I became interested in backgammon around 1974 and bought most of the books and other top material on the subject until my interest waned in the mid eighties as poker took over. These have been boxed up in a dry climate (Southern California) since 1988 I’d like to find a nice home for most of them (either sell if there’s a market or donate to someone who really wants them if not).

First, The Danny Kleinman books: I bought most of these out of the trunk of his car outside the Cavendish West on Sunset Boulevard around 1983. Most are spiral bound in 8.5” by 11” format and a simple typewriter type font. Newer versions of the same books but with nicer covers can be found on www.lulu.com. Here’s a review of his first and perhaps best book “Vision Laughs at Counting”: http://www.gammoned.com/books/kleinman.html

My Kleinman books are as follows:

“Vision Laughs at Counting and Advice to the Dicelorn” Volume 1 & 2 (copyright 1980). This is in good condition with one loose page.

“Wonderful World of Backgammon.” This is the 1981 edition with about fifteen loose connected pages.

“Meanwhile, Back at the Chouette.” This is the 1981 edition and is spiral bound in good condition.

“Double-Sixes from the Bar.” The 1982 edition, spiral bound in good condition.

“Is There Life After Backgammon?” The 1983 edition, spiral bound in good condition.

“How Can I Keep from Dancing?” The 1983 edition, spiral bound in good condition.

“The Dice Conquer All.” The 1984 edition, spiral bound in good condition. Here Danny exposes the cheating that infested LA backgammon, naming names and describing how it was done. Note that one infamous cheat was a former husband of OJ prosecutor Marcia Clark! I actually played the guy.

“How Little We Know about Backgammon.” The 1983 edition, spiral bound in good condition.

“The Other Side of Midnight.” The 1983 edition, spiral bound in good condition.


Second: Books, magazines, and annotated matches of various qualities: You can usually find reviews for most of these on the following sites:

http://thegammonpress.com

http://www.gammoned.com

http://www.bkgm.com

also Amazon for some books.


The “Backgammon with the Champions” series is a set of annotated matches.
I have Volume 1, #1 and #2 (there are four other numbered volumes that I’m missing) and all of Volume 2 (six numbered books, although the last one is a double volume). These are 8.5 by 11” books in very good condition.

“Inside Backgammon”. This was the bimonthly magazine published by Bill Robertie and Kent Goulding. I have the first three years 1981 through 1983 (18 issues total) in very good condition.

“Advanced Backgammon” by Bill Robertie. This is the original 1984 8.5” by 11” soft-cover version in good condition.

“How Good Are You at Backgammon?: 50 Challenging Situations for You to Rate Your Ability with the Experts”. Mines a spiral bound version from 1994. In good condition if you don’t mind somewhat yellowed pages.

Backgammon Master Games (Hardcover) by Bill Kennedy and Chuck Papazian

Better Backgammon by Tim Holland. Original 1974 hardcover edition. Good condition except for the paper jacket.

Backgammon for People Who Hate to Lose by Tim Holland. Original 1977 Hardcover Edition. Very Good Condition.

Backgammon for Profit by Joe Dwek. 1983 soft-cover reprint of 1987 edition.

Fell’s Guide to Winning Backgammon by Walter Gibson 1961 paperback in good condition.

“Lee Genud vs. Joe Dwek” by Bill Robertie. 1982 soft-cover in simple type.

“Alpha Backgammon” by Baron Vernon Ball. 1980 soft-cover in good condition.
(Bill Robertie laughs at this book in his intro to Advanced backgammon).

“Barr on Backgammon” by Ted Barr. Odd shaped 1981 hardcover.

“World Class Backgammon Move by Move” by Roy Friedman. 8.5 by 11 spiral bound in very good condition. Reviews:

“Backgammon, The Cruelest Game” by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw. This is the 1974 edition hardcover in good condition except for the paper jacket.

“Championship Backgammon: Learning Through Master Play” by Barclay Cooke and Rene Orlean. Hardcover in very good condition

Winning Is More Fun by Jeff Ward. Revised 1988 spiral bound edition.

The Doubling Cube in Backgammon by Jeff Ward.

