Tips for the Advanced Player

Now that we’ve taken a look at some things that a beginner should know, maybe it is time to step it up a notch higher. Here are some tips that would help an advanced backgammon player polish his game.

Know the match equity tables by heart.
You cannot be an experienced player unless you have a decent understanding of the cube – that is a given. Yet the truth is that there are some experienced players who still do not have a full understanding of the match equity tables and the math behind them. If you are one of them, then take the time to memorize the match equity tables. You have to know how to figure out your take point at a given score. Unless you know how to do this, I am sorry to inform you that you can’t make a truly informed decision when to give or take a cube. What happens then is that you are merely making a guess – albeit an educated one perhaps. Yet if you know your take point at any given score, your “guess” becomes more accurate and could then be called a decision. A play on words? Maybe. Still, it will be to your benefit.

Know the exact pip count.
What differentiates a good player from a great one? Many factors, perhaps but one of them is knowing the exact pip count. What is the important of knowing what the exact pip count is? More than applying the pip count to cube decisions, this knowledge also helps you in distributions, cross-overs, and of course, for the score.