Position 8: Take up the gauntlet!

is XG Roller++ score: 0 pip: 126

1 point match

pip: 153 score: 0 is Chase

XGID=--a-B-D-BB--bC--abbe-b--B-:0:0:1:21:0:0:0:1:10

to play 21

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

I've come to think of a blot on my Op's 9pt as a challenge to my manhood.

The reason is that, between the threat of simply making the 9pt and the variety of combinations which make other key offensive points, a builder on the 9pt is so well placed that it cannot be allowed to persist beyond the immediate turn. You must step up to challenge it directly, or take aggressive action on the other side of the board to create counterthreats of your own. Op has thrown down the gauntlet. You must take it up! Or forever hold your manhood cheap (apologies to the Bard).

I'm being a bit dramatic, of course, but Marty Storer has convinced me that stating rules of thumb as absolutes (Always make the 5pt, Always hit, etc.) is more helpful than stating them conditionally (When in doubt, make the 5pt; When in doubt, hit, etc.). The more definitive the statement, the easier it is to remember, and the more reliably will you apply it. That there will be exceptions goes without saying, but the absolute formulation requires a damn good reason to overturn. And the truth is, if the rule of thumb isn't robust enough to hold up as a near absolute, it's probably not all that helpful.

So, is my gauntlet rule sufficiently robust to be stated as an absolute? I don't know, but I've found it so helpful that (in the spirit of absoluteness) I'm going treat it as such until I'm convinced it is not.

The rollout:

is XG Roller++ score: 0 pip: 126

1 point match

pip: 153 score: 0 is Chase

XGID=--a-B-D-BB--bC--abbe-b--B-:0:0:1:21:0:0:0:1:10

to play 21

1.	Rollout1	13/11 6/5	eq: -0.143
	Player: Opponent: 42.86% (G:11.61% B:1.18%) 57.14% (G:29.83% B:9.36%) Conf.: ± 0.006 (-0.149...-0.136) - [100.0%] Duration: 4 minutes 58 seconds
2.	Rollout1	9/7 6/5	eq: -0.207 (-0.064)
	Player: Opponent: 39.65% (G:8.05% B:0.93%) 60.35% (G:33.35% B:12.93%) Conf.: ± 0.007 (-0.214...-0.200) - [0.0%] Duration: 4 minutes 18 seconds
3.	Rollout1	24/22 6/5	eq: -0.208 (-0.065)
	Player: Opponent: 39.60% (G:10.52% B:1.28%) 60.40% (G:38.30% B:4.69%) Conf.: ± 0.006 (-0.214...-0.203) - [0.0%] Duration: 4 minutes 07 seconds
4.	Rollout1	13/10	eq: -0.221 (-0.078)
	Player: Opponent: 38.94% (G:10.01% B:0.86%) 61.06% (G:28.05% B:7.43%) Conf.: ± 0.007 (-0.228...-0.214) - [0.0%] Duration: 3 minutes 39 seconds
5.	Rollout1	24/23 24/22	eq: -0.235 (-0.092)
	Player: Opponent: 38.24% (G:9.41% B:1.14%) 61.76% (G:31.73% B:3.56%) Conf.: ± 0.005 (-0.241...-0.230) - [0.0%] Duration: 4 minutes 14 seconds
1 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction. Dice Seed: 28711547 Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release, MET: Kazaross XG2