We’ve reached the point where it’s finally time to memorize the opening rolls. Because a game can’t start with a doublet, there are only 15 dice combinations we need to learn how to play, and at most about 35 reasonable ways those can be played. The optimal play actually changes a bit depending on the score and whether winning a gammon has any value to you. In this lesson, we will list the simplest and best opening moves, and discuss what value they provide.
For your reference, below is a table of the best opening rolls for a beginner playing unlimited games:
| Roll | Play | Roll | Play | Roll | Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 24/13 | 54 | 24/20, 13/8 | 42 | 8/4, 6/4 |
| 64 | 24/18, 13/9 | 53 | 8/3, 6/3 | 41 | 24/23, 13/9 |
| 63 | 24/18, 13/10 | 52 | 24/22, 13/8 | 32 | 24/21, 13/11 |
| 62 | 24/18, 13/11 | 51 | 13/8, 24/23 | 31 | 8/5, 6/5 |
| 61 | 13/7, 8/7 | 43 | 24/21, 13/9 | 21 | 13/11, 24/23 |
These can easily be memorized. Once we start discussing how to adjust to match play, we will go over the alternative opening moves.
With 65, you safety a backchecker to the midpoint. 
With 64, you split a backchecker to the bar-point and bring one checker down from the midpoint. 
With 63, you split a backchecker to the bar-point and bring one checker down from the midpoint. 
With 62, you split a backchecker to the bar-point and bring one checker down from the midpoint. 
With 61, you make the bar-point. 
With 54, you split a backchecker to the golden point, and bring a checker down from the midpoint to your 8-point. 
With 53, you make the 3-point. 
With 52, you split a backchecker to 22-point, and bring a checker down from the midpoint to your 8-point. 
With 51, you split a backchecker to 23-point, and bring a checker down from the midpoint to your 8-point. 
With 43, you split a backchecker to 21-point, and bring a builder down from the midpoint to your 9-point. 
With 42, you make the 4-point. 
With 41, you split a backchecker to 23-point, and bring a builder down from the midpoint to your 9-point. 
With 32, you split a backchecker to 21-point, and bring a builder down from the midpoint to your 11-point. 
With 31, you make the 5-pt. 
With 21, you split a backchecker to 23-point, and bring a builder down from the midpoint to your 11-point.
The plays neatly categorize into groups.
- Make a point: If possible, you should make an inner board point or the bar point. This applies when rolling 31, 42, 53, or 61.
- Run: The biggest number you can roll can safety a checker immediately, so you should run when rolling 65.
- Major split and down: If you roll a 6, 4, or 3, split to the 18-, 20- or 21-pt with the hopes of making those points in the next roll. With your second number, unstack the mid-point. This goes for 64, 63, 62, 54, 43, 32
- Minor split and down: With the remaining rolls, you should split your back checkers to the 22- or 23-pt with the hopes of getting lucky and making one of the advanced anchors or running the next roll. With the second number, unstack the midpoint. This is for 52, 51, 41, 21.
A tip to remember which split to make is that you want to avoid playing 13/10 since a blot on the 10-pt is such a weak builder. A checker on there is 2 pips away from the 8-pt, the same distance between the 8- and 6-pts. This duplicates many of your great rolls, such as 42. Compare the two positions below, and count the number of point-making rolls available in each.
What about the opening replies? After each of the 35 possible opening moves, there are 21 dice combinations, since we can also roll doublets. The number of replies therefore easily exceeds 1000. At this point, it becomes no longer worth memorizing sequences, but instead one should do a deep dive into the different characteristics of specific positions to figure out which is the best play.
Further reading:
- Backgammon opening moves by Eran of Opengammon. An interactive article on this topic.
- How To Play Opening Moves in Backgammon, a video by Mochy
Next lesson: When up in the race, race
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.