Backgammon is an easy game to learn, but a hard game to play well. Over the years, I have learned several excellent guidelines to checker play that generally guide me to the best moves. I teach all of these to my students, and I know they will be helpful to you as well.
4.76
03 Jan 2008 - by Phil Simborg
Backgammon is an easy game to learn, but a hard game to play well. Over the years, I have learned several excellent guidelines to checker play that generally guide me to the best moves. I teach all of these to my students, and I know they will be helpful to you as well.
4.76
13 Dec 2007 - by Phil Simborg
I have found that the best way for my students to learn backgammon is to break the game down into single, specific areas of play, discuss then independently, and then practice just that area until they get it.
4.00
01 Oct 2007 - by Phil Simborg
Backgammon is all about odds. It also is possible to play excellent backgammon without calculating numbers and odds in your head constantly, simply by playing moves that "look" more appealing than others.
4.64
28 Sep 2006 - by Phil Simborg
I can help you. If you think you roll badly, or at least worse than your opponents, the truth is: YOU PROBABLY ARE! The reason, however, might surprise you.
3.00
06 Apr 2002 - by Charlie Walter
Some players have learned many formulas and systematic procedures to play good backgammon. Others rely almost exclusively on their intuitive feel for the game, pattern recognition, sense of danger, etc. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages.
4.38
03 Aug 2001 - by Douglas Zare
Columbia University Mathematician Douglas Zare gives us some of the basics of bearing in correctly when the game has become a race.
4.61
26 Oct 2000 - by Michael Strato
Part 2 of the tutorial on odds and probabilities provides you with more charts to learn from. Two of these show the chances of coming down from the bar with one and two checkers while the third explains the odds of bearing off your last two checkers.
4.20
29 Sep 2000 - by Michael Strato
This is a tutorial for players that are relatively new to the game of Backgammon. It will provide basic knowledge about odds and probabilities. Don't worry, you don't have to be a mathematician to grasp this session, it's simple arithmetic!
4.55
10 Jul 2000 - by Mark Driver
The experts are often asked for advice on how to improve ones play. Invariably the answer is "study and practice". This article will focus on a main element of the study side of the self-improvement equation - reading the literature.
4.08
29 May 2000 - by Michael Strato
For those that play Backgammon where it is possible to use a double for an opening roll of the game, here are the best moves as suggested by the Snowie Professional Edition.
4.50
25 May 2000 - by Mark Driver
The pip count is like a score during the game. It tells us how many more spaces we have to move our men to get them off and win. Knowing where you stand in the race is important when it comes to doubling decisions.
4.70
13 May 2000 - by Michael Strato
Here is some basic strategy on early game play along with Snowie's suggestions on how to play each opening roll. The resulting board position and a brief Snowie analysis accompany each best move.
4.92
16 Jan 2000 - by Joe Sullivan
In close games, no one really wants to "take a chance" and double the stakes but in certain situations "we got to separate the men from the boys".
4.39
30 Dec 1999 - by JP White
For beginners the doubling cube can be quite a mystery. I know when I started out I rarely used the cube, and even worse, seldom thought about using it.
4.31
10 Dec 1999 - by Tom Penney
This article will briefly explain the concept behind the value of the bar point and how you can use your understanding of this concept in other parts of your game.
4.63
