• Money Game Equities

			13/10(2) 6/3(2)	- 0.164
			W: 46.4%    WG: 10.7%    LG: 15.9%   CL: - 0.128    CF: - 0.164
			13/10(2) 9/3	- 0.226 ( -0.062)
			W: 45.3%    WG:   9.2%    LG: 16.9%   CL: - 0.174    CF: - 0.226
			8/5(2) 6/3(2)	- 0.230 ( -0.066)
			W: 44.7%    WG: 11.3%    LG: 15.9%   CL: - 0.156    CF: - 0.230
			23/20 9/6 6/3(2)	- 0.251 ( -0.087)
			W: 44.2%    WG:   8.8%    LG: 14.8%   CL: - 0.179    CF: - 0.251
			23/20 13/10(2) 9/6	- 0.256 ( -0.092)
			W: 44.5%    WG:   8.8%    LG: 16.2%   CL: - 0.186    CF: - 0.256
			24/21 9/6 6/3(2)	- 0.282 ( -0.118)
			W: 43.8%    WG:   8.5%    LG: 14.8%   CL: - 0.191    CF: - 0.282
			24/21 13/10(2) 9/6	- 0.283 ( -0.119)
			W: 43.5%    WG:   8.4%    LG: 16.0%   CL: - 0.210    CF: - 0.283
			9/6 8/5(3)	- 0.346 ( -0.182)
			W: 42.1%    WG:   8.6%    LG: 15.3%   CL: - 0.227    CF: - 0.346

            Play: 0-ply/expert, Cube: 2-ply/world class, pruned, Full, 1296 games

13/10(2) 6/3(2) may look clear, but the play is not that obvious to me.  This is more difficult a problem than one may think or the rollout shows and it should be worth considering pros and cons of this play. The 10-point is a valuable blocking point, but the problem with this play is that rest of Blue's 3's are not smooth to play. Lifting the blot with 9/6 combined with 23/20 and burrying a checker behind White's anchor with 9/3 both look pretty awkward. 6/3(2) is natural, but that does leave a direct shot.  Also it looks like Blue should try an advanced anchor vs. White's advanced anchor. Making the 10-point strips the mid-point and leaves Blue with somewhat inflexible position.  The race is almost even after this play, so White is not likely to be running off the anchor in a rush.  White's game plan will be to sit on the position, building new offensive points for a mutual holding game if Blue makes an anchor. On the other hand, Blues's game plan will be to keep flexible, using those two spares on the mid-point to swallow bad rolls. Blue will try to make an advanced anchor, escape a back checker, or build some more inner-board points. In order to achieve these goals, Blue will need plenty of flexibility.  Having two of his outfield checkers committed to being pinned down on the 10-point won't achieve this flexibility. If Blue chooses not to make the 10-point, 9/6 6/3(2) looks most natural.  This safeties the blot, makes an inner-board point, unstacking the heavy 6-point.  For the fourth 3, 23/20, going after the best anchor looks right. This should be better than 24/21, not only because it goes for a better anchor but also because 6's are not blocked.  In addition, 23/20 keeps Blue's rear-most checker as far back as possible, leaving Blue more coverage of White's inner-board with less vulnerability to being blitzed. Making two inner-board points with 8/5(2) 6/3(2) is possible, but it leaves four blots strewn around the board. Despite these arguments against making the 10-point, it may still be the best play.  The deciding factor for me is that Blue's backmen are already split, and I don't like unnecessary re-splitting of backmen early in the game.  An advanced anchor would be nice, but there seem to be better things Blue can do with this fine roll. Blue can use the 10-point to block White's 6's.  6/3(2) may give Blue an advantage for a possible upcoming blot hitting contest. Leaving the blot on the 9-point may not be too costly (from an optimistic point of view) because White's 5's are somewhat duplicated and most other hits cost White his anchor, leaving Blue plenty of return shots while Blue has a better board after 6/3(2). [022105/ Build: 0.14]