Backgammon tournament

Be Better at Backgammon

Backgammon may have some facets of luck but skill still dominates the game. Think of playing chess with dice and you get backgammon, a game with a healthy balance of ability and fortune.

As such it will be of a backgammon player's best interest to learn some general backgammon strategies and tips that cover numerous in-game situations to improve his/her game play.

Here are some of the tips and tricks that will help a backgammon enthusiast be a better player to cope with the myriad of challenges that the game pitches at players.

Contest for parity right from the very start.

There is no better time to go neck to neck with your opponent than in the opening moves of the game. You'll wrangle anyway for 5pts and 4pts on both sides of the board so why not do it early on?

Always crossover whenever possible.

Be constantly on the lookout for opportunities that allow you to crossover as they are important especially when saving your gammons.

When in doubt, hit.

If you are unsure of what to do next, you can always consider hitting the other side's checkers. Hitting is a good option in many situations as it makes a big difference particularly on your opponent's side of the board.

Always anchor.

Anchoring especially when your opponent has an advanced anchor already in place is one tip you'll get from any backgammon expert.

That is because anchoring, or setting up a defensive position, is an important strategy in backgammon and it becomes more critical to have an anchor yourself whenever your opponent has one.

Make room for primes.

Another tip that most backgammon veterans would espouse is the strategy of priming, or building a prime.

Priming or a prime is tactic in the game wherein you set up a blockade of the board by laying six of your checkers side by side thereby effectively hindering your opponent's checkers to get to the other side and get off the board.

Setting up a prime is almost always an imperative strategy in every game as you will be in a terrible disadvantage once your opponent has managed to build one first.

Play it safe.

Not a strategic tip but important nonetheless is resisting the urge to go all the way in a single match particularly when there seems to be an upsurge of good luck coming your side. Just keep your cool and push on to victory.

The tips and guidelines presented here may be common sense to seasoned veterans of the game but they will aid greatly to those who are just starting to appreciate backgammon and want to enjoy the game and play it right by enhancing their backgammon skill.