In astonishingly simple terms, there are 3 general strategies employed. You need to be agile enough to hop between tactics almost instantly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of building a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might manage, to block in your opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable course of action at the start of the game. You can build the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This is composed of closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your competitor rolls an early two and moves one checker from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play six/one six/one 8/3 8/3. Your opposer is then in big-time trouble because they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have two or more anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a position filled by at a minimum two of your pieces.) It should be employed when you are significantly behind as it greatly improves your chances. The best areas for anchors are towards your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for an effective backgame: after all, there’s no point having two nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break apart this right away, while your competitor is getting their pieces home, because you don’t have other extra pieces to shift! In this case, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you can maintain your position up till your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it may be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!