You're Backgammoned!

I just had my third career Backgammon while playing against the second best player on Facebook. :) The technique of my opponent was interesting because it was clear that she was going to lose, yet she did not move her final stone out of my home board. The technique that I would have used in her situation would have been to prevent me from getting a Gammon at the least (let alone a Backgammon). I wonder what was on her mind? Hmm...

How Common Is A Gammon?

I just lost a match 5-2, but I thought a screen capture of the first game would be worth sharing, since I won it with a Gammon. :) I noticed that the percentage of Gammon wins is significantly higher than the percentage of Backgammon wins. So far, I must have played over hundreds of games and I have only had two Backgammons. There must be some type of strategy which would increase the chances of winning with a Backgammon. I just need to figure out what it is! Just to clarify for those who are not familiar with the Gammon and Backgammon terms, here is an explanation:

Gammon: When Player A wins a game by bearing off all of his/her stones before Player B bears off any of his/her stones. This type of play is worth two points.

Backgammon: When a Player A wins a game by bearing off all of his/her stones before Player B bears off any of his/her stones. Plus, Player B still has one of his/her stones in Player A's home board.

Huge Win!

Just had the biggest win ever! Great game and fun opponent. Here is how the match played out:

Game 1 - I offered to double, opponent resigned, won the game with 1 point (score 1-0)
Game 2 - Opponent offered to double, I resigned, lost the game by 1 point (score 1-1)
Game 3 - Opponent offered to double, I accepted (2 points), I offered to double, opponent accepted (4 points), opponent offered to double, I accepted (8 points), I offered to double, opponent accepted (16 points), opponent offered to double, I accepted (32 points), I offered to double, opponent accepted (64 points). I won the game by 64 points.

Total score for the match? 65-1!

Taking Risks

Like anything else, taking risks while playing Backgammon can have positive results. I just played a best of three game and won 6-2. The following is how the game played out:

Game 1 - I doubled the points and won the game. Score 2-0.
Game 2 - Opponent beat me with a Gammon. Score tied 2-2.
Game 3 - I doubled the points, then won the game with a Gammon (I therefore won 4 points in this game). Final score 6-2.

In the third game, I doubled the points in the middle of the game. It was not a guarantee that the win would be mine, but I decided to take a risk and try my luck. I am happy that I did! Not only did the risk allow me a win, but it resulted in a bigger win due to the Gammon.

Intimidating Your Opponent

I just finished playing a game and won 5-0 (played two games for a best of three).

Sometimes, when playing Backgammon, utilizing intimidation is an effective strategy. For example, in the game I just played, the opponent decided to double the points near the beginning of the second game. I accepted the double, and as soon as it was my turn to roll, I also doubled the points (making the game worth 4 points). The strategy that I had in mind was to "shake" the opponent by doing something unpredictable. There is a very slim chance that the opponent expected me to double the points right after he/she did the same thing. I believe that luck has a lot to do with a person's state of mind and when one is "shaken", it will definitely affect the person's confidence which translates into negative mind energy and which will then affect the person's luck!

Try doing something unpredictable to scare your opponent once in awhile. It just might work.

Bad Sport!

Just "finished" a game. I was on the verge of a possible Gammon (maybe even a Backgammon) and the opponent left the game. Just like that! As mentioned in my first post, that is the draw back of playing Internet Backgammon through Windows. Perhaps I should contact Microsoft and give them a suggestion on improving their games.

Slump

I have encountered my first Backgammon slump. Rather depressing. I think the best way to overcome this streak of bad luck is to stop playing for awhile. Have you ever encountered a slump? How did you deal with it?

I have been playing the game on Facebook and since there are points and rankings, you can really feel the losses!