Introduction

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)

Continue to Learning Backgammon,

Stage 2: Beginner

I buy a book and begin to study strategy. I learn about “Blitz” and “Back Game”, and I’m right away fascinated. The idea to hit the opponent regardless of risk, just bet on the probability that he might miss and I rail him sounds promising and a few test games against my computer proves this actually works, and I’m suddenly a winner. But the Back Game idea, to fall back in the game so much that it seems totally hopeless to win the race and then come back from there, is truly amazing. I signup at another free online backgammon server, but there something must be wrong as well, I have studied so much, I’m a master of strategy now, but I’m still losing all the time. How can all my opponents be so lucky to hit me when I try a “Blitz” while I never get a hit when I try a “Back Game”? I get in touch with some other players and they tell me about their own experience, suspicions about manipulated dice and I’m right away convinced, that’s the only possible explanation. I’ve had this impression myself already, and if others think the same, that confirms my theory. If the dice are manipulated, then I have no chance to win, but the people on this server are nice, so I stay, after all the manipulations seem to have the same effect on everyone which makes it overall somewhat fair again. I begin to play for competition, I signup for some leagues and ladders and I play hundreds of games every day, my luck is still the worst, but that’s only because of the manipulations, so I put the main purpose of playing into the chat with other players, I make lots of friends and I feel good, if only the server would provide fair dice, it would be perfect. Some of the leagues I play in organize live tournaments, of course I join, not only to meet the people I’ve been chatting with, but I’ll get a chance to show my real skills, with real dice, on a real board, without manipulations, that will be my glorious victory, finally my chance to show the world what a master I am. I am more than disappointed; I lose all live tournaments I play in first or second round, not the slightest bit of luck, I feel so embarrassed, my expected great show of skill turned into a complete disaster. But I make a lot of friends; they assure me no one thinks badly about me, anyone can run into bad luck, that doesn’t affect the friendship or reputation. I got a plan; I will study backgammon until I’m so far superior over anyone else, until even bad luck cannot prevent me from winning anymore and then I will show the world who the real champion is. Learning Backgammon articles series was written by Thomas Griffi (in online backgammon better known as Piranha) Stage 3: Intermediate I surf the entire web for months, I read everything I can find about backgammon, I rarely find the time to play, this study requires all my time. I keep reading about Analysis and Equity and I invest a lot of money to buy the most expensive analysis program on the market. I begin to analyse my games, at first I only check the summary on bottom, but why does this stupid program rate me Beginner most of the time? I cant be a beginner anymore, Ive played for several years live and online, this must be wrong! I look deeper into the analysis and I find almost the entire list of my moves all marked in yellow and red which indicates errors and blunders. I review the moves marked as real bad blunders and I realize, this stupid program is not stupid at all, I am the stupid one here, and I am nothing but an arrogant idiot. How could I think I had mastered the game while I play such an amount of real dumb blunders? I review my opponents skills, and I find out, most of my wins were not the result of my good play, but I won only because my opponents played even worse or I had a lot of luck while most of my losses were a direct result of my bad play against much better opponents. I begin a mixture of playing and analysing, after every game or match I play I run an analysis and I review it move by move, even though I now spend much more time analysing than playing. I replay tricky positions to figure out why my move was such a blunder; I notice specific types of errors I keep repeating, I try to memorize and avoid them in future. There still is this impression of manipulated dice when I play online, but the more analysis results I review, the clearer it becomes, it doesnt require any manipulations, my bad play plus the always present luck factor is more than enough to explain the outcome of my games and matches. I just wish I had a little bit more luck. by Thomas Griffi (in online backgammon better known as Piranha) Stage 4: Advanced I have become a fan of statistics; I do not only review all my analysis, I also create huge statistics over thousands of games and matches, sorted by month or by opponent; I want to protocol my progress, get an estimate how long it takes to reach the next stage, but it turns out, the progress I make is minimal. I keep playing for several further years, about half a million games, all analysed and reviewed move by move, but my average rating is still Intermediate. At least there is one huge progress I made, I am now convinced, there is nothing manipulated in online backgammon. Ive played in a lot of live events and I have experienced, dice are weird and luck is a devil, but there is no difference at all between online dice and real dice. I get into huge discussions with other players, who are still convinced about manipulations, I try to show them my analysis and statistics, but they wont listen. At first I try to convince them with logic, I cant understand why they dont accept my superior experience, until I suddenly remember, Ive been there myself, Ive been a beginner just a few years ago, and I didnt listen either when someone tried to tell me how weak I actually was. I keep trying to discuss with them, Im trying to find the perfect words that could break into a beginners mind and show them the truth, but it seems hopeless. Once in a while I reach someone, but the majority remains just as ignorant as I used to be myself. Over time and another half million games I finally reach an average rating of Advanced, but it doesnt really get me exited anymore. I have learned to be modest, Im proud of my work with statistics, I have created a huge website with it and Ive gained quite a reputation in online backgammon, but the original plan of becoming a true champion is gone. Compared to the progress I made and the time it took so far, I can estimate, the date when I would reach a true world class stage will not be within my lifetime. Before studying and practicing backgammon requires talent and there I simply dont have enough. Stage 5: Expert Stage 6: World Class Well, I cant tell anything about these, I havent reached it yet. Maybe someone else can fill in here. I hope you enjoyed this article, as it represents some kind of biography of the last 15 years of my life. Maybe you find yourself in one of these stages, maybe it helps you a bit in your own progress, however, I wish you the best of luck Learning Backgammon articles series was written by Thomas Griffi (in online backgammon better known as Piranha)

