I was doing some reading on some of the weaker points of my backgammon game and was wondering if I could receive some input/feedback on the following questions....

1) What method do you use to count pips? Im not asking how, just curious what methods work for which people and why

2) Outside of the bear off, if you DONT use the running total pip count method, do you only obtain the relative pipcount when considering a double (or take)? Or do you use your method (mental rearrangement or what have you) after each play and stay on top of it. Also, technically, isn't a real, not relative count, nessecary to apply the 8-9-12 rule?

3) About the 8-9-12 rule; Is this used for long races only, then once it becomes a short race, you switch to the Keith count (or your method of choice)? Do all the experts use this rule when contemplating doubles in long races, and how does the number of remaining crossovers and current innerboard checker distribution alter your decision making regarding this rule?

4) regarding race doubling, do you adjust the real pipcount for whoever is on roll) I remember magriels book mentioning this ( my friend is borrowing it), say the relative count has you up 14 pips and you think about doubling. Do you add some number to you pip total to reflect the fact that you are on roll?

5) what percentage for winning a gammon makes doubling incorrect (to good to double)? Does this number change for match games vs cash games (jacoby)? Could someone explain the math behind this or point me to some literature that does?

6) How does one reasonably estimate their gammon chances? What is the theory of estimating gammons by crossovers? Could someone link me to some common gammon percentage situations like having X number of men on the bar bearing off, or opponent has X number of men back on the 1 point etc...)


Thanks in advance for your help. I realize there are many questions, but these are fundamentals that I have neglected since picking up the game and have stalled some of my progress in improving. I've also been lazy and never learned to count pips, and really learning to use that information to direct proper cube and game strategy since the count is displayed when playing on FIBS. I learned the hard way while playing some guy live for $20/pt and found myself faltering on many decisions without my pipcount crutch to aid me (i ended up getting creamed).

Im going to turn the count off and play against bots for awhile until I learn (so people dont complain about my speed)

thanks

Outside of bearoff I mostly use rearrangement except for when the positions are much too different. I think most probably use some form of cluster counting, though.

In a race I will mostly use mental shifting as the first step and then if necessary I can count one of the sides if my action is not obvious from knowing the difference. But yeah in a race knowing the difference isn't always good enough.

If I'm in a race and I have counted that I lead 80-84 for instance, I will keep a running count of +4 and then also deduct my roll from my own pipcount, so I won't have to count again.

Not unless the formula mentions it specifically. In the formulas you've mentioned this is already taken into account. You should think about adjusting for wastage, though. If one side has a lot of checkers deep in his board his pipcount won't be as good as it seems.

It also depends on your winning chances. Consider this: Suppose you are playing a money game and hold the cube on 2. If you redouble you win 2 points and if you go for the gammon you will either win 4 points or lose two points if things go awry.

So you can gain 2 points from playing on, but you could also lose 4 points (from +2 to -2). This means, that to justify playing on you need to win at least twice as many gammons compared to the games you lose.

There are some other things to consider as well. Sometimes you might not have quite the odds from what I described above, but if it's 100% safe for the next roll (there is no sequence, that will bring your opponent back into the game) then obviously you can play on even if your gammon chances are very slim.

In a match it's more complicated. You need to know the ratio (called the gammon price) at the current score and cube value. Since for the most part you can't estimate winning and gammon chances accurately over the board anyway, it's enough to know when your gammon price is elevated and when it's diminished at a certain score.

If you have a bot you can find these numbers at different match scores (both GNU and XG has this info available under the Analyze tab).