Author: Orad Reshef
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Don’t pass this up: part 2
We continue our list of automatic plays with a few more rules of thumb, this time pertaining to primes. Don’t pass up a 6-prime This one should hopefully feel obvious — if you are given the opportunity to complete a 6-prime, you must seize it. This structure is so powerful that it puts a stranglehold…
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Don’t pass this up: part 1
Earlier in this module, we learned about many of the strongest “automatic plays”; we learned to always Just make the 5-point, to Anchor up, and to Point on head without thinking too hard. Below we’ll run through a few other plays that are way too good to pass up. As always, all rules have exceptions,…
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Don’t bury checkers
You only start with 15 checkers. If you ever want to build a 6-prime, you can’t afford to waste that many. What does “wasting” a checker look like in backgammon? This question has had many different answers over the years. In the 1970s and 80s, when “pure” play was gaining popularity and priming was seen…
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Build your board
So if you’re up in the race, you should race… but what if you are down in the race? When trailing in the race, it’s quite thematic to work on our board strength. Since we aren’t looking to break contact with our opponent, we want whatever contact we invite to go in our favor. Additionally,…
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When up in the race, race
Even with all of this discussion about anchors, primes, and board strength, at its core, backgammon is a race. The competing priorities present in any given position can make it hard to see the forest through the trees. Oftentimes, decisions merely boil down to the race: if you’re ahead in the pip count, just run.…
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Opening rolls
We’ve reached the point where it’s finally time to memorize the opening rolls. Because a game can’t start with a doublet, there are only 15 dice combinations we need to learn how to play, and at most about 35 reasonable ways those can be played. The optimal play actually changes a bit depending on the…