This position shows a pretty normal-looking mutual holding game. White was two pips down in the race (114-112) prior to rolling. But he fired a great shot, double-fives, which moved him to an 18-pip lead. What should he do?

Money game, center cube, White on roll.

White to play 5-5.

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These next two positions show a couple of closely related holding game situations. Black has the 20-point, but now he’s got a man stuck on the bar. White has a nice 5-point board, and a couple of blots not in direct range of Black’s anchor. He also has the 9-point, which was an asset for a while, but is now a liability to be cleared. How much risk should he be willing to take while Black is on the bar?

Money game, Black owns the cube, White on roll.

(A) White to play 6-5, 6-3, 5-4, 5-3, 5-2, and 3-2.

 

(B) Slightly different position, White to play all the same numbers as in (A).

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These next two positions show an unusual holding game situation, with Black’s board somewhat collapsed while he still has outfield points to clear. As compensation for his messy position, Black is ahead by 35 pips in the race, and as such is a solid favorite no matter how White plays.

(A) Money game, White owns a 2-cube.

White to play 6-4.

(B) Money game, White owns a 2-cube.

White to play 6-4.

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This position is a fairly typical mutual holding game, a holding game where both sides have an anchor in the other player’s territory. Your first job in these games is to count the race and see where you stand. Here the pip count is 124 for White, 121 for Black. White trails by 3 pips, but after he plays his 5-2 he’ll actually lead by 4 pips.

Money game, center cube.

Black to play 5-2.

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White – Pips 67 (-22)

Black – Pips 89 (+22)
Black to Play 5-3
One-way holding games are, for the most part, pretty easy to play. You hold onto your anchor, watch your opponent try to clear points, wait for a shot, and then hopefully hit it. Alternatively, you roll a 6-6 or 5-5 somewhere in this process and move into a race where you’re close to even or maybe a little ahead.

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White – Pips 138 (+59)

Black – Pips 79 (-59)
Black to Play 5-1This position shows White playing a well-timed holding game while Black is struggling to clear his points and get his men home. Black leads in the race by just over 60 pips, so it’s always been highly likely that he’s would have to leave a shot or two unless he rolled a useful set of doubles. Now Black has reached his first key decision point. Out of spares, he can still play safe, but he may not want to.

With the 5-1, Black has just three reasonable plays. Let’s take a look at them.

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