alanback: I would agree if the universe of players was larger, however with a limited number of players who have that level of experience it doesn't seem too odd to me.
Thankfully the list includes the number of games, so we can easily look at it any way we want.

lately i see a lot of players hit my single piece on the 7th position (close to their home) leaving a single piece of their own there

they even do this at the start of the game

isnt this too dangerous ? as its quite easy to hit it back (7 with 2 dice, or a single die for a piece still in their home) and they will lose a lot more than i lost when i hit them back ?

or is their some secret reason for this ? :)

Hrqls: If you don't hit and they block the 7 spot it's very good for them. High risk high return.

For example if you started with a 6-3 and moved 24/18 13/10, then your opponent rolled 6-2, his best move is to hit you with 13/7* 24/22 or 13/7* 13/11

grenv: hehe thats exaqctly what has happened a few times the last weeks :)

if i would go 13/7* then i would go 13/11 as well ... if i were taking the risk then i would take it well and provide with enough options to secure the position

i still wont do it myself though .. i think the risk is too high .. although i might do it when i am in a weird mood (just as taking the 5 spot while leaving a single there :))

Hrqls: I'm sure in the situation I described there is no better move than the 2 I siggested. I think 24/22 is slightly better than 13/11 unless you really need a gammon.

What would you play? Anyone else have a theory?

grenv: if my opponent went 24/18, 13/10 with his 6+3

and i would roll a 6+2 after that, i think i would go 1/9 or 1/7,1/3 (i think the second because i like to advance my last piece at least a little bit, i somehow like the 3 spot)

alanback: Plus ce change, plus ce meme chose

Hrqls: I think the move you suggest is a huge blunder and would love to try a computer analysis at some point. Your opponent has a great chance of running or blocking your 7 point etc etc.

I'm sure with that particular roll you must hit the opponent on your 7 point. In fact even with 6-4 you should play 13/7 24/20 and with 6-5 I would hit both (13/7 6/1).

Interesting problem: If you roll 6-6 do you play 13/7*/1* or 13/7* 24/18 ?

grenv: i would love an analysis as well :)
i think you are right .. i tend to play too defensive lately .. trying to turn around again :)

6-6 i would play 13/7*/1* with 1 piece and 13/7 with 2 other piece (i think)

grenv: where is that little rabbit when need him :)

Hrqls: That pesky Wabbit is very grumpy lately!

Czuch Chuckers: i was hunting him on another site, and he was ok

i thought was one of the 7 dwarves? small for sure, but not as small as a rabbit :)

whats more important ? capture 2 pieces (and leaving a single on the 5 position) or secure the 5 position ?

example

i chose to secure the 5 position as you can see (and hope to capture the piece on 7 with my next move)

(i hope basplund doesnt mind me posting this here as i already made the move, if anyone thinks i should not post this yet i will remove it)

Hrqls: I would have made the same move in this position.

grenv: i guess i am learning (although i was tempted to capture both as i know i am playing too defensive sometimes)

btw i failed to capture his piece on the 7th spot, but i captured 2 pieces in the next move, just hope he wont send me back :)

Hrqls: I'm not too familiar with crowded, but it occurs to me that with 5 opponent pieces on the bar, closing the 5 point is more important than hitting twice.

grenv: well the other pieces on the bar dont have to come into the game first .. so capturing 1 piece does the same as in regular bg, close the 5 point is nice though because your opponent has to get those pieces into play (which i often forget to do myself :)) .. but 2 blocked points isnt enough to make him worry ... but its a start :)

grenv: I agree. In regular backgammon, a double tap can be devastating. In crowded (though I, like grenv, have limited experience with the latter) closing up the inner table is important, as you do not want your opponent using those extra pieces to create a strong "back" position (more than one point made in your inner table). The latter can easily lead to getting hit/locked up on the bar toward the end of the game, which is when that really matters, in crowded.

Having said all that, I have completed all of 4 games of crowded (though my record is 3-1). So take that for what it's worth.

http://brainking.com/en/ArchivedGame?g=1531077&i=37

alanback: This guy is just unbelievable. I know what I'm talking about. :)

alanback: That last double accepted looks very shady. However, if this person had hacked the dice, wouldn't they have a better hyper backgammon record than 20-18?

pentejr: I didn't mean to suggest anything underhanded had happened. A better explanation is that sh*t happens :-)

alanback: Ok. When you say that this is "How rumors get started," I misunderstood.

From that last round, I would say that this person plays almost exclusively single point matches, to take a double that bad with a rating that high.

pentejr: To elaborate, there *is* such a thing as incredibly good luck. As my dear great aunt Bessie used to say, "The Lord looks out for fools."

Czuch Chuckers: It's 2-1 in a match to 3, and it's been doubled once. Could it be that the doubling feature has been turned off because no future doubles could possibly affect the outcome of the match?

pentejr: Thanks.. i thought I deleted that question before anyone read it! It is a 3 match, I thought it was a five match, but doubling in a 3 match is useless for me, so.....

Thanks anyway!

someone just offered me a draw in a game where the cube was at 2. I was curious what would happen so I took the draw. Each of us was awarded 0.5 point, the cube had no effect.

alanback: That seems to be a bug to me, should be no draws, but if we have to have it it should apply to the match not the game.

grenv: I suppose it's analogous to the resign feature, which also operates at the level of the game rather than the match.

You're right, one should really not have the option of a draw in backgammon. However, we all know backgammon is only along for the ride on this site

Whats this all about ,you win 7 games,play a lower rated player and lose 72 BKRs
All these gammon games are the same you lose one game and it takes you 3 or 4 games to get your BKR back up.

JMD & NIRVANA: I don't think so. The No.1 is Curunar. You should get rid of provisional rating first to be a valid top player.

Pedro Martínez: I can see why he doesnt want to finish more games LOL

http://brainking.com/en/ShowGame?g=1511090

Andersp: And http://brainking.com/cz/ShowGame?g=1504445
and several other games. True No. 1, indeed.

Pedro Martínez: LOL...well can we agree who is No. 1 in bragging at least ?

Andersp: I doubt there's any doubt about that...he's even posted the same thing on the Czech BG board...

Pedro Martínez:

JMD & NIRVANA: Yes, a "new person" indeed.

I just reached 1000 losses!

alanback: Congrats to your opponents. LOL

I have put somg bg and hbg games in the waiting room thank you

JMD & NIRVANA: But the account you used before your current one, you were only in the top 15 or so at your best. http://brainking.com/en/BKRGraph?u=9213&tp=26

Sure, keep changing user accounts and get a few lucky wins can easly put you on top - which is why there is established ratings to beter rate people. Most sites use 400 games to get an established backgammon rating, here it is only 25 - which you have not made it to yet with your new account.

BIG BAD WOLF: Give the fellow his due, he is putting his rating on the line with 79 active games of Backgammon Race. When he does achieve established BKR status he will have earned whatever ranking he has, and won't be hiding from challenges.

JMD & NIRVANA: I doubt you will ever PLAY 1,000 games, but if you play 3,000 against randomly selected opponents, I can guarantee you will lose at least 1,000.

And, I should add, if you only lose 1,000, you will be rated at or near the top.

JMD & NIRVANA: I did not mean to make it sound like it was wrong to switch accounts, just wanted to point out that with your old account, when you were an active player (before the fall out at the end), at the best rating, you were only a top 15 player or so.

I see it all the time - someone wins a few games, sometimes as little as 4 and has the highest rating. Good luck in trying to stay up there.