An End to Losing Gammons
A gammon is also known as a double game in backgammon because it counts the value of the doubling cube twice upon a game's completion. In other words, the gammon winner is awarded the value of the doubling cube twofold. As for the gammon loser, that could mean the defeat in a match or a place so far in rear in the tally for the win. If you want an end to losing gammons, you need to keep one thing in mind. That is, bear off at least one checker before your opponent can bring home a gammon win. Now, this may sound simple but if you need some help in making it happen, consider these tips that will help you get started.
If you think back on your checker play when you've been gammoned, can you describe the play? Did you hold back your runners until the last minute or were you sent to the bar behind your opponent's closed board? If any of these was the case, you have to change your checker play to include building an advanced anchor at the game's onset. That's one good tip to keep from being gammoned.
An advanced anchor is a made point on your opponent's inner board - particularly the five-point or the four-point. An advanced anchor is a solution when one tends to hold on to back checkers for a long time and when one finds re-entering from the bar difficult. In addition, it also makes your opponent bear in checkers inefficiently to your advantage.
Another good tip to put an end to losing gammons is splitting your back checkers as soon as possible. By splitting your back checkers or runners, the risk of getting blocked and having to cover more pips than you would like near the end game will be greatly minimized.
As you can see, the key to not being gammoned is carrying out a defensive strategy to protect your checkers and to safely bear all of them in your home board. Remember, all you need is to bear off one checker to keep from being gammoned. Make an advanced anchor early on so you can have a secure entry point without being blocked by a closed inner board and to make the bear-in process hard for your opponent. And don't forget to split your back checkers as soon as possible. With these backgammon tips, you can put an end to losing gammons and even earn double game wins in the process!
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