ruby2shoes: Well I'm not sure how much help I can be, but one of the things I try to do is not move pieces from my back row until I need to. It's like your last line of defence, so to start moving pieces from your back row is in my opinion just giving your opponent someplace to attack.

Then on the flip side, if you start to see your opponent move pieces from their back row, I will try to "attack" in that area.

Try to give & take - that is if you are going to move your piece so it can be captured, make sure you can capture back. (And if they are able to capture again, make sure you can at least keep it even and not lose more pieces then your opponent.)

Those are a couple of things that come to mind quickly.