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White rolls the bad 61... Cube Action Problems

Posted By: Nack Ballard
Date: Monday, 23 June 2014, at 6:54 p.m.

In Response To: Ho-Hum 61 (Nack Ballard)

As pointed out to me by Paul Weaver, there are some interesting cube actions following the Ho-hum 61 position. Blue's alert voluntary-shot move (13/7 5/4) pays off when White rolls her bad 61, but then fortunes reverse when Blue fans.

Spotting a rare opportunity to be even cleverer (sicker?) than Paul, I decided to expand on his point by adjusting the position (increasing the number of checkers on White's midpoint), then alternating fans for Blue with nightmare 65s for White.

In the first position below, White rolled her unfortunate 61, forcing her to play 13/12*/6. Now, Blue is on roll. What is the correct cube action for both players (a) if the cube is in the center, and (b) if Blue owns the cube?

Okay, now assume Blue fans. The position is the same, except that White is on roll. What is the correct cube action for both players (c) if the cube is in the center, and (d) if White owns the cube?

For purposes of this problem set, we assume the game goes on. The craziness continues when White rolls 65 and cannot cover or lift either blot! That leads us to the second position, where Blue is back on roll. Again, you are asked the correct cube action (a) if the cube is in the center, and (b) if Blue owns the cube. And then Blue fans AGAIN and White is back on roll. What is the correct cube action (c) if the cube is in the center, and (d) if White owns the cube?

This situation keeps repeating, with positions 3, 4, 5 and 6 arising in turn as White rolls 65, Blue fans, White rolls another 65, etc.

Feel free to answer all of the cube action questions below, or just pick a couple/few that you like. Assuming this post generates some interest, I'll post rollouts later.

Good luck!

Nack

		White is Player 2 score: 0 pip: 96 Unlimited Game Jacoby Beaver pip: 124 score: 0 Blue is Player 1
XGID=--BBBABA--AAe-----BaabbbbA:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10
................Position 1 . a. BLUE on roll: center cube ......c. WHITE on roll: center cube b...........................owns cube...........d. ...........................owns cube

		White is Player 2 score: 0 pip: 85 Unlimited Game Jacoby Beaver pip: 124 score: 0 Blue is Player 1
XGID=--BBBABA--AAd-----BaabbcbA:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10
................Position 2 . a. BLUE on roll: center cube ......c. WHITE on roll: center cube b...........................owns cube...........d. ...........................owns cube

		White is Player 2 score: 0 pip: 74 Unlimited Game Jacoby Beaver pip: 124 score: 0 Blue is Player 1
XGID=--BBBABA--AAc-----BaabbdbA:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10
................Position 3 . a. BLUE on roll: center cube ......c. WHITE on roll: center cube b...........................owns cube...........d. ...........................owns cube

		White is Player 2 score: 0 pip: 63 Unlimited Game Jacoby Beaver pip: 124 score: 0 Blue is Player 1
XGID=--BBBABA--AAb-----BaabbebA:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10
................Position 4 . a. BLUE on roll: center cube ......c. WHITE on roll: center cube b...........................owns cube...........d. ...........................owns cube

		White is Player 2 score: 0 pip: 52 Unlimited Game Jacoby Beaver pip: 124 score: 0 Blue is Player 1
XGID=--BBBABA--AAa-----BaabbfbA:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10
................Position 5 . a. BLUE on roll: center cube ......c. WHITE on roll: center cube b...........................owns cube...........d. ...........................owns cube

		White is Player 2 score: 0 pip: 41 Unlimited Game Jacoby Beaver pip: 124 score: 0 Blue is Player 1
XGID=--BBBABA--AA------BaabbgbA:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10
................Position 6 . a. BLUE on roll: center cube ......c. WHITE on roll: center cube b...........................owns cube...........d. ...........................owns cube