In backgammon, the opening move may determain the winner. Each roll should be played with great tought, since it can change your entire game. This article is worth a lot for you, becaouse our experts are revealing their secrets here. Read exactly how to play each roll in your first moves, so your game begins with advantege. For best results - print this article and hang it on your fridge...
| DICE | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1-6 | |
| 2 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 2-6l | |
| 3 | 3-1 | 3-2 | 3-3 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 3-6 | |
| 4 | 4-1 | 4-2 | 4-3 | 4-4 | 4-5 | 4-6 | |
| 5 | 5-1 | 5-2 | 5-3 | 5-4 | 5-5 | 5-6 | |
| 6 | 6-1 | 6-2 | 6-3 | 6-4 | 6-5 | 6-6 |
Each of the six doubles occurs once and each of the non-doubles occurs twice. Therefore there are only 15 possible opening rolls.
Five of these are always played the same way:
31 is played by making the 5-pt (8/5, 6/5) 42 is played by making the 4-pt (8/4, 6/4) 53 is played by making the 3-pt (8/3, 6/3) 61 is played by making the bar-pt (13/7, 8/7) 65 is played by running one back checker to the mid-point 24/13.
The other opening rolls provide all provide choices. There are three types of choices:
- Run a back checker or play for contact
- Slot the 5-pt or split the two back checkers
- Bring down builders from the mid-point or split the back checkers
In the first category we see the remaining rolls containing a six: 62, 63, 64.
All of these rolls can be played by running one back checker with 24/16, 24/15, 24/14 respectively. These are rather old-fashioned plays and the more normal plays are:
62 24/18, 13/11 63 24/18, 13/10 64 24/18, 13/9
The idea with these moves is to provoke a favourable exchange of hits on the opponent`s bar-point or make it on the next roll. It should be noted that 64 can also be played 8/2, 6/2 which is the right move at certain match scores.
In the second category we see the rolls: 21, 41, 51.
The slot plays are:
21 13/11, 6/5 41 13/9, 6/5 51 13/8, 6/5
and the corresponding split plays are:
21 13/11, 24/23 41 13/9, 24/23 51 13/8, 24/23
The slotting plays lead to complicated games whilst the split plays tend to lead to simpler positions.
In the final category we have: 32, 43, 52 and 54. The choices are to build with:
32 13/10, 13/11 43 13/9, 13/10 54 13/8, 13/9 52 13/8, 13/11
and the corresponding splitting plays are:
32 13/10, 24/21 43 13/9, 24/21 or 13/10, 24/20 54 13/8, 24/20 52 13/8, 24/22
Once again the building plays tend to lead to more complex positions and the splitting plays to simpler ones. The choice is yours but note that the match score in a tournament can influence your choice (play for complexity when losing) and you should also take note of your opponent`s skill levels (steer for complexity against an inferior opponent, for simplicity against a better player).
Money Play
Money play (- Backgammon betting / Backgammon gambling) is the easiest form of backgammon. Each game can be treated on its own merits and the only complexity to add to the equation is your opponent. You should adjust your play to take account of your opponent`s weaknesses and/or strengths, whether they are with moving the checkers or in handling the doubling cube.
Chouette play, the form of the game where more than two players take part in a single game, is a much more complex form of money pay because now you have to consider many more players and their various idiosyncrasies. You also have to take into account financial management. Good chouette play is quite an art.
In matches it is a very different story. Here the match score is the dominant factor. At the beginning of a match game and doubling strategies are very similar to the money play, i.e. you should play your normal game.
However, as the match progresses and it either gets close to the end or one player has a sizeable lead then tactics and strategies must be adjusted accordingly. When ahead in a match, play for simple racing and holding games, when behind steer for complexity with prime versus prime games.
If you are serious about match play then you must study match equity tables (tables that you give your winning chances at any particular score) and learn how to use them to adjust your play.
For money black should double and red should take. If the score was 3-2 to black in match to 5 then if black doubles red should drop. By passing red keeps 25% winning chances. If he takes he will only win the match 23% of the time. A 2% difference may not seem like much but over the long haul these small differences add up.
Critically, you must learn the right strategies for 3-away vs. 3-away (both sides need two points to win the match),2-away vs. 2-away and finally Double Match Point (DMP).
The play at DMP can be very different from money play because the cube is irrelevant as are gammons and backgammons - the only important thing is winning the game. DMP can and should influence your opening moves. For example with an opening 64 at the DMP the correct play is 24/14 rather than 24/18, 13/9. Similarly because gammons don`t count, if you have to fall into a back game then that is no problem provided you can time it well.
