I play with this guy who is a very aggro doubler and taker, especially while steaming. His checker play is pretty solid, prob about as good as mine if not better, but he constantly makes himself an underdog against me by either granting me cube ownership in unwarranted spots, or by taking way too deep .

another friend I play with said I should be beavering his early cubes. But I think this might be a mistake. If I start beavering his cubes and then crushing him for a bunch of points, it will make him feel like he's getting owned too much and will make him tighten up his cube action. But its his loose cube action that makes me a favorite against him.

from the perspective of morale, if I beaver I'm essentially saying to him, "you're aweful, I'm gonna crush u." where as if I just pause for a bit and take, i'm really saying "seems a little loose on your part, but it's an easy take". It keeps the atmosphere funner and it keeps him coming back to play.

I guess what i'm saying is that if I keep him thinking that his cube action is loose but not terrible, i make more money over long run since it doesn't make him rethink his cube strategy.

this seems paradoxical but I think it's right. Maybe beavers work better vs tough players since those are the ones you really want to put on tilt. of course i'm still a noob to the game that's why i'm asking about this.

Grab everything he gives to you.
2 sided zero sum perfect information games are won only because one player blunders (in case of randomness, add "on the long run" ).

Your original idea is correct. Don't beaver his early cubes, just take and play on. Beavering might win more in a given session, but you're just emphasizing that he's much inferior to you and has no chance. He'll eventually quit you much sooner.

By acting like a wuss you at least give him some reason to think he can win. ("This guy might know a few technical points but he's a wuss and I have two big ones and I'll crush him in the end...")

you can sheer a sheep many times , you can only skin him once.

I wouldn't beaver his early cubes every time. Just often enough to show him some action. if you play too stiff he might tighten up. So be unpredictable looking, but be predictable in your own mind.

Here is a small hint that has worked well for me. Once in every session against a weaker player make an unconventional opening i.e. 62: 24/16 or 13/5, 43: 24/24 24/21, 63: 24/15 or 53: 24/21 13/8. The reason being he will think that you really are worse than he is and you have just been lucky. As I say "once in every session" not every game. I know some will disagree but the worse thing that can happen is that you lose that one game; the benefit will last a long time and keep him around for longer.

My suggestion against a weaker player is to propose the nackgammon setup or an alternative setup. The basic setup leads frequently to games which only require alertness, but invite little creativity. It has happened frequently to me that my insight didn't pay off at all, especially if the opponent is in some kind of dice flow. Ask him to make his own setup.

As a weaker player, I would be suspicious if someone suggested rearranging the board! That's not to say nackgammon is not legitimate, but I would suspect a hustle coming.

This is a great thread. Love the sheep analogy.

The first time I ever played for money I got beavered. My immediate thought was this guy is a pro. (He won the game)