Backgames

[Steve Lachace]

witch is the better backgammon

A) 1-3 backgame

B)1-2 backgame

and why does snowie3 alway says to drop the cube that is being passed to
u when u are playing the backgame.

[Mary Hickey]

Which backgame is best always depends on your opponent's position and your
"timing", which for backgame purposes means your ability to play your rolls
without breaking up the high points in your home board. Far more often than
not, the 1-3 will be better than the 1-2. Other good backgames are the 2-3,
2-4, and sometimes the 3-4. I don't care much for the 1-4 but others may
disagree. Almost nobody likes the 1-5.

I even like the 2-5 when the timing is kind of shaky, since you can leave
the 5 point if you have to. That doesn't mean you can take a double in that
case, of course. And I suspect that Snowie doesn't like your backgames for
this reason--too little timing to make them work. Why risk getting gammoned
because of all those men you have back, if you are likely to have squashed
your board by the time you hit something?

I don't have Snowie, but if I did, I would try this experiment: Set up some
of the positions where it told you to pass the backgames, and gradually add
more pips to your position by removing checkers from your lower home board
points and putting them on your midpoint, 8 point, etc. Maybe add one to the
22 point also, if you are playing a 1-3 backgame. Leave your 5 point made
if you have it. Unless there is something else wrong with the position, such
as his having several checkers off already or an exceptionally easy bear-in
and bear-off, I expect you will find it eventually thinks you have a take.

Mary Hickey
mamabear on FIBS and GG

[Donald Kahn]

On Fri, 02 Mar 2001 18:35:02 GMT, Mary Hickey <mamab...@att.net>
wrote:

Good advice. In fact you will soon find a number of back games that
are "no double". For instance, against a decently timed 3-4 backgame,
no double if the 7 and 8 points need to be cleared.

dk

[hi]

1-2 is much worse than 1-3 for almost all situations.

"Steve Lachace" <Steve.L...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
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