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You will find yourself bearing off in two
different situations. The first is the
straight race. Your opponent is past you,
and the game will be decided on the throw of
the dice. You must ensure that you use every
pip you throw to your best advantage. First,
concentrate on playing your men in from your
outer board, even of it means piling men up
on your six point. When you are taking men
off, a double 6 with four men on the six
point means four men off double 6: with no
men on the six point but four on the five
point it may also mean four men off, but you
have wasted four points.
Pip count and the doubling cube
Opportunities will present themselves for
doubling during bearing off. If both you and
your opponent have an equal distribution of
men, you should apply the rule of 15 to
determine whether you should offer, accept
or refuse a double.
Leaving a bolt whilst bearing off
The other situation you may find yourself
in while bearing off happens when one of
your home-board points is held by your
opponent. Until you have moved all your men
past him he will pose a threat for you as
long as you leave a blot. Thus you have to
be careful to play your men so that there is
the least possible exposure to unkind dice.
When playing your men onto your board, guard
against a high double 6 or 5 by keeping an
even number on your two highest points.
Similarly, as you bear off, avoid playing
your men so that two high throws or high
doubles will leave a blot- even if this
means moving a man down your board rather
than taking one off a low point and possibly
passing the opportunity for a double game.
It is better to win a single than to take
risks for the sake of a double.
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Bearing off