Judges is a term used in Super Mario Bros. speedrunning to refer to the object slot inheritance required to save the 8-1 framerule. The flagpole at the end of the level can inherit the Y-Subpixel from a previous on-screen powerup. If the Y-Subpixel stored is greater than or equal to #$3D, then the flagpole will take one fewer frame to fully slide down as it does not need to cross over a pixel boundary.
By hitting the star-block in 8-1, you can set the Y-Subpixel to a value other than #$00. However because powerups can only come up every 4 frames, some values may not meet the criteria for saving a frame. This is why some frames require you hitting the star-block on the first possible frame.
The windows listed for the first two pipe jumps apply for both jumping on the front and back lip.
If you see one pixel of white on the ground tile behind the buzzy beetle, you will only need to hit the star-block to manipulate the object slot for the optimal 8-1 framerule:
Entrance frames that get guaranteed good judges: 0, 3, 5, 7, 9, B, D, F, H, J
If you do not see the white pixel on the ground tile behind the buzzy beetle, you may need to hit the star-block on the first possible frame to manipulate the object slot for good judges:
Entrance frames that only require hitting the star-block: 1, 2, 6, A, E, I
Entrance frames that require hitting the star-block on the first possible frame: 4, 8, C, G, K
This guide assumes you are using a full jump cue around the last row of blocks at the castle.
