In very general terms, there are 3 general techniques used. You must be able to hop between game plans quickly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of building a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at a minimum as deep as you might achieve, to barricade in your competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable tactic at the start of the match. You can create the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. For example, if your opponent rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your challenger is then in big-time dire straits because they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have two or more checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It must be employed when you are significantly behind as this strategy much improves your chances. The best places for anchors are near your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjoining points or with one point in between. Timing is critical for a powerful backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then required to break down this straight away, while your opponent is getting their pieces home, because you don’t have other spare checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you can preserve your position up until your challenger gives you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a good idea to attempt and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!