Hello,

According to GNU my average snowie errorrate over a lot of analyzed online matches at TMG is 7.4

I want to improve, but i feel like i hitted a ceiling. I have been playing for 4 years. I have read numerous books (magriel, modern backgammon, backgammon praxis, and many more).

I don't see any improvement anymore. I don't know, but i think for someone that has played backgammon for 4 years. an average errorrate of 7.4 is pretty terrible.

I actually think it is best to quit backgammon.

Or maybe something that might improve my game, i don't know what, a coach would be nice, but i think i am to poor for that (hehehe).

anybody has any ideas?

First of all, an error rate of 7.4 after 4 years of playing backgammon isn't so bad. It means you're better than 99% of the backgammon players in the world. That's pretty good, so stop beating up on yourself.

Players who have error rates in the 3 to 5 range are world-class players who've been playing for anywhere from 3-30 years. At some point in their lives, they took the game very very seriously. (Maybe they still do). They play and study constantly to improve their game. Are you willing to put in a similar level or work and dedication for a few years? If so, try this:

Every day, play a practice session against Snowie. A session of 10 cash games might be good. Have Snowie analyze the session. Go through and look at every play where you made a serious error (>0.03). Figure out why Snowie's play is better than your play. Were you careless? Did you overlook something? Or did you not understand the position? If you can't figure it out, do a rollout and make sure that Snowie's play is indeed correct. (Even Snowie sometimes makes bad errors.) If you still can't figure it out, print out the position, put it aside, and look again a couple of days later. If need be, go to a tournament, find a good player, and ask them. Or post here. Someone will help you.

Record the results of all your sessions, and average them each week. Over time, the average will drop.

Keep doing this for a long time. Your play will improve.

I'm a mathematician/statistician by trade, and I find you need to study backgammon the same way you study math: thoughtful (not mindless!) repetition. When you're learning a new concept for the first time it always seems mysterious and magical, and even once you think you understand it you wonder how you'll ever be smart or perceptive enough to make the same clear-headed logical connections when the time comes. But then you study the problem, go away, think about it, come back to it, re-learn it, go away etc... and eventually, your mind starts to recognize the pattern and what was once magical and mysterious becomes internalized and just part of the way your brain works. But the key is to do the repetition thoughtfully, and keep doing it until it's just part of who you are--that's true understanding.

Bill's book 501 Essential Backgammon Problems is an excellent way to focus your repetition in constructive ways-- figgure out what positions or themes you are getting wrong, and keep reviewing all the applicible problems until you know them all by heart (not just the right play, but the reason behind each play). Then work on some different problems for a few weeks and try to forget the answers without forgetting the principles... then come back and test yourself. If you can get the right answers without guessing AND provide the correct explanation, you've made progress, and you're likely to start spotting similar situations during play. But if you're guessing or missing even part of the explanation, then the concept still hasn't sunk in properly and you should keep revisiting it periodically until it does. You WILL get it eventually-- and once properly got you won't ever forget-- you just have to be patient with your brain and allow it to form the new synapses in its own time without being clouded by feelings of frustration. This experience comes from thousands of hours spent working on many different types of math problems-- trust me, controlling your emotions and not giving in to frustration is a very, very important part of the learning process for any analytic or quantitative subject!

Also, I'm not sure if you're looking for more books to read, but I'm in the middle of Backgammon Bootcamp by Walter Thrice, and the explanations he provides make the toughest positions seem simple. I find I'm suddenly seeing the logic in so many of the "correct" plays that used to look so mysterious and magical to me.

Hi,


Bill Robertie,

Thanks for your kind words.
Yes, I seem to have the habit of beating up myself, not only backgammon, but a lot of things in life. I guess I have to learn stop doing that.
And thank you for your study recomedations, I'm already building a database of my wrongly played positions on internet games.



Tuee,

Yes, I believe what you say about a correct learning process is very true.
I have read Backgammon Bootcamp by the late great Walter Trice (may he R.I.P.)
I have also gone through Robertie's 501 problems 2 times in my life, maybe that is too little, and I should do it again.



cheers,

Popeye