Fortunately, we all are lucky enough to play people from time to time who have serious flaws in their game. And whether you are playing in a major tournament, just for fun on line, or for money, once you determine that your opponent has some flaws, you should change your game to take advantage of them.

There is, however, a double-edged sword when you change your game. Any time you make a decision that you would not make against a great player, you are, in effect, choosing to make a play that is “less” than what you believe to be the “best” play. And statistically, any time you make an inferior play, you are costing yourself equity in the match.

Having said that, however, once you are fairly certain of your opponents flaws, you can vary your game to take advantage. The most common way to take advantage of an opponent is when you know he has problems with the doubling cube. If you know the opponent is timid about giving the cube, you can gamble a little more with your checker play. If you know your opponent drops cubes much more than he should, you can be more aggressive giving the cube, because when you give a cube that should be taken and he drops, you have gained significantly. And conversely, if you have an opponent who takes just about every cube, you can afford to cube later in the game. By cubing later, you take less risk than if you cubed earlier and the game turned around on you.

If you know your opponent is a weaker checker player, you should generally avoid getting into straight racing situations and look for more complex situations—back games and holding games

I don’t have a lot more backgammon instructions for playing the opponent’s weaknesses, and that’s for a very good reason. The reason is, EVEN AGAINST A WEAKER PLAYER, or a player with serious flaws in his game, much of the time you are better off making the best play or the best cube decision—the one you would make if you were playing the best player in the world, than trying to change your game to the other player’s level.

By Phil Simborg

Having studied Backgammon opening moves for many years, having had the benefit of experience, the use of computer softwares, and tremendous personal skill and intuition, the experts have virtually all agreed on the best backgammon opening moves for any possible dice combination that can be, and for any situation in the backgammon game.

If you want to increase your odds of winning do not make any backgammon moves other than what the experts recommend.

It’s very simple. You must memorize the best backgammon opening moves, and follow them. Also understanding the logical explaination for each backgammon move will help you greatly and it will also push you to go to the next step , knowing and understanding the experts’ recommendation on what you do on the next move?

Roll in response to backgammon opening moves if your opponent gets the opening. Of course, none of this will be really helpful unless you understand how to play the rest of the game…

But since I cannot possibly explain the entire great backgammon moves and backgammon strategy with a single article, let me offer some tips for the your backgammon opening moves.

