At 2:45 Sander Lylloff talks about a variation of cube play he invented, through which opponents can actually bluff.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kckOco7jSJA

does anyone see a future in this? Since I saw the video yesterday I've been thinking about it. In the video he describes a game in which you only cube after you roll, without opponent seeing your roll. But technically I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to also double before your roll.

Playing with this variation would slow the game down, so it might not catch on. But it would certainly add a new dimension to cube play. I was thinking about the effect it would have on the variance of backgammon. Wouldn't it be the case that since one always has bluff equity to think about, cube possession would go up in vale, so one can afford to take with less than 25% and therefore more cubes are takes? Cubes could get to 8 pretty easily.

I was referring to this variation in my own post, but ascribed it mistakenly to Gus Hansen.

The answer is given in the video. If your position is weak, you throw a joker, and subsequently double, bluff equity plays no role. Same ofcourse if your position is strong. If you have bad dice, the same complex considerations come into play as in poker i would guess, with the possibility of a negative bluff equity, because the opponent is liable to take.

Time and experimentation will tell.