Counting Shots

Counting what? A backgammon beginner might ask that question, and it is quite understandable. After all, for the uninitiated, backgammon might just be a board, dice, and checkers. In backgammon, however, there is such a thing called shot.

Let’s begin with its definition. A shot is the chance that a player has to hit his opponent’s blot. One important thing about shots is that you can count the possible number of shots at any given position. Being able to do so will help you improve your game.

There are different kinds of shots: the direct shot, the indirect shot, and the double shot. The direct shot is simply being able to hit your opponent’s blot using the number on a single die. The indirect shot, on the other hand, makes use of the numbers appearing on the two dice. The double shot can be done in two ways: hitting your opponent’s blot in two different ways OR two blots that can be hit in the same way.

So how do you count shots? The best method would be to calculate the probabilities of certain numbers coming out on a dice roll. There are 36 dice combinations so you use this figure to compute the chances. The thing is, no one is really expected to be crunching the numbers while playing. The better thing to do would be to learn the backgammon probability charts, the one with the probability to hit blots in particular, as much as you can and remember the figures. In this manner, you will have a better picture of what your odds are at a given time.