Leaving Blots in Backgammon

The first thing you learned as a beginning backgammon player probably was the importance of not leaving blots, that is, checkers that sit alone on a point. Blots have a tendency to be hit by the opponent and moved to the bar. Then you need to bring them all the way home again. Having discovered this, you may have tried very hard not to leave any blots at all. But if you use this strategy, your game tends to become very static and cramped, and you might find yourself in situations with very few good moves available. The thing is, in order to achieve a smooth and flexible progression of your checkers around the board, you need to open up a bit and leave a checker unprotected from time to time. You need to take a calculated risk to improve your development. Let’s look at some principles for how to leave a blot with as little risk involved as possible.

Alone and far away from home
The closer a checker is to your home board, the more you lose when it is hit. It was close to home and now you have to move it all the way back from the starting point again. On the other hand, if your checker in the opponent’s home board is hit, the loss is much smaller. It backs off just a few points. So, if you need to leave a blot, think twice before blotting an advanced checker.

The distance from your opponent’s checkers
You need to remember that all dice rolls are not equally probable. The chances of your blot being hit vary depending on how far it is from the opponent’s checkers. At distances between 1 to 6 you are more likely to be hit than at distances greater than 6. On the other hand, at distances below 6, close is better than far off. To summarize, when leaving a blot, try to put it far away from your opponent’s checkers – seven steps or more. Or else, get it as close as possible.

Study your opponent’s home board
Another aspect to consider before leaving a blot is the look of your opponent’s home board. If your opponent has blots in his home board, he will be more reluctant to hit your blots. Putting one of your checkers on the bar may cause one of his advanced checkers to be hit, so there is a good chance he will not hit your blot even if the dice allows it. In this situation, you should be more inclined to leave blots. But only if it helps your position, of course.

This strategy tip was provided by Netbet.org, an online gambling guide with extensive information about casino games.