Playing for gammon

Last time we went through the game tactics on how to save the gammon. Now we can look at the other side of the coin; the situation when you can and should push for a gammon win. It is important that you are able to recognize the window of opportunity when to play for a gammon and that you are familiar at least with the essentials of the tactics. A well executed gammon win can effectively demoralize your online backgammon opponents and smoothen your way to a match win.

The golden rule of playing for gammon

Playing for gammon can potentially be a risky business when you do it without proper evaluation of the situation. Normally you would really play for gammon only when you are a clear favourite in the game, but even then you shoule be on your toes - the risk is losing twice as many points as you would be gaining if you score a gammon win. Therefore, the golden rule of playing for gammon is:

When you play for a gammon instead of doubling your opponent out, you need to win two gammons for every loss you incur.

Let’s see what this really means in practice.

Regardless whether the cube is already in play or not, a gammon win will earn you double the points that you would be scoring with a single win. Say your opponent has already taken the double, meaning that you would score 4 points with a gammon and 2 points with a single win. 4 points is twice as much as 2 points.

Now, should you loose the game it’s your opponent that would be scoring 2 points. Since your single win was a gimme (a double would’ve been a clear pass for your opponent) but you decided to play for a gammon, you can consider going from +2 points to -2 points with your loss. That’s -4 points for you and shows that “you need to win two gammons for every loss you incur”. In plain English: be damn sure you don’t end up loosing when you decide to play for gammon.

What are your chances for a gammon win?

You can (and ideally should) base your decision to play for gammon on probabilities. The decision should be based on examining the relation of your chances of scoring a gammon win against the chances of you loosing the game. Generally your chances of scoring a gammon win should be at least double the chances of loosing.

It requires a lot of experience for anyone to accurately judge these probabilities without computer assistance so we won’t be dwelling on this too much. The illustration below, however, shows a situation where Black is a clear favourite and where he has very good chances of scoring a gammon win.

The table below in turn shows what are Black’s gammon win chances against the chances of him loosing with the opponent having 1-5 checkers on the ace-point, just like in the picture above.

You will notice that with three or more opponent checkers on the ace-point are a clear go for black to play for gammon. With two checkers or only one it isn’t such a straightforward decision any more, but still recommended as long as Black keeps a good eye on ending the game with a double if things become tricky. A little bit more on this right below.

It’s not a one-way road

When you decide to play for gammon it’s not like there is no return and no matter what you need to keep on playing until the bitter end. Keep in mind that when you go for gammon you are the favourite to win the game. That means that when you decide to play for gammon normally you still have the chance to offer a double within the next 1-2 turns if things don’t go as planned. That’ll secure you a single win and in many cases even two points if the cube has already been turned. But if things really don’t seem to go as planned don’t wait too long offering a double - it might be too late for you to escape and it might actually be a take for your opponent.

Creating gammon-go situations

Many players often make the mistake of ignoring a good chance to create a real gammon-go situation. These moves normally include bold moves that you normally wouldn’t consider. However, taking calculated risks is an essential bit of backgammon and bigger rewards (like a gammon win) mean bigger risks.

Don’t play safe

Have a look at Picture 2 below. Black is the favourite in the game and he is to play 3-1.

A safe play would be 8/5 8/7 that would clear the 8-point and leave no blots. But black has the possibility of creating a situation where he really could play for gammon: 6/3*/2*. This sends two of White’s checkers to the bar and outweighs the risk of Black’s blot on the 2-point being hit upon White’s entry. If White doesn’t hit on his turn Black has excellent chances making a new home-board point next turn and possibly hitting White’s checker again.

Six-point primes

On of the most self-evident situations to play for gammon is when you have a full prime with one or more opponent’s checkers trapped behind your prime. But to go for gammon you should try to maximize the advantage. Picture 3 illustrates this clearly.

Many players would cover the blot on the 2-point by 6/2 and then do something with the one, e.g. 20/19. That would be safe, but it’s also a mistake. The correct play is to play 6/1. Black will still have a full prime and upon entry from the bar white will be forced to hit either one of Black’s checkers. That’s good for Black, because White’s got a blot on his 4-point Black could hit when entering from the board on his next turn. That would trap the second checker behind White’s full prime, significantly increasing the chances for a gammon win.

Conclusion

When you are in the lead and want to create a situation where you can play for gammon, you will often need to take a calculated risk and play something else than the safest move there is - the rewards justifty the risks. Don’t loose focus, though, because when you go for a gammon win there is always a danger that things turn bad and you end up loosing double the points than what you were running for. Remember:

When you play for a gammon instead of doubling your opponent out, you need to win two gammons for every loss you incur.

As soon as things don’t look as good as you planned and you are still the favourite in the game, don’t hesitate to double - that’s your ticket to safety and securing at least a single win. With the cube already in play it often isn’t such a bad deal at all.