10 Quick Backgammon Tips You Can Use Today
Backgammon mixes skill and chance in a way few games do. You cannot control the dice, but you can control how well you use them. The tips below are short and practical. None of them is a law, but each one fixes a mistake that costs club players games again and again.
- Learn the standard opening moves. There are only fifteen possible non-double opening rolls, and each has a well-tested best play. Memorize them once and you will never waste the first move. See the table on our opening moves page.
- Treat your 5-point as gold. Your 5-point blocks the enemy back checkers and is a perfect landing spot for your own. If a roll lets you make it early, that is usually the move.
- Count the pips before big decisions. Each side starts with 167 pips to travel. Knowing who leads the race tells you whether to run, hold or attack. An average roll moves about 8 pips.
- Count the shots before you leave a blot. A blot six pips away is hit by 17 of 36 rolls; a blot eleven pips away is hit by only 2. If you must leave a shot, leave the one that is hardest to hit.
- Do not stack. Five or six checkers on one point do no work. Spread spare checkers to where they can make new points.
- Use both numbers. You must play both dice if any legal move allows it. Plan with both numbers in mind, not just the bigger one.
- Look at your opponent's home board before taking risks. If it has only one or two closed points, getting hit is a small setback. If it has four or five, entering from the bar becomes hard, and you should play safe.
- Keep an anchor when you are behind. A point in your opponent's home board gives your back checkers a safe base and a chance for a shot later. Do not give it up without a reason.
- Bear off safely when contact remains. If an enemy checker is still on the bar or in your home board, clear points from the back and avoid leaving blots, even if it means taking off fewer checkers this turn.
- Learn the cube for match play. In a match, doubling at the right moment wins points you would otherwise have to win on the board, and passing a hopeless position saves points. Start with the basic idea: when the game will be decided by the next roll, taking a double is correct if you win at least 25% of the time.
How to use these tips
Pick one or two tips and focus on them for a few games instead of trying to follow all ten at once. When a game goes badly, ask which tip you broke. For deeper explanations of checker play, read our backgammon tips page, and for the numbers behind shots and the race, see backgammon math.