Late race

How it works in play

In a late race the raw pip count becomes a rougher guide: who is on roll, gaps and stacked checkers swing the result. That is why effective pip counts and the Keith count exist, and why bearing off cleanly matters so much.

Related terms

• Race — A position with no remaining contact between the two sides.
• EPC — Effective pip count — the raw pip count plus expected wastage; the standard measure in bear-off positions.
• Keith count — A pip-count adjustment that accounts for checker distribution before race cube decisions.
• Wastage — Pips lost to inefficiency in the bear-off — rolling a 6 when only a 1 was needed.
• Bear off — Remove a checker from the board, allowed once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board.

Go deeper

• Pip counting: effective pips and wastage
• Pip counting: race formulas for the cube
• Backgammon strategy, from first roll to bear-off

In other languages

• العربيةنهاية السباق (Late race)
• ΕλληνικάΤελική κούρσα (late race)
• فارسیمرحلهٔ پایانی مسابقه (Late race)
• עבריתמרוץ מאוחר (Late race)
• РусскийПоздняя гонка (late race)
• TürkçeGeç yarış