Money Doubles 2

Try these 10 positions first then look at my analysis below.

http://bgquiz.com/moneydoubles/index.html?i=281,331,974,85,1048,811,402,953,1062,1019

281: High Anchor. White has a nice lead of 43 pips, has escaped the rear checkers and owns the cube. Black has a good anchor, the midpoint and spares to move but on the down side black has two checkers out of play on it's 1 point. White's gammon winning chances aren't high. It's useful to think about what might happen in the next few rolls in positions like this. White has stripped out filed points that need to be cleared and is likely to leave a blot or two. Black needs to hit and contain the blot whilst making up that big pip deficit and that is going to be difficult with those two checkers on the ace point. Double/Pass

XG says this is a borderline Take/Pass. Black's checker on the 14pt gives some timing and hitting chances to black.

1019: Split at the back and bar point anchor. White has a lead of 31 pips, has a very strong inner board but needs to get those back checkers moving next roll. However, with white's stronger board and black having a blot in it's home board, white will hit with any 6 or 7 and black could be losing a very big game. Double/Pass

1048: One man back. Black leads by 13 pips and has a direct leap over white's prime with a 6 but has a dilly builder on the 2-point. White has three checkers to move around but white's main plan is to hit on the 2-point and keep black occupied whilst he moves the back checker around the board. Any 4,5 and 9 hits. Of course, black will most likely have a return shot from the bar. Double/Take

331: Low Anchor. The race is about even and white has escaped the back checkers. Black's play is a bit more advanced but should hold a strong board for a few rolls more provided no big doubles pop out except sixes. White should be able to roll this one home without much risk of being hit. Based on the even score, sixes that escape and a strong home board black should take and white should double. Double/Take

953: Low Anchor. White has a 16 pip lead, escaped the rear checkers and should be able to run this one home without risk and also has 9 pointing rolls next turn. Black has a very strong home board which should hold up as black should be able to move one of the rear checkers around the board. Black however needs to roll very well or get lucky to win this one. Double/Pass

1062: One on the bar and checker back. White is off to a nice start with a lovers leap and the golden point whilst black has done nothing. It seems a bit early to give up on this one but it's pretty close. Double/Take

85: Split at the back. White has escaped the back checkers , has made the 5 and 10pts and has a 10 pip lead. Black has a strong home board but the two checkers have gone nowhere yet. White has lead and position but threats are low. Two out of three is not bad so this is a double. Black has a strong board and the midpoint still intact so has an easy take. Double/Take

974: One man back. White has escaped the back checkers, has a 14 pip lead and 9 pointing rolls and plenty of rolls to safety the blot on the 14pt. Black's board is solid and will get stronger and there are a couple of holes in white's little prime for black to escape through. With nothing on the bar I would say Double/Take

811: One man back. Both sides have a checker back, the midpoint and a decent board. White has a 6 pip lead. White has the stronger home board and will be keen to hit with 5,8, 9 and 12's = 22 rolls. Double/Take

402: One on the bar and checkers back. This is a very volatile position. White has a 18 pip lead but more importantly, white is about to launch a blitz on black's head. This may or not work but white has to double now before it's way too good. Is black already in too much trouble? Possibly but I think this could go either way. Double/Take