I recently started playing in a small backgammon group. My past experience is limited to kitchen table games with the family and friends etc… members in this group have told me I need to work on my game etiquette.

Wrongs I was told I do:

Use two hands to move.
Don’t shake the cup at least 3 times.
Shake the cup side to side (should be up and down).
Roll dice on wrong side of board.
Shake cup when other person is thinking.

Are these people being nits or is this stuff that bad?
Are there other basic etiquette things not to do?

Thanks.

Using two hands is not that big a deal imo, but it is in the rules, so I guess they're entitled to enforce them.

The rest of the points I generally agree with, though.

I think this is generally seen as bad.

Your opponents want to know that the dice are actually flopping around inside your cup. This is why side to side is bad. The "at least 3" is a bit nitty.

Basic mechanics that you should get correct.

It depends on the opponent and exactly how/when you shake. But if you found something better to do while your opponent is thinking, like doing a pip count, you gain more than you lose by not shaking the cup.

How do you get in trouble for not shaking 3 times, but also get in trouble for shaking when your opponent is thinking?

Just watch a few matches and see what other people do and don't do. Then copy that. Most of these simple things are easy to pick up.

I have a question regarding etiquette too:

I'm coming from a chess background and there it is generally considered bad etiquette not to resign in a hopeless position if the opponent is good enough to easily convert it. In backgammon, do you usually resign after you saved the gammon and have no chance to win? Problem is, me figuring out for certain that it's actually hopeless even if i roll 66 for the rest of the game would probably take longer than to just roll it out.

Yeah, if it's 100% a win or gammon one of the players just say so and if the other player agree you start a new game. If you have any doubt whether it's gin or not just play on. It's usually faster to take that extra roll, than spend time counting wheter it's winable or not.

Oh, and don't resign just because you need to roll 3 big doubles while your opponent needs to roll a couple of aces. Stranger things have happened.

To echo mute - If you really have no chance, you can agree to call it. If either player wants to roll on, just do it. If you can't tell if it's over, just roll on. If you have any chance at all, just roll on.

At the lower levels, it's probably faster to play until you're one or two rolls away from the end because (as you say) it takes a while to figure it out when there are more checkers on the board. As you play more, you'll get experience thinking through the worst case scenarios as you'll be able to figure out how many rolls are left. If the trailing player keeps rolling 66, he will keep taking 4 checkers off each roll. For the player in the lead, 21 is usually the roll that keeps him from taking checkers off, so you can try to sort out how many 21s need to be rolled before the leader takes all his checkers off. You'll be quite surprised at the number of hopeless-looking positions that have those 1000:1 shots hanging out there. But if you play long enough, those 1000:1 shots will come in for you (and your opponent).

Thanks for the responses.

After the 3 shake request, I started shaking waiting for my turn, kind of like playing with chips. Didn't even think about it as I was doing it. I like your suggestion to use the time to count pips. Thanks.

One of the things that is really bad etiquette - which hasn't been mentioned yet - is rolling too early. It puts pressure on the opponent to make up his mind faster or he has to enforece some kind of penalty on you. This could be eiter to make you roll a gain or make you use a really bad roll.

Hence the system on the American tour. One set of dice shared by the two players, your move is up when you press your clock.

I don't think this is quite the standard yet, though they are (slowly, finally) moving to a clocked system in some tournaments.

Yeah, not the standard yet, but there is definitely a trend towards "Clocks Allowed" or "Clocks on Request" tournaments. There has been much debate on clocks over at Stick's forums.

If I understand this right, if your opponent rolls before you pick up your dice, you have the option of having them use the dice they rolled or have them roll over.
Since you have not picked up your dice, your turn is not over. Why not choice to have your opponent use the roll but first redo your moves so you either block or set up so you don't get hit. This is taking advantage of thier mistake. Is it within the rules to do this?

ABT: http://www.chicagopoint.com/usrules.html

4.6 PREMATURE ACTIONS. The opponent of a player who rolls prematurely shall complete his turn and then either let the premature roll stand or require a reroll. The opponent of a player who doubles prematurely shall complete his turn and then pass or take.

ABT: http://www.chicagopoint.com/bgclockrules.html

4.1 MISHANDLING DICE. A player shall not touch or pick up the dice until the opponent hits the clock to complete his turn. A player who prematurely picks up the dice forfeits his per move deductible for his next checker play. The player on turn stops both clocks and summons the Director to claim the time penalty, unless both players agree to accept it. The penalized player must wait until his deductible has counted down to zero before rolling his dice.

BIBA: http://www.backgammon-biba.co.uk/Rul...rematureAction

4.6 Premature Action

All completed premature actions (see below) shall stand or be re-rolled at the opponent's discretion. An opponent who has yet to complete his turn or act upon the cube, may then do so with the foreknowledge of the premature roller's dice throw or cube action.

* If you premature roll and pick up your dice before any number was seen, you must roll again
* If one number was seen, the other die must be rolled
* If both numbers were seen, then the dice are replaced on the board with that number
* If cocked dice are prematurely rolled, then another roll must be completed and that roll is the premature roll
* Any premature handling of the cube or verbal references to doubling is deemed to be a cube action

NB: An exception to the penalties above is one where the player on roll has a forced move. In this instance the forced move and the premature action are both valid.

WBA: http://www.world-backgammon-associat...d=13&Itemid=27
DK: http://www.nordicopen.dk/index.php?id=4

4.1 Dice and rolls

5. PREMATURE ACTION.
1. General. If a player rolls before the opponent has completed his/her turn, the player shall only reroll if the opponent demands so.
2. In matches played with the use of clocks. If the player collects the dice before the opponent's turn is finished, the player will receive a 30 second penalty. A claim of penalty is put forward by the opponent, after having finished his/her move, by stopping the clock and presenting the facts to the player. When the player has accepted the facts the penalty is executed by the opponent starting the player's clock. After 30 seconds the player may initiate his/her turn. The 30 seconds will start when the turn time has run out.

BIBA: http://www.backgammon-biba.co.uk/RulesClock.htm

4.6 - A player who picks up the dice or who offers a double before the opponent has hit the clock thus concluding their turn will forfeit their 12 seconds per move allowance. The player on turn stops both clocks and summons the Director to claim the time penalty unless both players agree to accept it. The penalised player cannot roll their dice or continue with their double (if a double has been offered) until their 12 seconds have elapsed, after which the game continues as normal.

Just out of curiosity, what would be a standard time limit in competitive play?

They use a 2/12 system. 2 minutes of extra time per point (11 point match = 22 minutes of extra time) and 12 seconds for each move.

An interesting quiz on premature rolling:

http://www.backgammoninlondon.com/ne...t-a-to-do.html

http://www.bgonline.org/forums/webbb...mes;read=42891

More perspectives here.