Black opens with 32s and tries an old school play that brings two spares down from the midpoint, hoping to develop a blockade. Seven white rolls can hit. W36s One of the seven rolls that hit a black blot. B62s Black enters from the bar and slots the 5pt, hoping White misses. Starting the 18pt…
classic prime versus prime
Cash game with Jacoby rule. Black pauses to consider a first cube. Black pauses to consider a first double Cube decision over-the-board: White has a slight racing lead. Both the deep Black and White anchors are becoming trapped in a classic prime versus prime scenario. White has a gapped 4-prime with its illogical 16pt-22pt structure,…
down to the crossroads
During a dark night of backgammon, on an empty fruit stand at the crossroads of some rural route, deep and silent in tobacco county, the devil makes an interesting proposal. Do you want to start the game with glorious 31s, making your golden point? Or: Would you prefer to have ownership of the doubling cube…
Take( 420 )
Four-Twenty: In the smoke and fog of this annus horribilis emerges the cube position below, born in bygone years, now dubbed Reference Take Point #420. The situation was extracted lovingly from the position archives. White redoubles, and applies massive pressure on Black with the recube, an 8 pointer. Black has a powerful home board, but…
dead heat bearoff
Ignore the doubling cube. Black to roll the dice. Ignore the cube in the picture. Suppose this position occurs in a cubeless game, perhaps in a match with score 1-away to 1-away. Black is on the roll but has not yet tossed the dice. The game will be decided as a bearoff race, the first…
swinging from cube to cube
As a position to remember, this situation is fairly easy. In a cash game with a centered cube, White is on the roll. The contact boils down to the white outfield point perched on the other midpoint and an ogle of the vulnerable black blot on White's side of the board. Both players have closed…
a mutual racing cube
Cash game. Jacoby rule. White opens with 25s, a small split to the 22pt and an extra spare on the 8pt from the midpoint stack. Seven pips is the exact average of the inaugural roll; from now on, the average roll will be eight pips and a bit. No hint that this game will become…
Take (998)
Cash game. Black on roll. Cube actions? Black has a variety of market losers. Doubles fives can point and run. Flexible rolls can make the barpoint, a gem of a blockade. And fly shots can hit White's midpoint blot. Lastly, in a pinch, White's home blot invites Black to hit loose on the 1pt white…
a question of rodents
In backgammon an expert player of cunning and means will always try to gain a decisive edge on a suspicious gambling mark for example the jacoby rule provides that edge it focuses attention on the doubling cube gammons do not count until after somebody doubles the stakes for either side the rule injects a sense…
cube 2.71
Five point match. White's match score is two, Black's zero. Black on roll. Cube action? During the pause, Black considers a double and White considers a take. A short match with score B:W as 5a/3a, so the baronMET probability of Black (on roll) to win this match is about 3/8. Of course, Black’s game chances…
the baron talks backgammon 