Really helpful. I always ponder when cubing or confronting a cube during the holding game . Dan can you please confirm the name of the book and author you mentioned. Thanks

MET and Neil’s Numbers understood thank you! But how am I supposed to use it in my cube decisions?

Hi Dan. Great video! I wonder whether you could explain what is meant by 1) Positional plays, and; 2)Technical plays. They come up in books alot. I've looked at the glossary of terms you linked in the comments, but I don't understand the explanation of them. My current understanding is that they're analogous to strategic plays and tactical plays, but not sure that's quite right. Thank you :)

thanks for the great lesson dan. i recently played a game where i made four back-to-back blunders while trying to contain my opponent's checker. clearly i didn't understand the main principles governing those types of positions. this video really helped clear some of it up.

Great interview. Michy goes into this in great detail in his Back Checker Strategy and he also provides a number of "rules of thumb" for when to stay or go from the butterfly anchor. It is a highly recommended read.

I don't have Windows. Can I play on Mac mini m4?

00:18 what are the five roles that take off two checkers?

7/10 not bad, I though Quiz 10 was simple.

I much preferred your lessons Dan, you put in some real hardwork, way more just a set of computer generated answers from xtreme gammon.

4/10…I suck at bg. I have a chess elo of 1700 but I’m struggling to ‘see’ bg if I’m honest…I’ve only been playing about six weeks but I’m on to my 3rd book, have watched lots of vids and played lots of games but when I play on the xg iOS app I just commit blunder after blunder after blunder and when I play on nextgammon I just get spanked all the time…I’m not gonna give up just yet because I do enjoy it but I’m wondering if I’ll ever ‘see’ it. Great vid though, cheers.

Great vid thanks…I watched a couple of your other vids before I realised they were in order. So here I am starting from the beginning…I’m sure I’m gonna enjoy working my way through all these lessons…thanks again👍🏼

I’ve never thought about playing 1 pointers as a means to progression. Great idea. Thank you.

Great lesson thanks.

This is excellent. Thank you.

Thanks for your course on backgammon. what is the name of the software that you use to describe the pattern?

I'm sorry, but while I appreciate many or your video, this is not one of them. Yes, you explain how to calculate using Neil's numbers, but you do not at all explain "WHY [the match equity table] is useful" as the description states. Just saying that it is important is not the same as explaining it.

I have a question ... I'm a beginner .... very beginner :-) Can you explain to me why it is better to have more checkers in the high points than in the low ones? I thought having all checkers on point 1 was better

Great lesson thanks Dan. I just blundered in a league match after missing making the 23 point anchor against 12 in the zone but could hear your voice telling me to make it. Next time I'll listen to that voice :)

This rule is not all that accurate. There are six three checkers positions with 9 pips; one (333) is a take. There are six three checkers positions with 10 pips; a half of them (622, 442, 433) are takes.

Nice explained. The grey color what it represents???

Great video

Finally an explanation that makes sense to me, thank you!!!

GENIUS!

Nice lesson, as always. What did the GMs play?

Can you please show positions in 2D? I think it's better to learn in 2d board🙄 in 3d i feel uncomfortable😁

Absolutely fantastic video. All of the explanations are clear and concise. Many thanks, to both of you.

With 4 or 5 on the midpoint. Was the spare one the 8pt the deciding factor?

2:35 Damn is this white's first move? XD

It’s been a while. Hope all is well and you’re enjoying your break! You must be at work on something big! Was great to see you commentating in Monte Carlo!

The summary points at the end are fine, but I don't understand how the positions presented lead to those common sense conclusions. I watched the whole video twice looking for an explanation. Saying 'as we can see... it's better to do x than y here, whereas before it was better to do y instead of x' does not make me magically able to see why. I assume the tiny, unreadable numbers from xg back up the claim, but, again, this does not explain why.

