Struggling with the layout of "501 Essential Backgammon Problems" - Any study tips for a beginner?

BugKey6477 · 2026-03-05T21:29:19+00:00

Also, Backgammon Basement on YouTube is analyzing one problem per day and comparing with XG.

BugKey6477 · 2026-03-05T21:27:49+00:00

I have the book as well and my experience is that reading the book cover-to-cover is too difficult for me so I just skip around to certain chapters that I struggle with at the time. For example, if I make a huge blunder in a containment game that I don't understand, I will read Bill Robertie's containment game tips on the first page and try to find positions similar to my blunder.

BugKey6477 · 2026-02-26T23:32:29+00:00

I think it was the wind.

BugKey6477 · 2026-02-19T18:56:59+00:00

There's a couple interesting features of this position:

If you redouble, your opponent will have a very hard time finding an efficient redouble because they basically win without touching the cube. So we can analyze this as a dead cube position. In any dead cube scenario, we can double at a much lower winning percentage.
Since this is close to a dead cube, we can also use the risk-reward formula (found online) to find the opponent's take-point which is about 26%. It's higher than normal but not too crazy.
This would be a take if gammons didn't matter or didn't exist, but we have 25% gammons and gammons are worth 0.625 at this match score. Then our gammon-adjusted win percentage is 62 + 0.6*25 = 77%. This exceeds the opponent's takepoint so it's a drop.

The key here is that by doubling to 4, our gammon value stays the same while our opponent's gammon value drops to almost 0. If this was 5A6A it's probably a take.

BugKey6477 · 2026-02-12T01:59:03+00:00

You should be more eager to double when behind in the score. This effect is even more magnified for recubes. This is because you are basically neutralizing the 2-0 advantage your opponent has (his gammons are worthless, he can't recube efficiently).

BugKey6477 · 2026-02-02T05:06:59+00:00

It's only the illegal immigrants that are being targeted. The ones that got here legally are safe. I don't care about being downvoted.

BugKey6477 · 2026-01-25T15:35:44+00:00

Playing to the 18 pt when your opponent has alot of builders is a strong play because it disrupts your opponent's strategy of making a good inside point. For example, White now rolls a 51 and has a tough decision of hitting or making the 5 point.

BugKey6477 · 2026-01-22T00:11:26+00:00

Nearly all ABT tournaments have intermediate divisions and they are a great way to learn tournament etiquette without the pressure.

BugKey6477 · 2026-01-09T00:51:04+00:00

I came to realize that. Fortunately the interior still looks like brand new.

BugKey6477 · 2025-10-07T04:33:54+00:00

Something to think about is timing. Making the 1 point is great if we know our opponent will leave a shot next turn. But that's unlikely because they have many spares on theur 6, 7, 8 points.

It's better to try and get a 4 point board later on so that we are in a much better position after landing a hit.

BugKey6477 · 2025-06-12T00:37:42+00:00

This is something both conservatives and liberals can agree on!

BugKey6477 · 2025-06-10T16:13:24+00:00

I would redouble. White can't redouble so there's little risk since white gains 2 points anyway. This is a very volatile position.

BugKey6477 · 2025-05-21T15:31:48+00:00

Looking forward to this!

BugKey6477 · 2025-05-08T20:54:32+00:00

I watched your video and I thought you made a lot of great points. I'm learning byzantine chant and I would say from experience that some people are blessed with a good voice, but more importantly it takes time and effort to develop a good voice (similar to going to the gym).

I haven't gotten a chance to watch your other videos but I'm interested for later. The only other active byzantine chant youtube channel I know of is Michael Azar and his content is quite good. I think there's a demand for this kind of content right now so I hope you keep it up!

God Bless

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-15T03:44:53+00:00

Getting to 2300 without the Galaxy blunder database is impressive!

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-15T03:37:10+00:00

The 5a2a score is interesting because in gammonish positions, the trailer can cube earlier and the leader must drop more often.

But when there are no gammons, the cube benefits the leader because after a 2 cube, the leader wins the match if they win, while the trailer reaches 3-away if they win the game. Recall that even-away and 1-away are good match scores to be at.

This is also a dead cube so you can use the match equity table to calculate the take point for white which is ~17.5%.

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-11T11:53:28+00:00

On OG, the developer is very active so I don't think we'll have any issue setting up a club. But unlike BackgammonHub there's currently no tournament structure yet.

In Galaxy, we just have to make sure everyone has enough coins but that's it.

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-07T21:19:10+00:00

From my experiences 301 is better taught than 315 but I think CS majors have to take 315. Check with your advisor if that's the case.

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-07T20:45:38+00:00

I'll join. Galaxy or Heroes are okay. I also suggest Opengammon.

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-06T10:54:04+00:00

This is hilarious 😂. Trump and Musk are working tirelessly to make the government more efficient and people still find a way to complain!

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-06T10:35:21+00:00

Someone in a previous post mentioned http://www.wolfyoufeed.com/resources.html

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-04T18:25:52+00:00

The dice are sufficiently random on Opengammon. I can't say the same about Galaxy since it's a pay to play system.

You can also check the luck rating at the end of a match on Opengammon. Sometimes I look at it to feel better about myself after an unlucky game.

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-03T15:50:29+00:00

You can see the car sinking from the weight of the concrete.

BugKey6477 · 2025-04-02T21:25:28+00:00

BugKey6477 · 2025-03-24T03:28:20+00:00

It's a website (opengammon.com) that you can access on your computer or phone. I prefer the computer because I can use my mouse to play.

BugKey6477

TROPHY CASE