Backgammon Power Ratings

A while back, we corresponded with some friends and backgammon contacts around the world to put together a "Power Rating" list of the best backgammon players. We're going to re-visit that project and would love your input. Please add comments below and give us your input.

Sources of ratings and rankings from various websites, backgammon "giants," and locations would be very helpful. We'll then try to mesh the data in a quantitative and sensible manner to see where everyone fits in. Fun stuff!

Favorite Backgammon Books

Here's a list of favorite backgammon books that we put together with some friends from DG -- as well as a "Poll Area" we used to have set up at http://www.zroundtable.com .

• Backgammon - 2004 Edition by Paul Magriel - truly a classic and considered to be a "bible" of one of our favorite games. By Magriel, one of the biggest names in the game.
• 501 Essential Backgammon Problems by Bill Robertie - this is a nice format. You can study the problems -- and soon you get a feel for how you should be thinking in various situations.
• Classic Backgammon Revisited by Jeremy Bagai - A well-received book with good reviews. Jeremy looks at some "classic" thought in the game (when the game was popular in the 70's/80's) and brings the game into the 21st century with good analysis aided by Snowie, GNU, Jellyfish -- and other software/analytical tools.
• Backgammon for Blood by Chris Bray - Great for beginners as well as intermediate and advanced players. A quick and juicy read, as the title suggests. Packed with info!

Gammon Tip -- Doubling Cube

After I played at DailyGammon for a while, I was stuck in the 1800 range. I "chatted" with a good player who said the vast majority of players could improve their game by being more aggressive with the doubling cube.

Novices should learn more about how the doubling cube works. Most intermediate and some advanced players will see a big jump in their game by being more aggressive and doubling when they have a "material advantage" and especially if there's a "gammon possibility."

My DG friend was correct. Within a few months, I saw my rating increase by almost 200 points! The cube can help you lock in the 1 point for sure, or double the value when you have the advantage.

More technical details on the doubling cube are beyond the scope of this blog -- but here's a great article with more details about the doubling cube.

Gammon Tip: DG and the GNU Bot

DailyGammon is really a great site to play backgammon. But you probably know that already if you are reading this. One great feature that most people don't know about -- is that you can play the GNU bot right at DailyGammon!

Just go to the Game Lounge and go to the bottom of the page (where you can "Find a player whose name starts with:." Just enter "gb001" -- and you can set up matches against the GNU Backgammon software. GNU plays backgammon as well as any human -- so it's great practice. The DailyGammon server allows you to play up to five matches against the bot.

You can see how GNU plays and get a sense for some winning strategy.

Welcome

We'll add tips for backgammon players soon. We'll also update our favorite backgammon books. Over time, we hope that some of our friends from http://www.DailyGammon.com will add their own tips.