P

Partial Prime - A prime with fewer than six consecutive points.

Pass - To refuse a double.

Pay Later - To play safe in the current position but risk greater danger later.

Pay Now - To take an immediate risk to avoid a more serious risk later.

Perfecta - The best possible roll; a joker.

Pick and Pass - To hit an opposing blot, then continue that stone to safety on the same play.

Pick Up - Hit a blot.

Piece - Stone, man, checker.

Pigeon - The victim of a hustler. Frequent pigeons are called fish.

Pip - One of the spots on a die that indicate numeric value, but also the unit of distance on a backgammon board corresponding to the difference in numbers between points.

Pip Count - The total number of points that a player must move his stones to bring them all home.

Play - The collection of moves a player makes in completing a move.

Play Safe - To avoid leaving blots which might be hit.

Point - One of the twenty-four narrow triangles, twelve on each side of a backgammon board; the location of a piece or pieces.

Point on a Blot - To hit an opposing blot with two of your stones on the same move.

Point on Head - Point on a blot.

Position - The current arrangement of the stones on a backgammon board.

Positional Play - A strategy that emphasizes fighting for and keeping key points.

Possession of the Doubling Cube - Owning the cube.

Post Mortem - Analysis of a game or match after it has been completed.

Premature Burial - Moving one or more stones deep into your home board early in the game out of undue concern for playing safe.

Pressure - To move a piece so it directly bears on an opponent's blot, forcing him to cover the blot, move it, or risk it being hit.

Prime - - Six consecutive made points.

Primed - Trapped behind a prime.

Priming Game - A type of game in which the primary strategy is to trap one or more opponent's stones behind your prime.

Puff - The German name for backgammon or a German variation of the game.

Pure Race - A game in which the opposing sides have completely separated so there is no opportunity for blocking or hitting by either side.