In the bear-off phase in backgammon, there's no stated order on which pip move to use first as long as they permit legal plays on the board. But that doesn't mean we can disregard bear off order altogether in this last phase of the game. Keep in mind that the order of pip moves that we use can make a huge difference in gaining a good advantage as well as incurring a disadvantage in this race. So what's a good backgammon tip in selecting the best bear off order for our roll?
A good backgammon tip is that we should be careful in over-stacking points and minding gaps on our inner board. This is because over-stacked points and gaps are main reasons for wasted rolls that will always devastate a good lead. And we can avoid these disadvantages if we pick the best bear off order at the cast of the dice.
Wasted rolls represent pip moves that aren't fully used in the bear-off phase. Let's take an over-stacked ace-point as an example and see how it leads to wasted rolls. For instance, you have five checkers left on your ace-point and you cast a six-three. In stead of having to utilize a total of nine pips to bear off pieces, you can only use two pips to take two checkers off the ace-point, hence, resulting to wasted rolls.
Normally, the order of using the higher pip move from the roll first mostly facilitates legal plays. That is why it's typical to see it used in backgammon. But if you notice that using the lower number first is permissible (meaning, it wouldn't illegalize using the higher number next) then you should take a look and see if it's the best bear off order to make.
An example of the best bear off order of using the lower pip-move first followed by the higher pip-move next is when there are gaps on your inner board. For instance, you have one piece each on the five-point, three-point and ace-point and you roll a four-two.
If you use the four-pip move first, you'll be over-stacking your ace-point. It's because that order will bury in a piece from the five-point using four pips and bury in the three-point checker using two pips.
But if you pick the best bear off order in this case which is the lower pip-move first with your five-point checker, your next turn won't lead to wasted rolls. So, the best bear off order in this case is to move the five-point checker down to the three-point and then take off the same piece out of the board.
The bear-off phase is perhaps one of the most crucial parts in the game and a good backgammon tip at this point is to pick the best bear off order that's permitted by our dice rolls. And as aforementioned, opting the order of using the higher number first isn't always the best option especially if using the lower pip move first will enable us to thwart wasted rolls on our subsequent turns.