Someone please tell me what I am missing here: at 4 away, white should double, because if they win the game they win the match. Black should then re-double, so if they win the game they win the match, as well. at 3 away, white should not double, even though if they win the game they win the match, because black will re-double and thus also wins the match if they win the game. In both situations, white not doubling means they give up the chance to win the match in this game. In both situations, doubling results in identical conditions: redouble by black and a DMP game. So… what am I missing? How, statistically, can there be a difference at all, much less a big difference, in expected match outcomes?

Kudos to Jeremy for taking the time to create this. A lot of equity swings in cube decisions. As you pointed out, the method becomes quick and easy after a few practice exercises. Encourage you to keep planning family ski trips. Thank you Dan for an excellent site - great for learning the game.

Where did you get that bored

I keep hearing the Clash’s “Should I stay or should I go” in my head while watching this 😮

Great show

At 6:50 hitting and slot is correct because xg wants to go to backgame strategy I'm sure🙂 you hit and hope he hits back and you get 1 to build 1-3 backgame🙄do you agree?

At 5:06 you must hit the green and leave as many blots as you can 🤔🤔you must force white to hit you back🙄 I can't believe xg is right😐😂 if you don't hit and white runs away with 6,3 your timing will be ruined

In this lesson, you say that it is a marginal double with a lead of 15 pips. In lesson 55, Art Benjamin says "double a high anchor holding game with a 15% race lead". 115% of 80 is 92, a lead of 12 115% of 120 is 38, a lead of 18 Perhaps your 15 pips advice is too rough? Raymond Kershaw

Very nice position👏👏👏you're so good at educating backgammon🙂👏👏👏thank you😍

15:50 U confused us here as our challenge is “White to play 55” (clearly seen on your slide) But your audio narration says “GREEN to play 55“ Not a huge deal, but confusing, nonetheless, especially in a teaching video (where clarity is crucial in explaining concepts that are new to the student). Many pause at intervals after the challenge presented, to find most advantageous plays before revealing the correct play. I write professionally and offer backgammon as a side gig, so maybe I’m more critical than most, but I have only recently found your channel and have been impressed with your clear explanations… So much so that i’ve used screenshots of your examples as homework for my students, so thank you for that… ** I do wish you included Match length on your diagrams as at times it’s relevant in determining the best strategy implemented for some positions. Especially when you make a point to show there is a turned cube in play… and match score and equity definitely influence the way I choose to play some rolls, with marginal differences for correct play if way behind or a gammon go situation or my opponent is two away from the win… You know what I mean right? apologies for my wordiness and I don’t mean to be critical as I find your channel to be helpful in it’s simplicity and your clear explanations … so thanks again 🙏 Please proof your copy to assure it matches before posting as yr examples are most always accurate… unlike many offered in Backgammon books where typos or a mismatched diagram leaves the reader scratching their head.

Great as always Dan. Keep em coming

Please watch my game against gnu_backgammon engine and tell me what you think 🙂 I always play in backgame style😁😁this is the android version of gnu backgammon and I'm not sure if it's as strong as xg. I felt it's so strong kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqnWaneXhd2Xetkfeature=shared

Seems we leave blots to enable the creation of points later when behind,have points behind our blots,weve an anchor or they’ve a weak home board.

You are the boss tks for the vids!

Couldn’t resist,I went for the double hit in the last one😮.Does being ahead in the race influence safer plays? I mean say we had an ace anchor or two blots in their home board would we play bolder?

Nice i always have trouble with when to move out the back checkers,thx!!

In the 6th game, if white was in 9th instead of 10th, would Bar/24, 8/6 have been the first choice?

Is it correct to hit the third checker in backgame?🤔I think 2 checkers is enough🤔I don't know..hitting the third checker is just helping the opponent to kill the moves🤔

Good advice about moving the back checkers,was never sure about these.Got the first wrong but then the last one correct due to this tip

Funny, my XG Mobile is showing a No Double after initial rolls of 5-2 and then double 5s, followed by a roll of 5-6 entering one checker on the 5-point. Shows winning % of 61.1.