Money game.


Bob

I got that.     Does that mean it's a 1 point match?     Forgive me for being so dumb.   

socksey



"Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West gas said, “We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house.� - from an article in the UK’s The Daily Telegraph

In money play, each game stands by itself. Winning one game might be worth 1 point, winning the next might be worth 16. Unlike match play theres no fixed ending point, ie a match to 7. In money play you generally continue until one player quits, might be 1 hour, might be 10.

Bob

In that case I would play 19/13.     I never take unnecessary chances with money.   

socksey



"The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous." - Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf

This problem is interesting because the best play is completely counter-intuitive. This position occurred 25 years ago during a chouette. I was in the box, holding a 2 cube, vs 4 opponents. Things didn't look very promising at all.

In money play you always want to be alert to opportunities to gammon your opponent and double your winnings. The best gammon opportunity here is hitting the blot on the 1 point, getting hit, then picking up another blot. The question is what's the best way to extract maximum juice from the position.

In this case the best play is breaking the inner board, hitting loose on the 1 point, leaving 2 blots.
This is completely counter-intuitive, but think about it. If you WANT TO GET HIT, arent your chances better if you leave 2 blots vs 1 ?
Another nasty aspect to this play that hasn't been discussed is what happens when opponent rolls 1-3 or 2-3 from the bar. Now you have 3 blots to fire at instead of 2.

In the actual game the team captain played 7-1, hitting. I responded with 1-6, entering, exiting and hitting 2 of their blots. They fanned with 4-4. I rolled 2-2, cleaning up. They fanned with 2-2. I redoubled, they took. I rolled 5-5 hitting their other blot, they fanned with 2-2 and went on to get gammoned...........a dice sequence worthy of FIBS.

If they'd made the other play, there was no roll that allowed me to enter and exit while hitting 2 blots. What's the best roll is after the loose hit, 1-1, 2-2 or 2-6 ?

How would you play the position in a match; at DMP ? At gammon-save ? at gammon-go ?

The important lesson is to discipline yourself to see an opportunity when it presents itself. Sometimes the uglier play is the best.


Bob