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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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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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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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The value of a solid point

Jul 15, 2025 |

Cash game. Center cube. 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.

This position is taken from a game which began with a lot of hitting, but not much point-making. Both sides have now secured good anchors; White also has the 22-point, so he has the making of a strong holding game. Each side has managed to add one outside point along the way. White has his bar-point, while Black has his 9-point. For good measure, Black has built a 53-pip lead in the race.

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Mobility

May 15, 2024 |

Cash game, White owns the cube.

White to play 5-1

 

In backgammon, much of our thinking revolves around assets. What asset can we acquire with a given roll? What asset do we have to give up? One way to look at backgammon is as a series of decisions regarding the accumulation of assets, and the conversion of one asset into another.

Some assets are quasi-permanent, like inner-board points, or primes. Others are more ephemeral, like a racing lead, which can vanish with a single hit. We tend to prefer permanent assets to temporary assets when we have a choice, although usually we’re happy to get any kind of asset we can.

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Doubling Against One Man Back

Apr 1, 2024 |

Cash game, center cube.

Should White double? Should Black take if doubled?

Problem 172 is a position type that we’ve categorized as ‘One Man Back’. White has escaped both his rear checkers, while Black still has one man in White’s home board. Now White is considering a double. What factors go into the evaluation of a double in these positions?

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Split into Trouble or Play Safe?

Mar 15, 2024 |

Cash game, center cube.

White to play 4-2.

If you understood the logic behind our last problem, you should have no trouble with this one, although the two positions belong to different categories. Our last problem was what I call a ‘One Man Back’ position, where the issue was to move up in the board and try to get into a race, or stay back and wait for a better chance later. This position belongs in a category I call ‘Split or Something Else’, where one choice is to split the back checkers and go for an anchor, while the other choice is something different, like making an offensive point, bringing down builders, or just waiting. In this case Play A is splitting with 24/20 13/11, while Play B is to wait with 13/7, gobbling up some of White’s timing in the process.

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