Blue is attacking, and the prize is a gammon. White has eight checkers back, three on the 2 point, one on the 3 point and four on the 4 point, a home board with one made point and three blots, and the cube at 2; Blue leads by 58 pips. Blue plays 7/3*, hitting the loose checker on the 3 point. White must enter against Blue’s 5 and 6 points before anything else happens, Blue’s five blots face 26 shots but a hit sends a Blue checker into a board that is almost empty, and gammon wins rise from under 48% to over 52%. The quiet 23/20 7/6 makes the 20 point anchor safe and keeps every outside checker in play, but it leaves the White blot alone and gives White a free turn to tidy up. It loses 0.065 equity, an ERROR.

Blue is priming and has to bring the last checker home past a 2-4 back game while White holds the cube at 2. Blue leads by 52 pips with a four-point prime from the 5 point to the 8 point and two checkers on the 10 point waiting to help. Blue plays 21/16, parking the straggler a direct 6 from the 10 point and an 8 from the 8 point; the blot faces 15 shots, and next turn 21 rolls bring it to safety with no blot left anywhere, while the spare on the 8 point stays where it can cover the 9 or 4 point later. Playing 21/17 8/7 also leaves 15 shots, but the straggler is then 7 pips from the 10 point and only 15 rolls make it safe next turn, and the spare has been spent. It loses 0.026 equity, an ERROR.

Blue is bearing in with a 61-pip lead against White’s 2 and 4 point anchors and a four-point White board; the one way to lose is to be hit, so every checker Blue moves should land on a made point. Blue plays 13/12(2) 9/8 6/5, making the 12 point as a landing spot for the rest of the trip home, putting the 9-point blot on the 8 point and adding a third checker to the 5 point. No Blue checker is exposed except the one already buried on the 1 point, which nothing can hit. Making the 9 point with 13/9 looks constructive, but it leaves a lone checker on the midpoint facing 5 shots from the anchors, and a hit there turns a routine bear-in into a game Blue can lose with a gammon. It loses 0.112 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is bearing in with a 90-pip lead against a 2-4 back game; the race is decided, and the only question is how to bring six outside checkers home without a shot. Blue has three checkers each on the 8 and 7 points. Blue plays 7/6(2) 7/5, clearing the bar point completely with the four 1s: the three checkers left on the 8 point are the last ones outside, no roll next turn forces a blot, and the position is strong enough to cash. Playing 8/6 7/5 leaves two checkers on each outside point, which looks tidy, but it keeps two points to clear instead of one, and 6-3 and 6-5 next turn already force a blot that White hits with 20 shots. It loses 0.106 equity, a BLUNDER. Double 1s are the roll that clears a point; use them for that.

Blue is bearing in with a 90-pip lead against a 2-4 back game: the race means nothing and the only task is to clear the 8 and 7 points without leaving a shot. Blue has three checkers on each of them. Blue plays 8/5 7/5, bringing one checker home from each point so that both are left with exactly two, ready to be cleared in one roll each, and the 5 point grows to five checkers that can spill to the 3 point later. Playing 8/3 keeps three checkers on the bar point, where an odd checker will eventually be left alone, and buries a checker on the 3 point behind White’s 4 point anchor, where it does nothing for the rest of the game. It loses 0.210 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-4 back game with a 95-pip lead and three outside points still to clear, the 9, 8 and 7 points, each with two checkers. Only one play keeps every checker safe. Blue plays 8/3 8/7, clearing the 8 point with both checkers: nothing is exposed, the 7 point gains a third checker, and White’s five back checkers have nothing to hit. Playing 9/3 moves one checker from the 9 point and leaves its partner alone there, facing 11 shots from the anchors, and burying the mover on the 3 point does nothing for Blue’s board. It loses 0.283 equity, a BLUNDER. Playing 7/1 is no better: it leaves a blot on the bar point facing 20 shots and buries a checker on the 1 point.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-4 back game, 78 pips ahead, with four checkers on the bar point as the last outside point and the rest already home. The task is to clear the bar point in pairs without burying checkers. Blue plays 7/3 7/5, bringing two checkers in together and leaving two on the bar point, which one roll can clear; the position is strong enough to cash. Playing 7/3 5/3 clears only one checker and leaves three on the bar point, so a lone checker will have to come in by itself later, and it stacks a fourth checker on the 3 point, directly behind White’s 4 point anchor, where it adds nothing. It loses 0.085 equity, a BLUNDER. Playing 7/1 buries a checker on the 1 point for the same reason and loses 0.097.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-4 back game, 88 pips ahead, with four checkers on the bar point to clear and nothing else outside. Blue plays 7/3 7/6, bringing two checkers in together and leaving two on the bar point, which one roll can clear; the position is strong enough to cash. Playing 7/6 5/1 brings in only one checker, leaves three on the bar point so that a lone checker must come in by itself later, and buries a checker on the 1 point, where it is out of play for the rest of the game. White’s four checkers on the 2 and 4 points are waiting for exactly that kind of odd checker. It loses 0.070 equity, an ERROR. Playing 6/1 buries a checker and clears nothing, losing 0.337.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-4 back game, 89 pips ahead, with two checkers on the bar point and everything else home. Blue plays 7/5 7/6, clearing the bar point with both checkers in one roll: no checker is outside, nothing is exposed, and the position is strong enough to cash, since from here Blue bears off behind the 5 and 6 points with White’s four back checkers unable to do anything but wait. Playing 6/3 brings nothing home and stacks a fourth checker on the 3 point, leaving both checkers on the bar point to be cleared later, when a bad roll can split them. It loses 0.420 equity, a BLUNDER. Playing 7/5 6/5 breaks the pair and leaves a lone checker on the bar point facing 20 shots, losing 1.048.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-4 back game with White holding the cube at 2 and a five-point board waiting for any checker that is hit; Blue leads by 58 pips and has single checkers on the 8 and 7 points. Safety decides everything. Blue plays 8/7 5/1, covering the bar point with the checker from the 8 point and playing the 1 from the 5 point down to the 1 point: no blot anywhere. Burying a checker on the 1 point is a real cost, but it is the only play that leaves nothing to hit. Playing 8/3 leaves a lone checker on the bar point facing 20 shots, and against a five-point board a hit now means a probable loss with the cube already at 2. It loses 0.288 equity, a BLUNDER.