Always have options at the ready in backgammon. The quantum nature of Lady Luck means: things turn on a dime, things veer into a hazy future. At the outset, divine a way to profit from Luck's caprice. Select each phase of the game and sample it. Start with game plans and kinds of attack, move…
Takes (240)
Nothing says "Take" like getting stoned and publicly rambling about a doubling cube decision. Here's a devilish question: Did you think you'd get The Devil all to yourself? No. Heavens. No. SHE is far too busy for the likes of you and your ilk, an elitist stickler for propriety in backgammon. Fret not. Today you…
a simple cube tonight
Cash game. Jacoby rule. Black on roll. Black has a good double, with much the better of the gammon chances. Rollouts reveal that Black wins twice as many gammons here. Close race, but trailing White by a roll. Black has the better board and a premium anchor. The attack chances strongly favour Black, with some…
Using her reference first cube
You are playing Black. Why should Black recognize White's reference first cube situations? White to play. To recall, a reference first cube in a cash game has the equity of Double and Take equal to the equity of wait to double. High-quality bot evaluations (long rollouts come later) suggest this position is almost a reference…
cube 3.1
Cube actions. Cash game. Jacoby rule in effect. White doubles. Does Black have enough of a position to take the cube? What does White have going for her in this position to offer a first cube? First, White has escaped both runners onto a comfortable 15pt, an achievement known as a Houdini position. The white…
a way to review a game (1)
How to review a game? Always start with the first cube action. White considers a first cube. On roll, White currently has a mere half roll lead in a race. And the deep anchor facing Black's gap blockade is modest indeed. Nevertheless … Black danced on the bar facing a better white board and nearly…
a first blood cube in a match
A late position in the first game of a three-point match. The score is still zero-zero. Black considers the first cube of the match. Black started this game with monster doubles from favorable dice on the third roll, so Black has been watching and nursing a "too good to cube" situation for many rolls now.…
about learning the game (0)
This position came up last week, a juicy racing tip to entice a study group of aging experts. Nowadays, these little scraps of data fling like fireworks through the internet, raining drops of backgammon positions splattered willy and yonder. In truth, to gain the attention of an aging expert, the situation on the board must…
3ptrs .. the rewhip cube
The castle of three-point matches has a lonely room for those players who push and push and crawl, grinding from the start of the match. These lonely players push the first game of the match into a cube and pass, score now one-zero, thereby improving their match chances from 50% to 60%. Then, encouraged in…
cube 2.7
Black gets ready to roll the dice, but stops. Time to consider a first cube. Before this moment, the white and black outfield checkers were staring each other down, menacingly. But Black's last roll of 63s broke the black anchor. Somehow White missed. Does Black now have the upper hand? The first edict in the…
the baron talks backgammon 