Author: gambler104
In any gammon game, doubling is a vital aspect if you are playing a match. A well-timed double can help you earn extra points or more importantly save you from getting out raced at the end of the game. In fact the doubling cube may decide the match between two relatively equally matched players. In many of the gammon variations, doubling can be very obvious. It still requires some skill, but a pip count will more often than not tell you whether you should double or not (if you are late enough in the game). And most of the time, there is never a question of whether to double or go for a gammon or backgammon. However, one variation that is supported on BrainKing in which doubling is not so obvious is Hyper Backgammon. The game is a highly volatile game in terms of sudden swings of advantage. Take for instance the case where you have borne one piece off and have the remaining two on spots 3 and 1 leaving you with a pip count of 4. Your opponent may have pieces on 13, 19, and 19 (according to BrainKing setup). If it is your turn (and to a lesser degree if it is not your turn), you are almost guaranteed a gammon. There are only 2 rolls out of 36 in which you don’t get the gammon that turn, and even if you don’t, your opponent still has to roll certain doubles to prevent the gammon. But if you do happen to roll a 2-1 and your opponent rolls a 6-6 you lost the game. Fortune can change in the blink of an eye, so the question is, when do you double and when do you not double.
The Jacoby rule states that for gammon games, gammon and backgammon are only in effect if a double has been made and accepted. This is used in some hyper backgammon games to try to diminish the aspect of luck. In this case, doubling is rather simple in race situations. If you are ahead or equal in pip count, you should double in most cases to prevent your opponent from getting lucky. This is not true in all circumstances as it would be rather unwise to double with three pieces on 1 while your opponent had a piece on 23 and a piece on 24. (Your chances to win are only 1 in 6.) For non-race situations with the Jacoby rule, my advice will be similar to that for non-race situations without the Jacoby rule. The only difference is that in situations that I would suggest going for gammon in later discussion, I would suggest a simple double for those cases here.
BrainKing does not use the Jacoby Rule so I will spend most of my time focusing on doubling situations without it. There are three main issues to discuss in this area. The first is whether to double or go for a gammon in a race situation. The second is whether to double or go for a gammon in a favorable position that is not a race situation. And finally, it is important to discuss the role that position plays and the effects that it has on doubling.
The race situation is probably the easiest in determining whether to double or go for a gammon. The closer the pip count is, the more likely it is you should double. For example, in a game where I had pieces on 6, 5, and 4 while my opponent had them on 19, 20, and 22 would be a good time to double. Despite the fact that you are at a 1 pip disadvantage, the fact that it is your turn makes up for this. But moreover, here is the reason I believe you should double. The chances of you getting a gammon are only 1/18 (You must roll double 5s or 6s). However, your chances of losing the game are much greater. Figuring out the exact percent is not necessary; it is a good bit higher than 1/18. So if you double, you should get 1 point presuming your opponent rejects the offer (the odds are in your favor to win the game so I believe it unwise for your opponent to accept here). If you go for the gammon, you are going to 0 points more than you get 2 points. So you will be averaging less than a point for the game, so it seems to hurt your chances if you don’t double in this situation. Conversely if you have pieces on 3 and 1 and your opponent had pieces on 19, 13, and 13, it would be easy to see that it would be wise to go for the gammon. Your odds of getting the gammon on the first roll is 17/18 and if you don’t your opponent must roll double 3s, 4s, or 6s to keep you from still getting the gammon. And only the double 6s will make you lose the game. So your point equity is much higher than 1 (practically 2). So it certainly is simple to go for the gammon. Of course it is tougher to decide when you are ahead by about 5 to 13 pips or so. Of course, this depends somewhat on the position (a position 6-4-3 is generally superior to a position like 5-5-3 although the pip count is the same.) However, my advice on the situation is if you are up 9 pips or more, go for the gammon. If it is eight pips or less, presuming that is a position you should double in (discussed later), I would suggest doubling. Of course, it depends somewhat on the aggressive nature of the person, but I find that 8 or 9 pips (an average roll) is about the dividing line for whether to double or go for the gammon.
Decisions about doubling in a favorable non-race position are much harder to make than race ones and are perhaps the most important part of hyper backgammon altogether. These situations involve a lot of personal decision, but I think that you have to be a lot more protective in terms of doubling because there are more rolls in which the position can instantly change. First of all, it is not nearly as wise to double when you are only up a few pips. Your opponent will often accept the double and now be able to use the doubling cube to his advantage later in the game. I really think that you need to be at least eight or nine pips ahead to double and have it be relatively safe. On the other hand, I think the pip advantage needed to go for a gammon goes up to fifteen or sixteen. Of course this is all relative on how far the game is from a race position and exactly how many pips are left for each player. For example an advantage of eleven pips can be a good or bad place to go for a gammon. If the pip count is 39-50, it might be a good idea to double. However, if the pip count is 19-30, it would probably be wise to go for a gammon.
The final factor regarding doubling is the position in the game. This applies to situations regarding going for the gammon or doubling and for doubling in general. The key here is to ignore the pip count momentarily and look at how easy it will be for you to advance your pieces. If there is a high chance your opponent will be able to knock one of your pieces back without seriously endangering one of his own, it is generally unwise to double in a middle game position. However, it is generally wise to double if the same situation occurs when you have pieces near your opponent’s home and are thinking of going for gammon. For instance, it would be unwise to double in a situation where you have one piece in your opponent’s home area and the other two pieces closer to your home area. First, it will be hard to advance your two pieces together unless you get doubles and your opponent will not have to worry as much about his pieces getting hit since you have a piece in his home area. On the other hand, take a situation where you had pieces on 7, 7, and 1 and your opponent had pieces on 3, 19, and 19. You have a 19 pip edge but there is a good chance that you could have a roll that leaves one or more of your pieces vulnerable. Here it would be wise to double since your position is at best equal if you get a piece knocked back.
These are some of my strategies for using the doubling cube in hyper backgammon. Some top players have different positions on this topic than me, and part of it is your personal preference. But here I have tried to outline some basic principles that will help you win a few more matches of hyper backgammon.
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