Backgammon Strategy

Improve your Backgammon game and win Real Money online by practising These
Backgammon strategy tips when moving your checkers or making doubling
decisions.

Backgammon is basically a race to see who bears off all of his checkers
first.

Backgammon, However, is also a game of skill and luck and to play
backgammon well requires careful strategy and an understanding of the
intricate workings of a winning game plan.

Here are some tips from BA to keep in mind when trying to determine the
your best Backgammon strategy for a particular situation.

 Blocking and Priming

(set a blockade)

Try to build points without gaps between them directly in front of your
opponents checkers in your home board to prevent their escape. Six points
in a row is called a prime.

A prime will make it impossible for your opponent to escape for as long as
you can maintain that structure.

Six points in a row in the player's home board is called a "closed board"
since any opposing checkers on the bar cannot legally re-entered and are
close or shut out of the game until the controlling player uncovers on the
six points. Consider shifting points if it helps to create a blockade.

Anchoring

Anchoring is setting up a defensive point in your opponent's home board.
This gives you a landing spot to come in on should you get hit and
prevents your opponent from making his home board. Try to establish
anchors early in the game on the higher points (20,21). If you become
significantly behind in the race, the lower points (22,23,24) have more
value, as your strategy is to build your home board and wait for a shot.
If you have two anchors try to keep them on adjacent points. A technique
that is often used to bring checkers in to act as anchors is
re-circulating. Re-circulating refers to intentionally allowing a blot to
be hit for the purpose of gaining time to protect other valuable points.


Communication

Communication is a distribution of checkers so that they are kept within
six pips of one another. This ensures that a checker will be nearby if a
man needs to be covered or if a runner needs a point to rest at.

 Distribution

Distribution is how evenly your checkers are divided among the points
occupied. It is usually better to have 3 checkers each on two different
points rather than 4 checkers one and 2 on the other. You should rarely
have six checkers on a point and almost never have any more. A player with
even distribution will have more flexibility to use his rolls to his
advantage than a player that has five or six checkers stacked up on a
single point.

 Diversification

Diversification is the spreading out of a player's checkers to increase
the number of good rolls on a subsequent turn.

 Duplication

Duplication refers to a technique for reducing the number of good rolls
for the opponent. A player places his checkers so that two of the
opponent's desired moves in different parts of the board both require the
same die value. For example: When a player must leave two blots exposed to
direct shots, it is best to place them the same number of pips away from
their respective attacking points. When the opponent has a checker on the
bar and a player must leave a blot exposed to a direct shot, it is best to
leave a shot that uses the same die value as one the opponent needs to
enter his checker.

 Exposure

It is sometimes good strategy to leave blots early in the game so that
they can be used to establish a strong offence or defence. These blots are
often called slots. Slots are a single checkers that are left exposed on a
point the player wishes to make, with the intention of covering the blot
on the next turn. However, if you are in a weaker position consider
consolidating. Consolidating refers to reducing your number of blots.

 Hitting

Try to hit checkers that are the most advanced or checkers that your
opponent would like to cover to establish an important point. Attack only
when it is advantageous to do so. For example, if you already have two
enemy checkers on the bar, it is more critical to make another point in
your home board than to hit a third checker. Also refrain from hitting if
it makes you more vulnerable than your opponent. If possible hit and
cover, rather than hit loose, in order to avoid leaving the player's own
blots in danger of a return hit. Also keep the power of the potential for
hitting in mind. Keeping checkers within hitting distance of a point held
by only two of the opponent's checkers will "freeze the opponents
builders" by restricting these checkers from being active builders.
Similarly, if it is not advantageous to hit your opponent's blot you can
alternatively apply pressure by using a checker so that it directly bears
on the opponent's blot, forcing the opponent to cover the blot, move it,
rather than use his turn to make a point.