Play Backgammon
- Build a Blockade
To prevent the escape of the opponent’s checkers from your home board, try placing your checkers without gaps directly in front of the opponent’s checkers, blockading them. If you build a ‘prime’ blockade - six no-gaps checkers in a row — that would make it impossible for the opponent’s checkers to escape. - Establish Anchors
Try establishing defensive points (anchors) in the opponent’s home board. This serves two purposes: (1) provides for a landing spot should you get hit (2) does not let your opponent to make his home board. Bar-adjacent points (20, 21) are the most valuable to occupy early in the game. If you get behind in the race, points father away from the bar (22, 23, 24) become more valuable to occupy. It is best to establish adjacent anchors. You may consider intentionally allowing your blots (uncovered checkers) to be hit so that you can establish anchors, gain time and preserve other advantages of your position. - Optimize Distribution of Checkers
Try distributing your checkers more evenly across the board. There is rarely any need to have six or more checkers on a single point. A player with uneven checker distribution will have less flexibility to use rolls to his advantage. Try spreading your checkers in order to increase the number of ‘good’ rolls on the next turn. In addition, try keeping your checkers within six pips of each other: this will help in case any checker needs to be covered. - Reduce ‘Good’ Rolls for the Opponent
Try placing your checkers such that two of the opponent’s desired moves in different parts of the board both require the same die value. For example, if you must leave two exposed points, try placing them the same distance away from potential attackers. If opponent needs a certain die value to get off the bar, try placing your exposed checkers that value of the die away from potential attackers. - Know When to Expose Checkers vs. When to Consolidate Them
Early in the game, you can try leaving exposed checkers so they can be used as stepping stones to establish a strong offense or defense. Later on in the game and (especially if your position is weaker) consolidating your checkers is the best strategy. - Decide When to Hit or not to Hit
It is usually more valuable to hit the most advanced of enemy checkers. However, try hitting your opponent’s checkers only when it is advantageous to do so. For example, try to hit checkers that your opponent would like to cover later for establishing an important point. Consider NOT hitting if your opponent already has checkers on the bar and you can establish another valuable point if you do not hit. If you decide to hit, try to cover — in view of a possibility of a return hit.
Learning Backgammon
Backgammon is not only one of the oldest games in existence, it is also one of the hardest to master. While you can learn the basic rules in just a few minutes, it takes many years of practice and study to become a real expert. The combination of skill and luck in addition with human psychology makes it very hard to realize how good or bad you actually are in any given stage. Good luck is often misinterpreted as skill; losses due to weak play are usually explained as bad luck. The human brain cannot handle the thought of being weak, it can deal much better with the thought of having bad luck; at least there is something to blame a loss on, other than our own incompetence.
In between the stages, you will often experience long streaks of losses, which partially are the result of normal streaks of bad luck, but also are the consequence of experimenting around with different strategies to improve your skill. Without extensive efforts to analyse and review your own games, you won’t be able to tell the real reason for wins or losses.
The following is a list of my own progress through the stages, obviously this may be different for others, depending on how much time you spend practicing and how intensive you study or review your analysed games, but maybe you can find yourself somewhere in these.
Stage 1: Novice
Someone explains to me the rules and we play a few test games. I bomb him with questions and I feel, no matter how much I ask, I didn’t even understand all the rules yet, but after a while I win a few games and I feel confident.
I signup at a free online backgammon server and I play 8500 games within one month, I’m already totally addicted, the game caught me and I can’t stop playing. But I keep losing, everyone rails me and I don’t understand it, I feel very unlucky. I’m convinced I have mastered the game already, after all it takes just a bit of logic, keep your checkers safe and hope to roll something good. How can all my opponents always roll the right number to hit me? Why can’t I roll something good once in a while? Shouldn’t I have the luck on my side every other game?
I withdraw from that server, there must be something wrong, the amount of bad luck I’m having there can’t be normal and my rating there has dropped so low, I imagine everyone else there laughs at me, they must think I’m a complete idiot.
I find a freeware backgammon program to download and I start playing against the computer, but there is something wrong with this program as well. The computer beats me even worse than the players online did, but of course, it is freeware, so no wonder the programmer hasn’t invested much in the playing skill of his program, he must have simply programmed the computer to get the better dice. I start to terminate every game as soon as I get to a bad position and play out only the games I’m winning; at least my ego is satisfied this way.
I find another online backgammon server, where they have very nice people, lots of chat going on all the time and I meet a few real nice players, who play some games with me and give me some hints. At first I feel offended, are these guys trying to lecture me? I’m an experienced player; I have played thousands of games already, they can’t tell me anything I don’t know! But then I suddenly realize, these guys are right, what they say makes sense, the strategies they show me are far superior to my basic idea of keeping checkers together and pray for good rolls. I’m not unlucky at all; I’m just a bad player!
