Advanced Backgammon - taking it up a level?
Dr. Robert Kaplan
Hi Folks,
I am a fair bg player for never having read a book. My FIBS is about 1550 and
my GG is 1640 right now. I can beat most of the unsophisticated players like
myself. However, I would like to take it up a notch so I can compete with some
of the 1700 people.
Does anyone have an idea of how I can learn more advanced play so that I have
a shot with 1700 level people? I live in the San Francisco Bay Area if that
helps any.
Thanks a lot,
bob
ergobob on FIBS, GG, and Netgammon
John R. Grout
In article <4ud8l5$9...@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> bo...@bigbang.astro.indiana.edu (Chuck Bower) writes:
> Although there are several parts to the answer (and I'm sure you'll
> get all from responses to this post), reading is one of them. I
> suggest:
>
> 1. Backgammon (Magriel)
> 2. Advanced Backgammon (Robertie)
> 3. How to Play Tournament Backgammon (Woolsey)
> 4. Vision Laughs at Counting, with Advice to the Dicelorn (Kleinman)
> 5. Winning: The Psychology of Competition (Stuart H. Walker)
>
> Item 1 should be read first, but the other four in any order. For 1-4,
> write Carol Joy Cole:
Here are her address and phone number (from the WWW Backgammon Page);
Carol Joy Cole
3003 Ridgecliffe Drive
Flint, MI 48532-3730
USA
Tel/Fax: +1 810 232 9731
--
John R. Grout Center for Supercomputing R & D j-g...@uiuc.edu
Coordinated Science Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Chuck Bower
In article <4ucrqf$v...@nntp1.best.com>,
Dr. Robert Kaplan <kap...@usernomics.com> wrote:
>Hi Folks,
>
>I am a fair bg player for never having read a book.
>Does anyone have an idea of how I can learn more advanced play...
(snip)
Although there are several parts to the answer (and I'm sure you'll
get all from responses to this post), reading is one of them. I
suggest:
1. Backgammon (Magriel)
2. Advanced Backgammon (Robertie)
3. How to Play Tournament Backgammon (Woolsey)
4. Vision Laughs at Counting, with Advice to the Dicelorn (Kleinman)
5. Winning: The Psychology of Competition (Stuart H. Walker)
Item 1 should be read first, but the other four in any order. For 1-4,
write Carol Joy Cole: carl...@alumni.sils.umich.edu. Number 5 may
be out of print (try www.amazon.com) but is probably in many public or
school libraries.
Chuck
James Eibisch
>I am a fair bg player for never having read a book. My FIBS is about 1550 and
>my GG is 1640 right now. I can beat most of the unsophisticated players like
>myself. However, I would like to take it up a notch so I can compete with some
>of the 1700 people.
Magriel is the commonly regarded "first" book. Be warned though ... I
was hovering nicely at 1650 for a while (900-1200 experience), having
not read any books, and then, oh terrible day! I bought Magriel. My
rating plummeted to 1480 in two months and for over a year I could
barely scramble above 1540 before crashing down to 1500 again.
If I ever meet that Magriel fellow, I'll jolly well punch him on the
nose!
Anyway, that aside, do try to get hold of a copy - it really is an
excellent book. Next book might be Robertie's two volumes of Advanced
Backgammon. Whichever books you get, buy Jellyfish as soon as you can
afford it if you have a PC/Windows - don't eat for a month, keep the
lights turned off, etc.
--
_
James Eibisch ('v') N : E : T : A : D : E : L : I : C : A
At home in (,_,) http://www.i-way.co.uk/~jeibisch/
Reading, U.K. ======= http://www.revolver.demon.co.uk/
Ron Karr
Hi Bob,
There are several ways to improve one's BG game. I would break it down
into two basic categories: study and play. Both are essential. Playing gives
you a sense of the flow of the game and the types of things that can happen in
certain situations, which are hard to capture in a book. Studying is also
crucial, because there are certain things you will never pick up just by playing,
e.g. tournament doubling strategy.
Most of the postings have mentioned some good books. Magriel is probably
essential, to be sure you have most of the bases covered (with the unfortunate
exception of the doubling cube). There's some good material on the cube too
(Kleinman's books, Woolsey's book on tournament strategy). See the WWW
Backgammon page for a good list of other books. Also Inside Backgammon,
the magazine.
Playing on the net is good, since it's easy to find a game. However, there are
certain aspects of live backgammon which can only be learned by actually
playing against humans... technical things like being forced to count pips, and
the psychological aspects of reading your opponent.
You should also watch good players. You can do this on the net pretty easily.
Sometimes there's some good commentary on the moves. It's important to
save games (others' or your own) and review them later. Try to figure out
why certain moves were made.
Use Jellyfish. A great tool. I use it to help review my own games. It can be
humbling but very educational. Not that it's right in every situation, but you
can learn a lot by asking yourself "why did it like that play?
If possible, take lessons from a good player or just find people to ask
questions. That's a good way to hone in on the areas you need to improve in.
Ron
Joseph A. Wetherell
How strong is JF at the 7th level?
Regards,
Joe
Student of Social Work
hi, This is StormBringer from FIBS... i have never read a backgammon
book yet, and my score is at this very moment is 1777.90. In my
opinion, books are very good, just as studing annonated matches are
very useful, however, nothing is quite as simply playing lots, and
lots of games... Also, playing for money will do huge things for one's
game.