Backgammon Book Suggestions

Book Suggestions

Books on match play

From:   Keene Marin
Address:   keene@ksmweb.com
Date:   13 September 2005
Subject:   Recommended Reading?
Forum:   GammOnLine

I have recently purchased Robertie's "Advanced Backgammon: Positional" book, and upon reading the introduction I discovered that Robertie's plays are all geared to money games and not match play. Now I am perfectly happy with that, as I play enough money games for this book to be a real asset for me, but I was wondering, does anyone have any recommended reading of a similar level for match play?

Matthias Nilsson writes:

The only book I know about that covers advanced match play is "Paul Lamford/Improve your BG". I think every problem in it is analysed with snowie 3-ply or some kind of rollout.

Stanley E. Richards writes:

I am also a fan of Lamford's Improve your BG. However, be aware of the doubling tables given in the back of the book. They do not equal the doubling tables generated by Snowie theory. In fact the gammonless redoubling table is vastly different than Snowie. I have generated doubling tables from Snowie 4.1 theory on Microsoft Excel. These tables are very helpful. Furthermore, Woolsey's "Five Point Match" August 1999 GammOnline article is a must read for match players.

happyjuggler0 writes writes:

I own Lamford's book and I thought it was quite good when I first bought it a couple of years ago. I learned some things, some of which seem basic to me now such as 2away/2away theory and practice, and 1away/odd away postCrawford practical thought. It is a hodgepodge of things (match play and otherwise) he says were not covered elsewhere in other books, and anyone looking to learn how to play bg will not like it as a result. I have always been sceptical of the details of his charts but the principles involved in those charts strike me as being worthy of learning.

Andreas Graf writes:

I recommend Backgammon Praxis Volume 1 and 2 from Marty Storer. Excellent reading!

Doug Doub writes:

The obvious selection is Kit Woolsey's "How to Play Tournament Backgammon". Most of the time the best play for money is the best play in a tourney. You simply need to be aware of the match score, and when you should make a more aggressive play for a gammon, or a more solid play to avoid getting gammoned. Walter Trice's "Backgammon Boot Camp" has extensive material on match play. "Backgammon with the Giants: Neil Kazaross" by Ortega and Kleinman is another fine book. Danny Kleinman has a great deal about match play in his books.

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