Lose Small and Win Big in Backgammon

I. Wakefield, has been playing backgammon for the last 20 years and he cannot stress enough the importance of understanding backgammon as a game of risks. His secret? Lose small and win BIG. Below is an article by Wakefield describing his backgammon experiences.

I love playing backgammon for 20 years (now I am 38 years old). An Albanian friend of mine taught the game to me. We used to play hours of backgammon with him. In the first years I used to think that there is a right move for every dice combination (just as a backgammon school would argue). However, I recognized that this is not the case. I discovered that backgammon is a game of risks and I learned that one shoul know when to take risks and when not to.

My winning strategy starts before the game starts. Load the game on your benefit, you know that you are a good player! We all lose and we all win. The secret of success is to lose small and win BIG! Therefore, create a game which enables you to accomplish this. Statistically, if you create games with 5 or more possibilites and therefore you know you are skilled, your chances of winning will increase.

Winning BIG can only be achieved by opponents' manipulation by the use of doubling cube. Most players with low points have an inferiority complex. They will not retreat, and this means to accept the failure. You need to use this to your advantage. A smart player would know that he/she is laying with a skillful player and due to his/her chances of winning are below the avarege, she/he retreats. Likewise, you need to double when your opponent thinks his/her chances of winning is still high.

Understanding propability increases the winning chance. For instance, the number which is directly ot indirectly rolled is 6 (probability of 17 in 36 rolls). This almost means 50%, therefore you should not be suprised when you are hit all the time at the 7th place on your opponent board. This is called `probability`. Also, the probability factor decreases from 5 to 1 and the lowest probability is the dice 1 (probability of 11 in 36 rolls). Beyond 6, the probabilities really decrease. To roll a compund of 7 is 6 in 36 rolls. No number higher than 9 has a probability higher than 3 in 36.

Playing backgammon online is a great way of learning the game and it can sometimes even be quite funny. But nothing can be more entertaining than playing a good game with an old friend, under the sunlight, drinking cold beer and talking about the challanges of life.

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