Common Mistakes
I've played backgammon for over 20 years now, and there's several mistakes I keep seeing players make time and again, so I'd like to share a few thoughts. In my opinion, by far the most common error is advancing your stones too far forward too soon, all but putting them out of the game. For example taking the 2 point with an opening throw of 6-4 is generally an error, because Ok, you gain a valuable inner board point, but at what cost? All you are doing is storing up trouble for later, limiting your options when you throw a bad number, and making it easy for an opponent to re-enter over the top from the bar.
Another mistake is playing things too ‘safe', you have to fight for strategic points and take calculated gambles, because as everyone knows, it's near impossible to play a game without leaving blots somewhere, and it's better to take small risks early for a potentially big reward later, so don't leave things too late hoping to get lucky!. An important point to grab is the bar point (preventing an opponent escaping with a 6), but without doubt the most valuable points of all are the 5 points, in both your and your opponents inner board. If you gain these points, you can generally control the game, and make it difficult for your opponent to move with impunity, knowing that if you get hit, you have a safe haven on which to return to the game, so If at all possible you should always try take these points, and prevent your opponent grabbing them. You also remove the worry of being ‘trapped in', compounding the loss of one stone with others as moves are forced upon you.
Something else I see players doing a lot is ‘running' from a safe anchor too soon when their opponent has 3 or more inner board points, as quite often the result is losing both stones, watching in agony as your opponent escapes from a bad position when you can't re-enter. It's generally better to keep the anchor as long as is possible in this situation, and take a chance somewhere else, even if it means leaving a blot. If you find yourself well behind in the race you shouldn't worry unduly about losing another stone, as all it can take is one well timed hit to turn everything on it's head.
The Last thing I want to mention is how you should almost always hit an opponent twice if you can, there's no guarantee they will hit you back, and if they throw a bogey number, you usually have a big advantage to gain a strong position, keeping them on the back foot for many throws to come, if not the remainder of the game.
So to summarise, think ahead how the game is likely to be played out, be aggressive, plan ahead, avoid end-game trouble situations before they happen, but most importantly of all be lucky !!!, we all need it, so if you get your share and play a solid game, you'll win far more games than you lose.
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