2020 - Position 84

XGID=-aBBBBB----AAA-d---cbBcb--:0:0:1:51:6:5:1:7:10

Match Play. Red leads 6-5 (Crawford). How should Red play 51?

I must admit I would play 11/5 or 12/6 here. XG has a tiny preference (0.014) for 12/7, 11/10, attempting to make the game a one roll proposition.

12/7, 11/10 increases the gammon losses by 5% but wins 5% more games. In a money game slotting the bar would be clearer but it is much harder to do it at 1-away vs 2-away (Crawford) even if technically it is the correct play. Computers have the advantage of playing emotionless backgammon!

I’ll stick with 11/5 but applaud anybody who slotted the bar.