Chouettes

Forum Archive : Chouettes

 
Extras

From:   Daniel Murphy
Address:   raccoon@best.com
Date:   5 February 1997
Subject:   Re: Extra's What are they and How do they Work?
Forum:   rec.games.backgammon
Google:   raccoon.855129202@shellx

> Could someone explain the uses of giving and taking "Extra's" in a
> chouette?

Extras (extra cubes) can be used in multiple cube chouettes to either
discourage or punish captains (and sometimes other team members) from
going against the crowd, taking bad cubes that everyone else drops.

Rules vary, but the general idea is this:  suppose the box doubles.
Everyone drops except one player (usually the captain, who wants to play
for the box while everyone else twiddles).

Any player who dropped the box's double can now offer an 'extra' to the
the player who took. 'Offer' may not be the right word, because the
chouette can require the taking player to either take some or all extras
or drop the original cube.

Suppose you dropped the box's double.  You lose a point to the box.  Now
you give an extra to the taking player.  You do this by paying the taker a
point to take a cube from you on 2.  Now you hope the box wins.

If the box wins a single game, you break even.  You paid a point to the
box, and a point to the taker, but you win two points on your 2-cube.  If
the taker wins a single game, you lose 4 points: 1 to the box, 1 to the
taker, and 2 more to the taker on your 2-cube. Gammons and redoubles count
for or against you, of course. If the box wins a gammon, you win 2 points.
If the taker wins a gammon, you lose 6.

Why offer an extra?  Well, the box's double was either a take or a pass.
By passing you are saying you think you'll lose less by passing than by
taking.  If that's true, you should be happy to pay the taker a point to
take another cube from you. Do the math yourself, for example, on a cube
you think the box will win 80% of the time.  If you're right, you come out
ahead by dropping and giving an extra.

Why take an extra?  You like action ... you really want to win the box ...
or just maybe everyone else was wrong and the original double was a take!

Some chouettes require half or a majority of the team to take the box's
double, otherwise everyone must pass.  That can be unfair.  Using extras
avoids this and give cube droppers a chance to remain in action by saying:
"If you think this is a take, you can take mine too!"

Daniel Murphy
San Francisco
raccoon@cityraccoon.com
 
Did you find the information in this article useful?          

Do you have any comments you'd like to add?     

 

Chouettes

Automatic doubles with carryover  (Alexander Zamanian, Jan 1999) 
California rule  (Peter Anderson+, Nov 2001) 
Captain drops and others take  (Grafix8888+, Sept 2000) 
Chouette cube strategy  (Stanley E. Richards+, Mar 2011) 
Cube proxy  (Ilia Guzei+, June 2003)  [GammOnLine forum]
Dream chouette  (Phil Simborg+, Sept 2009) 
Extras  (Daniel Murphy, Feb 1997) 
Extras  (Albert Steg, July 1996) 
Extras  (Anthony R Wuersch, Mar 1995) 
Fish-hunt rules  (Chuck Bower+, Feb 2006)  [GammOnLine forum]
Interlocking chouette  (wintom+, Jan 2008) 
Jacoby rule  (Doug Doub+, Aug 2005)  [GammOnLine forum]
Legal plays only  (Gregg Cattanach+, Aug 2001) 
Los Angeles Rules  (Joe Russell, Apr 2013) 
Los Angeles Rules  (Justin N.+, Aug 2011) 
Lure of the chouette  (Bob Koca+, July 2004) 
Mandatory beaver  (Roland Scheicher+, Mar 2002) 
Mandatory beaver  (David Montgomery, Jan 1999) 
Money management  (Albert Steg, Sept 1998) 
Online chouette rules  (John Graas, July 2003)  [Long message]
Order of succession  (leobueno+, Aug 2011) 
Order of succession  (Albert Steg, June 1995) 
Procedure when captain doubles  (Bill Riles+, Feb 2010) 
Split cube actions  (Neil Kazaross, June 2003)  [GammOnLine forum]
Strategy  (Michael J. Zehr, Sept 1998) 
Variable stakes  (Christopher Yep+, Apr 2000) 
Waiting for teammate to double  (Øystein Johansen+, July 2001) 
When box takes a partner  (Dan Pelton+, Mar 2009) 
When does player retain the box?  (Daniel Murphy, Jan 1997) 
When is consulting allowed?  (Dave+, Mar 2000) 

[GammOnLine forum]  From GammOnLine       [Long message]  Long message       [Recommended reading]  Recommended reading       [Recent addition]  Recent addition
 

  Book Suggestions
Books
Cheating
Chouettes
Computer Dice
Cube Handling
Cube Handling in Races
Equipment
Etiquette
Extreme Gammon
Fun and frustration
GNU Backgammon
History
Jellyfish
Learning
Luck versus Skill
Magazines & E-zines
Match Archives
Match Equities
Match Play
Match Play at 2-away/2-away
Miscellaneous
Opening Rolls
Pip Counting
Play Sites
Probability and Statistics
Programming
Propositions
Puzzles
Ratings
Rollouts
Rules
Rulings
Snowie
Software
Source Code
Strategy--Backgames
Strategy--Bearing Off
Strategy--Checker play
Terminology
Theory
Tournaments
Uncategorized
Variations

 

Return to:  Backgammon Galore : Forum Archive Main Page