Does the skill or playing style of your opponent affect the way you should play certain positions? When you do a rollout on Snowie or GNU the program usually assumes that your opponent is very skilled and will make the correct plays throughout the match. but what if your opponent is not very skilled or has certain predictable tendencies that are different from what the programs would assume your opponent to make?

For example, say you are playing someone who is very conservative and won't hit while leaving a blot unless they have no other choice? should you open up your own play and become even more aggressive? or should you become more conservative knowing you will get less chances to hit back if you are put on the bar? Or is the correct play always mathematically the same and it doesn't change no matter the skill/style of your opponent?

I've been thinking about this a bit the last couple days and to me it seems logically sound that if you know your opponent plays poorly enough in certain types of situations that he will make repeated and clear errors, that you should do your best to manipulate the position to such. If the opportunity arises where you can take a slightly inferior play that will however often lead to said situations then you should take it. A sort of implied odds type deal.

As a practical matter I don't ever adjust my checker plays from the play that I think is 'best', whatever that might be. It's just too likely that I'll end up making a big blunder instead of a clever play that steers the game in the direction I want to go.

Cube decisions are different. Here I might double a little earlier against a tight opponent, or a little later against a loose one. But even here, I won't shade my 'correct' play by very much.

Where psychological factors really come into play is in chouettes. Here there are all kinds of ways to take advantage of opponent's predilections. For example.

I'm in a 5-handed $50 chouette. The box is a very tight player who's a little uncomfortable at these stakes. I'm 3rd to act on the team. We reach a position where we're a favorite but not a doubling favorite -- let's say we're 55-60% to win with low gammon chances. The captain and the guy 2nd in line announce they are doubling. I wait, and the 4th guy waits also. The box takes both cubes, so he now owns two 2-cubes and the other two cubes are still in the middle. Now I'm in great position to steal a point.

On the next exchange we roll a neutral number and so does the box, so the game situation hasn't changed. Now I double. If I've read my tight opponent correctly, he'll pass this easy take so as not to have too much money at risk.

The 4th guy doubles as well (probably seeing what I'm seeing) and the box passes both cubes and continues on against the other two players.

This move is really a semi-bluff. I've got what I think is a lot of fold equity, and if I'm wrong and he takes, I'm still a slight favorite in the position.

Sometimes I vary my style in the beggining. It seems that playing 4-3 as 13/10 13/9 is technically best but 24/21 13/19 is good also. When I am playing against an unknown opponent I try 24/21 13/9 because if he will not hit at 4th pt with 2, 4 or 6-3 it is fine. Moreover, if this is not a first game and I note that my opponent does not hit even at 5 pt early I play 24/20 13/10 because it a chance for him to make a huge error.

Just had an example where i think this may come into play. I was playing a match against a very poor( yes there are worse players than me ), very conservative player who never hits while leaving a blot except with their runners and is constantly stacking points to avoid leaving blots, even passing up clear hits in favor of stacking.

Match to 5 leading 3-0

At the begining of the game she rolled 6-4 and played 8-2,6-2. My opening roll was 4-1.

Against a skiiled opponent I would play 13-8. However does KNOWING that they will never hit without covering make slotting the20 point worthwhile with either 24-20, 6-5 or 24-20 8-7? I think getting the chance to slot the 20 point with little risk of being hit is too good an opprotunity to pass up.

Or is my opponents play just so poor that it is not worth changing your playing style since they will make so many errors that beating them will just take care of itself?

When I come across players like this I usually get bored very quick and start playing aggressively for gammons to try to end the match ASAP and make plays I would not normally make

Hi guys,

we have local backgammon club as iam director of that club so its often a situation when new people come and says "ok director lets play". Its really bad feeling when you loose to new commer who plays badly and succeedes but you know how cruel backgammon sometimes is.

I made such kind of "strategy" playing in such situation. First i play only till 9 points and only with duobling cube one advise in this situation dont duoble too early thinking opponent unexperieced you get reduobled when gammoned and lost all in one game.

Beginners usually use 2 strategies trying to escape and super safe play.
I dont try to hit runners too much if dice is bad and make blots hiting contest i take anchor on 5 point leave one checker on 1 point try to close my board
and wait for a shot. With no opponent board made i think its 80 % to hit blot when home board is strong.