How to Play the Point-Making Opening Rolls
The opening rolls are pretty much an essential part of a backgammon game as any other part of the game. Since there are only 15 possible opening rolls we can make we can be sure these have been studied very well. We'll discuss a particular set of opening rolls called point-making opening rolls.
Point-making opening rolls are beneficial to players when they are lucky enough to get one. These have been studied quite enough to determine what moves to play to make the most of these opening rolls. Let's go ahead and start off with the first one.
The 3-1 point-making opening roll is rated as perhaps the best opening roll any player can make. A player can easily secure the 5-point with this roll. Securing the 5-point is a very important issue in a backgammon game.
The first reason why the 5-point is critical is because it is part of a player's home board. That being said, the second reason is that the 5-point is a crucial blocking point. By getting 3-1 opening roll we can establish this important block and significantly increase our opponent's difficulty when reentering a checker from the bar.
Obviously when a player has built his home board this leaves the opponent's back checkers trapped. Point making opening rolls are effective at doing this.
The next point-making opening roll we'll check out is the 4-2 opening roll. By playing this roll as 8/4 and 6/4 we can easily establish the 4-point. This point-making opening roll is essentially the same as the 3-1 opening roll except it may have a slight weakness. Since this roll is a bit closer to the opponent's back men, these can jump over this point through the gap between the 4-point and the 6-point. But that would still entail some difficulty.
The next point-making opening roll we will consider is the 6-1 opening roll. This opening roll can be played correctly by making the bar point or in other words the 7-point. The correct way to play this roll is by doing a 13/7 and an 8/7. This point-making opening roll is unique in that produces a prime right in the opening play. If a player is lucky enough he will be able to make a prime three points long early in the game and have the opponent's back checkers stuck.
The last point-making opening roll we'll discuss is the 5-3 opening roll. Admittedly, this is not the strongest opening roll a player can get. The best way to play this point-making opening roll is by doing a 6/3 and an 8/3. It may not be that bad considering that a player can secure a home board point, though not a very crucial one at that.
These are all the point-making opening rolls. You guessed it right if you noticed that these most often will build the home board early in the game. Playing these opening rolls right gives a player a good head start in the game.