capable of correctly attacking, making anchors, priming points and establishing better checker distribution.

It is much less likely that you will actually hit an opponent that can properly maneuver his checkers home rather than a poor opponent not considering his future rolls. In many cases being a slight underdog in a race against a better player is still better than being a underdog to hit and prime that opponents blot. If you face a weak player that will give up extra rolls to hit their checkers at later stages in the game, you might want to take advantage of this poor play (sometimes accompanied with extra gammon chances) by holding some checkers back and waiting for a shot.

While a dynamic play including blitzing, priming and blocking makes what is considered the most interesting and fun games among experts, it's important not to take it too far and forgo an easy race given to you. Remember that at the beginning of games, the pip count has little value in your decisions however as the action proceeds into the middle and late stages, players should always be aware of who is winning the race so they can correctly determine and when it's time to simply run for home rather than hitting, making anchors or home board points.