Backgammon Strategy: Points, Primes, and Knowing Which Race You Are In

Updated August 2026

Most backgammon losses are not bad luck; they are a good move played in the wrong kind of position. Before choosing between hitting, running and building, a strong player first decides what type of game they are in. Get that right and the correct move is usually obvious.

Three kinds of position

• A race. The checkers have passed each other and no contact is left. Nothing matters but pip count and clean distribution.
• A blocking game. Contact remains and you are ahead. Your job is to build points in front of the opponent’s back checkers.
• A holding game. You are behind and hold an anchor in the opponent’s home board, waiting for a shot.

Playing a blocking move in a pure race wastes pips. Playing a racing move while you still have contact throws away your winning chances. Ask which of the three you are in before every roll.

Make points, in this order

Points — two or more checkers on the same space — are the currency of the early game, and their value is not equal. The 5-point is the strongest, followed by the bar point and the 4-point. Those three sit exactly where the opponent’s back checkers need to escape, and owning them turns their rolls into wasted pips.

A common beginner error is stacking checkers on the 6-point and the midpoint because it feels safe. Stacks do nothing. Spreading builders across the outer board so that many rolls make a new point is worth more than avoiding one blot.

A prime beats a hit

Four consecutive points in front of an enemy checker is a serious cage; six consecutive points is an absolute one, from which nothing escapes without being hit off first. Extending a prime is often stronger than hitting a loose checker, because a hit only costs the opponent pips while a prime costs them the game. If a move gives you a fourth or fifth consecutive point, look very hard before rejecting it.

When to hit

Hit when it gains time you can use — when you have builders ready to make points while the opponent re-enters, or when the checker you hit was about to escape. Hit doubly hard when the opponent has no anchor, because every hit then costs them real ground. Avoid hitting when the reply leaves you exposed and you cannot cover, and be careful about hitting deep in your own home board: a checker sitting on your 1-point or 2-point is usually a wasted checker.

Anchors save lost games

If you fall behind, do not run your back checkers into the open. Hold an advanced anchor — the opponent’s 4-point or 5-point is ideal — and wait. An anchor means you can never be shut out, and every roll they make in their home board risks leaving you a shot. Games that look hopeless are routinely saved by a patient anchor and one good number, and games that were merely bad are routinely lost by abandoning one too early.

Counting the race

You do not need to be exact, but you do need to know whether you are ahead. Count pips at the moment contact is about to break: if you are ahead by more than a few pips, break contact and run. If you are behind, keep contact and play for a shot. Choosing to race while behind is one of the most expensive habits in the game, and a rough count avoids it entirely.

Bearing off cleanly

In the bear-off, avoid gaps and avoid stacking. Fill your lower points evenly so that no roll forces you to waste pips or, worse, leaves a blot while the opponent still has a checker behind you. If contact is fully broken, always play the move that takes checkers off fastest; if it is not, safety comes first.

A practical order of thinking

1. Race, block, or hold — which game is this?
2. Can I make the 5-point, bar point or 4-point?
3. Does a move extend a prime in front of their back checkers?
4. Does hitting gain me tempo I can actually spend?
5. If behind, do I have an anchor, and am I keeping it?
6. Rough pip count before breaking contact.

Run through that list each roll and the dice stop feeling like the whole story.