Archive for March 25th, 2010

Advanced Backgammon Tactics – Utilizing the Doubling Cube

[ English ]

Even though, the Doubling Cube is unknown to the majority of of the backgammon recreational gamblers, it’s an important tool in complex backgammon techniques and in backgammon for money matches and tournaments.

This cube is specified for raising the risks of the game and its introduction to the backgammon realm is one of the primary factors for the rise of popularity of backgammon.

The cube has six sides and the numbers written on it- 2, 4, eight,sixteen,thirty-two,sixty-four.

At the start of the game, the doubling cube is positioned beside the board or about the Bar between the gamblers.

Any gambler, who feels at any phase of the match, that he or she is leading sufficiently in the match, previous to throwing his dice, might recommend to double the stakes by setting the doubling cube with the quantity two facing up.

For instance player One decided to raise the risks.

Player Two, his/her challenger, the player the offer you is given to, soon after reviewing their situation, has two possibilities:

He/she may refuse the offer and thus shed the game and one unit.

He or she may agree to double the risks, and in this case the game continues with higher stakes.

Gambler Two, who agreed to the offer, is now the proprietor of the doubling cube, meaning only her (gambler B) has the alternative to double the risks again at any phase of the casino game.

If player B decides to perform so, he/she has to perform it on his turn prior to throwing his dice.

Now he/she takes the dice and places it so that the amount four is facing up.

Gambler One, has now the same two alternatives, only this time if he declines the present he will lose two units, and if s/he agrees the stakes will rise to 4 times the original and the doubling cube returns to his control.

The cube can move from player to player, every time increasing the risks.

The Crawford rule-

If you’re playing a game until N- points, and your adversary is leading and reaches N-1 points, meaning she is short one point from winning the game, you are not allowed to use the Doubling cube in the right after casino game, on the other hand, you can use the dice in the following matches if the game continues.

The reason may be the weaker player will constantly desire to raise the limits because she has nothing to shed anymore and we want preserve the use of the dice in fairness of both sides.

The Jacoby rule-

This rule is used in money matches and never in match games. It determines that a backgammon or gammon may not be scored as such only if the cube has been passed and accepted. The cause behind this guideline is accelerating the game.

The Holland rule-

The Holland rule is used in match games and decides that in post-Crawford games, the trailer can only double soon after both sides have played 2 rolls. The rule makes the free drop additional important to the leading gambler except usually just confounds the issue.

Unlike the Crawford rule, this rule isn’t common, and is hardly ever used these days.

The beavers, raccoons, otters and any other animals in the backgammon game-

These animals appear only, if desired by each side, in money games and never in match games.

If gambler A, doubles the stakes, and player B believes One is wrong and he/she (player B) has the edge, B can double the risks and hold the doubling cube on his/her side. For instance, if A makes the initial double and places the doubling cube on two, Two can say "Beaver", rotate the cube to 4 and preserve the cube at her side. If A believes Two is wrong he or she can say "Raccoon" and rotate the cube to eight. All this time, B continues to be the owner of the doubling cube. If Two wishes to boost the risks once far more, s/he only needs to say one more silly name (the animal’s name is usually a controversy amongst players) and so on.

The Chouette-

Chouette is really a version of backgammon for more than two players. One of the gamblers could be the "Box" and plays against the rest of the team on a single board.

Yet another player stands out as the "Captain" of the team, who tosses the dice and makes the moves for the group wagering against the box.

If the Box succeeds, the Captain returns to the back of the line and the following gambler becomes the Captain of the team. If your Captain wins, she becomes the new Box, and the old Box goes to the end of the line.

The rules regarding the skill of the group to consult using the Captain changes from

variation to variation. In several variations of the Chouette the group can freely give advice to the Captain, and in other versions, consulting is stringently not allowed.

The compromised version could be the the majority of popular- consulting is genuine only immediately after the dice have been thrown.

Originally, Chouette was played with a single die .The only decisions that players other than the Captain were permitted to produce on their personal was concerning the takes: If the Box had doubled, each gambler on the team could take or drop individually. These days, a multiple-cube Chouette is additional common among backgammon players; each and every gambler about the team has his very own cube, and all doubling, dropping, and taking decisions are made individually by all players.