Everybody knows, that there is no question what to do with 3-1, 6-1, 4-2 and 6-5 Dices outcomes. How to play these Backgammon opening moves has been agreed to and proven to be correct for many years of expreince , and the correct backgammon movess are right for any match, whether you are winning or losing by a little or a lot. There is a debate on all other moves, there are some different backgammon moves depending on the score; and the decision is not so obvious.

Let’s take care first of the sure ones.
With 3-1 you make your 5 point. Not only do most experts agree that the 5 point is the most important point to make, but any other 3-1 move will put you at an unnecessary risk of getting hit by your opponent.
Why is getting hit so bad, especially so early in the game?- Because one of the principles of backgammon is that every game, no matter how complex it is, ends up as a race to see who can get his checkers around and off the board first.
Between the first roll and the removal of the last checker, everything else that happens is just preparation for who the one is that gets to remove the last checker. Even games that end as a result of a double/drop are because the dropper is sure that he is less likely to be the first one removing that last checker.

With 6 -1 you make your 7 point (bar point) as that is the second most important point on the board, and any other move leaves exposed to hit blots. The same thing goes for 4 -2 -you make your 4 point – that is also an important point, and again, you don’t want to leave exposed blots. With 6-5 you simply run a back checker all the way because it is the best thing for the race and again, you won’t leave exposed blots.

An opening of 5-3 ; There used to be much debate about how to play. Some experts in the 70’s and 80’s believed that making the 3 point was not right. That they were better off making several other moves that provided them with more flexibility? on the next move and put there checkers in better strategic places for it.
The problem with the others moves is twofold: it leaves exposed to hit blots, and if hit, gives the opponent an immediate advantage, second, an opportunity to take the 3-point has been passed up, and the 3-point, maybe not as critical as the bar, 5, and 4 points, but is still a good position to have. It is agreed by the experts of the new millennium virtually that it is right to make the 3 point with your 5-3.

Let’s simply go now through the list of what is the best backgammon opening moves, and reasonable variations for it:

2 – 1 Split your back checkers (24-23) and bring one checker down (13-11). If you wish to gamble, slotting your 5 point and bringing one down is not a bad play.
3 – 1 You make your 5 point

3 – 2 there are many variations for this play, but generally the experts think that the best play is bringing you back checker up 3 (24-21) and bringing a 2 from the midpoint (13-11) down.
4 – 1 usually, it’s right to split the back checker and bring one checker down (24-23, 13-9), but it’s not a bad gambling play, to bring one down and slot your 5 point
4 – 2 The best is to make your 4 point.

4 – 3 The most possible variation are in This move, depending on score, but generally, the it is agreed that the best is to move up 3 off your back point (24-21) and bring down the 4 (13-9).
5 – 1 Generally, the right move is to split the back checker and bring one checker down (24-23, 13-8). When behind in the match and a gammon win is a major plus, you might bring one down and slot your 5-point on the next move (13-8, 6-5).
5 – 2 Two plays: take a back checker 2 (24-22) ,and bring one down (13-8), or bring two checkers down (13-8, 13-11)
5 – 3 Obviously, make your 3 point

5 – 4 Two options: you can move a back checker up (24-20) and bring one down (13-8), or two down from the midpoint (13-8, 13-9)

6 – 1 Make your bar.

6 – 2 Two plays: you can run all the way, or you can run to the bar and bring one checker down

6 – 3 Two plays: either run a checker all the way off your 24 point, or run to your opponent’s bar and take one down from your midpoint.

6 – 4 There are 3 plays: you can run a back checker all the way out to your 14 point ; You can make your two point; you can run a back checker to your opponent’s bar (24-18), and bring down one checker off your midpoint (13-9).

6 – 5 one option; run a back checker.

Summary

Will you surely win more games if you make the above backgammon openning moves ? Yes, absolutely. It has been proven, statistically!
Now, with computer programs, we can take any move or position and play out thousands, and even millions of backgammon games to check those moves, one play or cube decision are better than others.
For EVERY MOVE, not only for backgammon opening moves, but, you must learn the correct move if you want to win more games you can’t memorize the correct move for every possible position, but it is possible for the opening moves, so as long as you’ve got the list, try to use it?