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A practical way to become a winner at backgammon is to glean instruction from the best players. Some of the backgammon world’s highest awards have written books to assist players both novice and advanced.

A good book by a backgammon expert can provide game-changing information at a reasonable price which players (and would-be players) can absorb at their own pace. The Gammon Press store stocks essential reads by Bill Robertie and Kit Woolsey, along with the works of Bob Wachtel, Peter Bell and others. If you want to improve your backgammon game, this is the place to start.

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Best play among mediocre options?

Aug 15, 2026 |

Cash game. White to play 6-2.


Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

This position shows a typically awkward moment in the early game. White’s game is temporarily a little loose, and now he throws a 6-2 from the bar.

Sometimes a six from the bar will allow us to do something obvious and good, like hitting a blot or building a point. When we can’t do anything good, we’re usually faced with a choice between several unappetizing alternatives.

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Volunteering shots … or not?

Jul 15, 2026 |

Cash game. Black owns the cube. White to play 5-1.

Backgammon position


Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

This problem shows Black playing a well-timed holding game while White is struggling to clear his points and get his men home. White leads in the race by just over 60 pips, so it’s always been highly likely that he would have to leave a shot or two unless he rolled a useful set of doubles. Now White has reached his first key decision point. Out of spares, he can still play safe, but he may not want to.

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In degenerate prime versus prime games …

Jun 15, 2026 |

White on roll. Cube action?

 

Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

This is a fairly simple problem, but it illustrates a common theme which occurs in some degenerate prime versus prime games. Let’s take a close look.

Here both Black and White got stuck in an ace-point game behind a prime. Although White had more men back, Black’s prime actually collapsed first as he couldn’t release his back men. Now Black has lost his 6-point, and White is thinking about doubling.

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Multiple options to bring the game home …

May 15, 2026 | ,

Cash game. White on roll. White to play 6-4.

 

Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

In this position, White launched a blitz after a few moves were made on both sides, and now Black is in serious trouble with two men up in the air facing a four-point board and more blots floating around. White’s 6-4 gives him several excellent options; his job now is not to get too excited, but to just find the most efficient way to bring the game home.

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When you have to pick & choose … either but not both

Apr 15, 2026 | ,

Cash game. White on roll. White to play 3-2.

Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

In this position, White has two choices: he can enter and hit on the 5-point, or he can enter and make an anchor on the 22-point. To hit or not to hit – what’s right?

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When you can’t do anything good …

Mar 15, 2026 | ,

Cash game. White on roll. White to play 6-2.


Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

This position shows a position in the early game. White’s game is temporarily a little awkward, and now he throws a 2-6 from the bar.

Sometimes a six from the bar will allow us to do something obvious and good, like hitting a blot or building a point. When we can’t do anything good, we’re usually faced with a choice among several unappetizing alternatives. That’s the case here. We have four legal sixes: 8/2, 13/7, 21/15, and 22/16. None look great, but we have to pick one. Let’s set up some guidelines and see if they can lead us to the least unappealing six.

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