Comparing Backgammon to Poker

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Backgammon Vs. Poker

Any professional poker player understands the importance of acting
according the weaknesses in an opponent's game. For example, if an
opponent never bluffs, you will call his bets only when your own hand is solid
which you expect may beat his legitimate hand. Playing against this kind of
opponent is easy; if you can't beat a legitimate hand, you will fold.

To make this opponent less likely to bluff against you is more difficult, since if
he wants to bluff against you, he will almost surely succeed. If you are
appearing as a player who calls his bets all the time, even though the
opposite is true - you can make him bluff. You should bet aggressively
against this player early in the hand. Decide in advance what you will do if he
bets or raises. Whatever you decide, call or raise, do so quickly as if this were
your automatic action. If you decide to fold, take your time and then fold
reluctantly even if your hand is so weak that you were never even
considering calling. Make it look like you wanted to call. By portraying this
image to him he will think that he can never run you out of a pot, so he may
entirely give up bluffing against you, which is exactly what you want.

The same tactics are good for backgammon. Of course, you don't have the
unknown of the cards, since everything is open but your state of mind is not
known. When playing against someone who is slow with the cube, you will
do everything you can to make him slower to double so he will be missing
some good doubles. Always plan in advance whether you are going to take
or not. By thinking about your cube decision when making your play the
previous roll, you can do this without him realizing it. It will look like you are
thinking about your move, when you are really thinking about what you will
do if you are doubled. If you have decided to accept, when he does double,
snap up the cube like it is the easiest take you ever had, even if it is a difficult
decision. If you have decided to pass, study the position for a while before
passing. If you think the decision is a tossup, lean towards taking. Of course
if the pass is obvious then you might as well pass quickly, so he won't know
what you are doing - he will believe that you have a problem when you do
hesitate. The point is to make your opponent think that you will take more
frequently than you will actually take, so he will double even slower.

The examples above illustrate how poker tactics can be used on the
backgammon table. Though the position is known to the players, as opposed
to hidden hands in poker, the same strategies are successful. The cards one
holds or the positions on the backgammon board are not everything. What
really matters is your opponent's thinking and his perception of you.

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Comparing
Backgammon to Poker:
Many of the same
tactics used in poker are
also good for
backgammon

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