Do you know the correct play for all opening rolls, the opponent’s response, and your next roll for various match scores? If the answer is “No,” you have lots of company:
There are 15 opening rolls (all the non-doubles) and 21 responses, for a total of 315 combinations after each player has made one roll. With 21 more third rolls, that’s now 6,615 different combinations. Add in different match scores, and you’re looking at tens of thousands of possibilities – just after the third roll!
In this video, Phil Simborg of the Backgammon Learning Center shares his technique for studying this important part of the game. It’s not about memorization – a good thing because who could do that? – but about good thinking and analysis.
I recommend it.