Reading the notation
Moves are written from/to counted from your own perspective —
8/5 6/5 means one checker from the 8-point to the 5-point and one from the
6-point to the 5-point, together making the 5-point. Your back checkers start on
the 24-point; the midpoint is 13.
The table
| Roll | Best play (modern consensus) | The idea |
|---|---|---|
| 3-1 | 8/5 6/5 — make the 5-point | The single best opening roll. Claim the golden point immediately. |
| 6-1 | 13/7 8/7 — make the bar point | Second-best opening. A made 7-point blocks escaping sixes. |
| 4-2 | 8/4 6/4 — make the 4-point | A strong home-board point with no blot left behind. |
| 5-3 | 8/3 6/3 — make the 3-point | Deep but real: a made point and a stronger board. |
| 6-5 | 24/13 — the lover’s leap | Run a back checker safely all the way to the midpoint. |
| 5-4 | 24/20 13/8 — split and build | Grab at the golden anchor while bringing a builder down. |
| 6-4 | 24/18 13/9 (or 8/2 6/2) | Bots prefer the split-and-build; “make the 2-point” is the older book play. |
| 6-3 | 24/18 13/10 — split and build | Advance the back checkers and stage a builder. |
| 6-2 | 13/11 24/18 (or 13/5) | Modern rollouts split; the old single-checker run 13/5 is second choice. |
| 5-2 | 13/8 13/11 — two down | Two builders into the outfield, ready to point next roll. |
| 5-1 | 13/8 24/23 — build and split | A builder to the 8, a minor split to the 23. |
| 4-1 | 13/9 24/23 — build and split | Builder to the 9-point, back checkers start moving. |
| 3-2 | 13/11 13/10 — two down | Double builders aimed at the 5- and 4-points. |
| 4-3 | 13/10 13/9 (or 24/21 13/9) | Two builders down, or split-and-build — rollouts call it close. |
| 2-1 | 13/11 24/23 — build and split | The standard minor split with a builder. |
Three patterns to internalize
- Point-makers play themselves. 3-1, 6-1, 4-2 and 5-3 all make a point on the spot. Never pass up 8/5 6/5 with 3-1 — it gains roughly 0.07 equity over the next-best play, an enormous margin for move one.
- Split and build. Most awkward rolls (5-4, 6-3, 5-1, 4-1, 2-1…) combine a minor split of the back checkers with a builder — diversifying your good numbers for the second roll.
- The neural nets rewrote the book. Pre-computer experts made the 2-point with 6-4 and ran with 6-2. Modern rollouts prefer splitting plays — the 6-4 revision is one of the clearest cases of machines correcting a century of human theory. (How that happened: the computer era.)
The second roll
Replies to each opening are studied nearly as deeply — the same table logic applies, but hitting options and already-split checkers change the answers. Studying the first four plies of each opening is what separates intermediate from advanced play; a practical way in is reviewing your own openings with the engine after each game and reading what your PR says about the leaks.
Next: cube theory — the decisions worth more than any checker play. Terms unclear? See the glossary.