The latest addition to the American Backgammon Tour is the Cherry Blossom Championship at the Hyatt Regency in Herndon, VA May 10-13, 2018.
This tournament features two innovations of note.
World Champion Bill Robertie will host a dinner for the novice players on Saturday, May 12 5-7 pm with Q&A, tips, and a free autographed copy of his book Backgammon for Winners. If you’re new to the game, you won’t want to miss this!
And the AP BluffGammon Invitational makes its debut on Sunday, May 13 at 11 am. Here’s how it works: Player A shakes his cup and “rolls” in a way that the dice stay under the cup, hidden from the opponent. Player A then peeks at the dice and announces “the roll” but doesn’t have to tell the truth. If player B believes that A has actually rolled what was announced, player A gets to play that roll. If B doesn’t believe A, then A lifts his cup, revealing the true roll. If A was lying, then B gets to call the number A must play. If A wasn’t lying when B “called” him, then A can choose any number to play. This type of gammon is a bit poker like because a lot of bluffing is going on. And it teaches you to quickly learn which are your best numbers.
Of course, Voice of Backgammon Larry Shiller will be there doing interviews, taking pics and vids, and doing commentary with BMAB experts on important matches. Get advance notice of live events by subscribing at YouTube and twitch.tv.
Finally, as with all ABT Tournaments, GammonPoints will be awarded to Novice, Intermediate, and Open winners. See where you stand at gammonpoints.com.
Haven’t made plans for the weekend? Come, say hello, and join the crowd!