Offline and Online Backgammon Tournaments

Offline and Online Backgammon
Tournaments

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How should you change your game?

While there are many different types of backgammon tournaments, both on-
line and off line, there are some general differences in these events. Of
course, there are the obvious differences of physically rolling the dice and
moving the checkers, and looking into the face of your opponent that you
have live. But let's take a look at the other factors.

Cheating:

Let's get the nasty stuff out of the way first-cheating. We all know that there
is a risk of being cheated. Live, people can move the checkers illegally, they
can cheat on the score, they can cheat with the dice. Because you are sitting
across from them, however, I believe live cheating is rare. The most
sophisticated forms of cheating include loaded dice and magnets in the
board. Even these can be detected, and I know of people who have been
caught and banned as a result.

With online backgammon tournaments, cheating is much harder to catch.
People have been found to use computer aids such as Snowie and Jellyfish to
help them with their moves, but also, there is no way to know if the person
you are playing is being helped by another player-possibly a great player.

My attitude toward cheating is what my Grandfather once told me: trust
everyone, but cut the cards. Live, I am alert to the kinds of things that
suggest foul play. And on-line, I simply know that if my opponent plays like a
world class player consistently, he either is a world class player, or he's a
cheater. I strongly prefer to play on those sites that save the game log
(Gamesgrid, GammonEmpire, Play65, TrueMoneygames for example) so that I
can run the match through Snowie and see how I played, what mistakes I
made, and also to see how my opponent played. I Snowie practically every
match I play on-line. And when I see someone who consistently plays like the
computer plays, I report them to the server. I have personally been
responsible for catching, reporting, and exposing several cheaters, but I must
tell you, if the cheater is clever, it is extremely difficult to detect or prove.
Even if you catch a cheater, how can you stop him from coming back with a
new identity?

My best advice about cheating is that if you are really worried about it, don't
play. There are always going to be cheaters in any game, be it backgammon,
poker, or solitaire.

Dice:

I know many players that complain that the dice on the on-line backgammon
are rigged. I hear people report that they see many more doubles on-line. Or
they complain that the computer intentionally gives them the worst possible
roll at the worst possible time. Baloney! Dice are goofey, whether you play
live or on-line backgammon. There will always be times when your opponent
will roll 6-6 just at the wrong time to beat you, or he will hit you with the only
number he could possibly roll to win the match. Many studies have been done
on many servers for many years, and the dice have proven to be random and
fair. It's just human nature to remember your bad rolls and your opponent's
good ones. I've been playing online backgammon for close to 20 years, and I
am convinced the dice are completely random and fair…if I didn't believe that,
I wouldn't play on-line at all.

Strategy:

Now, what about your differences in strategy between the offline and online
backgammon tournaments. How should you change your game in live play vs.
on-line backgammon tournament play? In my opinion, unless you know and
see particular weaknesses in your opponent, you should not change your
game a bit. The No. 1 play over the board is the No. 1 play on-line. There is
no difference.

If you are playing an opponent live and you know that he is very timid about
taking the cube, you should be more inclined to double him early, as you
might well get him to drop a cube he should take. The same thing applies to
playing on-line backgammon tournament. But unless you know about quirks
of your opponent, or unless his body language or comments give you a clue
that should influence your game, your strategy over the board is the same as
on-line.

Legal Moves:

When you play on-line backgammon, you don't have to worry about illegal
moves. When you play live, you have to be very careful that you don't make
an illegal move that hurts you, because in most offline backgammon
tournaments, your opponent is allowed to decide whether to let your illegal
play stand or make you play it over. Conversely, you have to watch your
opponents' moves carefully, as he might make a mistake that could win him
the game. I've watched matches where a player rolls a 4-1 and makes his 5
point as if it were a 3-1, and his opponent didn't catch it. I've seen players
roll doubles and take 5 checkers off. You have to be alert.

Pip Count:

A second difference is the pip count. Most online backgammon servers give
you the pip count constantly, and of course, when you play over a live board,
you have to count pips yourself. This is perhaps the most difficult transition
for on-line backgammon tournament players when they move to live play.
Really top players have learned to count pips very quickly, and they know the
exact pip count at any point in the game where the pip count is important.
Even when the pip count isn't critical, such as near the beginning of the
game, top players are aware of their "racing equity" and know about how
much they are up or down in the race. As top players know, even in the early
stages of the game, being up or down just a few pips can completely change
your strategy.

Summary:

I can speak from experience on this issue. I make most of the major
tournaments in the U.S., and have for years. I have played in hundreds of
online backgammon tournaments over the past 20 years on almost all of the
major servers. Whether it's on-line or live, I PLAY EXACTLY THE SAME. I enjoy
both... I love being with people and making friends at the live events, and I
love being able to play my favorite game while lying in bed at night. And on
the on line backgammon, I have made many friends as well. I have found
that the experience I get playing on-line backgammon tournament, and then
studying my errors after running matches through Snowie, has helped my live
play immensely. I attribute that study as the major reason I was able to
achieve the rank of No. 2 in the U. S. on the ABT tour last year.

If you are an online backgammon player, and you don't also play in live
events, I urge you to do so. The transition is not that difficult and you will
find, after you get used to moving the checkers and counting the pips, that
the live game is a lot of fun. And if you are a live player, and don't play online
backgammon tournaments, again, I urge you to give it a try. It's fun; it keeps
your game sharp; and it's a great way to spend your time instead of
watching TV.

Phil Simborg

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There are some
general differences
between online and
offline backgammon
tournaments

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