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Match Play Vs. Money Play

by Douglas Zare
25 March 2003

Douglas Zare

This column was inspired by two questions. Player "rew" on the GammOnLine bulletin board asked, "How bad is it to take with 22% winning chances at
3-away 3-away?"

At the New England Backgammon Club, Herb Gurland asked, "Do you want to play that out a few times?"

I have often looked over positions from matches of mine and been dismayed by a bad take/pass, but thought, "At least it would be a take/pass for money." Well, how much of a difference does it make? Quite a lot! For understanding cube actions in match play, I usually recommend paying attention to the racing take point and the gammon price, but another possibility is to compare the score with money play by asking how much borderline decisions are worth

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