Jackpotjoy Bingo

Littlewoods Casino

Pick Your Strategy: Why Not Play a Holding Game?

We all play backgammon differently and feel comfortable playing certain natural strategies.

But there are some basic time-proven strategies played by experts.

I’m no expert, although I’m trying to be. No, I’m a reporter, so I’ve been looking for ways to up my game.

Here’s an interesting strategy I came across recently.

If it works for you, great. If not, there are always more strategies.

I’d like to hear yours.

The holding game is a basic strategy used by many experts. It basically means keeping a point in the opponents home board area. The higher the position held the better your chances to win.

This has two advantages: you may hit easier bloats in his outer board area and also in case you get hit you have at least one point where to land when re-entering.

There is also a down side, if your anchor position is not on the opponent’s 4,5,6 points you might get stuck with your checkers.

The Best Game Ever? Backgammon has a 5,000-year History as Rich as the Game Itself

I laugh when I come across people who have just come across backgammon and act as if it is a new game.

Fact is, it’s an ancient game. And one of the most popular games ever.

But now it’s becoming popular online and in casinos.

The game’s history dates back five thousand years ago but it is uncertain to whom the invention of the game can be attributed.

I’ve written about this before because I find it so fascinating. Particularly since I fell in love with the game years ago and had no awareness of how popular it was…even in ancient biblical times.

Since no written records of the rules of backgammon had not yet been found, it is hard to tell if the rules of playing backgammon during the ancient times are similar to the way it is being played in modern times.

But the fact that the basic layout of the board, consisting of twenty four points, fifteen checkers, and the dice, were integral elements of ancient backgammon proves that there is a resemblance between the original game and the backgammon being played today.

The popularity of backgammon was boosted by the Romans and was a favorite of Emperor Claudius.

In fact, the fate of an opponent who allows the emperor to lose is quite unimaginable. Tabula, the Roman variation of backgammon, was believed to be the first to incorporate gambling in backgammon. During that time, playing backgammon for entertainment was not a part of the culture of that era.

During the fall of the Roman Empire, backgammon continued to spread to other parts of the world.

However, it was only until the 1740s that backgammon rules were introduced. Likewise, the availability of backgammon sets at an affordable price paved the way for the game to become accessible to people from different parts of the world.

Now, the boom of online backgammon has brought on huge interest in the game, and led to an awareness of the game among the younger generation.

Now, of course, you don’t have to go out and buy a board, you can just download one.

Now, you can  compete against a backgammon computer and against other players from around the world.

Ain’t the internet wonderful?

Strategy Session: The End Game

I had an email the other day from a new player who said I have been concentrating too much on the starting moves but not enough on the end game.

For him…and thousands like him, here are some thoughts about the Grand Finale.

I hope those of you who read this for tournament news will forgive me this week, but there is a whole world of players out there who need to know more about the basics of the game.

You can start bearing off your checkers if all of them are in your home board area.

You take out your checkers by continuing rolling your dice.

You may take out the checker that is on the point corresponding to the numbers on the dice, also you can move them towards point 1 if the number rolled is not big enough. Also you must not necessarily bear off if you can make a legal move. You may do this if you want to avoid being hit while in your home board area.

If you roll a 3-2, you may either bear off one checker form point 3 and one from 2, or you can move two of your checkers from point 6 to point 4 respectively 3.

You may choose other moves depending on your strategy and game context. While bearing off it might happen that you get hit. In this case you may not bear off any of the remaining checkers before getting all the checkers again onto your home board. The winner is the one who succeeds first to bear off all his/her 15 checkers.

Online Backgammon, the Next “Big Thing”; We Look Forward to 2010 Play and Tournaments

A Happy New Year to You All; And Another Strategy Session

I love talking backgammon strategy.

For one thing, whenever I do a posting like this, people respond … often by saying I am full of crap.

It is cool when people give me their opinions on how to play.

Look, backgammon is a fluid game where success can be achieved via a variety of means.

Given that, there are many ways to tailor your strategy.

Backgammon is basically a race and given the backgammon rules you can decide to get your men home as quickly as possible or try to trap the back-men of your opponent so they can’t get out.

Your strategy will dictate your decision.

The dice will play a large part in affecting what you do.

But whether you want to attack or play defense will largely influence things.

So with that in mind what should you try to focus on regarding your backgammon strategy when you are playing.

If you are behind you need to keep your holding point or anchor as long as you can.

Don’t bury your checkers by taking them out of them game.

The 1 and 2 points are worthless to you.This is the equivalent of online backgammon suicide.

You want to try and make as many points as you can in your home board. This will trap your opponent if he still has pieces there or will make it very hard for him to come off the bar if you hit him

The points that you really want to get are the five, four and seven points. These are golden backgammon rules.

If you want to separate your back men it is best to do it at the start of the game before your opponent has had a chance to settle. Backgammon strategy is split on what the right decision is in this instance

Furthermore if you can separate them and only to be able to build a point in your opponent’s home board that will benefit.

As important as the five point is to you, the ability to anchor on the five point in the opponent’s home board is a great move.

Be aggressive and create builders in the hope of building points.

If you are hit you can turn your focus to the back-game.

Don’t hit if it is going to put you in a vulnerable position.

If you are going to leave more than one blot try to make it the same number needed to hit both. This is known as duplication. That minimizes your opponent’s chance of hitting and also leaves him in a bind as to which to hit. Of course the merit of this plan goes out the window if he gets doubles.

So…any thoughts?

Look…it’s New Year’s Eve where I am in the world….

Happy New Year, and see you all in 2010.

« go back — keep looking »

Recent Articles

• Coming, Perhaps Someday, to a TV Set Near You: A Backgammon Channel (If You Live in Israel, You Can Get This Now)
• A Learner’s Guide to FIVE Effective Game Strategies
• European Backgammon Series Online Tournament Finals Set for March
• Tournament Roundup, Leading to the Final WSOB Round
• Backgammon: Is the Game a Clue to the Meaning of “LOST”?
• Pick Your Strategy: Why Not Play a Holding Game?
• The Best Game Ever? Backgammon has a 5,000-year History as Rich as the Game Itself
• Strategy Session: The End Game
• Online Backgammon, the Next “Big Thing”; We Look Forward to 2010 Play and Tournaments
• A Happy New Year to You All; And Another Strategy Session

GM Network News

Lottery Books

• BUY THIS NOW