Learning Backgammon articles series was written by Thomas Griffi (in online backgammon better known as Piranha)
Guide for Advanced Players
| 1. |
Always have a plan. The plan may change from one roll to the next, but always be focusing on how you can win the game, or if a loss is very likely, how to save the gammon. Identify the main thing(s) you need to do. Do you need to escape your one back checker? Then run if you can, even if into a double shot. Are you trailing badly in the race and need to contain your one opponent’s straggler? Then slot, or hit, aggressively. Don’t let yourself just drift into untenable positions. |
| 2. |
Learn how to use match equity tables and make your match doubling and taking decisions based on them. Since most players on the Zone play relatively short matches, there are a limited number of distinct situations that will arise. Learning the proper doubling strategy for each score can make a HUGE difference in your won-loss record. One of the most common questions asked is “How do I increase my rating?” Most players want to know some secret trick for what opponents to play or what match lengths – but – it’s must better to just win more matches. Winning just 5% more of your 3-point matches will increase your rating about 100 points. |
| 3. |
When you must leave a shot, put your checkers where they will do the most good if not hit. |
| 4. |
Woolsey’s Law for doubling: “Put yourself in your opponent’s shoes. If you would even think of dropping if doubled, then it must be a good double.” Don’t be worried that he will take. If it’s a good double, you’re happy to play with the cube on 2. Corrolary to Woolsey’s Law: “If you never turn the cube, you never give your opponent a chance to make a mistake.” Backgammon is not won by brilliant plays. It is won by the player who makes the fewest mistakes. |
| 5. |
Never make a move until you have identified at least one or two viable alternatives. The worst checker play mistakes are not made by choosing the second or third best option from the list of the best 3. They are made by not even seeing the best move. |
Guide for Beginners
| 1. | For those who don’t know - YOU CAN REDOUBLE. When your opponent doubles you to two, you can redouble to four anytime it’s your turn to roll.In particular, consider a match to 3 where you are trailing 1-0. Your opponent doubles, and you take. You should ALWAYS turn the cube on your next roll. What do you have to lose? If you lose this game you lose the match, so why not be sure to win the match if you win the game? |
| 2. |
The break-even point for accepting a double is about 25%. That is, if your chances of winning the game are at least 25%, you should take. Why? Suppose you play 4 games in which you’re doubled. If you drop every time, you’ll lose 4 points. If you take and win 25% of the games, one of four, you’ll win 2 points and lose 6 - a net of minus 4. So it evens out. Of course, this doesn’t consider gammons (if you have a significant chance of getting gammoned, you’re more apt to drop). Owning the cube is worth something. By “owning” I mean, having the right to double but your oppoent doesn’t. Suppose your opponent is on roll with checkers on his 5 and 6 points. You have 3 checkers on your 4 point. Your chances of winning the game, if neither player has doubled, are zero. He should double, and you should drop. If, however, he’s doubled, and you’ve taken, you still have about a 14% chance to win the game. So don’t double with a small lead. At the same time, don’t wait until the game is iced. Consider the position in the previous paragraph. If you are the player with two checkers on, DOUBLE. Why give your opponent a free chance to get lucky? And if he happens to (wrongly) take, be happy! And if he takes and you lose the game - well, that’s the luck factor in backgammon. I’m not saying that it’s EASY to determine what your win percentages are. In a racing position, most experts pretty much know, but other positions are far more complex. But you have to know the guidelines. I’ve noticed one thing. Playing on the zone, I usually won’t double unless I have a stronger advantage than I would against a real-life player I thought was as good as I am. I don’t want to give an opponent too much chance to get lucky and get two points, when hopefully I can grind him down. What that means is that it is almost NEVER right to accept a double I give. But time and again players take my doubles. A somewhat crude guideline for doubling in long races (at least 60 pips remaining) is that the player on roll should have about an 8% lead to double, and you can take when up to about 12% behind. So if you have 70 pips left and your opponent has 76, you have enough to double. He should take if he has about 76 to 78 pips left, and drop if he has 79 or more. Of course, these are guidelines. If your checkers are well-spaced, rather than being stacked on one point, that makes you more apt to double or take, and vice versa. |
| 3. |
This tip is likely to cost me a LOT of matches. I mean, a LOT. I’m amazed at how many players don’t know it: Always double when it can’t cost! Suppose you are down 2-0 in a match to 3. You win the next game, the Crawford game, and are now down 2-1. There is NO reason not to double on your first roll of the next game! If you lose the game, so what? Losing 4-1 and losing 3-1 are the same thing. But this way, if you WIN the game, you win the match. I’ve heard some players say “I want to wait until I have a big advantage, maybe I’ll get my opponent to drop.” But this can’t be right. Consider this. Suppose you reach a point where you are even 90% likely to win the game! Say you double and your opponent drops. The score is now 2-2 and you have a 50% chance to win the match. But suppose you had already doubled. You now have a 90% chance to win the match, because this game decides it! There is another situation where this concept comes into play. Suppose you are trailing 1-0 in a match to 3 and your opponent doubles. Let’s say you decide to take. Redouble right away! If you lose the game you lose the match, so why not set yourself up to win the match? |
| 4. |
Don’t always make the safe move! You’ve doubtless noted that I often hit in VERY unsafe positions. Does this always work? No. And my hits are probably in the category of “Trained Professional - Do Not Try This Yourself At Home.” I know when to and when not to. But, for example, I’ve seen many players play an opening 4-1 with 13-8. This can’t be right. Of course you might get hit sometimes, but in the long run it will help you escape your back checkers and start to make points in your inner board. |
| 5. |
One terrific value in learning how to play backgammon online is Kit Woolsey’s GammOnLine magazine. GammOnLine backgammon magazine is no longer actively published, but for a one-time payment of $36 you get access to all 53 issues of the magazine. There are two current features, which are also great. One is the online backgammon match. Each day, Kit rolls the dice, makes a move, and explains his reasoning. He then rolls the dice again and the reader vote on how to play the roll. There is also a bulletin board on which backgammon readers can discuss backgammon topics, and the OLM (online match) is often a topic of discussion between players. Considering that Kit is the #5-ranked backgammon player in the world and that Neil Kazaross, the #2-ranked backgammon player, is a regular contributor to the discussion forum, you can’t help but learn a tremendous amount. Another great resource is to get one of the computer backgammon programs. If you’re serious about your game, there is no alternative to NOT having one (Especially that there are very strong and free programs now). |
Advanced Backgammon Tips
Backgammon is game of luck and skills. Player who wants to learn more about the game and improve his or her backgammon preformances , should practice , learn a from expreince, Articles, Forum, try to get as many Backgammon Tips as possible and also should try to follow these Backgammon Guidlines through the games.
