Backgammon is a popular two player game available at many gaming sites. It is played on a board featuring 24 points (narrow triangles). Six points form a quadrant resulting in totally four quadrants. Both players have 15 pieces each which are to be moved according to the roll of the dice. The ultimate objective of the player is to move all his pieces on to the home board. The player then needs to bear the pieces off.
Although a bit complicated, backgammon can be very interesting once you are familiar with the basics. A majority of players depend on chance rather than strategy for winning. This is not the best approach and here are a few tips that can help you improve your performance.
Get as much practice as possible
In any game, including backgammon, you need to perfect the basics before trying to improve your performance. As mentioned earlier, many beginners find the game to be a bit complicated and it may require more practice than other games.
Many gaming sites offer play money variant of the game. These are a great way to learn the basics and perfect your strategies. As there is no financial risk in these games, it does not matter if you make mistakes. The mistakes can in fact be a valuable learning experience. Once you feel confident, you can start playing low stake real money variant of the game. At the end of each game, it is a good idea to review it. This is easily done as most gambling sites offer a “replay” option and it is the best way to identify your weak spots and work on them.
Choose your opening move carefully
In an online backgammon game there are a limited number of possible opening rolls (fifteen). Over the years players have been able to identify through trial and error at least one good opening move for each of the possible rolls. It is advisable to follow this tried and tested path. Even if your intuition suggests otherwise, it is a good idea to go with an opening move that has been proved to be superior.
Count your pips
The ultimate aim in the game is to stay ahead or supersede your opponent. For this, counting pips is essential. This is the only way to estimate the required number of pips for bringing the checkers home and then bearing them off.
Even if math is not one of your strengths, you can count pips using one of several methods, for instance, the trice formula. According to this formula you can estimate the number of pips required to accept the doubling cube by subtracting five, dividing it by seven and finally rounding up, when the leading player is at 62 or a lower number. The trice formula can be used in money games.
Make use of the doubling cube judiciously
As far as the use of doubling cube is concerned, opinions vary. Deciding whether or not to accept a double and whether or not to offer a double is always confusing. The Woolsey’s Law advises players to go for the double in case of confusion.