“The Clermont Book of Backgammon” by David Dor-el.

“The Backgammon Quiz Book” by Prince Joli Kansil. Small paperback worn out enough which means I’m embarrassed to say I actually read it.

“'Challenger' Backgammon” by Robert Bowden

Complete Backgammon by Walter L. Richard. My version is an extremely old 1938 hardcover I must have picked up in a used book store.

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As an aside I plan on keeping the following old favorites since I still play a bit. Would consider a serious offer though. Note these are heavily read and only in OK condition.

First edition hardcover of Backgammon by Paul Magriel.

First edition hardcover of Paradox and Probabilities by Barclay Cooke. Yeah, I know computer analysis ripped several of his 168 problems apart but I loved his fluid style at the time.

I’m also keeping the newer two-volume version of Bill Robertie’s Advanced Backgammon along with his more recent problem books.

Any ideas, any interest?

My interest is piqued! Please see the private message I sent you.

Incidentally, you might want to check out Jeremy Bagai's CLASSIC BACKGAMMON REVISITED. He gives computer rollouts and a first rate analysis of the classic works from the early days. Here's his website:

http://www.fortuitouspress.com/cbr.html

With his corrections, you might find keeping Dwek's text to be worthwhile. He's done rollouts for:

Dwek: Backgammon for Profit
Magriel: Backgammon
Robertie: Advanced Backgammon
Jacoby/Crawford: The Backgammon Book
Cooke: Paradoxes and Probabilities

I just read the sample hands from the website you linked; very good stuff. I knew that the Cooke book was widely praised when it came out but was sliced and diced in many places once you had computer programs like TD Gammon and later Jellyfish and Snowie. Still it was my favorite until my interest waned.

I got quite a few PMs on this and will be out today leaving in a few minutes. I'll try to get back to them by tomorrow morning. I also need to make sure the Jeff Ward book on the Doubling Cube is still there (it might have been moved to the box with the primary poker books books I'm keeping along with the four or five more recent backgammon books along with the original Magreil; if so I'll put in back in the backgammon collection). I had wrote most of the original OP a year or so ago and had put it aside.

Essentially I hope to get half their value or so, realizing the extra knowledge (which I don't have) and effort (where I don't really have the energy/time) it takes to get full value is worth it to I think both parties. But if I end up getting only ten percent of it's value I'll feel like a chump (which is sort of my natural state )

~ Rick

hi, i would be interested in the following which i have cut and paste

How much are they and are they still available

martinveltmann@rogers.com

The “Backgammon with the Champions” series is a set of annotated matches.
I have Volume 1, #1 and #2 (there are four other numbered volumes that I’m missing) and all of Volume 2 (six numbered books, although the last one is a double volume). These are 8.5 by 11” books in very good condition.

“Inside Backgammon”. This was the bimonthly magazine published by Bill Robertie and Kent Goulding. I have the first three years 1981 through 1983 (18 issues total) in very good condition.

The entire collection is already spoken for; it's already packed and I'm just waiting on payment.

Quick story:

Years ago there was a thread discussing real old versions of David Sklansky's poker books (before 2+2). I had bought his original holdem book at Gambler's Book Club off Charleston St. in Las Vegas for $1.95 in 1981. A year later I bought another copy but the price increased to $2.95. David comes into the thread and tells me if I still had the original version in good condition he'd give me something north of $200 for it. Unfortunately I gave it to a friend who couldn't find it.

Incredible book collection, Rick.

The sale went smoothly and I learned about shipping media rate through the USPS from the buyer.

Couple years ago I sold a box of the "worse poker books ever" (that's the way they were advertised) to a 2+2 author. They were so bad they were good (sort of like the film "Plan 9 From Outer Space").

This time I had another box of poker books but this this time they were second tier; not really starte of the art but not "so bad they were good". Those went to the Salvation Army .

Backgammon has sort of a cult following as a game. I'm sure some aficionado would pay top $$ for those books, particularly in places where its popular, like Turkey.

I too have a treasure trove of BG texts from the heyday of BG — the mid 70's to mid 90's.

Incidentally, Bagai's book is a gem.