Crawford Rule

The Crawford rule (named for John R. Crawford) states: if a player attains a match score one game short of victory, the next game of the match is to be played without a doubling cube. This one game in which neither player may double is called the Crawford game.

For example, if you are playing a five point match and win a game to take a 4-1 lead, the next game is the Crawford game, and the doubling cube cannot be used by either player. If your opponent wins that game (the score is then 4-2), the doubling cube can be used for the remaining games of the match.

The Crawford rule is always in effect when playing Match Play (matches to a specified point length). Previous versions of GridGammon allowed you to disable the Crawford rule but few players did, so the rule is now standard.