No one becomes a great player in a day, it’s all about learning and practicing.
Here is a list of 27 important Backgammon Tips which will help you to become a better player. These are general backgammon guidelines to consider in common situations. Furthermore, If you have backgammon tips that you think we should add to this list, please email us and we will be happy to consider it for inclusion.
Good luck and hope these Backgammon Tips will upgrade your backgammon game expreince (notice that in this following list all backgammon tips are important equally).
- 1) Once a backgammon opponent makes an advanced anchor it is even more important to make one yourself. Your opponent can now afford to make bolder plays which could really put you on the defensive.
- 2) If you are already substantially behind in the race it may not hurt your chances to fall further behind. When you are way behind in the race it may actually improve your timing to be hit again giving you a better backgame or avoid crunching your board.
- 3) When ahead in the race, race! Break contact if you are ahead and bank on your racing advantage.
- 4) When you are behind in a race it is usually wrong to abandon an anchor or a holding point. Waiting for that shot may be your only chance to win.
- 5) When you are in doubt, hit. Hitting takes precedence in most situations, especially on your opponents side of the board when it makes a bigger difference in the race. Your opponent may dance.
- 6) When you are behind in the race and waiting for a shot, slot and build the points in your home board in order.
- 7) Always slot to extend primes, especially 6pt primes since you have less checkers to work with. The exception would be when you risk being put behind a prime yourself.
-
When considering a double, for every 2 gammons you think you will lose, you have to win 1 more game to make it up. Varies with match score. - 9) When considering a double, you should be able to win 25% of the games, if there is little risk of a gammon, to break even. Varies with match score (when behind be a little more aggressive, when ahead be a little more conservative).
- 10) When trying to save a gammon, always bear into the 6pt, and make crossovers whenever possible. On last roll situations, make the play which allows you to save gammon the most often.
- 11) In prime vs. prime situations, make plays that don’t allow you to play high numbers on your next roll.
- 12 Fight for equality early in the game. Battle for your 5pt and 4pts on both sides of the board.
- 13) When considering doubling while on the bar, a better backgammon tips is to make sure you have serious market losers, you may dance.
- 14) When in doubt, lock up permanent assets. Making a key point is often better than a loose hit.
- 15) When bearing off, use all your numbers to take checkers off rather than trying to smooth your distribution by filling holes.
- 16) If you are 2 pts away, try for the undoubled gammon rather than turning an early cube.
- 17) Keep your composure during big swings of luck in a game. Consider each position as a new one and not as the one you used to have.
- 18) When considering plays, try and duplicate your opponents constructive numbers.
- 19) If the likelihood of getting a gammon is close (50%) bear off aggressively, if it is very likely or unlikely, play it safe.
- 20) Loose 6’s are better played on your opponents side of the board. Better to try and escape or go for an anchor than to risk getting hit on your own side of the board.
- 21) When you already have several of your opponents checkers back, a better backgammon strategy is to strengthen a prime than to send more back which may give them a better backgame or improve their timing.
- 22) Recirculate your checkers when in a backgame. Getting hit will improve your timing and help you to avoid crunching your board.
- 23) When in a backgame, consider all your opponents rolls and create shots by opening up points and increase your chances of hitting.
- 24) Try and keep an even number of checkers on your highest points when bearing off against an anchor to avoid leaving shots if you roll high doubles.
- 25) As a general rule, if you have fewer checkers left and fewer pips in a bearoff, you have a sound double.
- 26) If you have a choice between hitting a checker on your opponents side of the board or make a point on your own side, a better backgammon tip is usually to hit.
- 27) Your barpoint (7pt.) is valuable but if you have a choice, it is better to make your 5pt. or 4pt.