I have just purchased Extreme Gammon and "501 essential backgammon problems", "Backgammon boot camp" and "Backgammon" by Magriel.

He we go!

Good luck! If you have questions, post them here and we can help.

Thanks Robertie.

I need a lot of help. I know very little of the game.

If you need advice in what order to read, I would advice the following.

First read Magriel, than read Bootcamp, than read 501 problems.

I guess you could change order of bootcamp and 501 problems. Maybe that would be better as the subjects in bootcamp get more advanced than in 501 problems, but on other hand, it is nice to do a problem book as last one to test what you learned in the two theoretical books.
You could even read those two (501 and bootcamp) at the same time if you really want too. But I would strongly advice to start with Magriel.

Thanks Popeye. I´ll start with Magriel and see where that leads.

i read 501 and Magriel years ago together, stopped playing due to health problems


Started playing again 4-5 months ago, bought all 3 books. Since I had never read Bootcamp i picked it up first. Read it for hours on the plane to Europe, Great book!!!

What i been doing is reading all 3 at the same time working thru each of them, with a computer next to my board. That way I take my time and play the bot on a real board, i like that plan lots. Years ago i didn't and when i would play for hours against the bot and go to the board i seemed to play worse. So now i play the bot on a board most of the time(cant in a jet or other spots where its not practical).

Mr Robertie, I have a million questions, I live in LA and need lessons, ? answered. I want to get out of the gate right with backgammon, I'm a solid pool player, if I would have had good lessons 30 years ago starting out-i'd be a better player today. Dont want to make the same mistake again. Whats my best move?

kindest regards,

Eric

Backgammon is fun! I hope to be a decent player.

I have just purchased "Backgammon for serious player". I takes about a week for the post to deliver. I cannot wait.

I just got a copy of "Backgammon boot camp". I took 8 days from U.S.A. to Finland by post. Not bad. I am eagerly waiting for other books. Here we go!

Yesterday I got my copy of "501 essential backgammon problems". I am still waiting for Magriel´s "Backgammon". Here we go!

Selected GnuBg rollouts by Timothy Chow for Robertie's 501 Essential Backgammon Problems can be found on Chow's web site.

http://math.mit.edu/~tchow/robertie/robertie501.html

A note from Chow's site:

I have included rollout information only and have not included diagrams of the positions. This is intentional. I do not want to violate copyright, and I do not want this website to act as a partial substitute for Robertie’s book. It is intended solely as a study tool for those who have already purchased the book.

Mike

Source: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...84&postcount=5

Thanks Mike for your link. I am still an advanced beginner, but I aim to be a decent player. Backgammon is fun!

Thanks Mike, 501 is a great book-and with "more up to date" rollouts seeing the difference in what Mr. Robertie did and the bot does is very interesting, the contrast in solutions is cool. 501 is a terrific book(i have bought it twice over they years).

thanks also for the PM, sorry i havent replied to it yet, i was in Vegas on biz the past few days and jet lagged, so no backgammon/internet/fun

im back in action next week.

best
eric

Backgammon is fun. I have played chess for 30 years. Now it is time for a new game. I am still waiting for Magriel´s book. I have heard that it is the bible.

That it is the Bible is just hype but it will prove useful.

Hi Bill! Are working on some new backgammon book?

I just got my copy of "Backgammon for serious players". Here we go!

God bless you Mr. Robertie. I think that through your books many players have found this fascinating game.

Thanks for the kind remarks. Glad you're enjoying the books.

I will certainly read through your books. What is worth doing, is worth doing well.

I am aiming to be a decent player. In chess I was a solid candidate master (ELO 2150). But that was 20 years ago. I´ll read through Magriel´s, Robertie´s and Trice´s books and see how far I can go. "501 Essential Backgammon Problems" seems to be especially interesting. I llike to solve problems. And it is fun to pllay Extreme Backgammon.

My game has improved a good bit in the past 2-3 months, i'm sure that will slow down at some point. I enjoy backgammon, and solving the random problems the dice can cause. When I was a kid I liked chess-that was long ago, i am sure i could have been reasonably successful at it had i pursued it, however i didnt have the interest in it and there was no chess club etc where I lived.

I took chess too seriously. I think I will just enjoy backgammon and try not to take things too seriously.

You should write more backgammon books Mr. Robertie. Kasparov has retired from chess but he is stillwriting chess books. You should write backgammon books!