Very interested in the views of anybody who has read this. At 99 Euros, can a backgammon book really be worth roughly twice the current going rate of a Book by Robertie, ZZ or Stick?

I'm pretty curious myself. I know Dirk and he's a serious guy, so I'm sure the book will be well done. The price seems high ($113 at current exchange rates) but a lot of this might be that the book is hard-cover, with a dust jacket. That bumps up the printing cost considerably, which is why all the Gammon Press books are soft-cover.

What about a reprint of "Modern Backgammon"?

It would sell for sure!

Old books actually don't sell very well when reprinted. It would take years just to recoup the printing costs.

"Modern Backgammon" is superb and the themes and advice within remain valid and will not steer you astray. Half of the book is an annotated match (by Robertie) between Gerry Grandell and Nack Ballard, which I have fed into XG along with all of Robertie's comments from the book, a great reference tool.

I have been asking many players I respect about “Theory of Backgammon”. I was really hoping it was worth the cost. Finally found someone who read it — a person that is a Giant and member of BG HOF — his opinion was not worth the cost. It is very higly mathmatical and the math didn’t always correctly respond to the examples — frustratingly hard to read. If a Giant can’t handle the math, then I probably cannot either in a greater degree.

Is there any way to get a copy of “Modern Backgammon”?

I would agree with that assessment of "Theory of Backgammon". Very mathematical, very dry, hard to plow through.

"Modern BG" is out of print, but you could look on the used book services like alibris or abebooks. Some out of print books occasionally turn up there.

I'm willing to part with my copy of modern BG for the right price. DM if interested

I bought an issue (like most (all?) other decent books of the lats 30 years) and I've read about the half yet.

Yes it is not easy, yes it is dry somewhere and highly mathmatical (but a simple linear equitation was the most complicated thing yet) so when you react allergic, if you see a formula you should keep your syringe with adrenalin close to you. You even have exercises (and solutions), feels like school?


There are some things in it I haven't read yet anywhere else, and some things that go deeper than anywhere else. IMHO it is for cube play what was Magriel for checker play. If you want to go below PR 5 I recommend it. Regarded to the price: Hard cover and adequate paper. Compare e.g. to the excellent books from Michy that are about $50 and contain about half the stuff and are soft cover.

A cheat cheet with the definitions would be a good addition, so you have all definitions at a glance and would make following the stuff easier.

I bought and read half of the book.

I definitely recommend it ! (i have no personnal link with the author).
If you are a nerd, it's perfect. Even if no, it's fantastic, amazing book.

Price ? Sure its money. But if compare ratio R= price of the book/informations (quality and quantity), in my opinion it is the book with the best ratio and by far.

Math is not so hard (but i have been a mathematical student...). Of course it's theory and if you are 10 PR and given two options :
-Have this book
-Make database blunders with XG from your matches and reviewing your mistakes frequently

I think that the latter option is more important a lot, but you don't have to choose.

I read about two thirds of the book and agree with most of the comments. It's groundbreaking, but also very dry stuff. The book is not dealing primarily with the question of how to become a better player. It is a mathematically oriented textbook that tries to understand the foundations of doubling, especially in match play.

I would recommend it as an optional third book on the doubling cube - after the (IMHO) indispensable books by Marc Olsen (Cube Like a Boss) and Nick Blasier (Adjusting to Match Play).