Don’t pass this up: part 2

We continue our list of automatic plays with a few more rules of thumb, this time pertaining to primes.

Don’t pass up a 6-prime

This one should hopefully feel obvious — if you are given the opportunity to complete a 6-prime, you must seize it. This structure is so powerful that it puts a stranglehold on the game. We discussed this previously in our introduction to Priming games, where we showed how completing a 6-prime increases win chances from 65% to 90%. There are very few exceptions to this rule.

Don’t pass up a 5-prime, either

Perhaps slightly less obvious is that a 5-prime is also a mighty structure.

In the position above, we have the possibility of making a 5-prime by playing down two checkers from the 13-pt (13/7(2)). However, doing so will leave 3 blots (on the 21-pt, the 15-pt, and the 13-pt) that can be hit with any 1, 3, or 4. Despite this, making the 5-prime is the best play here. We can withstand quite an aggressive attack when we have some of our opponent’s checkers trapped behind a 5-prime. In the worst case scenario where they manage to close us out, they still have a lot of work to do to escape our side of the board. Only sixes will do it, and those only appear in 11/36 dice rolls.

Sixes don’t grow on trees

For that reason, a complementary rule to always making a 5-prime is to always escape it. The common saying is that “sixes don’t grow on trees.” It means that when given a good escaping roll (usually a 6 when it comes to a 5-prime), you should probably escape, especially if it’s your last backchecker.

In the position below, we rolled a 63, and have some options. We can either extend our prime in our homeboard up to a 5-prime by making the 2-pt (8/2, 5/2), or we can run one of our backcheckers to safety on the midpoint (22/13).

Remembering that sixes don’t grow on trees, we must take advantage of our luck and jump the 5-prime. Many other rolls might make the 2-pt or extend to a 5-prime. For example, in addition to 63, there’s 61 (13/7, 8/7), while 66 and 33 each can make 6-primes (13/7 (2)). Note that the running play is correct here, despite leaving a blot behind susceptible to a blitz. It is even okay to run when your checker doesn’t have a safe landing spot, for example, if you roll a 65 or 62.

If a six won’t grow on a tree, then surely a parlay that includes a six (61, 62, etc) probably doesn’t grow in an entire forest! Consider the position below:

Gary has a checker on the bar, and you have the option of making a strong 4-pt board (10/3). However, you rolled exactly what you need to escape your final backchecker, jumping a 5-prime in the process. You’ll never get a roll like this again. The running play is once again the better play, and it isn’t even close, despite leaving a direct shot! Think of it this way — in the worst case scenario, Gary hits the blot in your homeboard and you’re right back where you started, trapped behind a 5-prime… but in all other situations, you’re sitting pretty. We came to a similar conclusion for a different dilemma when discussing freedom in Don’t pass this up: Part 1.

This idiom doesn’t only apply to 6s, but to any broken 5-prime, as well. For example, in the position below, it’s threes that don’t grow on trees:

The conclusion is the same: you’ll need a specific number (here, a 3) to escape the 5-prime… if it comes up, you need a really good reason not to use it to escape.

Next lesson: You’ll need builders